Saraswathi Ammal (Aged 61) was born on January 14, 1913, in Attur, Salem, Tamil Nadu, India. She was the first woman from Chennai to be imprisoned for participating in the Gandhian struggle during the Indian Liberation War. Her parents were Varadaraja Mudaliar and Devaki Ammaiyar, belonging to a skilled artisan caste.
She married Pandurangam in 1926, and they both joined the volunteer force of the Chennai branch of the All India Congress Party led by Dr. Ansari. When the Gandhi salt Satyagraha began in 1930, Saraswathiyammal, Pandurangam, and other families abandoned their homes and were brutally attacked by the police.
Later, the couple was sentenced to six months in jail for participating in the protest at Mylai Beach. When the civil rights movement started in 1931, they left their 22-day-old baby on the street and vacated their house. Fearless Saraswati went to the police commissioner’s office, lit a stove to cook, and was chased away. She stayed at Thangasalai Anumar temple hall.
Even after all this, in 1931, Saraswati participated again in the anti-law movement and was arrested and taken to Kannanur Jail in Kerala. The infant died due to this kind of suffering. Even after serving the prison term, her determination did not diminish. She fearlessly participated with women activists in the boycott of foreign cloth announced by Gandhiji and was arrested again. She was carrying a sack around her body because her saree was tattered. A jail officer, feeling sorry for her, ordered to give her a saree and helped her.
The couple’s second child was only 40 days old when Saraswathi was arrested for the individual satyagraha started by Mahatma Gandhi in 1941. She left the child alone with Kuppusamy Mudaliar as a foster child and was imprisoned in Vellore jail. Saraswati, who lived like a lioness and was not afraid of jail, was later elected three times as a member of the Madaratsi constituency in Muthialpet, Chennai. She was also a member of the Hindu Charities Department and participated in the Tamil Nadu border protest at Nagercoil. She passed away in 1991.
Saraswathi Ammal
(1913 – 1991) – (Tamilnadu)
Saraswathi Ammal (Aged 61) was born on January 14, 1913, in Attur, Salem, Tamil Nadu, India. She was the first woman from Chennai to be imprisoned for participating in the Gandhian struggle during the Indian Liberation War. Her parents were Varadaraja Mudaliar and Devaki Ammaiyar, belonging to a skilled artisan caste.
She married Pandurangam in 1926, and they both joined the volunteer force of the Chennai branch of the All India Congress Party led by Dr. Ansari. When the Gandhi salt Satyagraha began in 1930, Saraswathiyammal, Pandurangam, and other families abandoned their homes and were brutally attacked by the police.
Later, the couple was sentenced to six months in jail for participating in the protest at Mylai Beach. When the civil rights movement started in 1931, they left their 22-day-old baby on the street and vacated their house. Fearless Saraswati went to the police commissioner’s office, lit a stove to cook, and was chased away. She stayed at Thangasalai Anumar temple hall.
Even after all this, in 1931, Saraswati participated again in the anti-law movement and was arrested and taken to Kannanur Jail in Kerala. The infant died due to this kind of suffering. Even after serving the prison term, her determination did not diminish. She fearlessly participated with women activists in the boycott of foreign cloth announced by Gandhiji and was arrested again. She was carrying a sack around her body because her saree was tattered. A jail officer, feeling sorry for her, ordered to give her a saree and helped her.
The couple’s second child was only 40 days old when Saraswathi was arrested for the individual satyagraha started by Mahatma Gandhi in 1941. She left the child alone with Kuppusamy Mudaliar as a foster child and was imprisoned in Vellore jail. Saraswati, who lived like a lioness and was not afraid of jail, was later elected three times as a member of the Madaratsi constituency in Muthialpet, Chennai. She was also a member of the Hindu Charities Department and participated in the Tamil Nadu border protest at Nagercoil. She passed away in 1991.
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