Sarojini Naidu: Nightingale of India

Sarojini Naidu (1879–1949) was a poet, political activist, and one of the most prominent women in the Indian independence movement. She was the first Indian woman to become President of the Indian National Congress (1925) and the first woman Governor of an Indian state (United Provinces, 1947). Her poetry in English earned her the title “Nightingale of India” from Mahatma Gandhi.

For UPSC, Naidu is relevant in Modern History (freedom movement), Social Reform (women's role in national politics), and Art & Culture (Indian English poetry).

Early Life and Education

Sarojini was born on February 13, 1879 in Hyderabad into a Bengali Brahmin family. Her father, Aghornath Chattopadhyay, was a scientist and the founder of the Nizam College, Hyderabad. Her mother, Barada Sundari Devi, wrote Bengali poetry.

She was a prodigy:

• Passed the matriculation examination from the University of Madras at age 12
• At 16, she won the King's College Scholarship and went to England
• Studied at King's College London and later at Girton College, Cambridge

In England, she came into contact with intellectuals including Edmund Gosse and Arthur Symons, who encouraged her poetry. She returned to India in 1898 and married Dr. Govindarajulu Naidu, a non-Brahmin physician — an inter-caste marriage that was considered radical for the time.

Poetry

Naidu published three major collections of English poetry:

Her poetry was lyrical, romantic, and deeply influenced by Indian imagery — bazaars, weavers, palanquin bearers, snake charmers. She wrote in English but drew her subjects entirely from Indian life.

Critical assessment: While praised in her time, literary critics later found her poetry derivative of Victorian and Romantic English styles. But her significance lies in being one of the first Indian women to write poetry in English that was published and celebrated internationally.

Role in the Freedom Movement

Entry into Politics

Naidu entered active politics after meeting Gopal Krishna Gokhale in 1906, who encouraged her to use her talents for the national cause. She was also influenced by Annie Besant and Mahatma Gandhi.

Key Contributions

Women's suffrage: Naidu was a leading campaigner for women's right to vote. She was part of the delegation that met with British officials to demand women's franchise. The Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms (1919) and subsequently the Government of India Act, 1935 partially addressed this demand.

Non-Cooperation Movement (1920–22): Naidu was one of Gandhi's most effective spokespersons. She travelled across India mobilising support for non-cooperation, particularly among women.

Salt March / Dandi March (1930): Naidu participated in the Salt March and, crucially, led the raid on the Dharasana Salt Works (May 21, 1930) after Gandhi’s arrest. The Dharasana incident — where hundreds of unarmed satyagrahis were beaten by police without retaliating — was reported by American journalist Webb Miller and became international news. Naidu’s leadership of this action was one of the most visible instances of a woman leading a mass civil disobedience action in colonial India.

Round Table Conference (1931): Naidu accompanied Gandhi to the Second Round Table Conference in London as a member of the Indian delegation.

Quit India Movement (1942): Arrested and imprisoned, like most Congress leaders.

INC President (1925)

At the Kanpur session of the Indian National Congress in 1925, Naidu was elected President — the first Indian woman to hold this office. (Annie Besant had been president in 1917, but she was British-born.)

First Woman Governor

After independence, Naidu was appointed Governor of the United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh) on August 15, 1947 — making her the first woman Governor in independent India. She served until her death on March 2, 1949.

Her appointment was both symbolic and practical — it signalled that independent India would include women in the highest offices of state.

Personality and Wit

Naidu was famous for her sharp wit and humour:

She reportedly called Gandhi "Mickey Mouse" in private correspondence — an indication of the informality within the Congress leadership. Her wit was not just personal entertainment — she used humour as a political tool, deflating British pomposity and easing tensions within the Congress.

She once responded to a British official who praised her English by noting that she had "the misfortune of knowing it well" — a pointed comment on colonial cultural imposition.

Legacy

National Women's Day: Naidu's birthday, February 13, is observed as National Women's Day in India (not to be confused with International Women's Day on March 8).

Sarojini Naidu's influence on women in politics: Her career demonstrated that women could be effective political leaders, administrators, and public intellectuals. She opened the path for women like Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, Sucheta Kriplani, and later Indira Gandhi.

Hyderabad connection: The Sarojini Naidu Medical College in Agra, Golden Threshold (her Hyderabad home, now part of the University of Hyderabad campus), and various institutions are named after her.

Comparison with Other Women Leaders of the Freedom Movement

UPSC Relevance

GS1 (Modern History): Women in the freedom movement, INC history, Salt Satyagraha.

GS1 (Art & Culture): Indian English poetry, literary contributions.

GS2 (Governance): Women in governance — first woman Governor.

GS4 (Ethics): Courage, women's empowerment, using art for political mobilisation.

Key Prelims facts:

• Born: February 13, 1879, Hyderabad
• Died: March 2, 1949, Lucknow
• Title: Nightingale of India (given by Gandhi)
• INC President: 1925 (Kanpur session) — first Indian woman
• First woman Governor: United Provinces (August 15, 1947)
• Led Dharasana Salt Works raid: May 21, 1930
• Poetry collections: The Golden Threshold (1905), The Bird of Time (1912), The Broken Wing (1917)
• February 13: National Women's Day

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