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The inspiring story of Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy, Who broke barriers in Education, Medicine and Law

Dr Muthulakshmi was born on July 30, 1886. She was the daughter of a Devadasi Chandrammal who was married to Narayanaswamy, the principal of Maharaja’s College in Pudukkottai. She was born in an age where the phrase ‘women must be seen and not heard,’ was often bandied about and used as an excuse to subvert the true potential of women. Muthulakshmi was intimate with Devadasi culture and norms. Right from a young age, her keen mind and quick ability to grasp things made her a roaring success at school. Upon reaching maturity, she continued her education through home-schooling. Later, she defied her parents’ decision to get her married, choosing education instead. But being a woman, her dream to pursue education invited the silent outrage of the conservative society. Because of the strong social pressures, the Maharaja college refused to admit her despite the excellent academic record. It was only when Martanda Bhairava Thondaman, the forward-thinking Raja of Pudukkottai stepped in and ordered them to take-in Muthulakshmi, that the college grudgingly accepted her application. Thus, breaking all the stereotypes of that time, Muthulakshmi became the first woman ever to get admission to Maharajah College which was a men’s college in Pudukottai. But it was just a beginning. After completing her under-graduation, she sought admission to the Madras Medical College. She was also the first and only woman candidate in the Medical College in 1907. It was during her college years that Muthulakshmi formed a deep friendship with Sarojini Naidu and Annie Besant, two individuals whose personal philosophies would go on to influence many of her future endeavours. She became the first woman House Surgeon in the Government Maternity and Ophthalmic Hospital, Madras.

Later, she went to London to pursue Higher Education. Muthulakshmi came back to India upon a request from the Women’s Indian Association – an organisation she helped establish in 1918, to enter the Madras Legislative Council in 1927. She was elected to the post of Vice-President, making her the first Indian woman member of a Legislative Council. This event also marked her entry into politics and legislation after which, she made efforts to improve the lives of all women everywhere. In her capacity as a legislator, Muthulakshmi helped raise the minimum age for marriage for girls. Concerned about human trafficking, she pushed the Council to pass the crucial Immoral Traffic Control Act. She was aware that even after the devadasi system was abolished, the deeply-ingrained prejudices against women still existed. In 1930, three devadasi girls knocked at her door seeking shelter and that’s when she realized that she needed to create a haven for countless young girls like them so she built Avvai Home. Today, Avvai Home has grown to include an educational complex that houses a primary school, a secondary school, a higher secondary school as well as a teachers’ training Institution. The home was primarily started for devadasis but now, its doors are open to all women who need assistance. Having witnessed her sister’s untimely death due to cancer, she decided to open up a specialized cancer hospital. She dreamt of a place where anyone suffering from cancer would receive treatment, irrespective of social and economic status. In 1954, after overcoming several hurdles, Muthulakshmi’s dream came to life with the Cancer Institute. It was the second specialised cancer centre in India and the first in South India at the time. Today, Adyar Cancer Institute has 450 hospital beds, a full-fledged research division, a preventive Oncology department, and the Dr Muthulakshmi College of Oncologic Sciences. A countless number of cancer patients have been treated here and the numbers continue to grow. For her countless contributions to society, she was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1956. Muthulakshmi passed away in 1968 at the age of 81. “Constantly breaking barriers throughout her life, Reddi was a trailblazer, who devoted herself to public health and the battle against gender inequality, transforming the lives of countless people, especially young girls,” Google said in its description on the occasion of her birth anniversary. The Tamil Nadu government announced ‘Hospital Day’ celebrations to be held every year on July 30, the birth anniversary of one of the country’s prominent successful woman doctors in the early 20th century and the State’s first woman. Though she is no longer with us, her legacy still lives on in every strong woman who fights for education and equality. Let us salute the woman whose vision and values have inspired and changed many lives for good!

Source: The Better India, India Today, News18.

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Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Muthulakshmi Reddi: physician, activist, and social revolutionary

Sumana Vardhan Chicago, Illinois, United States

Born in 1886 under British rule in Tamil Nadu, India, Muthulakshmi Reddi faced an era of gender inequalities and fated child marriage. Despite the social limitations of the time, Reddi’s parents encouraged her interest in learning, breaking tradition to allow her to continue education past secondary school. Reddi applied to college, a move protested by Hindu orthodoxy because of her gender and social class, and was the first female admitted. 1 She  continued to excel in school, graduating at the top of an all-male class as the first woman medical graduate in Tamil Nadu in 1912, later becoming House Surgeon at the Government Maternity and Ophthalmic Hospital in Madras.

Her medical career began in a maternity home and women’s clinic, where she described her realization of “arbitrary rules and irrational customs” for women, as well as her determination to improve their lives. 2 Her service to marginalized populations continued  as she began treating juvenile delinquents at the Varadappa Naidu Home, advocating for the children who she felt were victims of society rather than criminals. Both of these experiences brought the Hindu Dr. Reddi to join forces with both Christian and Muslim physicians, overcoming religious division to treat residents of numerous slums of Madras. 3 She continued to care for girls and women whose physical and mental debilitation were caused by neglect, child marriage, repeated childbirths, and sexual abuse. Dr. Reddi’s passion to serve those neglected and mistreated by society brought requests for her to join the Madras Legislative Council.

In 1927 Reddi became the first Indian female legislator before independence in 1947.  She petitioned for women’s suffrage in Madras, increased age of consent for marriage, and most notably, abolished the Devadasi system. 4 Traditionally, Devadasis were women ceremoniously wedded to Hindu deities, participating in religious duties at Hindu temples as well as preserving folk dance and music as a community of artists. A lineage that was once associated with the elite, Devadasis over time were left without land, education, or social support as societal systems were diluted, often turning to prostitution for income. Reddi passed the Madras Devadasis Act in 1947, which gave Devadasi women the right to marry and made it illegal to dedicate girls to places of worship, liberating women from a fate decided by their pedigree. 5 Over her three-year governance, Reddi began fighting to overturn the customs of child marriage, eliminate caste distinctions, and improve female literacy and employment rates – issues that continue to plague Indian society today.

Reddi went on to become a founding member of the Women’s Indian Association (WIA) serving as an Indian delegate to conferences around the world and speaking for the progress of women  of all races and religions. As a trailblazer for women’s rights, she shared her experience of attaining partial suffrage for women in Madras, appointing over fifty female magistrates in municipal councils, and opening a number of girls’ schools at the 1926 International Suffrage Conference of Women in Paris and the 1933 Congress of Women in Chicago. 6

Many of Dr. Reddi’s initiatives are living tributes to her influence on society. Her desire to dismantle the caste system inspired the Avvai Home. Founded in 1930, this was the first rescue home for destitute women and orphaned children without any class or caste barriers. 7 Reddi strongly believed that all women needed financial independence, which would only be possible through education. What started as the Avvai Home and Orphanage grew to include primary and secondary education, now providing free food, shelter, and education to over 180 young girls.

After losing her sister to a case of misdiagnosed rectal cancer, Dr. Reddi was inspired to build a cancer hospital in Madras. With the support of the WIA in 1954, she established the Adyar Cancer Institute, the first specialized center for cancer treatment in South India. 8 She ensured that care would be provided irrespective of social or economic class. The Institute still stands today and serves as the Regional Cancer Centre for the state under government funding. In 1956, Reddi was awarded a Padma Bhushan award, the third-highest civilian award, in recognition of her services. 9 She continued her fight for civil and women’s rights until she died  at the age of eighty-one.

Dr. Reddi’s work addressed issues that would later be referred to as social determinants of health, including education, women’s rights, and maternal mortality, and redefined conventional gender roles to improve opportunities for her sisters of all religions and classes. She exemplified the immensity of the role of a physician, working to uplift the human spirit not only through diagnosis and treatment, but also through social reform, support of marginalized communities, and passion to leave a positive impact on our world.

• Reddi, M. An Autobiography . Adyar, India: Avvai Home; 1964.
• Raman SA. Women in India: A social and cultural history . Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO; 2009, 169-172.
• Davesh, S. Unfinished Gestures: Devadasis, Memory, and Modernity in South India. University of Chicago Press. 2012, 110.
• Raman SA. Crossing cultural boundaries: Indian matriarchs and sisters in service. Journal of Third World Studies. 2001;18-131.
• Raman SA. Prescriptions for Gender Equality in South India: The work of Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddi. In: Long R. Charisma and Commitment in South Asian History: Essays presented to Stephen Wolpert . Mumbai, India: Orient Longman; 2004.
• Snehalatha, MS. Muthulakshmi Reddi: A social reformer. Academia and Society . 2015; 2(2): 68-72. eISSN:2393-8919.
• Krishna R, Rao LS. Dr. S. Muthulakshmi Reddi. 2 nd edition. Bangalore, India: Sapna Book House; 2012.
• Shanta, V. Muthulakshmi Reddy – A Legend unto Herself. New Delhi, India: India International Centre; 2012. http://www.iicdelhi.nic.in/ContentAttachments/Publications/DiaryFiles/22612January212013_IIC%20Occasional%20Publication%2044.pdf

SUMANA VARDHAN , BA, is a third year medical student at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine with interests in global and public health. She enjoys reading, writing, and exploring how to incorporate both into her future career.

Winter 2018

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The Pioneers: Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy

Published : Jun 06, 2008 00:00 IST

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Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy. She rose in revolt against child marriage and the devadasi system.-THE HINDU

A multifaceted personality, Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy (1886-1968) was one of the outstanding Indian women of her time. She had several firsts to her credit: she was the one of the first woman doctors of the country (1912), the first woman member of the Madras Legislative Council, the first woman to be elected as its Deputy Chairperson, the first president of the Womens India Association, and the first woman to be elected as alderman of the Madras (now Chennai) Corporation.

Muthulakshmi Reddy was concerned about the plight of women and deeply interested in liberating them. She fought for their upliftment in several fields. When one of her cousins died of cancer, she took an interest in cancer studies and pursued it at the Royal Cancer Hospital in the United Kingdom. She was instrumental in starting the Cancer Institute in Adyar, Chennai, and founded the Avvai Home for the benefit of destitute women.

At the top of these achievements, she is known for her political activism in respect of social issues. First she rose in revolt against child marriage and the devadasi system. (Under this system, parents married off a daughter to a deity or a temple before she attained puberty. These girls became dancers and musicians and performed at temple festivals.)

