Forgotten but Fierce: Tamil Nadu's Revolutionary Women Leaders

82 £UP® kupah fiy kw;Wk; mwptpay; (kfspu;) fy;Y}up> jpUney;Ntyp gz;ila tuyhWk; jkpou; gz;ghLk; Forgotten but Fierce: Tamil Nadu’s Revolutionary Women Leaders Dr. J. Rejila Associate Professor Women’s Christian College, Nagercoil Introduction In the national movement the people of Tamil Nadu played a leading role. They implemented all the constructive programmes of Gandhiji and the Indian national congress, in order to achieve independence from the hands of the British. The fight against colonial rule in India constitutes a unique narrative, one which is not marred by violence. Rather an arrative that is full of variegated stories of valor, bravery, Satyagraha, dedication, and sacrifice across the length and breadth of the subcontinent. These stories compose the rich Indian cultural heritage and traditions. Thus, the unsung heroes need not necessarily define the lesserknown freedom fighters. The history of India’s freedom struggle often highlights towering male leaders, but hidden beneath the pages are countless women whose courage, sacrifice, and determination shaped the nations destiny. In Tami Nadu, several revolutionary women rose against colonial oppression, fought for social justice, and dedicated their lives to people’s welfare. Yet , many of them remain unsung and forgotten in mainstream history. Krishnammal Jaganathan Krishnammal was born on 16, 1926 in Pattiveeranpatti village in Dindugal district, to Ramaswamy and Nagammal couple. She studied till class 7th in a government school at Pattiveeranpatti. She then continued his schooling in Madurai. After that she studied at the American college and became the first female graduate of the then Madurai district. After completing his graduation Krishnammal involved in the “Gandhiam and Sarvodaya” movement. In 1942Krishnammal was imprisoned for many years for the participation in the Quit India Movement. Krishnammal participated in many protests with Gandhiji. She started self help groups for the welf are of girls and women and to create the awarness. She walked from village to village. Krishnammal was firmly committed to the concept of “Village Progress”. She always told that “Village Progress became the National Progress”. Krishnammal always neglect the foreign goodsand she used the swadeshi materials and wear khadar clothes. She encouraged and propagated others to use Khadar cloth. For her wedding her husband wove khadarsaree from hand wovenyarn and wore it as a wedding saree. The couple swears a large threads garland their necks. Krishnammal and her husband Sankaralingam, who participated in the Non-Cooperation Movement, Civil Disobedience and QuitIndia Movement. Krishnammal, a prominent voice protesting against social injustice in Tamil Nadu will receive Padma Bhushan. Krishnammal was a women and activist who transformed south India using the power of the Gandhian principles. ©»º: 13 ]Ó¨¤uÌ: 2 ©õu®: ö\¨h®£º Á¸h®: 2025 P-ISSN: 2321-788X E-ISSN: 2582-0397 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/ zenodo.17313585 http://www.shanlaxjournals.com 83 £UP® Shanlax International Journal of Arts, Science and Humanities Between 1950 and 1952, after independence she stayed and worked in North India, actively involved in Vinoba Bhave’s Boomidhana Movement. She visited many places as a pilgrim. For the involvement of this Boomidhana Movement she registered 1040 acres of land in the name of poor farmers in a single day, and total of 13500acres of land registered in the name of women. Krishnammal also donate acres of land and give it to poor farmers free. Krishnammal and her husband founded land for ‘ Tillers’ freedom (LAFTI) in1981 to work to justice and land rights for the Dalith class in Tamil Nadu through housing and farmland provisions. Sornathammal Sornathammal lived in Kadachanendal at Madurai. She was the wife of S.R.N. Sesha Bhagavathar, a freedom fighter of Madurai. She entered into the freedom movement at the age of 26. Sornathammal and her husband S.R.N Sesha Bhagavathar was a staunch nationalist. Sornathammal suffered the humiliation of beatings, kicks, prison, tortures which were suffered mostly by men during the war of liberation. Sornathammal participated in the Quit India Movement and arrested and went to Jail. After coming out, she went back to jail saying” Uttarveda Vedavaku” of Gandhiji’s majestically, every time after release she found it routi neto go back to jail. Enraged by this, the English police arrested him, put him in jail and beat him with a stick. They beat him till 11 O’ clock in night until his earlobe was torn and bleeding. As a result, she losther hearing properly. At one point they took off her khadar saree and gave her a shorter saree. Her body could not be complete covered they forced her to wear it, they took him in a cart, stopped him in a dark area and to him half clothed there. Due to this mental Agony, she got up and again participated in many struggle vigrously. Sornathammal used to discard foreign