Satyavati Devi Explained

Satyavati Devi
Birth Date:26 January 1906
Birth Place:Jullundur, Punjab Province, British India
Death Date:21 October 1945 (aged 39)
Death Place:Delhi, British India
Nationality:Indian
Known For:Participation in Indian independence movement

Satyavati Devi (26 January 1906 — 21 October 1945) was a participant in Indian independence movement. She was considered to be the Joan of Arc of India.

Family

She was the granddaughter of Swami Shraddhanand, and the daughter of advocate Dhani Ram and Ved Kumari.[1] She married an officer of the Delhi Cloth Mills.

Activism

Among nationalist women in Delhi, Satyavati took a leadership role. Aruna Asaf Ali credits Satyavati with motivating her to join the nationalist movement.[2] Satyavati undertook social work among mill workers at textile mills in Gwalior and Delhi. She founded the Congress Mahila Samaj[3] and Congress Desh Sevika Dal and she also co-founded the Congress Socialist Party. She took an active part in civil disobedience movement. During civil disobedience movement she became the leader of the women wing of the congress in Delhi. She organised the breaking of the Salt Law in Delhi where she and a group of volunteers manufactured and distributed packets of illegal salt to people gathered there. She was arrested by the police and was sentenced to two years imprisonment in 1932. While she was imprisoned in the jail she contracted pleurisy and tuberculosis.[4] While at jail, despite being very ill, she refused to give a bond of good behaviour and assurance that she would desist from political activity, that could have secured her release and hope for treatment.[5] She died in 1945 at the age of 39 from tuberculosis.

Writings

Jailed women political freedom fighters composed poems and nationalist tracts, which were smuggled out and published. One of the pieces written by Satyavati Devi, titled ‘Bahin Satyavati Ka Jail Sandesh’ (Sister Satyavati's Prison Message) goes as follows:[6]
This is a message from your jailed sisterSister Satyavati appeals to youDo not slacken from your workJump, if required, into the burning flamesThe sacred battle should be full of strengthOnce you have stepped forward, never retreatDie before the men in the battlefieldDo not fear bullets or sticksPut your head forward before the menOnce lit, the fire should never go outI have full faith nowBecause the women have prepared themselves

This and other writings and prison songs seemed to be aimed at motivating and mobilising women to enter India's independence movement.

Recognition

Although she is believed to be an unsung hero of India's freedom struggle, Satyawati College (Delhi University) established by the government of Delhi in 1972 is named after her.[7]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Taneja . Anup . Gandhi, Women, and the National Movement, 1920–47 . Haranand Publications Pvt Ltd . 2005 . 9788124110768 . 153.
  2. Book: Taneja. Anup. Gandhi, Women, and the National Movement, 1920–47. Har-anand Publications Pvt Ltd. 9788124110768. 154. 2005.
  3. Web site: CONGRESS SOCIALIST PARTY (CSP) AT A GLANCE AND SHORT PROFILES WORKS OF ITS LEADERS. lohiatoday.com. 3 November 2015. 91. 23 November 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151123223146/http://lohiatoday.com/SocialistMovement/CSPAtAGlance.pdf. dead.
  4. Book: Women in Modern India, Volume 4. 1999. Cambridge University Press. 978-0521653770. 148. Geraldine Forbes.
  5. Web site: Toofani Satyawati An Unsung Hero of Freedom Struggle . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20151002083800/http://www.manushi.in/docs/306.%20Toofani%20Satyawati.pdf . 2 October 2015 . 1 October 2015 . www.manushi.in . Manushi – Forum for Women's Rights & Democratic Reforms.
  6. Thapar-Björkert. Suruchi. Gender, nationalism and the colonial jail: a study of women activists in Uttar Pradesh. Women's History Review. 20 December 2006. 7. 4. 583–615. 10.1080/09612029800200182. free.
  7. Web site: About Us . satyawati.du.ac.in/.