Ramadevi Choudhury
| Ramadevi Choudhury | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Native name | ରମାଦେବୀ ଚୌଧୁରୀ |
| Born |
3 December 1899 Satyabhamapur village, Cuttack district |
| Died | 22 July 1985 (aged 85) Cuttack, Orissa |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Other names | Ma Rama Devi |
| Occupation | Indian independence activist, social reformer |
Ramadevi Choudhury(Odia: )(3 December 1899 – 22 July 1985 ), also known as Rama Devi, was an Indian freedom fighter and a social reformer. She was called Maa (Mother) by the people of Orissa.
She was the daughter of Gopal Ballav Das and the niece of Utkal Gaurab Madhusudan Das. At the age of 15, she married Gopabandhu Choudhury, then a Deputy Collector.
She and her husband the two together joined the Indian independence movement in 1921. She was highly influenced by Mahatma Gandhi She used to go from village to village to encourage women to join the independence movement. Others who influenced her were Jai Prakash Narayan, Vinoba Bhave and her uncle Madhusudan Das. In 1921, she had her first meeting with Gandhiji and with her husband joined the Non Cooperation Movement. The same year they joined the Indian National Congress and started wearing khadi. In they year 1930, she took active part in Salt Satyagraha movement at Orissa level. She went to Inchudi and Srijang, with other activist like Kiranbala Sen, Maltidevi, Saraladevi, Pranakrushna Padhiari. She and other of her colleagues were arrested in November 1930 and put in different jails by British. She was arrested several times (in 1921, 1930, 1936, 1942) with other women independence activists like Sarala Devi, Malati Choudhury and others and was sent to jail. She attended the 1931 Karachi session of Indian National Congress and at that time requested leaders to hold next session in Orissa. In 1932 after release from Hazaribagh jail, she got herself actively involved in Harijan welfare. She stated Asprushyata Nibarana Samiti under the instruction of Gandhiji for eradication of untouchability. The institution was later renamed as Harijan Sewa Sangha She was closely involved in the 1932 and 1934 visits to Orissa by Gandhiji, Kasturba, Sardar Patel, Rajendra Prasad, Maulana Azad, Jawaharlal Nehru and others. She started an Ashram at Bari, which Gandhiji had named as Sewaghar. During Quit India Movement of 1942 the entire family of Rama Devi including her husband Gopabandhu Choudhury were arrested. After the death of Kasturba Gandhi, Gandhji assigned her with the work of the representative of Kasturba Trust's of Orissa Chapter.
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