clothes and use indigenous materials and wear khadar clothes. She walked from street to street in Madurai and create da thirst for freedom and kindled the patriotic feeling among the people. A heroic martyr was beaten and bled in the cause of independence. Ambujammal Ambujammal was born on1898 toS. SrinivasIyengar and Ranganayaki into a traditional family. A talented linguist. She married a lawyer named S. Desachari Nee Srinivasa Iyengar. In her early life, Ambujammal was fascinated by Gandhi’s ideas, especially his constructive socio_economic program. Ambujammal qualified as a teacher and taught at Sarada Vidyalaya Girls School. She was a committee member of the Sarada Ladies Union from 1929to 1936. In 1929, she was nominated Treasurer of the Women’s Swadeshi League, Madras, and served as Vice-President of the TN Congress Committee. In the 1920’s Gandhiji was stationed in Madras. She met him and Gandhiji visited anagram, she donated her diamonds and silkt o the Harijan welfare fund. Ambujammal participated in the NonCooperation Movement. As a supporter of Swadeshi principles she neglect the foreign goods and she wearing khadar saree. During the time of NonCooperation Movement she entered into the politics in 1930. In 1932she participated in the salt satyagraha protest and was arrested and put into prison for six months. Though she dedicated her life to the Indian freedom struggle and inspired many women to do the same. Ambujammal encouraged women to take part in the national, political and social movements of the nation. In 1930, she joined the Civil Disobedience Movement. When Ambujammal was leading the boycott of foreign cloth at Rattan Bazarin Madras. She was arrested and imprisoned twice for six months in 1932. She has written three books about Gandhi. She honoured with Padmashri on 1964. She passed away on November 6th 1983. Ammu Swaminathan Ammu Swaminathanborn on April 22, 1894 in Annakarai near Palakkad, Kerala. She was educated at home without going to school. In 1908at the age of 13, she got married to Swaminathan a famous lawyer from Chennai. After married she encouraged by her husband and continued her college studies at Chennai. Ammu Swaminathan was engaged in public service and social welfare. In 1917, she established 84 £UP® kupah fiy kw;Wk; mwptpay; (kfspu;) fy;Y}up> jpUney;Ntyp gz;ila tuyhWk; jkpou; gz;ghLk; the “Indian Women’s Federation” and sought to solve the problems faced by Indian women workers. She joined the congress in 1934 and was a member of the Chennai Corporation from 1934to 1939. Ammu Swaminathan was joined the Indian National Congress in 1934. She was a strong advocate forequal constitutional rights for women. In 1942, she participated in the Quit India Movement and was sentenced to two years in prison. After coming out of Jail, she was elected asa Member of Parliament. In 1943when she was in Vellore Jail, she sawcaste oppression. Ammu Swaminathan was strongly opposed it. She fought for equalstatus for women. Ammu Swaminathan was elected to the Constituent Assembly from the Madras Constituent in 1946. She spoke on fundamental rights and directive principle. She went to Ethiopian 1948 an are preventative of the government of India. She went to Geneva in 1949 to represent India in the UNESCO conference. Her daughter was captain Lakshmi who served in Nethaji’s Jansirani Regiment. Gothai Nayaki Ammal Vaithamanithi Mudumbai Gothainayaki Ammal was born on 1 December, 1901 was a Tamil writer, novelist and journalist. She had a multifarious personality and the excelled in fields like public speaking, social service and fiction writing and was a keen freedom fighter too. Gothai Nayaki Ammal was hailed as the “Queen of Fictions” by her contemporary authors. Gothai Nayaki was propagated his view son social issues such as patriotism and widow remarriage, through her novels. Her elegance in public speaking was well known by participating in many political meetings, with prominent leaders. Teheran Sathyamoorthy, Kamaraj and others were included as keynote speakers Rajaji was impressed by Gothai Nayaki’s speaking skills. Mahakavi Bharathiyar was a great fan of Gothai Nayaki’s songs. Apart from being a journalist writer, singer and play write, she was also a freedom fighter. In 1925she met Mahatma Gandhiand Kasturibai. Inspired by the simplicity and his powerful eloquence speeh. She renounced her passion for luxurious life, ditched silk dresses, gold and diamond jewellery and started wearing only khadi saree. Gothai Nayaki was immersed herself in social service activities along with Ambujammal, Rukmani Lakshmipathy and Vasumathy Ramaswamy. In 1931, accepting the invitation of Mahatma, she participated in the Satyagraha protest against the liquor shops and was arrested by the police and was sentenced to six months in prison for eight months. She was again convicted by the court in1932 for participating in the protest against the Lodi Commission and boycotting foreign clothes. Parvathi Krishnan Born on March 15, 1916 into the illustrious Kumaramangalam