Sarojini Naidu

Sarojini Naidu
1st Governor of the United Provinces
In office
15 August 1947 – 2 March 1949
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byHormasji Peroshaw Mody
44th President of the Indian National Congress
In office
1925–1926
Preceded byMahatma Gandhi
Succeeded byS. Srinivasa Iyengar
Personal details
Born
Sarojini Naidu

(1879-02-13)13 February 1879
Hyderabad, Hyderabad State, British Raj
(present-day Telangana, India)
Died2 March 1949(1949-03-02) (aged 70)
Lucknow, United Provinces, India
(present-day Uttar Pradesh, India)
Political partyIndian National Congress
Spouse
Govindarajulu Naidu
(m. 1898)
Children5, including Padmaja
Relatives
Alma mater
OccupationPolitical activist, Poet
Nicknames
  • "Nightingale of India"
  • "Bhārata Kōkiḷā"
  • "Bulbul-e-Hind"
Writing career
LanguageEnglish
GenreLyric poetry
SubjectIndian nationalism
Notable works
Signature

Sarojini Naidu (13 February 1879 – 2 March 1949)[1] was an Indian political activist and poet who served as the first Governor of United Provinces, after India's independence. She played an important role in the Indian independence movement against the British Raj. She was the first Indian woman to be president of the Indian National Congress and appointed governor of a state.

Born in a Bengali family in Hyderabad, Naidu was educated in Madras, London and Cambridge. Following her time in Britain, where she worked as a suffragist, she was drawn to the Congress party's struggle for India's independence. She became a part of the national movement and became a follower of Mahatma Gandhi and his idea of swaraj (self rule). She was appointed Congress president in 1925 and, when India achieved its independence, became Governor of the United Provinces in 1947.

Naidu's literary work as a poet earned her the nickname the "Nightingale of India" by Gandhi because of the colour, imagery and lyrical quality of her poetry. Her œuvre includes both children's poems and others written on more serious themes including patriotism and tragedy. Published in 1912, "In the Bazaars of Hyderabad" remains one of her most popular poems.

  1. ^ "Sarojini Naidu birth anniversary: Remembering the 'Nightingale of India' - poems, quotes, history". Zee Business. 13 February 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.