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Aruna Asaf Ali was a fearless freedom fighter who was dubbed the ‘Grand Old Lady of the Independence movement’.
Aruna Asaf Ali was a fearless freedom fighter who was dubbed the ‘Grand Old Lady’ of the Independence movement.
Aruna was born in 1908 into an orthodox Hindu family in British Punjab. While working as a teacher after her education, she met and married Asaf Ali, despite parental opposition on the grounds of age (he was more than 20 years older than her) and religion (he was Muslim).
Aruna got involved with the Independence movement after her marriage. She was arrested for addressing meetings and processions during the Salt Satyagraha in 1930, but was released due to widespread public agitation. She was arrested again in 1932, and went on a hunger strike in jail to protest the treatment of political prisoners. Though her protest led to improvement in conditions in the jail, Aruna was removed to solitary confinement in a male prison until her release. She became a legend in 1942 when she unfurled the Indian flag at the Gowalia Tank maidan in Bombay during the Quit India Movement.
After Independence, Aruna joined the Communist Party of India and helped create CPI’s women’s wing, the National Federation of Indian Women in 1954. In 1958, she was elected the first Mayor of Delhi and worked with activists for social development in the city. She later started a publishing house which published Patriot, a daily newspaper and Link, a weekly publication.
She was awarded the International Lenin Peace Prize in 1964, Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding in 1991, Padma Vibhushan in 1992, and Bharat Ratna posthumously in 1997.
Why we find her inspiring:
– She was fearless in her fight for independence, enduring imprisonment and going underground to continue her fight despite multiple arrest warrants.
– She continued her participation in politics and development of India after Independence, and was finally elected as the first Mayor of Delhi!
– On a domestic front, she acted on her own wishes and didn’t allow religious or societal conventions to stop her from marrying Asaf Ali.
*Photo source: I Love India.
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We can’t bombard impressionable young women in the name of enlightened entertainment to feed them the same drivel. At least let us not label misogynist movies as helping the cause of women.
I have watched at least 2 ‘purported’ trailblazing Bollywood movies in the recent past that left me with a feeling that I had taken part in the ice-bucket challenge all over again. This time around, however, without even the satisfaction of having supported a worthy cause.
Both the movies have about a 90% liking rate on IMDB/Rotten Tomatoes. Both are touted to ‘sensitively’ portray the taboo topics that seem to be mostly hidden underneath a layer of banana peels – dangerous to even tread nearby.
Dushyanta clearly remembered everything. But he didn't have any intention to accept a poor woman from a remote hermitage as his wife and her son as theirs.
Dushyanta clearly remembered everything. But he didn’t have any intention to accept a poor woman from a remote hermitage as his wife and her son as theirs.
She sat motionless on the royal bed, her knees drawn up to her chin, staring vacantly outside the palace window.
She was sheathed in exquisite scarlet red silk, shot through with golden threads forming intricate traditional patterns. Chests of gems and jewellery were strewn all over the bed. The maids were fussing over whether a diamond-studded necklace would suit their queen or a gold choker would look better. Another younger maid was arranging her tresses in a coiffeur.
Aruna Chakravarti’s Jorasanko effectively captures the hopes and fears, triumphs and defeats of the women in the illustrious Tagore household.
Aruna Chakravarti’s Jorasanko effectively captures the hopes and fears, triumphs and defeats of the women in the illustrious Tagore household. Review by Anjana Basu
This was a book written for Rabindranath Tagore’s 150th birth anniversary and it goes where no novel has gone before. Aruna Chakravarti took up the task of telling the tale of the women in the Tagore household of Jorasanko, adding her imagination to the documents that existed of the life and times of the Tagores. (more…)
Somali Roy tells us that her eyes were opened to the reality of womanhood through Tehmina Durrani's My Feudal Lord.
Somali Roy tells us that her eyes were opened to the reality of womanhood through Tehmina Durrani’s My Feudal Lord.
This story has been shortlisted and published for our June ‘As You Write It’ writing theme: The Book That Hooked Me.
Somali, in her own words: A freelance writer, foodie and a passionate traveller based in Singapore. She has an interesting story up her sleeve, for anybody who’s ready to listen.