Zamindar family, Parvathi grew up surrendered by politics, education, and power. Her father served in Rajaji’s cabinet in the state and Nehru’s cabinet at the center and later become the Governor of Bombay Province. But few people know that her wedding cost only fifty rupees -- money pooled together by friends and that the only item served at the wedding feast were tea and samosas. Parvathi Krishnan, the comrade who lived with poverty and hunger as her only wealth chose simplicity as her way of life. Despite such a powerful lineage Parvathi choose to live a life of simplicity because she embraced Communism. Even when her father was administer she walked or took a rickshaw to school. This humility inherited from her father, became her lifelong principle. She went to Oxford University with dreams of academic excellence but returned to India as a committed communist. It was the time to World War II. Many Indian students in London joined antifascist political movements Parvathi became the first student secretary of the ‘Majlis’ organisation at Oxford. It was here that Parvathi became ‘Comrade Parvathi’. Communism inspired her deeply. She met fellow student activist N. K. Krishnan, and soon they fell in love. Neither family opposed their marriage. In 1942, during the quit India movement P.C. Joshi established a commune in Bombay where around 90 comrades lived despite extreme financial hardships. Parvathi and Krishnan collected food grains and http://www.shanlaxjournals.com 85 £UP® Shanlax International Journal of Arts, Science and Humanities cloths for the commune. Parvathi worked as Joshi’s typist while the party oprated with great zeal. In 1943, Parvathi gave birth to a daughter named Indira. In 1944, she moved back into the commune with her child. Because of continuous party work, fellow comrade often cared for Indira until she was five years old. The late 1940’ brought severe repression for communists. The congress right wing grew stronger, the communist party was banned, and many leaders were imprisoned. Krishnan was jailed in Vellore. Leaving her daughter with her parents, Parvathi lived underground, serving as a vital link between improsioned leaders and those in hiding , carrying secret documents and information for the party. After Indias independence, the Communist party ban was lifted. In 1949, Parvathi became the treasurer of trade unions, lesding historic labour movements – the South Indian Railway workers strike, the Coimbatore mill workers protests, the Nilgris and Vaalparai tea estate labours’ struggle, and the fight for women workers in Tirupur mills. She faught for women’s political awareness and active participation, demanding gender equality, equally pay for equal work, property rights for women, and union rights for central government employees. She also championed irrigation projects like the Parambikulam -Aliyar scheme to benefit drought – hit areas and supported small scale laboures rights astound Coimbatore. She lived apart from her family for long stretches, dedicating herself to Indias freedom, womens rights, and workers welfare. Martyr Saraswathy Rajamony Saraswathy Rajamony, the Tamil daughter of the great wealthy who lived in Burma. Inspired by Nethaji’s principle at 16, giving gold and diamonds to the Indian National Army. Heared this news to Nethaji he came to her home with the jewellry and gives to her father, but unknown young girl gave jewellry in curiosity , get it back’. No that’s my jewellary, can’t get it back Rajamony replied. Nethaji who saw his interest in hom, she was added to the spy section of INA. She become a spy at the young age. After spying as a male in the name of Mani, he once gets trapped with Englishman and escaped with a gun bullet in the leg. Conclusion Women played a vital role in Indian freedom struggle and contributing their life in many ways. Women’s support was essential for resistance actions like picketing and boycotting foreign goods. Women shouldered critical responsibilities in Indian struggle for freedom. They hold public meetings, organized picketing of shops selling foreign articles, sold khadi and actively participated in National freedom movements. In todays era of commercialized politics, the above womens showed how a true peoples leader should be principled, selfless, and devoted to public welfare. They live and die among the people, for the people. References 1. Dinathanthi 75th Independence day March 28, 2021 2. Dinathanthi 75th Independence day 30 January 2021 3. Dinathanthi 75th Independence day 9 March 2021 4. Dinathanthi 75th Independence day 25 March 2021 5. Dinathanthi 75th Independence day 26 March 2021 6. Dinathanthi 75th Independence day 18 March 2021 7. The Hindu 22 August2006 Balaganesan M. “Glimpses of a great leaders life” 8. The Hindu 17, November 2021 Kolappan B. A fulfilling journey that begins in Madras 9. The Hindu 28 May 2005 The Perils of the past. 10. Journal of Kerala studies 11. The Hindu “Women of steel”14 August 2013 12. Periyar pagutharivuiyakkakam 19th February 2024