SAROJINI NAIDU
sar01Poet, freedom-fighter, activist, orator and administrator, Sarojini Naidu also remembered as ‘The Nightingale of India’ is one of the most revered personalities of the twentieth century.

Born on the 13th of February, 1879 in Hyderabad to distinguished Bengali parents, Sarojini Naidu (nee Chattopadhyay) was an exceptional student with knowledge of Urdu, Telegu, English, Bengali and Persian. Her remarkable passion for writing from an early age earned her a scholarship to study abroad. Her creative skills led to the publication in 1905 of her first volume of poetry The Golden Threshold.

Her work as a poet in English has been praised by leading Indian personalities including Rabindranath Tagore and Jawaharlal Nehru.

Sarojini Naidu was one of the first women to participate in India’s struggle for independence from the British. She was the first female president of the Indian National Congress and after independence she became the first woman Governor of Uttar Pradesh.

Throughout her career, Sarojini Naidu worked for the dignity of the common man and the education and emancipation of women by actively encouraging the setting up of orphanages and schools for girls. She also urged the student community to stand united against racial and communal discrimination. Sarojini Naidu died on the 2nd of March, 1949, but she will always be remembered as one of the founders of modern, secular India.