PROFILE
Sarala Devi: A centenary tribute
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Sarala Devi (1904 - 1986) was the first Oriya freedom fighter who would be remembered as the most outstanding literary feminist who contributed to the making of modern Orissa. Her legacy remains neglected today, even in her centenary year, says SACHIDANANDA MOHANTY.
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DOCUMENTING the life and works of Sarala Devi in the year of her birth centenary is one way of acknowledging the contributions of early literary women to the making of modern Orissa. The achievements of Sarala Devi are amazing considering her modest educational background. Few women in modern Orissa can rival her as a writer, feminist and social activist. Sarala had humble schooling in a village pathasala and made her mark in public life against great odds. By the time she died, she had carved out a place for herself in all the major literary and social movements in the Orissa of her time.
Born into a conservative "Karan" (Kayastha) family on August 9, 1904, Sarala was raised by her father's elder brother, Balamukunda Kanungo, who was a deputy collector. She evinced from the beginning a keen interest in education and right from her childhood she rebelled against restrictions. Though spiritual by temperament, she developed strong reservations against religion when she came across this scriptural indictment : "Woman is the veritable gateway to hell." In an autobiographical essay entitled The Story of My Revolutionary Life, she recorded some of the memories of her early childhood. "The God who doesn't belong to woman," she wrote, "and is only a property of man, the sin in whose committing only woman becomes fallen and a man remains untouched, that religion and that custom gradually became bereft of meaning for me."
Nationalist mission
She was married to Bhagirathi Mahapatra, the son of a zamindar at Jagatsingpur in Cuttack district. The marriage proved to be a blessing as Bhagirathi, patriotic and liberal-minded, stood by Sarala in all her pursuits. The 35th session of the Indian National Congress at Nagpur marked a turning point in her life. One of the immediate consequences was the formation of the Utkal Pradesh Congress Committee. Soon after this, during Gandhiji's visit to Orissa, Sarla attended a special meeting organised at Binod Bihari, Cuttack, exclusively for about 40 women. She then went on to take a leading part in the non-cooperation movement in Orissa. Sarala travelled extensively, collecting contributions for the Tilak Swaraj Fund. In this mission, she found worthy companions in several Oriya women writer-activists such as Sailabala Das, Kuntala Kumari Sabat and Rama Devi.
Sarala's participation in the struggle for independence was marked by a rare sense of commitment. She took part in the Salt Satyagraha at a place called Inchudi in Balasore. Later, she toured many districts of Orissa. It was an unusual sight to observe a woman from what was then considered an aristocratic background, fending for herself on all her journeys. At Ganjam, she was imprisoned by the British at the Chhatrapur jail. She was subsequently transferred to the Vellore jail and released after six months. On December 8, 1930, she returned to Cuttack and was given a triumphant public reception organised by fellow activist Binapani Devi.
Sarala also involved herself in the activities of the Utkal Congress Samyavadi Karmi Sangha, a Marxist organisation committed to the welfare of the peasantry. Despite hailing from a zamindari background, she raised her voice against the tyranny of the zamindars. When the separate province of Orissa was formed on April 1, 1936, Sarala Devi was elected to the Assembly as the first woman member from Orissa. As a member of the legislature, she took an active part in piloting bills related to women's education and welfare. She also fought against practices such as child marriage. As a result, the bill amending the Child Marriage Restraint Act was passed. To combat the menace of dowry, she introduced a bill against this evil in 1939. She remained an activist till the very end.
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Sarala Devi was one of the first women authors to show political awareness. Most of her predecessors wrote religious and spiritual poetry which eschewed political and women's concerns. Sarala tried her hand at many genres including poetry, drama and fiction. However, it is mostly as an essayist and letter writer that she excelled and put to effective use her fiery spirit as a rebel, social activist and reformer. Among her published works in Oriya are Utkalaa Nari Samasya (The Problems of the Women of Orissa) 1934, Narira Dabi (The Rights of Women) 1934, Bharatiya Mahila Prasanga (About the women of India) 1935, Rabindra Puja (A Homage to Rabindranath), Beera Ramani (The Women of Valour) 1949 and Bishwa Biplabani (The Great Female Revolutionaries of the World) 1930.