In 1930, Muthulakshmi Reddy introduced in the Madras Legislative Council a Bill on the prevention of the dedication of women to Hindu temples in the Presidency of Madras. The Bill, which later became the Devadasi Abolition Act, declared the pottukattu ceremony in the precincts of Hindu temples or any other place of worship unlawful, gave legal sanction to devadasis to contract marriage, and prescribed a minimum punishment of five years imprisonment for those found guilty of aiding and abetting the devadasi system. The Bill had to wait for over 15 years to become an Act.

While progressive persons supported the abolition of the system, many conservative nationalists opposed it. While the then Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president C. Rajagopalachari, in the words of Muthulakshmi Reddy, was not very much in favour of abolition of the pernicious practice, another Congress veteran, S. Satyamurthy, argued that the devadasi system needed to be protected because it was essentially a part of the indigenous Hindu/national culture.

The Bill, introduced by a nationalist, was blocked by nationalists themselves for one reason or another until E.V. Ramasamy Periyar, leader of the Self-Respect Movement and later the Dravida Kazhagam and one of the progressive nationalists when the Bill was introduced, and Moovalur Ramamirtham Ammaiyar, another veteran of the Self-Respect Movement, campaigned actively among the people for the passage of the Bill.

Muthulakshmi Reddy could not get the support of a section of nationalist leaders in spite of the fact that she got an endorsement from Mahatma Gandhi for liberating the women. Her perseverance, unmindful of the resentment of some of the influential leaders of the time, earned her laurels from progressive intellectuals.

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Landmarks in Indian History: Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddi

Courtesy: Cancer Institute (WIA), Adyar - Chennai, and Dr. V Shanta

Muthulakshmi Reddi, the woman with many firsts to her name, broke the barriers of gender and pushed her boundaries in multiple areas. She left a mark in the fields of medicine, education, law and much more.

Hailing from humble beginnings, she was born on the 30th of July 1886 in Pudukottai, Tamil Nadu to Narayanaswami Iyer, a principal of the Maharaja College at the time and Chandramma, a former devadasi. Seeing her enthusiasm to learn, her father decided to educate her. She passed the matriculation in 1902 with flying colours and was eligible to apply to a college. She sent in her application to Maharaja College for higher education which was not received well by society. The maharaja at the time, disregarded all protests and granted her a scholarship to pursue her education. She went on to study medicine and became a house surgeon at the Government hospital for women and children in Chennai.

On the request of the Women’s Indian Association, she became a member of the Madras Legislative Council. She was then elected as its vice president where she helped pass legislations that affect us till date. She raised the age of consent for marriage to 16 years for girls and 21 years for boys. She became a member of the State Social Welfare Advisory board and later got elected to the Madras Corporation as its Alderwoman.

Being so closely related to the Devadasi system, she not only moved to abolish it but also worked to shut down brothels by passing the Immoral Traffic Control Act. Despite all of her efforts, devadasis were still enveloped in societal pressures and prejudices. In order to protect them and provide them with safe sanctuary, she started the Avvai Home from her own house in Adyar.

Her persistent efforts to improve the condition of women and children in all areas were widely recognized. The Leaders of the time chose to include her name in the first flag of Independent India that was hoisted on Red fort in 1947. In this picture, she is seen being felicitated by the then President, Dr. Rajendra Prasad.

Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddi lost a sister to cancer and had a long standing dream to set up a specialized institution for cancer care. The Adyar Cancer Institute came into being in 1954 which provided treatment to all people equally, regardless of their socio-economic background. The institute still stands strong and has conducted extensive research in the field to provide care for the diagnosed.

She dedicated her life to helping improve the status of women in our society and contributed to the growth and development of the country. Her continuous and persistent efforts were awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1956.

She passed away in the year 1968. Her efforts towards empowering women resonate in our lives till today. Leaving a lasting impression on many, her story is an inspiration to women all over the world.

Photographs: Cancer Institute (WIA), Adyar, Chennai Dr. V Shanta

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Remembering dr muthulakshmi reddy: her contributions to healthcare, politics & women’s rights.

Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy was a pioneering Indian doctor, politician, feminist and social worker. Born in 1886 in Pudukkottai, Tamil Nadu, Dr Reddy went on to become the first woman legislator in British India and the founder of the Adyar Cancer Institute in Chennai. Her tireless work in healthcare, politics and social reform made her a trailblazer for women’s rights in India.

Early Life and Family 

Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy was born to Narayanaswami Iyer, a sub-judge in Pudukkottai, and Chandramma, a homemaker. Her father was a progressive thinker who believed in educating his daughters, which was unusual for the time. Dr Reddy’s mother died when she was just three years old, and she was raised by her father and grandmother. She went on to marry Dr Sundara Reddy, a doctor and a social activist, in 1912.

Education 

Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy was educated in Madras and graduated from the Madras Medical College in 1912. She went on to complete her postgraduate studies in obstetrics and gynecology from the University of Michigan in the United States in 1929. Dr Reddy was one of the first women in India to receive a medical degree and went on to become a prominent medical practitioner and educator.

Role in Activism and Social Reform 

Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy was a committed social reformer and feminist who worked tirelessly for women’s rights in India. In 1927, she founded the Women’s Indian Association, which was dedicated to promoting women’s education, health and welfare. She was also instrumental in the passage of the Devadasi Abolition Act in 1934, which aimed to eradicate the practice of dedicating young girls to temples as prostitutes. Dr Reddy was also a vocal advocate for birth control and family planning, which were controversial issues at the time.

Political Career 

Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy made history in 1927 when she was elected to the Madras Legislative Council, becoming the first woman legislator in British India. She went on to serve in the council for over a decade and used her position to advocate for women’s rights and social reform. In 1937, she was elected to the Madras Legislative Assembly and became the minister for public health and prohibition, making her the first woman to hold a cabinet post in India.

Establishment of Adyar Cancer Institute 

Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy founded the Adyar Cancer Institute in Chennai in 1954, which was one of the first cancer research and treatment centres in India. The institute was established with the aim of providing affordable cancer care to all sections ofpeople and conducting research into the disease. Dr Reddy also played a key role in establishing the Cancer Institute (WIA) in Chennai, which was dedicated to promoting cancer awareness and prevention.

Services to Tamil Language and People 

Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy was a strong advocate for the Tamil language and culture. She was an active member of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee and worked to promote Tamil as the official language of the state. She also played a key role in the establishment of the Tamil Isai Sangam, an organisation dedicated to promoting Tamil music and dance. Dr Reddy was also a prolific writer and authored several books and articles on social reform, women’s rights and healthcare.

Achievements 

Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy’s contributions to healthcare, politics, and social reform in India were significant and far-reaching. She was a trailblazer for women’s rights and paved the way for future generations of women in India to enter politics and pursue careers in medicine and other fields. Her work in establishing the Adyar Cancer Institute and the Cancer Institute (WIA) in Chennai has had a lasting impact on cancer research and treatment in India. She was awarded the Padma Bhushan, one of India’s highest civilian awards, in 1956 in recognition of her contributions to public service.

Conclusion 

Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy was a remarkable woman whose tireless work in healthcare, politics, and social reform made her a trailblazer for women’s rights in India. Her contributions to cancer research and treatment through the establishment of the Adyar Cancer Institute have had a lasting impact on healthcare in India. Dr Reddy’s legacy continues to inspire women and social reformers in India and around the world.

Who was Muthulakshmi Reddy?

Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy was a pioneering Indian doctor, politician, feminist and social worker who made significant contributions to healthcare, politics and women’s rights in India.

What was Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy’s role in social reform?

Dr Reddy was a committed social reformer and feminist who worked tirelessly for women’s rights in India. She founded the Women’s Indian Association in 1927 and played a key role in the passage of the Devadasi Abolition Act in 1934, which aimed to eradicate the practice of dedicating young girls to temples as prostitutes.

What was Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy’s contribution to cancer research and treatment?

Dr Reddy founded the Adyar Cancer Institute in Chennai in 1954, which was one of the first cancer research and treatment centres in India. She also played a key role in establishing the Cancer Institute (WIA) in Chennai, which was dedicated to promoting cancer awareness and prevention.

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Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy: A Pioneering Feminist

• AUTHOR Aditi Shah
• PUBLISHED 07 December 2018

‘Trail blazer’ is a term we use loosely today. But back in the early 20th century, there was a woman who was breaking barriers one after another. She was the first Indian woman legislator; a campaigner of women’s rights; and the driving force behind one of the biggest cancer institutes in India today. Sadly, few remember the journey of Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy and how she set so many milestones against the odds.

– No girl had ever been admitted to the college before and her background didn’t help either

Born on July 30, 1886, in the small princely state of Pudukkottai in Tamil Nadu, Muthulakshmi had a lot stacked against her. Her father Narayanaswami Iyer may have been the principal of the Maharaja’s College but her mother Chandrammal was a former devadasi. In conservative 19th century Pudukkottai, marrying a devadasi was sacrilegious and Narayanaswami Iyer and his family were ostracised.

But Muthulakshmi was as gritty as she was brilliant, and was determined not to let caste hold her back. After successfully passing the matriculation exam as a private candidate in 1902, she applied to the Maharaja’s College for higher education. Naturally, this created a storm. First, no girl had ever been admitted to the college before and her background didn’t help either. The parents of boys threatened to withdraw their children from the college and there were angry protests all around. But the family held its ground. And, having a progressive ruler helped.

The Pudukottai Gazette quotes: ‘It must be said to the credit of the vision and independence of Martanda Bhairava Thondaman, the Raja of Pudukottai, that he overruled all objections and permitted her admission.’

Little did the Raja realise that this girl was going to make history. Muthulakshmi went on to study at Madras Medical College in 1907, again the first female student in the Department of Surgery. She completed her studies in 1912 and became the first woman House Surgeon at the Government Maternity and Ophthalmic Hospital.

– She demanded that her husband promise to ‘always respect me as an equal and never cross my wishes’

As a doctor, Muthulakshmi’s first cause was to challenge the system of ‘wet nursing’, where upper-class women got Dalit women to breastfeed their babies as neither childcare nor breastfeeding were seen as ‘appropriate’ activities for privileged women. Muthulakshmi spread awareness among her patients regarding the benefits of feeding mothers’ milk to infants.

In 1914, she married a doctor, Dr Sundara Reddy, but she made sure she set the rules at the very start. She demanded that her husband promise to ‘always respect me as an equal and never cross my wishes.’

