Rama Devi Choudhry or Rama Devi (1899–1985) was one of the freedom fighters of Orissa

Orissa

Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...

, India. Among women freedom fighters in Orissa, she occupied a unique and unparallel position who played an outstanding role in the freedom movement of the state.

Though she belonged to a very rich jamindar family she quit all her luxury and comfort for the cause of independence. She took active part in 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...

, Khadi

Khadi

The term khādī or khaddar means cotton. khādī is Indian handspun and hand-woven cloth. The raw materials may be cotton, silk, or wool, which are spun into threads on a spinning wheel called a charkha. It is a versatile fabric, cool in the summer and warm in the winter...

 Movement, Bhoodan and Gramdaan movement of Vinoba Bhave

Vinoba Bhave

Vinoba Bhave , born Vinayak Narahari Bhave often called Acharya , was an Indian advocate of nonviolence and human rights. He is best known for the Bhoodan Andolan...

 and was imprisoned several times by the British Government.

Biography

She was born on 3 December 1899 at the Satyabhamapur village near Cuttack

Cuttack

Cuttack is the former capital of the state of Orissa, India. It is the headquarters of Cuttack district and is located about 20 km to the north east of Bhubaneswar, the capital of Orissa. The name of the city is an anglicised form of Kataka that literally means The Fort, a reference to the...

 to Basanta Kumari Devi and Gopal Ballabh Das, then Deputy-
Magistrate, she was also the niece of Utkal Gaurab Madhusudan Das

Madhusudan Das

Utkal Gourav Madhusudan Das was born on 28 April 1848 in a village called Satyabhamapur, 20 kilometres from Cuttack, Orissa. He was the first Graduate and Advocate of Orissa.-Family:...

. She received her education privately at home. At the age of 15, she was married to Gopabandhu Choudhury, then a Deputy Collector and later a freedom fighter. a famous lawyer of Cuttack. and the couple had three children, two sons and a daughter.

She was awarded the Jamnalal Bajaj Award in 1981 and also the Doctor of Philosophy (Honoris causa) by Utkal University

Utkal University

Utkal University, Bhubaneswar is the oldest university in Orissa and the 17th oldest university in India. It is a teaching-cum-affiliating university that has produced some of the best brains in Orissa. There are at 26 post-graduate departments at the university campus for studies and research in...

. She died on 22 July 1985.

External links

• Ma Rama Devi Biography at Rama Devi Women's college website.