In all her varied writings, Sarala displayed a maturity of vision, a sharp perception and an extraordinary range of interests. A constantly questioning mind led to a defiance of the accepted forms of received wisdom, especially with regard to the position of women in society. Sarala's profile of women of valour and distinction, presented in Beera Ramani, reminds us of Ellen Moers' critical work Literary Women. Through such narratives, Sarala wished Oriya women to emulate the examples of contemporary women leaders active on the national scene.
Worthy role models
Similarly, in Bishwa Biplabani, Sarala offers the narratives of several women of world stature, such as Kalpana Dutta of former East Bengal, an associate of Surya Sen of the famous Chittagong Armoury Case. There are other accounts, like that of Sophia Bardina who fought the oppressive Russian Tsar, and that of Hazalipij of Romania. She also chronicles the legacy of the Oriya princess, Suka Devi of Banki, and other women such as Lakshmi Bai, Ahilabai and Janabai at the national level. As Sarala explains in the preface to the book : "It is to provide worthy role models for the revolutionary-minded young women in Orissa that I have published this book."
Similarly, in the foreword to her book, Utkalaa Nari Samasya, Sarala's views are marked by a deep sympathy and concern for women's plight and in Narira Dabi, Sarala outlines a manifesto for women's empowerment. What impresses us is the breadth of her knowledge of contemporary history, law and social life both in India and abroad. Far ahead of her times, her life and career deserve the attention of an all-India audience. She quotes favourably some extracts from a judgement given by a court in Britain, to "satisfy" she says, "the curiosity of readers". Justice Meccard's judgement seems to represent Sarala's avant-grade thinking on matters like marital rape and the right of a woman over her own biological and reproductive self: "I maintain that the wife's body can never be owned by her husband. It's her own property and not her husband's. She can leave her husband at her will; she can select her business or join the political party of her choice. She has full rights to decide whether or not she is going to have a child and at what point of time. No man can keep a woman under control on the basis of the fact that he is married to her. The woman of this country has won independence, she is a citizen and not a slave. She can turn her wish into action. One doesn't get the pleasures of married life from the codes of rules and regulations. The success of marriage depends on mutual compassion, mutual consideration, mutual forgiveness, mutual sacrifice, and above all, a mutually shared morality."
Polemical position
Sarala's interest in the gender question continues in her novel as well. In her portion of the jointly written novel, Basanti, she continues to regard literature primarily as a means to female emancipation and social transformation. Apart from Sarala, the other five authors of the novel were Harihar Mahapatra, Kalindi Charan Panigrahi, Annanda Shankar Ray, Baikunthanath Patnaik and Sarat Chandra Mukherjee, all men. In Basanti, much of the discussion is polemical and centres on the question of the role of women within and outside the institution of marriage, the need for female education and her participation in civic and political life.
Sarala's life as a writer, reformer and activist was a pioneering search for emancipation for herself and for the women of Orissa. In 1936, she was the sole woman member in the senate of Utkal University. She was the only woman representative from Orissa in Dr. Radhakrishnan's Education Commission. She was the first Oriya member in the All India Congress Committee, and she served as secretary of the Utkal Sahitya Samaj. She was elected twice to the All India Women's Conference's standing committee. She was twice awarded a literary prize by the Orissa Sahitya Academi. Nevertheless, Sarala never received her full due, either at the state or the national level. Even today in Orissa, her works are hard to come by and many of her books are out of print. She died on October 4, 1986.
Inspiring example
Despite the relative lack of public recognition for her many accomplishments, Sarala Devi remains one of the most inspiring examples of early literary feminism in Orissa. In her strength of character, her understanding of women's position in a patriarchal order, and her deployment of literature as the primary means to female emancipation and social change, she stands next to Kuntala Kumari Sabat. Though Kuntala excelled over her in creative literature, Sarala had a more active involvement in the society and polity of contemporary Orissa and remained committed till the end to both literature and women's emancipation.
Sachidananda Mohanty is a Professor of English at the University of Hyderabad.
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