Meanwhile, Dr Muthulakshmi started to work with theosophist and women’s rights activist Annie Besant and along with her and a few others founded the Women’s Indian Association (WIA) in 1917. She expressed her views in the journal Shri Dharma, published by the WIA, to address political and social issues faced by women. In 1927, the WIA nominated her to the Madras Presidency Council. Here, she was unanimously chosen as the Deputy President, making her the first woman legislator of India.

This marked the beginning of Dr Muthulakshmi’s lifelong effort to ‘correct the balance’ for women by removing social abuses and working for equality. She passed bills to raise the age of marriage, women’s right to property and for choice in the matter of education and career. She is believed to have remarked, ‘Laws and legislation are there only for sanction. It is up to us women to energise these and implement them into action.’

Concerned about human trafficking, Dr Muthulakshmi also moved to pass the Immoral Traffic Control Act, which would shut down brothels. She also proposed the Devadasi Abolition Bill. She organised several seminars and meetings all over Madras and interviewed several hundred devadasis . However, the bill lay dormant after Muthulakshmi resigned from the Council in 1930, protesting Gandhi’s arrest after the Salt March. It was only in 1947 that Madras Devadasis (Prevention of Dedication) Act was enacted.

– She organised several seminars and meetings all over Madras and interviewed several hundred devadasis

But prejudice is deep-rooted and social change takes time to take root. So, when three young girls who had run away from being dedicated as devadasis approached her for help, Dr Muthulakshmi had a huge challenge on her hands.

She tried to get the girls admitted to hostels and schools but no one would take them. Finally, she took them under her wing and started a shelter called Avvai Home in 1931. The home, which she initially ran from her own residence in Adyar in Madras, went on to become a sanctuary for all women and children who sought protection and education: young destitute widows, deserted wives with their little children who had nowhere to go, orphaned girls, abandoned babies and unwed mothers. Today, it also has an educational complex with a school and teachers’ training institution providing empowerment and economic independence to poor girls and women.

Dr Muthulakshmi was nominated by the Nationalist Women’s Organization of India to represent Indian women and give evidence at the Third Round Table Conference in London (1930) and the World Women’s Congress in Chicago (1932).

Around the same time, under the chairmanship of educator Sir Philip Hartog, a committee was appointed to survey education across India. The Viceroy nominated Dr Muthulakshmi to be a member, making her the only woman member on the panel, and she travelled extensively across India to review women’s education. Her efforts were recognised when leaders of the time included her name in the first flag of Independent India that was hoisted at the Red Fort in 1947.

Many years later, Dr Muthulakshmi lost her sister to a misdiagnosed case of rectal cancer and this was the beginning of her dream to build a specialised institution for cancer care. When she approached the Government of Tamil Nadu for land, the then minister asked: ‘Why a cancer hospital? People only die of cancer.’ So, with the help of the WIA, Dr Muthulakshmi set up a fund and established the Adyar Cancer Institute in 1954, in a small hut. Today, it is a comprehensive cancer centre comprising over 500-bed hospital, a research division, a college of oncological sciences, and a division of preventive oncology.

– Dr Muthulakshmi set up a fund and established the Adyar Cancer Institute in a small hut

Two years later, in recognition of her wonderful work in the social sector, Dr Muthulakshmi was awarded the Padma Bhushan. She also helped establish multiple other organisations for women and children and was the first Chairperson of the State Social Welfare Advisory Board, and the first Alderwoman of the Madras Corporation Avvai Home.

Muthulakshmi passed away in 1968 at the age of 81, but her legacy still lives through the multiple lives she transformed and the great institutions she created.

(Photo courtesy: V. Shanta, Muthulakshmi Reddy: A Legend unto Herself, Occasional Publication 44, India International Centre, 2012)

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Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddi: A Powerful Face of Nationalist Feminism

She has a visible presence in Chennai; her statue stands in the premises of the Cancer Institute at Adyar, a leading centre for oncology in the country.   The road leading to Besant Nagar from Adyar bridge is named after her. Yesterday, the Tamil Nadu government announced that her birthday would be celebrated every year as ‘Hospital Day’.

For the millennials and post-millennials in the city, however, Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddi is a hazy, hearsay figure of the nationalist era – feisty and articulate, but as to what exactly about, they would have to scratch their heads and think. On the other hand, the   older generation of   politically aware denizens of Tamil Nadu know about her accomplishments, but mostly as a chronological narrative of positions held and organisations established.

Also read:  Discovering the First Generation of Feminists in Kerala

From the vantage point of hindsight, I think there is no doubt that Muthulakshmi was a powerful face of nationalist feminism in the first half of the 20 th century, with all the complexities that this entailed. Her voluminous speeches and writings are indeed ideologically driven, with elements from the discourses of social reform and nationalism combined with empathy for the issues espoused by the Justice Party   and a bent towards international feminism.

But it is in her concrete actions, specifically in establishing the Avvai Home in 1932 for destitute and abandoned girls and women, and the Cancer Institute under the aegis of the Women’s Indian Association (WIA) in 1952 that we see the   unique nature of her contribution.   The protocols and ethos she created in these institutions are exemplars of an ethic of care, inspired both by feminism and Gandhian nationalism. But more on this later.

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Born in Pudukkottai to Chandramma, a former devadasi and Narayanaswami Iyer, principal of   the Maharaja college, Muthulakshmi had to surmount huge obstacles created by her gender and caste,   and struggle to get an education.  

In 1912, she became the first woman medical graduate from the Madras Presidency; she went on to become an obstetrician.

In an interview in 2010, Sarojini Varadappan, a renowned social worker who worked closely with Muthulakshmi, remembers her as an impressive, even formidable, personality. Immaculately dressed in heavy Kanjeevaram saris pinned with a brooch, and shining diamond earrings, Muthulakshmi had a flourishing practice delivering the babies of all the rich Mylapore professionals.

Influenced by the women’s movement and the national movement, Muthulakshmi turned her attention to politics and public life. From 1926 to 1930, she   was a member of the legislative council in British India, the first woman to be so nominated. She became the first woman in the world to become the Deputy President of a legislative council.

As a legislator she was an indefatigable campaigner and lobbyist for women’s rights on a range of issues, including medical inspection in girls’ schools, exemption from   school fees for poor girls, maternity and child welfare, and reservation for women in various structures of civic administration. She was closely associated with the All India Women’s   Conference and the Women’s India Association. She edited the multilingual quarterly journal, Stree Dharma, started in 1918.

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Most notably, Muthulakshmi brought in legislation to abolish the devadasi system and child marriage. This campaign   triggered stiff opposition from Congress stalwarts like Rajaji and S. Satyamurthi. When Satyamurthi argued in the Legislative Council that the devadasi system   was an ancient religious custom, with  devadasis  being the custodians of the traditional arts, she famously retorted that if such a caste was indeed necessary and since the  devadasis   had done it for so long, why did the Brahmin women not take over?

Muthulakshmi would not have imagined that decades later she would be criticised by contemporary feminists and her campaign would be seen as a patronising gesture. Sociologist Amrit Srinivasan’s 1985 article, ‘Reform and Revival: The devadasi and her dance’, was followed by much writing on the devadasis , their original putative respected social status and their later ‘fall’, and the loss for the classical performing arts traditions of South India.  

In particular, Muthulakshmi’s campaign was criticised as it was perceived as disenfranchising devadasis from traditional privileges and denying them subjecthood and agency. Historian S. Anandi,   while lauding her undeniable commitment to women’s rights, sees her   as   ‘othering’ devadasis and moralising on their liberation from the clutches of the system as the only way out. 

But look at it from Muthulakshmi’s perspective. Given the humiliations she underwent, unsurprisingly   she saw the devadasi system as a social evil. In fact, one could infer that to a large extent,   her personal anger was what gave her campaign its sharp edge.

Modern education was,   for her, the answer – again understandable given her   own achievements in her profession and in public service.   The sincerity of her efforts to improve the situation of devadasi women is undeniable. Her tone inevitably echoed that of the entire social reform movement in that era, warts and all; it did not eclipse the basic drive for emancipation and equality.

In fact, Avvai Home and Orphanage, that venerable institution established by Muthulakshmi in 1931, started spontaneously when three girls from Namakkal, from devadasi families, arrived unannounced at her doorstep one night.   They had run away from home with nowhere to go.

Immediately she took them into her own home and that became Avvai Home, later shifting to its own premises. It has since expanded   to include a school and also a teacher’s training   school, and is one of the early and enduring examples of   formalising the ethic of care in a public voluntary institution.

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The other institution, the Cancer Institute, is an even brighter testimony to Muthulakshmi’s qualities of head and heart. I experienced this personally in 2005, long after she had passed on. The institute   was like no other medical institution I knew – without the feel of either a government or private hospital.  

As I went through my own treatment, the institute’s underlying approach gradually unfolded: accord priority to saving life at all costs, cutting out the frills, advanced technology for core treatment alone, no differentiation between different classes of patients in medical treatment.

Much has been written about the Cancer Institute as a pioneering oncology centre in the country – its outstanding accomplishments in acquiring cutting edge technology, developing stringent protocols and yet   giving affordable care;   its challenges and limitations. 

What struck me,   above all, is how Dr. V. Shanta , at its helm for many decades, has kept patient care  –  medical, psychological and social – at the centre. She verily embodies an ethic of care over and above medical protocols. Shanta, however, attributes these features of the Institute to the inspiration and efforts of its founder, Dr. Muthulakshmi, whom she refers to as Mother, and her son Dr. S. Krishnamurthi who was the force behind the institute in Muthulakshmi’s final days and after her passing. Krishnamurthi was a mentor to Shanta, she was his loyal colleague and together they steered the institute to reflect the values and ethos of   Muthulakshmi, while striving for excellence.

Muthulakshmi herself was inspired to start the institute as a result of a personal bereavement. She lost her sister to undiagnosed cancer in1923. She had nursed her through her last painful days. Amidst her grief, she vowed to establish a specialised hospital for the treatment of cancer. She was inspired by the emerging advances in cancer treatment in the West and in 1925 spent a year at Royal Marsden Hospital, in London, to specialise in the subject. She got the Women’s Indian Association involved in her mission. It was an unusual issue for a women’s organisation to take up but the sheer force and dynamism of her personality made this a major activity of WIA for many years, says Sarojini Varadappan.

