Ramadevi Choudhury

Ramadevi Choudhury
Born (1899-12-03)3 December 1899
Satyabhamapur village, Cuttack district
Died 22 July 1985(1985-07-22) (aged 85)
Cuttack, Orissa
Nationality Indian
Other names Ma Rama Devi
Occupation Indian independence activists

Ramadevi Choudhury ( born in Cuttack, 3 December 1899 - Died 22 July 1985 ) was an Indian freedom fighter and a social reformer. Among women freedom fighters of Odisha, she occupied a unique and unparalleled position who played an outstanding role in the freedom movement of the state.[1] She was called Maa (Mother) by the people of Orissa. She was the daughter of Gopal Ballav Das and the niece of Utkal Gaurab Madhusudan Das. At the age of 15, she married Gopabandhu Choudhury, then a Deputy Collector; the two together joined the Indian independence movement in 1921.[2] She was arrested several times (in 1921, 1936, 1942) with other women independence activists like Sarala Devi, Malati Choudhury and others and was sent to jail.[3][4][5][6]

Role during Independence

After the Independence of India in 1947, Rama Devi dedicated herself to the cause of Bhoodan and Gramdan movement of Acharya Vinoba Bhave.[7] In 1952 she along with her husband she traveled on foot about 4000 kilometres across the state to propagate the message of giving land and wealth to the landless and poor.[7]

After Independence

She helped set up the Utkal Khadi Mandal and also established a Teachers’ Training Centre and Balwadi (crèche) at Ramchandrapur. In 1950 she set up a Tribal Welfare Centre at Dumburugeda. During the 1951 famine she and Malati worked in famine relief in Koraput. She worked to aid soldiers affected by the Indo-Chinese war of 1962.

During the emergency she protested by bringing out her own newspaper along with Harekrushna Mahatab and Nilmoni Routray.[6] The Gram Sevak Press, was banned by the government and was arrested along with other leaders from Orissa like Nabakrushna Choudhuri, Harekrushna Mahatab, Manmohan Chowdhury, Smt. Annapurna Moharana, Jaykrushana Mohanty, and others.[8]

She established a children’s cancer hospital at Cuttack.

In recognition of her services to the nation, Ramadevi was honoured with the Jamnalal Bajaj Award [9][10] on 4 November 1981 and the Doctor of Philosophy (Honoris causa) by Utkal University on 16 April 1984. She died on 22 July 1985.


References

  1. ↑ Women pioneers in India's renaissance, as I remember her, by Sushila Nayar, Kamla Mankekar. National Book Trust, India, 2002. ISBN 81-237-3766-1. Page 216.
  2. ↑ Philomena Royappa Reddy; P. Sumangala (1998). Women in development: perspectives from selected states of India. B.R. Pub. Corp. ISBN 978-81-7018-978-7. Retrieved 22 April 2011.. Rama Devi Rama Devi along with her husband Gopabandu Choudhury joined the Freedom Movement in 1921
  3. ↑ People's Revolt in Orissa: A Study of Talcher by Debi P. Mishra - 1998 - Page 138
  4. ↑ Women and Social Change in India by Snehalata Panda - 1992 - Page 14
  5. ↑ Encyclopaedia of women biography: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh by Nagendra Kr Singh - 2001
  6. 1 2 Freedom Struggle and Rama Devi Orissa Review April 2006
  7. 1 2 Dharam Paul Chowdhry (1992*). Profile of voluntary action in social welfare and development. Siddhartha Publishers. ISBN 978-81-85464-01-5. Retrieved 22 April 2011. Check date values in: |date= (help). In 1952 the Bhoodan and Gramdan movement claimed the services of both Mrs. Rama Devi and her...
  8. ↑ Orissa: the dazzle from within (art, craft and culture of ...by G. K. Ghosh - 1993 - - Page 37
  9. ↑ "Jamnalal Bajaj Awards Archive". Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation.
  10. ↑ British Empire Leprosy Relief Association. Indian Council; Hind Kusht Nivaran Sangh (1 January 1982). Leprosy in India. Hind Kusht Nivaran Sangh. Retrieved 22 April 2011.. JAMNALAL BAJAJ AWARDS, 1981 The Jamnalal Bajaj Awards are given every year for outstanding contributions in any one or more ... Award III was awarded to Smt. Ramadevi Gopabandhu Choudhuri ofCuttackfor her outstanding contribution to the ...

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