![]() The reason for the low participation of women lies in the nature of the politics of Chennai as well as the tactics of the nationalist movement in this province. First, there had been considerable debate within the Madras Congress as to whether or not to accept Mahatma Gandhi's leadership. There were many leaders who did not support his plan. Second, Congress was seen as a party of the Brahmin elite. Third, in other parts of the country women were especially successful in enforcing the boycott of foreign-made cloth. In Chennai, Chakravarti Rajagopalachari, a leading member of Congress, was more concerned with prohibition than with foreign cloth. Secretary of the Prohibition League of India and member in charge of the anti-drink campaign of the Indian National Congress, he regarded this as an issue that went beyond caste and community and had the potential to unite people in a struggle against the government. Unfortunately, picketing liquor shops was one of the most dangerous forms of protest in Chennai and deemed inappropriate for women. S. Ambujammal was the only daughter of S. Srinivasa Iyengar, a brilliant lawyer and Congress leader. She had heard a lot about and been greatly influenced by Mahatma Gandhi. She joined the Non Cooperation Movement in 1920, began to wear khaddar and spin. Her real entry into the nationalist movement came in 1928 when she decided to form the Women's Swadeshi League. Members of the League took the Swadeshi vow, spun a certain amount of thread each month, and spread the word about the value or homespun cloth. ![]() Krishnabai Rau, a loyal Gandhian since childhood, responded to Gandhi's call for civil disobedience by resigning her position as lecturer in Crosthwaite Girls' College, Allahabad, and returning to Chennai. Well known for her leadership skills and ability to speak publicly (as a student Krishnabai had organized the Madras Youth League and given evidence before the Joshi Commission), she organized the Desh Sevika Sangha under the guidance of the Swadeshi League. Dressed in orange saris and blouses, DSS women picketed foreign cloth shops with men volunteers. When the police first moved against the demonstrators, they attacked the men but not the women. This only strengthened women's resolve to join the movement against the British. It was not long before the police began to treat women protesters the same as men. Chennai women were among the first arrested in the country. Rukmani Lakshmipathy, accompanying C. Rajagopalachari in his march to Vedaranyam to break the salt laws in 1931, was arrested and became the first female political prisoner in Vellore women's jail. At a meeting held to protest the brutal treatment of the Satyagrahis, 5,000 mill-hands began to stone the watching police. The police retaliated by lathi-charging the group, killing three people and wounding five. This event frightened both congress leaders and women Satyagrahis neither of whom wished to incite mob violence or provoke police retaliation. It had the effect of dampening the enthusiasm of women for mass demonstrations. Thus, though the participation of the Chennai women in the Civil Disobedience Movement was more restricted than in other parts of the country their limited participation too showed the enthusiasm of women to participate in the nationalist struggle. |
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