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Muthulakshmi went about her mission with, well, missionary zeal. Her son Krishnamurthi,   then a doctor in the Royal Cancer Hospital in London, was not keen to get involved. In an interview with me in 2010, weeks before his death, he remembered with a smile, “I got a telegram, ‘Mother serious. Start immediately’. I came back to find her hale and hearty and what else, I joined her mission.”  

No one – doctors, funders or the government – would take Muthulakshmi seriously. They thought it was a waste of time. There was a complete lack of public awareness about cancer as an illness curable with specialised treatment. Among the various documents of the institute is a printed appeal in 1935 to the King George V Fund Committee from five   women’s organisations in the city, mobilised by Muthulakshmi.

She was tireless in her crusade and it was through the force of her individual convictions   and the mobilisation   of her social and political connections that Jawaharlal Nehru   laid the foundation stone in 1952   for the first specialised hospital for cancer in South India.

The character and thrust of the institute thus become comprehensible only through the personal lives of its three protagonists and their inter-relations. The micro worlds of family and friendship and of ideology and emotion fuelled the dynamism of the macro arena of advanced oncology.

And behind the technological and organisational strengths of the institution lies an ethic of care that has evolved through the personal concerns of Dr. Muthulakshmi.

While the larger social and historical contexts no doubt impacted upon   Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddi’s life trajectory,   in many ways, her story exemplifies the idea of ultimately the personal being the political.

Kamala Ganesh is a sociologist based in Mumbai.

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Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy, a positively rebellious force

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Three young girls knocked on the gates of 6, Randall’s Road, Madras one day in the year 1930. Inside the house, Muthulakshmi was rehearsing the speech she would make to bring about a law to abolish the dedication of young girls as devadasis. Her sons Rammohan and Krishnamurthi were playing in the compound and ran up to the gate. The girls were running away from the ritual of pottukattudal , dedicating them as devadasis to a deity, and needed protection. Muthulakshmi took them in and instructed her sons to call them Akka (elder sister). A few days later she tried admitting them to a hostel. The hostels were all caste-based and would not admit them. Neither would schools. She decided to house them and educate them herself. Finally, in 1931, she decided to open Avvai Home, naming it after the ancient Tamil poet who advised kings. She wanted girls to be fearless like Avvaiyyar.

The institute admitted older girls too, who could “work in the hostel and study for three hours.” A nursing institute, teacher training programme, and courses on carpentry, handicrafts, and home science, among others, were taught to make young girls vocationally equipped for jobs, while they pursued dance and music on the sides if they wished to. Thousands of poor women, including many from the Devadasi community, graduated from the institute and thrived in the anonymity granted by the bill. Those who desired to learn music and dance learnt them too.

Muthulakshmi was disturbed that the women who were coming out of the Devadasi system were abused and labelled by society as morally corrupt. But used the same abusive language to describe some of those who opposed her move to legislate against the system. In both her roles as a legislator who appealed to the government to shelter vagrant and destitute children and youthful offenders, and as a busy medical practitioner who spent several hours a day treating them, Muthulakshmi had an intimate knowledge of the deplorable social conditions these seven girls faced.

“How dare you call them fallen sisters. The man falls before the woman falls. The men are always older and know what they are doing. Without male chastity, female chastity is not possible. All laws should be equal to men and women and both should be equally responsible,” Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy — legendary medical practitioner, social reformer and legislator in erstwhile Madras Presidency — thundered, after a highly placed speaker commended her work for her “fallen sisters” or Devadasis, at an event to felicitate her. This followed the passing of the 1930 bill for ‘prevention of dedication of young girls as Devadasis’ by the Madras Presidency on 5 December 1947.

The Devadasi system was nurtured by upper-class men who wanted to have their cake and eat it too. In the system, young women were made to undergo a religious ritual at a pre-pubescent age and subsequently marked as a potential concubine. This ritual and the acceptance of the “concubine” status qualified the girl for learning music and dance and performing in public spaces. A male benefactor would then be granted access to her art, which she would subsequently pass on to her children. However, he would not give her rights to his name or inheritance to the children born of this relationship.

Young Muthulakshmi was heartbroken when a 16-year-old maternal relative she was close to died at childbirth even as Muthulakshmi reached Madras to pursue medical education. She got her mother to bring the little infant named Subbulakshmi to Madras and studied for a medical degree with the baby on her lap. As the daughter of Chandrammal who belonged to the Melakkara community but had chosen to come out of the system, Muthulakshmi became more and more determined to get rid of the system of the dedication of young girls.

She remembered her school days when young boys ran behind the bullock cart she travelled in, screaming that a Devaradial (Devadasi in Tamil) is going to school. When she sought admission to H H Raja’s College for boys for intermediate, all hell broke loose in Pudukkottai. Some parents had threatened to withdraw their sons, stating that the presence of a girl born to a Devadasi would ‘corrupt’ the minds of the boys, even after a curtain was stretched vertically in the classroom between her and the boys. A teacher decided to resign as well. But the Maharaja of Pudukkottai went on to support Muthulakshmi and gave her a handsome scholarship of Rs 150 when she expressed her desire to study medicine in Madras.

She was adamant about choosing the tougher M.B and C.M (Bachelor of Medicine and Master of Surgery) course (later to be called MBBS) where there was no Indian girl admitted before her. She was offered the easier L.M and S (Degree of Licentiate in Medicine and Surgery). Dean of academics Lt Col William James Niblock believed girls might faint at the sight of blood and may not be able to withstand long hours in surgery. But Muthulakshmi proved him wrong by not only getting 100% in surgery and receiving most medals for academic achievement in the convocation and also becoming the first Indian woman house surgeon. She began practice as a gynaecologist and began to earn quite a bit of money but was she satisfied? Most certainly not.

As a student in Madras, she was introduced to the nationalist poet Sarojini Naidu who took her to the Theosophical Society to listen to the electrifying speeches of Anne Besant. She offered voluntary medical services to the young Brahmin widows’ home run by Sister Subbalakshmi and girls’ welfare organisations. She began to campaign against the wet nursing system where women from upper-middle-class families hired women to breastfeed their babies. She began to look at women’s health as related to their level of education and campaigned for raising the age of girls at marriage. She collected data to support her campaign.

She was made the first Indian member of the Women’s Indian Association and was subsequently nominated to the Madras Legislative Council. Besides initiating the bill to pass a law against dedicating Devadasis to Hindu temples, — which, according to her, dehumanised young girls and ultimately pushed them into prostitution — she also fought for abolishing the practice of hiring wet nurses for babies born into upper-class families and helped Sister Subbulakshmi in her struggle for widow remarriage and education.

She even rallied for raising the marriageable age for girls to 16, and for the voting rights of women. Expectedly, upper-caste and upper-class men put up stiff resistance to her proposition of increasing the legally marriageable age for women, and the abolition of the Devadasi system. She had to argue with the likes of S Satyamurthy, acclaimed for his rhetoric, and the erudite C Rajagopalachari. After 17 long years of struggle, the bill became an act.

Her husband Dr Sundaram Reddy supported her at home and the story of their marriage also makes for an interesting read. When she saw her younger sister die of cancer, Muthulakshmi decided to specialise in cancer treatment. She flew to London on a limited budget with her sons and came back to establish the Adyar Cancer Institute WIA, which has now gone on to attain iconic status. July 22 marked the 61st death anniversary while July 30 is her 136th birth anniversary.

(V R Devika is the author of Muthulakshmi Reddy: A Trailblazer In Surgery And Women’s Rights published by Niyogi Books. )

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Remembering Muthulakshmi Reddy, doctor and feminist who led the battle against India's caste-based misogyny

She was made the first member of the Women’s Indian Association, and was subsequently nominated to the Madras Legislative Council.

“How dare you call them fallen sisters. The man falls before the woman falls. The men are always older and know what they are doing. Without male chastity, female chastity is not possible. All laws should be equal to men and women and both should be equally responsible,” Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy — legendary medical practitioner, social reformer and legislator from Pudukottai in erstwhile Madras Presidency — thundered, after a highly placed speaker commended her work for her “fallen sisters”, or Devadasis, at an event to felicitate her. This followed the passing of the 1930 bill for ‘prevention of dedication of young girls as Devadasis’ by the Madras Presidency on 5 December 1947.

Decades later, a well-known intellectual said in a speech: “Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy, herself a Devadasi, went abroad, and because of that felt ashamed of the system, and with a stroke of pen rendered all these illegal". Where was the legality, is the question.

The Devadasi system was nurtured by upper-class men who wanted to have their cake and eat it too. In the system, young women were made to undergo a religious ritual at a pre-pubescent age, and subsequently marked as a potential concubine. This ritual and the acceptance of the ‘concubine’ status qualified the girl for learning music and dance, and performing in public spaces. Either a patron would choose her, or one would be chosen for her by her mother. This male benefactor would then be granted access to her art, which she would subsequently pass on to her children. However, he would not give her rights to his name or inheritance.

If the patron did not have a male heir with his legal wife, but begot one with a Devadasi, the child would still not be granted legal rights to cremate his biological father on the occasion of his death. He would have to remain only his mother’s son, and would be forced to pursue the art even if he lacked interest or talent in the field.

Similarly, Devadasis also practised adopting young girls as daughters in the absence of a female child, in order to pass on their craft and keep the profession alive, irrespective of the girl being interested or skilled in the craft. Their femininity was a burden they had to bear.

A renowned academic had once mocked lawyer and activist E Krishna Iyer for not wanting to include a ‘Javali’ (musical composition on love) — in which the woman teases her man, claiming that she is yet to be satisfied — in performances. One wonders if the Javali would have been accepted in the context of ‘freedom of female sexuality’ had it actually been written by a woman instead of Kshetragna, the prolific Telugu poet. Also, one imagines if a dancer would have been brave enough to perform it for a large, young audience, such as a men’s college, instead of at a private salon, where the predominantly male audience would be connoisseurs.

Articles and books abound on the dauntless spirit of the Devadasi women, their sexual freedom, and the influence they held in society. But the exploitation of these women hardly finds mention.

“Annam, a dasi in 1842, had her pottu tied at the age of ten and she, according to records, was entitled to one kalam paddy every month, and one-and-a-half handfuls of cooked rice a day," writes Davesh Soneji in Unfinished Gestures: Devadasis, Memory and Modernity in South India.  Therefore, one can surmise that the Pottukattuthal ceremony was a ’transaction that secured a girl’s commitment to local economies of land and guaranteed her sexual and aesthetic labor’.

