Mridula Sarabhai
Encyclopedia
Mridula Sarabhai was a Gandhian freedom fighter and activist. She was a member of the famous Sarabhai family
of Ahmedabad
.
, India
to an affluent business family. She was one of eight children of Ambalal Sarabhai
and Sarla Devi. She was home schooled by a succession of British and Indian teachers under the supervision of her parents. Unlike her siblings, she heeded Gandhi's call to boycott foreign institutions and refused to go study abroad . She enrolled in the Gujarat Vidyapeeth in 1928, dropping out during the Salt Satyagraha
. Vikram Sarabhai
was his brother.
. As a child of ten, she worked with the Vanar Sena of the Congress and carried messages and water for the satyagrahis. Influenced by Jawaharlal Nehru
, who was to become her lifelong friend and mentor, she helped with the organization of the Youth Conference in Rajkot in 1927. She joined the Congress Seva Dal during the Salt Satyagraha
and organized the boycott of foreign cloth and British goods.
In 1934, she was elected to the All India Congress Committee as a delegate from Gujarat. However, in subsequent years her independent stances caused friction with other leaders from the state. When the party refused to nominate her, she contested as an independent and won with the largest margin of votes.
She played a significant role in the organizational machinery of the Congress, heading its women's wing. She was appointed the Secretary, Sub Committee on Women's Role in the Planned Economy for the National Planning Board. The report was later used by early legislators during the drafting of the Constitution and the first few budgets.
In 1946, Pandit Nehru appointed her as one of the General Secretaries of the Congress party and a member of the Congress Working Committee. She resigned and followed Gandhiji to Noakhali when riots broke out. During the turbulent year of Partition of India
, she took active lead in restoring communal amity and harmony, firstly at Patna
, where she was attending the flag hoisting ceremony on 15 August 1947, with permission from Gandhiji. When she heard of riots being broken in Punjab, she immediately contacted Nehru and later rushed there to take active role in peace keeping. Her role in preserving communal harmony during the violence of partition was praised by leaders from India and Pakistan.
However, some years after independence of India, she got disillusioned with Congress. In later years, she became an ardent and vocal supporter of Sheikh Abdullah outside Kashmir, her long time friend. She even funded his expenses for fighting Kashmir Conspiracy Case
, for which Abdullah was imprisoned.Later, even she, herself, was imprisoned several months without trial over the Kashmir case, although, she was never charged of conspiracy.
Sarabhai family
The Sarabhai family has been a major business family of India belonging to the Shrimal Jain community. Members include*Ambalal Sarabhai was in the 1940s and 1950s, the owner of the Sarabhai Textile Mills in Ahmedabad - at the time one of India's largest textile companies.*Anasuyaben , Gandhian...
of Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad also known as Karnavati is the largest city in Gujarat, India. It is the former capital of Gujarat and is also the judicial capital of Gujarat as the Gujarat High Court has its seat in Ahmedabad...
.
Early life
She was born (1911) in AhmedabadAhmedabad
Ahmedabad also known as Karnavati is the largest city in Gujarat, India. It is the former capital of Gujarat and is also the judicial capital of Gujarat as the Gujarat High Court has its seat in Ahmedabad...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
to an affluent business family. She was one of eight children of Ambalal Sarabhai
Ambalal Sarabhai
Ambalal Sarabhai was a leading industrialist of Ahmedabad and also played an important role in India's freedom struggle. He was founder of Sarabhai group of Companies, like Sarabhai Textiles, Calico Textile Mills, Sarabhai Chemicals & others....
and Sarla Devi. She was home schooled by a succession of British and Indian teachers under the supervision of her parents. Unlike her siblings, she heeded Gandhi's call to boycott foreign institutions and refused to go study abroad . She enrolled in the Gujarat Vidyapeeth in 1928, dropping out during the Salt Satyagraha
Salt Satyagraha
The Salt March, also known as the Salt Satyagrahah began with the Dandi March on March 12, 1930, and was an important part of the Indian independence movement. It was a campaign of tax resistance and nonviolent protest against the British salt monopoly in colonial India, and triggered the wider...
. Vikram Sarabhai
Vikram Sarabhai
Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai was an Indian physicist. He is considered to be the father of the Indian space program; legendary Homi Bhabha’s successor as chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission; and was as at home in the world of the arts as in his favourite laboratory. His interests were vast and...
was his brother.
Congresswoman and Freedom fighter
At an early age, Mridula came under the influence of Mahatma GandhiMahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...
. As a child of ten, she worked with the Vanar Sena of the Congress and carried messages and water for the satyagrahis. Influenced by Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru , often referred to with the epithet of Panditji, was an Indian statesman who became the first Prime Minister of independent India and became noted for his “neutralist” policies in foreign affairs. He was also one of the principal leaders of India’s independence movement in the...
, who was to become her lifelong friend and mentor, she helped with the organization of the Youth Conference in Rajkot in 1927. She joined the Congress Seva Dal during the Salt Satyagraha
Salt Satyagraha
The Salt March, also known as the Salt Satyagrahah began with the Dandi March on March 12, 1930, and was an important part of the Indian independence movement. It was a campaign of tax resistance and nonviolent protest against the British salt monopoly in colonial India, and triggered the wider...
and organized the boycott of foreign cloth and British goods.
In 1934, she was elected to the All India Congress Committee as a delegate from Gujarat. However, in subsequent years her independent stances caused friction with other leaders from the state. When the party refused to nominate her, she contested as an independent and won with the largest margin of votes.
She played a significant role in the organizational machinery of the Congress, heading its women's wing. She was appointed the Secretary, Sub Committee on Women's Role in the Planned Economy for the National Planning Board. The report was later used by early legislators during the drafting of the Constitution and the first few budgets.
In 1946, Pandit Nehru appointed her as one of the General Secretaries of the Congress party and a member of the Congress Working Committee. She resigned and followed Gandhiji to Noakhali when riots broke out. During the turbulent year of Partition of India
Partition of India
The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...
, she took active lead in restoring communal amity and harmony, firstly at Patna
Patna
Paṭnā , is the capital of the Indian state of Bihar and the second largest city in Eastern India . Patna is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world...
, where she was attending the flag hoisting ceremony on 15 August 1947, with permission from Gandhiji. When she heard of riots being broken in Punjab, she immediately contacted Nehru and later rushed there to take active role in peace keeping. Her role in preserving communal harmony during the violence of partition was praised by leaders from India and Pakistan.
However, some years after independence of India, she got disillusioned with Congress. In later years, she became an ardent and vocal supporter of Sheikh Abdullah outside Kashmir, her long time friend. She even funded his expenses for fighting Kashmir Conspiracy Case
Kashmir Conspiracy Case
Kashmir Conspiracy Case was the legal case filed by Government of Kashmir and Investigations Department of the Government of India, by which Sheikh Abdullah and others were arrested and jailed. Abduallah along with Mirza Afzal Beg and 22 others were accused of conspiracy against the state in the...
, for which Abdullah was imprisoned.Later, even she, herself, was imprisoned several months without trial over the Kashmir case, although, she was never charged of conspiracy.
Further reading
- Mridula Sarabhai:Rebel with a Cause by Aparna Basu (ISBN 0-19-566794-8)