Durgabai Deshmukh - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Durgabai Deshmukh
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Durgbi, Lady Deshmukh [1] (July 15, 1909 May 9, 1981) was an Indian freedom fighter, lawyer, social
worker and politician. She was a member of the Constituent Assembly of India and the Planning
Commission of India.
Born in Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh, India. Durgabai was married at the age of 14 to a Telugu person,
later left and married C.D. Deshmukh, the first Indian Governor of the Reserve Bank of India and Finance
Minister in India's Central Cabinet during 1950 - 1956. She was a public activist for women's emanicipation
and was also the founder of Andhra Mahila Sabha. She was also the founder chairperson of central social
welfare board.

Contents
1 Participation in India's freedom movement
2 Awards
3 Organizations established by Durgabai
4 References
5 External links

Participation in India's freedom movement

From an early life Durgabai was associated with Indian Politics. When the Indian National Congress had its
conference in her hometown of Rajahmundry in 1923, she was a volunteer and placed in charge of the Khadi
Exhibition which was running side by side. Her responsibility was to make sure that visitors to the
exhibition were not allowed without tickets. She fulfilled the responsibility given to her honestly and even
forbade Jawaharlal Nehru from entering [3] (http://thehindu.com/thehindu/mp/2002/11/04/stories
/2002110401330200.htm). When the organizers of the exhibition saw what she did and angrily chided her,
she replied that she was only following instructions. She allowed Nehru in only after the organizers bought a
ticket for him. Nehru then praised the girl for the courage with which she did her duty.
She was a follower of Mahatma Gandhi in India's struggle for freedom from the British Raj, and a
prominent social reformer who participated in Gandhi-led Satyagraha activities. This led to British Raj
authorities imprisoning her three different times.
She was the President of the Blind Relief Association and in that capacity, she set up a school-hostel and a
light engineering workshop for the blind.
She has authored a book in Telugu called "matlade rallu", meaning stones that speak.
Durugabai was a member of India's Lok Sabha. She was instrumental in the enactment of many social
welfare laws. She was a member of the Planning Commission (India), and in that role, she mustered support
for a national policy on social welfare. The policy resulted in the establishment of a Central Social Welfare
Board in 1953. As the Board's first chairperson, she mobilized a large number of voluntary organizations to
carry out the Board programs, which were aimed at education, training, and rehabilitation of needy women,
children, and the handicapped. She was the first chairperson of the National Council on Women's Education,
established by the Government of India in 1958.[2]
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Awards
Paul G Hoffman Award
Nehru Literacy Award
UNESCO Award (for outstanding work in the field of Literacy)
Padma Vibhushan award from the Government of India.

Organizations established by Durgabai

Andhra Mahila Sabha[3] in 1938.
Council for Social Development[4]
Durgabai Deshmukh Hospital in 1962.[5]
Sri Venkateswara College, New Delhi

References
1. Durgabai: http://www.durgabaideshmukh.org
2. Government of India (1959). Report of the National Committee on Women's Education. New Delhi: Government
of India.
3. [1] (http://www.andhramahilasabha.org)
4. [2] (http://www.csdindia.org/about-us)
5. http://www.andhramahilasabha.org.in/DDHRC_Hyd.htm

External links
Durgabai Deshmukh: A pioneer and a transformative leader (http://blogs.thehindu.com/delhi
/?p=25977), Prema Kasturi and Prema Srinivasan, The Hindu.

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Durgabai_Deshmukh&oldid=640294915"

Categories: Indian activists Recipients of the Padma Bhushan Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan
Telugu politicians 1981 deaths 1909 births Members of Constituent Assembly of India

This page was last modified on 30 December 2014, at 21:56.

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12/03/2015 17:50