Writer Samhita Arni has stumbled upon an important revelation in her research on the Tamil epic  Silappadhikkaram (probably written around the end of the Sangam period in 2nd century AD). According to Arni, the story of Kannagi and her husband Kovalan, who fell for the court dancer Madhavi, could be based on a real woman named Kannagi, whose story has been written in Purananuru by Kapilar and Paranar. Kannagi was grief-stricken because her husband, the chieftain Vel Pakan, had been enticed by the charms of a dancing girl.

Dancing girls were feared and envied in the Sangam Age too, thereby offering a counter-narrative for the theory that the British stigmatised them. There was envy for the education the women could avail, besides the public gaze on them while they performed. The fear was rooted in the thought that one’s son or husband might succumb to the charms of these women.

They were also appeased and invited to rituals at homes to ward off the evil eye, and to bless the mangalsutra at marriage ceremonies on account of being  Nityasumangalis, or immune to widowhood, as they were not compelled to marry.

In this light, the ascent of Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy changed the reality of Devadasis and women across the country forever. When Narayanaswamy, the Brahmin principal of Maharaja’s College in Pudukkottai decided to marry Chandramal, a Devadasi, and bring her home, his family ostracised him. Muthulakshmi, their first daughter born on 30 July 1886, grew up to be close to her maternal cousins, who also belonged to the Devadasi tradition.

Muthulakshmi was enrolled at a local thinnai , or a school run out of a portico. When she decided to study further, young boys ran behind the bullock cart she travelled in, screaming that a “Devaradial” (Devadasi in Tamil) is going to school. Soon after, all hell broke loose in Pudukkottai, which back then, only had a high school for boys. Some parents threatened to withdraw their sons from the school, stating that the presence of a girl born to a Devadasi would corrupt their minds, even after a curtain was drawn between the three girls and 40 boys in the class. A teacher decided to resign as well. But the Maharaja of Pudukkottai went on to support Muthulakshmi and gave her a handsome scholarship of Rs 150 when she expressed her desire to study medicine in Madras.

The Madras Medical College was shocked when she opted for surgery, as girls were considered faint-hearted and unable to withstand the sight of blood. Muthulakshmi, however, was adamant, and at the end of her four years, the white principal of the college was found running in the corridor of the institute, screaming with a piece of paper in his hands: “The first girl student for surgery has scored 100 percent in surgery!”

Even as a student, Muthulakshmi would attend lectures at the theosophical society. She had also witnessed her 13-year-old cousin die at childbirth. While studying medicine, she would put her cousin’s baby to sleep on her thighs, consequently making up her mind that she would work to end the system of dedication of young girls as Devadasis, and remove the stigma attached to them.

She was made the first member of the Women’s Indian Association, and was subsequently nominated to the Madras Legislative Council. Besides initiating the bill to pass a law against dedicating Devadasis to Hindu temples, — which, according to her, dehumanised young girls and ultimately pushed them into prostitution — she also fought for abolishing the practice of hiring wet nurses for babies born into upper-class families, and helped Sister Subbulakshmi in her struggle for widow remarriage and education. She even rallied for raising the marriageable age for girls to 16, and for the voting rights of women.

While she was arguing for the bill, three young girls came and knocked on her door. They told her they were running away from being dedicated to temples, and wanted to know what other options they had. She hosted them at her house, and tried admitting them to hostels. The hostels, however, were ruled by caste, while the schools rejected the girls. Finally in 1931, she decided to open ‘Avvai Home’ in Chennai, named after the ancient Tamil poet who advised kings. The institute admitted older girls too, who could “work in the hostel and study for three hours.” A nursing institute, teacher training programme, courses on carpentry, handicrafts, home science, among others, were taught to make young girls vocationally equipped for jobs, while they pursued dance and music on the sides if they wished to.

Thousands of poor women, including many from the Devadasi community, graduated from the institute, and thrived in the anonymity granted by the bill. Those who desired to learn music and dance learnt them too.

Expectedly, upper-caste and upper-class men put up stiff resistance to her proposition of increasing the legally marriageable age for women, and abolition of the Devadasi system. She had to argue with the likes of S Satyamurthy, acclaimed for his rhetoric, and the erudite C Rajagopalachari. After 17 long years of struggle, the bill became an act. Her husband Dr Sundara Reddy supported her at home, and the story of their marriage also makes for an interesting read.

When she saw her younger sister die of cancer, Muthulakshmi decided to specialise in cancer treatment. She flew to London on a limited budget with her sons, and came back to establish the Adyar Cancer Institute in Chennai, which has now gone on to attain legendary status.

On the occasion of her 134th birth anniversary, some of her poignant words come to mind: “Any art and culture worth surviving will certainly hold its own against all times and against all conditions. Our attempt should be to free it from its ugly associations and the incrustations of ages which now keeps it dim and repulsive to many so that the divine art may be learned and practiced by all. Then only India’s art, the rich legacy of ages will shine brighter and will command the respect and admiration of the world" — a rather succinct word of advice in the prevailing times.

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Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy: Founder Of Adyar Cancer Institute | #IndianWomenInHistory

Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy was born on the 30 th of July 1886, in the princely state of  Pudukkottai , now a town in Tamil Nadu. She was an eminent medical practitioner, social reformer and legislator. She is also the founder of the Adyar Cancer Institute .

Early life and education

Muthulakshmi Reddy was the daughter of Devdasi Chandrammal and Narayanaswamy. Her father was ostracized from his family because of his marriage to a Devdasi . She developed a close relationship with the maternal side of her family. This closeness made her very perceptive of the Devdasi community and their issues.

Narayanaswami Iyer and Chandramma along with their children. Muthulakshmi is seen holding a file in the picture

She fought against her mother’s decision to marry her off at puberty and went on to become the first woman from Pudukkottai  to be admitted to the Maharaja’s High School— she was given admission by the Maharaja himself, despite severe resistance from the principle. The Maharaja’s High School was a school solely for boys and many parents threatened to remove their children from the school, should she enrol there.

Madras Medical College. Image source: The Hindu

After she completed her under-graduation from her hometown, she was successfully admitted to the Madras Medical College— she was the first female student at the college’s Department of Surgery. It was during these years that she formed a close friendship with Sarojini Naidu and Annie Besant, both of whom influenced her philosophy and future work. She went on to pursue a higher education in England.

Career and social reform

As a doctor, she fought against the system of wet nursing, in which upper-class and dominant caste women would have their babies breastfed by Dalit women. In 1893, an appeal was put forth by the Madras Hindu Reform Association to put an end to the performance of Devdasis at public and private functions.

In 1913, a bill was proposed to prevent the dedication of girls under 16 years of age; however, the bill did not gain any traction. A resolution was made in the Council of State to prohibit the dedication of girls in 1927 by V.R. Puntulu. Dr. Reddy gave up her practice of medicine after being nominated to the Madras Presidency Council , in the same year that the resolution was made. She was also chosen as the first woman Deputy President of the Council.

In support of the resolution, she met with and interviewed several hundred Devdasis across the Madras Presidency. The resolution became dormant after Dr. Reddy resigned from the Council in 1930, in protest against the arrest of Mahatma Gandhi after the Salt March. The Madras Devdasi (Prevention of Dedication) Bill was eventually passed by the Madras Legislative Assembly in December 1947.

Also read: Janaki Ammal – Pioneer In The Field Of Botany | #IndianWomenInHistory

In the midst of the Devdasi debate, Dr. Reddy was approached by 2 girls running away from being dedicated as Devdasis . She housed them while simultaneously attempting to put them into hostels and schools, however, no one would take them. These girls led her to establish the Avvai Home hostel and school in Chennai.

Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy was also responsible for several other social reforms. She passed a resolution to set up separate hospitals for women and children and the government also accepted her proposal to open up a children’s section in maternity hospitals. She initiated measures for the betterment of medical facilities for slum dwellers and was actively involved in the construction of women’s toilets.

She passed a bill for the suppression of brothels and trafficking of women and children. Her efforts led to the establishment of a home for those rescued from brothels. She set up a scholarship for non-dominant caste girls and opened hostels for Muslim girls. Dr. Reddy also recommended to the government to raise the age of marriage to 21 for boys and 16 for girls.

Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy as a member of the Hartog Commission. Image source: The Better India

As part of her work with the Hartog Education Committee , she travelled extensively across the country to study the progress of women’s education. She was the only woman member of the committee. Dr. Reddy also started the Cancer Relief Fund , which has now developed into an all-India institution combining research and therapy.

She declared her intent to start a hospital for cancer patients in 1935. The foundation stone for the Adyar Cancer Institute was laid in 1952 and the hospital started functioning on the 18 th of June, 1954. The Adyar Cancer Institute is currently a world-renowned institution and offers treatment to approximately 80,000 cancer patients a year.

Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy welcomes Jawaharlal Nehru to lay the foundation stone of the Cancer Institute. Image source: The Better India

Dr. Reddy has several firsts under her belt, other than the ones already mentioned—she was the first woman House Surgeon in the Government Maternity and Ophthalmic Hospital , the first woman legislator in British India, the first Chairperson of the State Social Welfare Advisory Board  and the first Alderwoman of the Madras Corporation Avvai Home .

She was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1956 by the Government of India in recognition of her service. It cannot be denied that her work changed many lives and paved the way for the appointment of Indian women in positions of authority.

A bust of Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy at the Cancer Institute, Chennai

References :

• The Logical Indian

Also read: Rukhmabai: From Child Bride To India’s First Practising Female Doctor

Currently in between semi and full adulthood. Writing helps me work out all the complex thoughts I have floating around in my brain.

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In the 1800s, She Broke Barriers in Education, Medicine and Law and Abolished the Devadasi System

From being the first woman medical graduate of India to becoming the first woman member of a Legislative Council, Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy’s journey is nothing short of inspiring.

I n the midst of the bustling neighbourhood of Adyar in Chennai, a white building stands out prominently: The Cancer Institute. Over the years, the multi-storeyed building has become a symbol of hope for the hundreds who make their way to it, bodies ravaged by disease but spirits buoyed by optimism. The institute has saved thousands of lives since its inception in 1954; lives and families that would otherwise have been destroyed were it not for the efforts of Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy.

On July 30, 1886, in the princely state of Pudukkottai, Narayanaswami Iyer and Chandramma welcomed a new member into their family – baby Muthulakshmi.

