Google honours freedom fighter and social reformer Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay on 115th birth anniversary

On Tuesday, Google honoured Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay on occasion of his 115th birth anniversary. An Indian social reformer and freedom fighter, Kamaladevi is most remembered for her contribution to the Indian independence movement. Post independence, she played a major role in promoting Indian handicrafts, handlooms, and theatre in independent India, and in the upliftment of the socio-economic standard of Indian women by pioneering the co-operative movement.

Here are a few things to know about her

- Born in 1903 in Mangalore, she was the fourth and youngest daughter of Ananthaya Dhareshwar, the then District Collector of Mangalore, and Girijabai

- She married in 1917, when aged 14, but was widowed two years later.

- When she was 20, she broke socio-cultural norms by marrying Harindranath Chattopadhyay, the brother of Sarojini Naidu. At the time, widow remarriage was unheard of 

- She obtained a diploma in sociology from  Bedford College, University of London

- During her stay in London, she came to know of Mahatma Gandhi's non-cooperation movement

- In 1926, she became the first woman to run for a Legislative seat in India by running for the Madras Provincial Legislative Assembly

- In 1927, she founded the All-India Women's Conference (AIWC) and became its first Organizing Secretary. I

- In the 1930s, she was arrested for entering the Bombay Stock Exchange to sell packets of contraband salt, and spent almost a year in prison.

- Post independence, she set up the Indian Cooperative Union to help with rehabilitation, and through the Union she made plans for a township on cooperative lines. Through this, Faridabad was set up on the outskirts of Delhi

- In 1964 she started the Natya Institute of Kathak and Choreography  and the National School of Drama

- She died in 1988, aged 85