Saroj Nalini Dutt
Encyclopedia
Saroj Nalini Dutt, MBE
, (9 October 1887 - 19 January 1924) was an Indian
feminist and social reformer.
, near Hooghly, in Bengal. Her parents were Brajendranath De
, ICS
and Nagendra Nandini Dé (née Bose). She was brought up with her brothers and sisters and shared with them an education under a tutor and a governess.
In 1905, she married Gurusaday Dutt
ICS. In 1909, her only child Birendrasaday was born.
After her death in 1925, her husband Gurusaday Dutt founded The Saroj Nalini Dutt Memorial Association as the apex body for all the Mahila Samitis in Bengal. This body was later affiliated to the Associated Country Women of the World, an international organisation dedicated to the upliftment of the status of women worldwide. This organisation's activities were greatly expanded by her daughter-in-law Aroti Dutt
between 1942 and 2003.
Praise for her work came from the highest quarters of the educated segment of the Bengali as well as English society in the first half of the twentieth century. Dinabandhu C.F.Andrews wrote about her:
Rabindranath Tagore
, the poet, whom she and her husband met in Santiniketan, wrote about her:
Her husband, Gurusaday Dutt
in his book A Woman of India: Being the Life of Saroj Nalini Dutt wrote:
by the government.
MBE
MBE can stand for:* Mail Boxes Etc.* Management by exception* Master of Bioethics* Master of Bioscience Enterprise* Master of Business Engineering* Master of Business Economics* Mean Biased Error...
, (9 October 1887 - 19 January 1924) was an Indian
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...
feminist and social reformer.
Background
Saroj Nalini was born in her father’s country house in BandelBandel
Bandel , founded by Portuguese settlers, is a gram panchayat in Chinsurah-Mogra block in Chinsurah subdivision of Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is under Chinsurah police station. A major junction station of Eastern Railway, it is 40 km from Howrah station...
, near Hooghly, in Bengal. Her parents were Brajendranath De
Brajendranath De
-In Calcutta and Lucknow:He was born at his maternal grandfather's home at 123, Manicktala Street, Calcutta. His father's family, originally from Uttar Rarh in Bengal, belonged to the newly emerging middle class of Calcutta. He describes them as Kayastha bhadraloks in his unpublished memoir...
, ICS
ICS
-Communications and technology:* Image Cytometry Standard, a digital multidimensional image file format used in life sciences microscopy* Industrial Control System* Information and Computer Science, the combined field of informatics and computing...
and Nagendra Nandini Dé (née Bose). She was brought up with her brothers and sisters and shared with them an education under a tutor and a governess.
In 1905, she married Gurusaday Dutt
Gurusaday Dutt
Gurusaday Dutt was a civil servant, politician, folklorist, and writer.-Early Life and education:He was the son of the Ramkrishna Dutt Chaudhuri and Anandamayee Debi...
ICS. In 1909, her only child Birendrasaday was born.
Work
Saroj Nalini was a well-known social reformer, educationist and a pioneer of the movement for the uplifting of women in Bengal. She pioneered the formation of Mahila Samitis (Women's Institutes) in Bengal and helped them receive vocational training to be able to earn for themselves and support their families. She was particularly concerned about the plight of Hindu widows. She dedicated herself to the cause of women both inside and outside the home as well as the community. Her dedication to the improvement of the condition of Indian women was evident in the great efforts she took to actively participate in the raising of the social status of women, mostly belonging to the former Bengal Presidency. She realised that as it was not possible to send mothers to school, they needed to be educated by other means, such as Mahila Samitis in the district towns in Bengal and then gradually in each and every village. She wanted the purdahnashin ladies to first meet amongst themselves, then possibly keep an eye on the local hospitals of their respective towns and villages, and then attend Adult education classes to educate themselves. Later, the ladies could then go back and educate the rest of their family members. She started her first Mahila Samiti in 1913 at Pabna (now in Bangladesh) with the object of developing friendly cooperation among the purdahnashin ladies. Subsequently, she started the Mahila Samitis of Birbhum (1916), Sultanpur (1917), and Rampurhat (1918). The Mahila Samiti she started in 1921 at Bankura dedicated itself to social upliftment and to education of rural women. It started training midwives and established a Maternity Home. She also took the lead in introducing the charka (spinning wheel) in village homes. She reorganized the local girls’ school in Birbhum which was called ‘Sir Rivers Thompson School’. In recognition of her distinguished and dedicated service in the field of social welfare, she was awarded an M.B.E. in 1918. Sadly, she could not fulfil her dream in her lifetime, as she died when she was only 37.After her death in 1925, her husband Gurusaday Dutt founded The Saroj Nalini Dutt Memorial Association as the apex body for all the Mahila Samitis in Bengal. This body was later affiliated to the Associated Country Women of the World, an international organisation dedicated to the upliftment of the status of women worldwide. This organisation's activities were greatly expanded by her daughter-in-law Aroti Dutt
Aroti Dutt
Aroti Dutt was a Social Worker from India of International repute. She was the World President of the Associated Countrywomen of the World for two terms, from 1965 to 1971, and subsequently their Member of Honour. She was also the International Vice President of International Alliance of Women...
between 1942 and 2003.
Praise for her work came from the highest quarters of the educated segment of the Bengali as well as English society in the first half of the twentieth century. Dinabandhu C.F.Andrews wrote about her:
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore , sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature...
, the poet, whom she and her husband met in Santiniketan, wrote about her:
Her husband, Gurusaday Dutt
Gurusaday Dutt
Gurusaday Dutt was a civil servant, politician, folklorist, and writer.-Early Life and education:He was the son of the Ramkrishna Dutt Chaudhuri and Anandamayee Debi...
in his book A Woman of India: Being the Life of Saroj Nalini Dutt wrote:
Positions held
She became the Secretary of the Indian Section of the Calcutta League of Women’s Workers (later Bengal Presidency Council of Women), Member of the Council of the Nari Siksha Samiti (Women’s Educational League), and Member of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation’s committee which was to make suitable arrangements for allowing women to elect councillors. She was also the Vice President of the Sylhet Union, an association set up for the promotion of female education in the district of Sylhet. For her contribution to the cause of the upliftment of women in Bengal she was awarded an MBEMBE
MBE can stand for:* Mail Boxes Etc.* Management by exception* Master of Bioethics* Master of Bioscience Enterprise* Master of Business Engineering* Master of Business Economics* Mean Biased Error...
by the government.