Image Source: India International Centre

Muthulakshmi was born in a day and age where the phrase ‘women must be seen and not heard,’ was often bandied about and used as an excuse to subvert the true potential of women. Not one to allow society to dictate her life choices, Muthulakshmi set out to write her own destiny, in the process breaking many barriers in the field of medicine, legislation and politics. Not only did this trailblazer do exceedingly well for herself in every endeavour she undertook, she also paved the way for the generations of women who came after her.

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At the young age of 13, Muthulakshmi’s keen mind and quick ability to grasp things made her a roaring success at school. Upon reaching maturity, she continued her education through home-schooling.

Muthulakshmi passed her matriculation examination with flying colours. Her excellent performance was the talk of town, especially since it translated into her qualifying for college admission. Muthulakshmi, who had always dreamed of becoming a graduate, confidently submitted her application for admission to the stunned principal and professors of Maharaja College, Pudukottai.

Her simple dream of pursuing her education was met with stunned silence that steadily grew into alarmed outrage by conservative sections of society. Bowing to social pressures, the college refused to admit her despite her impressive academic record. It was only when Martanda Bhairava Thondaman, the forward-thinking Raja of Pudukkottai stepped in and ordered them to take-in Muthulakshmi, that the college grudgingly accepted her application.

Muthulakshmi became the first woman in Pudukottai to pursue a college education, and in a men’s college, no less!

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For Muthulakshmi, this was only the beginning. After completing her under-graduation from her hometown, she sought – and successfully gained – admission into the Madras Medical College. It was during her college years that Muthulakshmi formed a deep friendship with Sarojini Naidu and Annie Besant, two individuals whose personal philosophies would go on to influence many of her future endeavours.

With impressive single-minded focus, Muthulakshmi won the unique distinction of becoming the first woman medical graduate of India in 1912. She also went on to become the first woman House Surgeon in the Government Maternity and Ophthalmic Hospital, Madras.

Muthulakshmi was pursuing her higher education in London when, upon a request from the Women’s Indian Association – an organisation she helped establish in 1918, she returned home to enter the Madras Legislative Council. She was elected to the post of Vice-President, making her the first Indian woman member of a Legislative Council.

The event also marked her entry into politics and legislation, an area in which her efforts led to a marked improvement in the lives of women everywhere. In her capacity as a legislator, Muthulakshmi helped raise the minimum age for marriage for girls. Concerned about human trafficking, she pushed the Council to pass the crucial Immoral Traffic Control Act.

Being the daughter of a devadasi herself, she was also distinctly aware of the treatment meted out to women like her mother. Their lack of political agency and the prejudices that coloured their every interaction with all members of society disturbed her. This pushed her to pass the path-breaking law on abolishment of the devadasi system; the reverberations of this legislation can be felt across generations even today.

She is believed to have remarked, “Laws and legislation are there only for sanction. It is up to us women to energize these and implement them into action.”

Muthulakshmi realised that despite the devadasi system being abolished, there were still deeply-ingrained prejudices that many women freed from the shackles of this toxic system had to fight every day. This fact became more evident when, in 1930, three young devadasi girls knocked on her door, seeking shelter and protection.

When existing shelters failed to take in the girls, Muthulakshmi set out to create a safe haven for them and countless young girls like them: Avvai Home. Initially, the home was run out her own residence in Adyar.

Today, the home has grown to include an educational complex that houses a primary school, a secondary school, a higher secondary school as well as a teachers’ training Institution. While the home was started primarily for devadasis, its doors are open to all women who need assistance today.

Having witnessed the painful and untimely death of her sister due to cancer, Muthulakshmi had also been toying with the idea of opening up a specialised cancer hospital. She dreamt of a place where anyone suffering from cancer would receive treatment, irrespective of social and economic status.

In 1954, after overcoming several hurdles, Muthulakshmi’s dream came to life with the Cancer Institute. It was the second specialised cancer centre in India and the first in South India at the time.

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Today, the Adyar Cancer Institute, as it is sometimes called, boasts of a 450-bed hospital, a full-fledged research division, a Preventive Oncology department, and the Dr Muthulakshmi College of Oncologic Sciences. The patients and families who have benefitted from this institute are numerous, and ever increasing.

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In 1956, in recognition of her wonderful work in the social sector, Muthulakshmi was awarded the Padma Bhushan.

Muthulakshmi passed away in 1968 at the age of 81. Although she is no longer with us, her legacy lives on: in every devadasi who has won her freedom, in every girl who stands up against child marriage, in every woman who becomes a doctor, and in every individual whose life was transformed by the Avvai Home and the Cancer Institute.

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Dr Muthulakshmi Reddi: Biography and Contributions

Most Indians today, when questioned, would not recognize the name of Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddi (1886-1968) – a reality that needs to be remedied as she is an important figure in Indian history, being the first Indian female legislator and the founder behind one of the biggest cancer institutes in India. Despite facing numerous challenges and hindrances being born as a woman in pre-independence India, in an era where there were little to none resources and opportunities for women, she went on to become a trailblazer in more than one field and pave the way for coming generations of women.

Muthulakshmi Reddi: Early life and career

Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddi was born in 1886  to a Devadasi mother and a Brahmin father in the princely state of Pudukottai. Her early schooling consisted of a mix of schooling, homeschooling, and private tutoring. Even though higher education when it came to women was pretty much unheard of in those days, her father’s position as a college principal and the support of the Raja of Pudukottai helped in her gaining admittance to the local men’s college from where she passed out in 1907. In 1912, she became the first female medical graduate in the country and the first woman House Surgeon working in the Egmore Government Hospital for Women and Children. She married a fellow doctor named Dr. Sundra Reddi, with whom she had two children. She agreed for marriage only on the condition that she be treated equally and allowed to work, and thus she continued to do so.

Social and political contributions

In 1917, Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy joined the women’s movement in India and a year later founded the Women’s India Association (WIA) along with a few others including the theosophist and women’s rights activist Annie Besant, and radical Irish feminist Margaret Cousins. During her time as a member of the legislative council, she brought about reform with regard to a wide range of women’s issues. She introduced legislation repealing the Devadasi system (Devadasi Abolition Bill), a cause close to her heart as her maternal family was involved in it; legislation increasing women’s age of consent for marriage, the anti-polygamy bill; the Immoral Traffic Control Act and the Act to Prevent Cruelty to Children. She was a legislator for three years, but resigned in 1930 as a protest against the arrest of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, being his staunch follower. In an article published in the Hindu on independence day in 1947, she wrote:

“It is the Gandhian concept of non-violence alone that can save the world from a cataclysm. And it is the women of India alone who can carry the message best so that the world may come together in unity and peace.”

Later contributions:

Dr.Muthulakshmi Reddi was conferred a number of prestigious awards, positions, and tasks during her lifetime. She was someone who traveled to various countries such as France, England and the United States for participating in conferences and delivering lectures. She attended the Third Round Table Conference in London and the World Women’s Congress in Chicago as a representative of the Nationalist Women’s Organization of India.

One incident which stayed in her mind for a long time was the early passing of her sister due to rectal cancer, which strove her to maintain focus on the issue. Thus, when she was invited by the party in 1952 to once again join the Madras Legislative Council, she did so on the condition that she would be secured a plot of land to build a cancer hospital.

In 1949, under the WIA she set up a cancer relief fund, and using it established the Adyar Cancer Institute (WIA) in 1954. That same year, she also became the Chairperson of the State Social Welfare Advisory Board. In 1964, she published her second autobiographical work titled ‘ Autobiography’ , a look into both her personal life and her professional career. In 1956, she was awarded the Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian award in India.

Death and Legacy:

From the above-painted picture, it is clear that Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddi was someone who stayed active and continued working for the welfare of others until the very end of her life. She passed away in 1968 at the age of 82, having lived an illustrious life filled with altruism, hard work, love and dedication toward others. Her work lives on today in the form of the institutes that she has founded – the Avvai Home and the Adyar Cancer Institute (WIA).

Anandhi, S. (2008). The Manifesto and the Modern Self.  Jenda shigaku ,  4 .  https://doi.org/10.11365/genderhistory.4.5

Elizabeth Tusan, M. (2003). Writing stri dharma: International feminism, nationalist politics, and women’s press advocacy in late colonial India.  Women’s History Review ,  12 (4), 623-650.  https://doi.org/10.1080/09612020300200738

Gowri G. (2011).  Dr. MUTHULAKSHMI REDDI: SOCIAL REFORM AND WOMENS UPLIFTMENT-A STUDY  [Master’s thesis].  http://14.139.186.108/jspui/bitstream/123456789/7653/

Shanta, V. (n.d.).  Muthulakshmi Reddy – A Legend unto Herself . IIC| India International Centre.  https://www.iicdelhi.nic.in/ContentAttachments/Publications

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Remembering Muthulakshmi Reddy, trailblazer in surgery and women’s rights, on her 136th birth anniversary

New Delhi: This is the story of a pioneer path-creator for women. Muthulakshmi Reddy (July 30, 1886-July 22, 1968) was the first girl student in Maharaja’s School for Boys in Pudukkottai, the first Indian woman surgeon from Madras Medical College, the first Indian member of the Women’s Indian Association, the first woman member of the […]

New Delhi: This is the story of a pioneer path-creator for women.

Muthulakshmi Reddy (July 30, 1886-July 22, 1968) was the first girl student in Maharaja’s School for Boys in Pudukkottai, the first Indian woman surgeon from Madras Medical College, the first Indian member of the Women’s Indian Association, the first woman member of the Madras Presidency legislature, the first woman deputy speaker and the first alderwoman.

In “Muthulakshmi Reddy: A Trailblazer in Surgery and Women’s Rights” (Niyogi Books/Paper Missile), V.R. Devika, who has a doctorate on Mahatma Gandhi’s communication strategies, describes the indomitable spirit of a woman who campaigned to get rid of the practice of wet nurses, fought for girls’ education, widow remarriage, equal property rights for women, education reform and rural healthcare for women. She also took up the case of abolishing the practice of declaring young girls as Devadasis (Sanskrit: “female servant of a god”).

Muthulakshmi was initially enrolled at a local school run out of a portico. When she decided to study further, young boys ran behind the bullock cart she travelled in, screaming that a “Devaradial” (Devadasi in Tamil) was going to school.

