R. S. Subbalakshmi
| R.S.Subbalakshmi | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
18 August 1886 Mylapore, Madras |
| Died | December 20, 1969 (aged 83) Madras |
| Residence | Madras |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Citizenship | India |
| Education | Botany |
| Alma mater | Presidency College, Madras |
| Occupation | Social reformer, Educationist, Member of Madras Legislative Council, Madras Presidency |
| Movement | Rehabilitation of child widows through education |
| Awards | Kaiser-i-Hind award, Padma Shree award |
| Website | sites |
Sister R. S. Subbalakshmi (sometimes spelled Subbulakshmi or Subhalakshmi) (18 August 1886 – 20 December 1969), was a social reformer and educationist in India.
Subbalakshmi was born at Mylapore in Madras as the first daughter of Visalakshi and R. V. Subramania Iyer (a civil engineer. Her father, R.V. Subramania Iyer was employed in the Public Works Department of the Madras Presidency),. They belonged to an orthodox Tamil Brahmin family from the Thanjavur district. Subbalakshmi was ranked first in the public examination in the Chingleput District, for the fourth standard of the Madras Presidency at the age of nine. She was married while very young, as was customary, but her husband died soon after. In April 1911, she became the first Hindu woman to graduate from the Madras Presidency and she did this with First Class Honors from Presidency College, Madras.
In 1912, she founded the Sarada Ladies Union to provide a meeting ground and platform for housewives and other ladies to promote consciousness among them regarding social problems and to encourage them to educate themselves and the Sarada Illam or Widow's Home, which rehabilitated and educated child widows in Madras. Later, in 1927, she established the Sarada Vidyalaya under the aegis of the Sarada Ladies Union. In 1922 she inaugurated the Lady Willingdon Training College and Practice School and was its first principal. She also established the Srividya Kalanilayam, a school for adult women at Mylapore in 1942, and while she was the president of the Mylapore Ladies Club, she formed the Mylapore Ladies Club School Society, in 1956, which was then renamed as the Vidya Mandir School, in Mylapore. In addition, she was involved in setting up a social welfare center for women and children in Madambakkam village. near Tambaram, in 1954.
The government of the British Raj honoured her with the Kaisar-i-Hind Gold Medal for Public Service in 1920, and in 1958, after independence of India, the Indian Government awarded her the Padma Shri.
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