Muthulakshmi was a freedom fighter and a patriot. She was one of the women pioneers who stood for the cause of liberating India from the British. She was a women activist and a social reformer too. She had many firsts to her recognition. She was the first girl student to be admitted into a Men`s College, 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 woman Deputy President of the Legislative Council and the first Alderwoman of the Madras Corporation. She was awarded Padma Bhushan by the President of India in 1956. Her two outstanding monumental gifts for humanity are the Avvai Home (for children) and the Cancer Institute.

Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddi was born on 1886 in a middleclass family at Pudukottai in Tamil Nadu. She passed the matriculation through private studies and was coached by her own father. She was the first woman surgeon who emerged in flying colors and was married to Dr. Sundera Reddi FRCS. The two great personalities who influenced her life were Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Annie Besant. They persuaded her to devote herself for the upliftment of women and children. She worked for women`s emancipation at a time when women were confined in the four walls of their room.

She went to England for higher studies and she gave up her rewarding practice in response to a request from the Women`s Indian Association (WTA) to enter the Madras Legislative Council. She was elected unanimously as its Deputy President. She led the agitation for municipal and legislative franchise for women. She was concerned about the orphans, especially girls. She arranged for them free boarding and lodging and started the Avvai Home in Madras. This institution is still providing education and vocational training to many destitute girls.

Muthulakshmi was the author of numerous social reforms. Her book My Experience as a Legislator records all her services in the Legislature. She passed a resolution to establish a special hospital for women and children. The then Government accepted her suggestion and opened a children`s section in the maternity hospital. She recommended systematic medical inspection of students in all schools and colleges, run by municipalities as well as other local bodies. Kasturba Hospital at Triplicane is a monument to her efforts.

Muthulakshmi was the President of the All-India Women`s Conference. She passed the Bill for the suppression of brothels and immoral trafficking in women and children. A home for rescued girls and women were opened through her efforts to provide shelter to women and girls rescued from brothels. Due to her efforts a hostel for Muslim girls was opened and scholarships were given for Harijan girls. She recommended to the Government that the minimum age for marriage be raised to at least 21 for boys and 16 for girls.

Muthulakshmi started the Cancer Relief fund. This has now developed into an all-India institution combining therapy and research on cancer and attracting patients from all over India. She became the first Chairperson of the State Social Welfare Board. Her work on the Hartog Education Committee, which incorporated a study of educational progress in India, is a great achievement. As a member of the Hartog Committee she traveled extensively and studied the progress of women`s education throughout the country. She was the only woman member of the committee and brought about many improvements She was the editor of Roshini, an important journal of AIWC.

She was a very courageous and fearless woman she never feared any party or Government. She was a very confident woman and had to undergo many challenges from her childhood to her last breath. Whatever project she undertook she came out with success. She never feared defeat in her life. Even at the age of 80, she was energetic and vibrant. Her human preoccupations took her away from politics. She stuck to her mission and Gandhian ways. Although she lost her vision towards the end of her life, she was firm in her decisions and lived for fulfilling her causes. She could never tolerate any harm or injustice done to women in any corner of the world. She breathed her last on 1968.