Chandraprabha Saikiani

2022-01-18T02:34:41Z

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{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Chandraprava Sai
| birth_name = Chandrapriya Das
| native_name = চন্দ্ৰপ্ৰভা শইকীয়ানী
| native_name_lang = as
| image = Stamp of India - 2002 - Colnect 158263 - Social Reformers - Chandraprabha Saikiani.jpeg
| imagesize = 250px
| caption = Postal stamp of Chandraprabha.
| birth_date = 16 March 1901
| birth_place = Daisingari, [[Assam]], India
| death_date = {{death-date and age|16 March 1972|16 March 1901}}
| death_place = Daisingari, [[Kamrup district]], [[Assam]], India
| restingplace =
| restingplacecoordinates =
| othername = Chandraprabha Saikiani
| occupation = Social reformer, writer
| yearsactive = 1918-1972
| known for = All Assam Pradeshik Mahila Samiti
| spouse =
| domesticpartner = Dandinath Kalita
| children = Atul Saikia
| parents = Ratiram Mazumdar<br/>Gangapriya
| website =
| awards = [[Padma Shri]]
}}
'''Chandraprabha Saikiani''' (16 March 1901 – 16 March 1972) or '''Chandraprava Saikiani''' was an Assamese freedom fighter, activist, writer and social reformer considered to be the pioneer of the feminist movement in [[Assam]].<ref name="Chandraprabha Saikiani : The Path-Breaking Lady of Assam">{{cite web |url=http://pib.nic.in/feature/feyr2002/fmar2002/f200320021.html |title=Chandraprabha Saikiani : The Path-Breaking Lady of Assam |publisher=Press Information Bureau, Government of India |date=2015 |access-date=4 June 2015 |author=Rina Sonowal Kouli}}</ref><ref name="Remembering Chandraprabha Saikiani">{{cite web |url=http://www.thethumbprintmag.com/remembering-chandraprabha-saikiani/ |title=Remembering Chandraprabha Saikiani |publisher=Thumb print magazine |date=7 March 2015 |access-date=5 June 2015 |author=Mitra Phukan}}</ref> She was the founder of ''The All Assam Pradeshik Mahila Samiti'', a non governmental organization working for the welfare of the women of Assam<ref name="Background and Formation of Assam Pradeshik Mahila Samity">{{cite web |url=http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in:8080/jspui/bitstream/10603/29275/9/09_chapter%202.pdf |title=Background and Formation of Assam Pradeshik Mahila Samity |publisher=Shod Ganga |date=2015 |access-date=4 June 2015}}{{dead link|date=August 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> and was a recipient of the fourth highest Indian civilian award of [[Padma Shri]] for the year 1972 from the [[Government of India]].<ref name="Padma Shri">{{cite web |url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |title=Padma Shri |publisher=Padma Shri |date=2015 |access-date=11 November 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015193758/http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |archive-date=15 October 2015 }}</ref> Three decades later, the Indian government issued a commemorative stamp on Saikiani under the series, ''Social Reformers'', in 2002.<ref name="Indian Postage Stamps">{{cite web |url=http://www.postagestamps.gov.in/Stamps2002.aspx |title=Indian Postage Stamps |publisher=Department of Posts, Government of India |date=2015 |access-date=4 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150316052637/http://postagestamps.gov.in/Stamps2002.aspx |archive-date=16 March 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

She also took proactive role in the [[Civil Disobedience Movement]] of 1932 and [[Non Cooperation Movement]] of 1920- 21. Contesting elections for the Legislative Assembly, she became the first woman to foray in politics in Independent India. Saikiani was also a noted poet and prolific writer.

== Early life ==
She was born as "Chandrapriya Mazumdar" (Chandrapriya Das) on 16 March 1901 to Ratiram Mazumdar (a village headman) and Gangapriya Mazumdar at Doisingari village of the [[Kamrup district]] in the Northeast Indian state of Assam.<ref>{{citation|url=http://pib.nic.in/feature/feyr2002/fmar2002/f200320021.html/|title=Chandraprabha Saikiani: The Path-Breaking Lady of Assam|work=PIB, Government of India}}</ref> She was the seventh of eleven children and choose the name "Chandraprabha Saikiani" for herself.

