Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay was equally at home sleeping on the floor of a prison cell as she was enjoying tea with Eleanor Roosevelt at the White House. She rode a camel across Egypt, met the Emperor of Ethiopia, had an audience with the Pope at the Vatican, participated in Gandhi’s Salt Satyagraha, and waded through the slushy Mahanadi river in Odisha to rescue stranded children. In the eyes of the British, she was “responsible for making more people break the law than any other single individual”.
“She was a rebel who gave even the mighty anxious moments as she dodged and defied them… she went merrilly globe-trotting as an invitee and honoured guest of kings, presidents and world leaders. And yet, she was nothing if not compassionate too, choosing to devote herself to the cause of the poor and the oppressed…,” wrote Sakuntaka Narasimhan in her biography, Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay: The Romantic Rebel (1990) where she listed her exploits.
A social reformer, freedom fighter, and cultural ambassador, Chattopadhyay was above all a proponent of women’s rights. She worked tirelessly for equal political rights, equal pay, marriage reforms, and divorce and inheritance laws. She championed causes such as birth control and sexual freedom, advocating for women’s autonomy long before it became fashionable.
Despite her extensive contributions, she never called herself a “feminist.”
Chattopadhyay found the label limiting—a Western tradition that didn’t quite fit the context of Indian women’s struggles.
“I do not want to be a part of a movement that does not recognize the cultural heritage of my country,” she said in her 1986 book, Inner Recesses, Outer Spaces: Memoirs. Her life was not about claiming titles; it was about crafting real change, wrote Narasimhan, noting that Chattopadhyay came to be known world over as the “patron saint of craftspersons”.
The writer, reformer and activist was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1955 and the Padma Vibhushan in 1987. From reviving and marketing India’s rich cultural heritage abroad to resettling Partition refugees in Faridabad, she redefined what it meant to be a leader.
“I find it difficult to prefix the word ‘late’ to Kamaladevi’s name. Hers was, and will always be, a palpable presence,” said R Venkataraman, who was President of India when she died on 29 October 1988, at the age of 85.
The making of a leader
Born in Mangaluru in 1903, Chattopadhyay’s childhood was a blend of privilege and struggle.
She was barely 11 when she was married to a boy who died just over a year later. “Her experiences as a child widow would be one of several major episodes in her life that Kamaladevi chose not to talk about publicly,” wrote Nico Slate in his biography, Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay: The Art of Freedom (2024). In 1919, when she was 20, she married Harindranath Chattopadhyay, the brother of Indian political activist and poet Sarojini Naidu. This went against society’s norms, which forbade ‘widows’ to remarry.
When Chattopadhyay moved to the United Kingdom with her husband in 1921, she was awakened to the harsh realities of colonialism. This experience ignited a fierce anti-colonial sentiment within her, pushing her into activism.
Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, however, was critical of Gandhi’s reticence to include women in the freedom struggle. When she heard of Gandhi’s plan to trek from his ashram in Ahmedabad to the Arabian Sea to scoop up a handful of salt in 1930, she was baffled, wrote Slate.
“Is that all our Great Leader could devise?” she asked Jawaharlal Nehru.
“The 60-year-old Mahatma strode forward, walking stick in hand, accompanied by 78 carefully selected satyagrahis who were diverse in nearly all ways except for one glaring exception. They were all men. This rattled Kamaladevi even further,” Slate further wrote.
She went to Gujarat to speak to Gandhi. When she caught up with him, she asked why he did not recognise the role of women in the freedom struggle. “The significance of a non-violent struggle,” she told Gandhi, “is that the weakest can take an equal part with the strongest and share in the triumph as you have yourself said”. It was because of her that women participated in the Salt Satyagraha.
Chattopadhyay was reportedly the first woman to run for a legislative seat in India during the Madras provincial elections in 1926, breaking barriers and paving the way for future generations of women leaders.
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From handlooms to housing
In an India torn apart by Partition, Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay rose as a hero for the displaced.
“Women have always been at the forefront of change, whether seen or unseen,” she once declared, according to Slate. “It is time they take their rightful place in public life, not as followers, but as leaders of thought and action.”
She put her words into practice by integrating millions of displaced people from West and East Pakistan into Indian society. One of her most remarkable achievements was the establishment of Faridabad—a township built for Partition refugees. But her work didn’t stop at brick and mortar; it extended to the very soul of India’s cultural identity.
Chattopadhyay was deeply committed to preserving traditional craft and handloom. She founded the Crafts Council of India in 1964, and played a crucial role in ensuring the survival of the ikat handloom tradition through her work in Pochampally.
“Economic power must return to the villages,” she argued in her 1980 book India’s Craft Tradition, focusing on the importance of working with one’s hands. Her commitment to the handloom sector earned her the affectionate title ‘Hatkargha Maa’, a testament to her deep connection with artisans and craftspeople. She didn’t just build homes; she built legacies.
Her role in cultural revival was as crucial as her political activism. She led the National School of Drama, the Sangeet Natak Akademi, and the All India Handicrafts Board, all while advocating for economic self-sufficiency in villages.
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Beyond labels
Beyond her activism, Chattopadhyay was also a prolific writer, never leaving home without her typewriter and often found typing away in crowded train compartments.
“No matter how great the depression or tension, writing melts it away,” she said. Writing, for her, was both a profession and an escape, one she embraced during the darkest moments of her life.
Her passion for cultural forms wasn’t limited to activism but extended into every facet of her life. Through her books, work in theatre, and politics, she consistently explored her passion to express, reform, and rebuild.
“Kamaladevi was a quiet storm. You never saw her coming, but her impact reshaped everything in its path,” said freedom fighter Aruna Asaf Ali according to Inner Recesses, Outer Spaces.
Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay’s legacy is not confined to the pages of history. Her work continues to inform contemporary movements for gender equality and social justice. Her vision of empowering women through economic self-sufficiency remains relevant today, as India grapples with ongoing inequalities.
As Chattopadhyay put it, “Change is not merely a dream; it is a promise.”
(Edited by Zoya Bhatti)