Soon after, all hell broke loose in Pudukkottai, which back then, only had a high school for boys. Some parents threatened to withdraw their sons from the school, stating that the presence of a girl born to a Devadasi would corrupt their minds, even after a curtain was drawn between the three girls and 40 boys in the class. A teacher decided to resign as well.

But the Maharaja of Pudukkottai went on to support Muthulakshmi and gave her a handsome scholarship of Rs 150 when she expressed her desire to study medicine in Madras.

She was also the first Indian woman surgeon from Madras Medical College. The Madras Medical College was shocked when she opted for surgery, as girls were considered faint-hearted and unable to withstand the sight of blood. Muthulakshmi, however, was adamant, and at the end of her four years, the white principal of the college was found running in the corridor of the institute, screaming with a piece of paper in his hands: “The first girl student for surgery has scored 100 per cent in surgery!”

The monograph describes how Muthulakshmi established the Avvai Home for poor and destitute girls from where thousands of girls have graduated and found their feet as well. Thousands of poor women, including many from the Devadasi community, graduated from the institute, and thrived in the anonymity granted by the bill. Those who desired to learn music and dance also did so.

Expectedly, upper-caste and upper-class men put up stiff resistance to her proposition of increasing the legally marriageable age for women, and the abolition of the Devadasi system. She had to argue with the likes of activist and politician S. Satyamurthy, acclaimed for his rhetoric, and the erudite C Rajagopalachari, India’s last Governor General and later Chief Minister of Madras state, and success only came after 17 long years of struggle.

She was the one who, after having a successful career as a specialist in gynaecology and obstetrics, founded the Cancer Institute in Adyar, Chennai. It was when she saw her younger sister die of cancer that Muthulakshmi decided to specialise in treating the disease. She flew to London on a limited budget with her sons, and came back to establish the Adyar institute, one of the biggest such in India.

The monograph also throws light on Muthulakshmi’s many interactions with Mahatma Gandhi (she became the Tamil interpreter of Gandhiji’s speeches and travelled with him in Tamil areas), Sarojini Naidu, K Kamraj, Annie Besant, Kamala Chattopadhyay and many others.

Devika, when asked what inspired her to write the monograph, said: “Working as a volunteer in Avvai Home, talking to several women who wanted their Devadasi lineage hidden and who considered Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy a goddess, made me want to look at her life a little more closely. I deliberately decided to quote from Tamil works available on her. I am telling her story from her side of the fence. Her story is fascinating. I want young, non-book reading girls in government high schools and colleges to read it. It is accessible to them with its simple narration, I believe.”

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Giants in History: Muthulakshmi Reddy

Advancing women’s rights in india , muthulakshmi reddy (30 july 1886 - 22 july 1968).

Muthulakshmi Reddy (30 July 1886 – 22 July 1968) founded India’s Adyar Cancer Institute, and fought to improve the lives of impoverished women and girls. In addition to the cancer institute, she established the Avvai Home & Orphanage to shelter, protect and educate orphan girls and deserted women. A champion of women’s rights from a young age, Reddy resisted being married off at adolescence, instead becoming the first female student in the Department of Surgery at the Madras Medical College. As a doctor, Reddy opposed the practice of wet nursing, in which babies of upper caste women were breastfed by oppressed lower caste women. Nominated to the Madras Presidency Council and subsequently becoming its first female deputy president, Reddy was also responsible for several reforms that improved women’s social standing and welfare. Among them were setting up hospitals for women and children, introducing measures to improve medical facilities for people living in slums, and constructing toilets for women. Reddy also fought to raise the age of marriage for girls and championed women’s rights to property, education, and career. For her contributions, she was conferred the Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, in 1956.  

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Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy, a rebel with a cause

Dr. muthulakshmi reddy fought for women against many wrong things, including the devadasi system.

Published - April 26, 2018 03:32 pm IST

Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy

World Dance Day brings the focus back on “The dancing girl of Mohenjo daro.” This 10.8 cm long bronze statue (see below)was found in 1926 from a broken down house on the ‘ninth lane’ in Mohenjo-daro. The ‘pert liveliness’ of the minute figure opened up a debate on the antiquity of arts in India. In a language of creative expression, archaeologists reshaped and extended the assumption about her being the dancing girl. She is in a Tribhangi they said and “beats time to the music with her legs and feet...”

dancing girl of Mohenjo daro

But she is actually standing straight. Only one arm is adorned with bangles and she is holding something in her left hand. Naman Ahuja, the historian, says, “Look at the way she is standing. Look at her confidence. One arm on hip. Head thrown back. The way her hand is sculpted, there might have been a spear in her hand. Is she a warrior figure? Could she be a soldier rather than a dancing girl?”

Focus on the dancing girl

A recent discussion has brought focus on the dancing girl of Mohenjo daro and at the centre is the Devadasi, a system prevalent in the 1920s and abolished. This brings us to another dancing girl — Edgar Degas’s ground-breaking statuette of a young ballerina that caused a sensation at the 1881 impressionist exhibition. Degas was a keen observer and wry but sympathetic chronicler of the daily life of dancers, depicting their world off-stage, at rehearsal or in the wings. Degas’s Little Dancer showcases this world of gaslight and struggle. “It is the image of a sickly gawky adolescent, who is being made to do something she doesn't totally want to do,” said the critic, Tim Marlow.

This thought brings us to Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy, who fought against the dedication of young girls as Devadasis and Rukmini Devi Arundale, who crusaded against exclusivity.

Muthulakshmi, daughter of a Devadasi Chandrammal married to Narayanaswamy, the principal of Maharaja’s College in Pudukkottai, became the first girl student of the college. Also, she was the first Indian girl student in the Department of Surgery at the Madras Medical College. When she was admitted to Maharaja’s High School, parents of boys threatened to withdraw their children from the school. Her father had been ostracised by his family for marrying a Devadasi and Muthulakshmi became closer to her maternal relatives and saw the situation first hand. After she became a doctor, among the first things Muthulakshmi began to fight against was the system of wet nursing, where women of the upper class got Dalit women to breast feed their babies. She fought to raise the age of marriage for girls, women’s right to property and for choice in the matter of education and career.

It was in 1893 that the Madras Hindu Reform Association sent appeals to put an end to the practice of dances performed at private and public functions in which the British officials also participated. In 1900, M. Ramachandran, secretary of Arya Mission, Kanchipuram, openly protested against the Devadasi system by publishing articles and distributing pamphlets. In 1913, a bill to prevent dedication of girls under 16 years of age was introduced but the bill just dropped out.

In 1927, V.R. Pantulu made a resolution in the Council of State to prohibit dedication of girls. In the same year, Muthulakshmi Reddy was nominated to the Madras Presidency Council and was chosen as the first woman deputy president. She organised several seminars and meetings all over the Madras presidency and interviewed several hundred Devadasis. The Isai Vellalar Sangam in Thanjavur and Mayavaram met in support of the bill. Cochin Devadasis took out a procession in support of the bill. But the George Town Devadasis lead by Duraikannu Ammal and Bengaluru Nagarathnamma opposed the bill.

The bill was dormant after Muthulakshmi Reddy resigned from the Council in 1930 protesting Mahatma Gandhi’s arrest after the Salt March. Then the World War intervened. It was only in December 1947 that the Madras Devadasi (Prevention of Dedication) bill was passed in the Madras Legislative Assembly.

While all the debate was going on, two young girls approached Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy and asked her what alternative she had for them. They were running away from being dedicated as Devadasis. She took them into her house, tried putting them in hostels and schools but no one would take them. She decided to start Avvai Home hostel and school and offered them anonymity and choice in the matter.

Coincidentally, in 1936, when Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy started Avvai Home, in the Theosophical Society, yet another disciple of Annie Besant, Rukmini Devi Arundale, began to learn a dance she had a chance to encounter and opened it up for all of us to savour.

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Cancer Institute (W.I.A)

The story of Dr. (Mrs.) Muthulakshmi Reddy is a saga of indomitable courage and perseverance.  She lived only with challenges from her birth in 1886. Born in a middle class, socially handicapped environment in the princely state of Pudukottai, in an era when girls were born only to be married, she had to face numerous obstacles which did not deter her for a moment.  Yet she became the first woman from India to graduate in medicine in 1912 and the first Vice President of a legislative assembly in the world in 1926.

Not content with a successful medical career, Dr.(Mrs)Muthulaskhmi Reddy deemed it her duty to contribute her share to the women’s movement, became a  member of the Women’s Indian Association (WIA) in 1917 and added power and prestige to efforts for women’s empowerment. 

Late. Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy

The story of Dr. (Mrs.) Muthulakshmi Reddy is a saga of indomitable courage and perseverance. She lived only with challenges from her birth in 1886.

Living Monuments To Her Memory

• Avvai Home Orphanage and schools founded in 1930, the first home for destitute women and parentless children without any class divide.
• Cancer Institute (WIA), the first specialized centre for cancer treatment in South India, founded in 1954.

A dream becomes a Reality

She actively participated in clinical research trials and her work was published in peer reviewed journals such as the Journal of the State Medical Society and Baylor University Medical Center’s Proceedings. At Hahnemann Hospital in conjunction with Drexel University, she received extensive training in coronary as well as peripheral interventions and limb salvage procedures.

The Cancer Institute (WIA) was founded in 1954 by a group of voluntary women social workers under the inspiring leadership of Dr.Muthulakshmi Reddy, the first specialized cancer centre in South India  and the second in India. Today it is one of the largest centres in India with a National and International stature with many firsts to its credit.

The ethos since inception has been ‘service above self, service without social or economic divide’.  The story of the Institute, which has celebrated its Diamond Jubilee in 2014 is an inspiring one and cannot be narrated in a few lines or pages.

Dr. Reddy‘s contribution to the upliftment of women and children, especially the under privileged, was duly recognized by having her name on the first national flag that went up the Red Fort in 1947. 

Quoting from the address by Shri.R.Venkataraman, Vice President of India at the unveiling of the bust of Dr.Muthulakshmi Reddy in 1985 –

“I think what Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy achieved for the women of India can be accurately described as ‘breaking the time-barrier’. She telescoped into her life span a sequence of endeavors and achievements that would have ordinarily taken several generations.”

She was truly a Legend in her life time. 

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Contribution of Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy to Women Empowerment -A Historical Study

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• Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Essay in English for Children and Students

Teachers Day is celebrated to pay tribute to Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. He was the first vice president and second president of India. Candidates should read Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Essay to know about his life and contributions. Check Essay on Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan in English here

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You all must have celebrated Teachers Day in your school. In fact, in higher classes, you must have come dressed as your favorite teacher. But do you know why do we celebrate Teacher’s Day. It is celebrated to commemorate and pay tribute to Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. Dr. Sarvepalli was the first vice president and second president of India. In this article, we will learn about about his distinguished life by going through Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Essay.

Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Essay

The Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan essay is one of the most asked essays in school exams as well as subjective competitive exams. Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan is one of the most prominent figures in the field of politics and education in pre and post independent India. Dr. Radhakrishnan began his political journey after an illustrious academic career. Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was also nominated for Nobel Prize in literature in the year 1937.

Essay on Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan

Below, we are presenting brief and extensive essays about Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan in the English language for children and students. The essays were written in a straightforward manner to help school students easily learn and recite them when necessary. By reading these essays on Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, you will gain insights into his life, accomplishments, influence on students, and his reputation as both a teacher and President.

10 Lines on Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan in English

Check the 10 lines essay on Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan in English herein.

• Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan served as the inaugural Vice President of India and later became the second President of the country.
• He was born on the 5th of September 1888 in the small village of Tiruttani in Tamilnadu.
• Dr Radhakrishnan attended a school named ‘Lutheran Mission School’.
• He went on to further his studies at Madras Christian College and successfully finished his post-graduate studies.
• Every year, his birthday is commemorated as Teacher’s Day to recognize his impact on education and learning.
• Dr Radhakrishnan earned his Master of Arts degree in philosophy.
• Scholars from both East and West held him in high regard for his visionary insights and expertise.
• From 1952 to 1962, Dr Radhakrishnan held the position of Vice President of India.
• Dr. Radhakrishnan assumed the role of President of India in 1962.
• He died in 1975, and his birthday is commemorated as Teacher’s Day.

Short Essay on Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan

Check the shorter version of Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Essay in English for Children and Students hereunder.

Dr Radhakrishnan, born on 5th September 1888 in Tirutani, a small village, was renowned as a teacher, philosopher, scholar, and idealist. He came from a modest background but was a shining student who thrived in his studies. Once he finished his schooling, he went on to instruct philosophy in different locations like Mysore, Andhra, and Calcutta. He also worked as a teacher at Oxford and was beloved by students wherever he taught.

He, as an intellectual who imagined an advanced India, wrote numerous books on Indian customs with a focus on eliminating the caste or class systems that suppress individuals. He advocated for a contemporary version of Hinduism as a philosopher. Three of the most well-liked books are East and West: Some Reflections, Eastern Religion and Western Thought, and The Philosophy of Upanishads.

He was revered as a beloved teacher and is now seen as a symbol of academia, with his birthday being commemorated annually as Teacher’s Day. He represented India at UNESCO post-independence and was part of the Constituent Assembly as well.

Essay on Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan in 100 Words for Children and Students

Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was a renowned educator. His birth took place in Madras, India, on September 5, 1888, into the humble Brahmin family in Tirutani. In his later years, he served as the first Vice President and then went on to become the second President of the nation. He excelled as a philosopher, individual, visionary, educator, and renowned writer.

He was a man who had a vision, a mission, and principles, and he served as the Executive Head of India. He was a prominent figure in the nation, whose birthday is commemorated as Teacher’s Day in India. He is the honourable man who we commemorate by observing Teacher’s Day.

Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Essay in 150 Words

Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, born on September 5th, 1888 and passed away on April 17th, 1975, was a renowned Indian academic who held the positions of first vice President and second President of India. Throughout his career, he received numerous scholarships and taught at several prestigious institutions and universities, such as Oxford University. He was well-versed in Hindu philosophy and was instrumental in bringing Hinduism to the western world, earning him the title of a bridge builder connecting India and the western world.

Dr. Radhakrishnan received numerous accolades throughout his life, such as the Bharat Ratna in 1954, the British Order of Merit in 1963, the first person to receive the Sahitya Akademi fellowship in 1968, and the Templeton Prize in 1975. He received nominations for the Nobel Prize in literature and the Nobel Peace Prize a total of sixteen and eleven times, respectively. Teachers Day in India is celebrated on his birthday, 5th September.

Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Essay 200 Words

Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was a renowned individual and well-known educator. Every year on the 5th of September, students nationwide celebrate his birthday to honor him indefinitely. It is also observed as a way of showing respect to all the teachers in the nation for their outstanding and committed career. He entered the world on September 5, 1888, into a humble Brahmin family in Tirutani. Due to their financial struggles, he was able to complete his education with the help of a scholarship.

His initial schooling was completed at various missionary-run schools across the city. He obtained his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Madras University. His thesis on the ethics of the Vedanta, titled “The Ethics of the Vedanta and Its Metaphysical Presuppositions,” gained widespread popularity and was eventually published. In 1909, he was selected for a position in the Department of Philosophy at Madras Presidency College, and in 1918, he went on to become a teacher and Professor of Philosophy at the University of Mysore.

He had attended the Congress of the Universities of the British Empire in 1926 and the International Congress of Philosophy at Harvard University in the same year, representing the University of Calcutta. Following his significant contributions to the nation, he died on April 17, 1975.

Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Essay in English 300 Words

Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was a renowned educator and writer. He was born into a humble Brahmin family in Tirutani, India on the 5th of September in 1888. His father’s name was Sarvepalli Veeraswami and he was employed in a zamindari at a low salary. His mother’s name was Sitamma. Due to his low economic situation, he pursued his education through scholarships. He finished his education at Tirutani and Lutheran Mission School in Tirupati with success.

He finished his undergraduate and graduate studies in philosophy. He married Sivakamuamma when he was 16 years old. In 1909, he was appointed as an Assistant Lecturer at Madras Presidency College. He had a thorough understanding of the Upanishads, Brahmasutra, Bhagvad Gita, and commentaries by Sankara, Madhava, and Ramunuja, as well as a deep knowledge of Buddhist and Jain philosophy.

Later in his life, he delved into philosophical writings by Plato, Kant, Bradley, Plotinus, Bergson, Marxism, and Existentialism. In 1914, on his way to Cambridge for studies, he encountered the math prodigy called Srinivasa Ramanujan to receive Radhakrishnan’s blessings. In 1918, he was appointed as the Professor of Philosophy at University of Mysore. He also achieved fame as an author, writing numerous articles for prestigious journals such as The Philosophy of Rabindranath Tagore, The Quest, The Reign of Religion in Contemporary Philosophy, the International Journal of Ethics, Journal of Philosophy, etc.

His renowned writings captured the attention of Ashutosh Mookerjee (Vice Chancellor at Calcutta University) and led to his nomination for the George V Professor of Philosophy at Calcutta University in 1921. At the request of Prof. J. H. Muirhead, he penned a book titled Indian Philosophy for the Library of Philosophy, which was published in 1923. His birthday is commemorated annually on September 5th in recognition and admiration of his enduring contributions. He passed away on April 17, 1975.

Long Essay on Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan

Candidates can check Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Essay in 500+ words below for various exams.

Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was a great individual. He was appointed as the inaugural vice-president of the nation and the subsequent president of independent India. Additionally, prior to serving as vice-president and president, he worked as a philosopher, a teacher, and an author. Moreover, the 5th of September is commemorated as Teachers Day in India annually due to his birthday. He was recognized as one of the country’s outstanding leaders, and his birthday is commonly referred to as teachers’ day because of his impact on education.

Early Life and Education of Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan

Born in 1888 in Madras, he came from a Brahmin Family who lived in poverty. Because his family was experiencing financial difficulties, he received assistance from a scholarship to finish his studies. He finished his primary schooling at multiple missionary schools situated across different areas of the city. Moreover, he has a strong passion for philosophy and obtained both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in the subject.

Upon finishing his Master’s degree, he began his career as a junior lecturer at Madras Presidency College. Additionally, he was intrigued by religious mythologies and became proficient in various Hindu philosophical texts like Bhagavad Gita, Brahmasutra, Commentaries of Sankara, Upanishads, Ramanuja, and Madhava. In addition to these, he also became proficient in numerous other traditional Hindu philosophies. He also had a good understanding of the teachings of Jainism and Buddhism. Additionally, he had a good understanding of the philosophers in the western world.

Academic Career

In 1918, he was appointed as a professor at the University of Mysore, and shortly thereafter, Calcutta University proposed him for the position of philosophy professor. In his later years, he was summoned by Oxford University to give talks on Hindu Philosophy. Moreover, following extensive efforts, he successfully elevated Indian philosophy to a global platform. His efforts have allowed Indian Philosophy to make a global impact.

Career as Vice Chancellor and Politician

Following the 1930s, he experienced numerous significant changes in his life and assumed the role of vice-chancellor at several universities, including Banaras Hindu University and Andhra University. At a later time, before India gained independence, he was designated as the ambassador for UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization). And, following independence, he was appointed as the ambassador for the Soviet Union.

Additionally, in 1952, he was appointed as the Vice President of India and in 1954, he was honored with the Bharat Ratna award. Also, he held the position of Vice President of India for two full terms and in 1962 was elected President of India. He stepped down shortly after finishing his tenure as the President of India. He dedicates himself to the nation through his exceptional efforts and the aristocrat passed away in 1975.

Memorial and Awards

In addition to receiving the Bharat Ratna, he was also awarded numerous other awards during his lifetime. He was the recipient of the Templeton award, which he gave to Oxford University as a donation. In addition, he was also awarded the German Book Trade Peace Prize. To permanently honor him, the university established the Radhakrishnan Scholarship, which was later rebranded as the Radhakrishnan Chevening Scholarship.

In conclusion, we can state that Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was a wonderful individual who had a passion for education. We honor his birthday as Teacher’s Day in India because of his dedication to teaching. Additionally, he excelled as a teacher, philosopher, and writer.

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How is Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan a significant personality?

Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was a famous Indian philosopher and politician. He was a notable scholar who held the positions of the initial Vice President and subsequent President of India. We celebrate Teachers Day in India in his loving memory.

What was the speech of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan?

The famous speech of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan is: “I want my country to be free. I do not want a fallen and prostate India, I want an India which is free and enlightened. Such an India, if necessary, should be prepared to die so that humanity may live.”

How was Radhakrishnan as a teacher?

He wasn't just a famous instructor and thinker, he also served as the second President of independent India. Dr. Radhakrishnan was a firm believer in the transformative impact of education and its importance in shaping society. He closed the divide between Eastern and Western ideologies and wrote multiple books on philosophy and faith.

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