Accompanied by her sister [[Rajaniprabha Saikiani]] (who later on became the first woman doctor of Assam), they waded through waist deep mud to attend a boys' school (there was no girls' school) several kilometers away. Their endeavour impressed [[Nilkanta Barua]], a school sub-inspector, and she was awarded a scholarship to the [[Nagao Mission School]].<ref name="The Legendary Crusader" /> At Nagao Mission School, she protested against the school authorities who did not allow a girl to stay at hostel after rejecting a proposal to convert to [[Christianity]]. She finally saw the result of her protest: the authorities admitted induct the girl into the hostel.<ref name="Chandraprabha Saikiani : The Path-Breaking Lady of Assam" /><ref name="Literary Vision">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=phlsDuW96hsC&q=Dandinath+Kalita&pg=PA29 |title=Literary Vision |publisher=Sarup & Sons |author=Basavaraj Naikar |year=2005 |pages=390 |isbn=9788176255660}}</ref><ref name="Chandraprabha Saikiani (1901-1972)">{{cite web |url=http://www.streeshakti.com/bookC.aspx?author=4 |title=Chandraprabha Saikiani (1901-1972) |publisher=Stree Shakthi |date=2015 |access-date=5 June 2015}}</ref>

After school, she gathered local illiterate girls and taught them what she learnt at school at a makeshift shed near the school.<ref name="The Legendary Crusader">{{cite web |url=http://www.assamtimes.org/node/3631 |title=The Legendary Crusader |publisher=Assam Times |date=16 March 2010 |access-date=4 June 2015}}</ref> Her social activism started here when she protested against the allegedly discriminatory treatment meted out to Hindu students by the hostel superintendent.<ref name="Chandraprabha Saikiani : The Path-Breaking Lady of Assam" />

She refused to honour her parents' commitment to marry her off to an elderly person<ref name="Leader of Women's Liberation">{{cite web |url=http://museindia.com/featurecontent.asp?issid=49&id=4188 |title=Leader of Women's Liberation |publisher=Muse India |date=2015 |access-date=5 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150405225119/http://museindia.com/featurecontent.asp?issid=49&id=4188 |archive-date=5 April 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and got engaged to Dandinath Kalita, an Assamese writer.<ref name="Literary Vision" /> The relationship resulted in Saikiani becoming a mother out of marriage and she remained a spinster for life<ref name="Chandraprabha Saikiani (1901-1972)" /> after Kalita married another woman.<ref name="The Legendary Crusader" /> She was reported to have faced strong opposition from the conservative society in bringing up her son as a single mother but her life in Tezpur brought her opportunities to meet and interact with social and cultural leaders such as Chandranath Sharma, [[Omeo Kumar Das]],<ref name="Omeo Kumar Das Institute of Social Change and Development">{{cite web |url=http://www.karmayog.org/nonmumbaiprofiles/nonmumprodis.asp?r=149&nonnpoproid=1878&state=Assam&city=Guwahati |title=Omeo Kumar Das Institute of Social Change and Development |publisher=Karmayog |date=2015 |access-date=4 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180720051755/http://www.karmayog.org/nonmumbaiprofiles/nonmumprodis.asp?r=149&nonnpoproid=1878&state=Assam&city=Guwahati |archive-date=20 July 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Jyotiprasad Agarwalla]] and Lakhidhar Sarma.

== Social and political life ==
Saikiani started her career as a teacher at a primary school in [[Nagaon]] and later, became the headmistress of the Girls’ M. E. School, [[Tezpur]].<ref name="Chandraprabha Saikiani : The Path-Breaking Lady of Assam" />

During her stay at Tezpur she associated with luminaries like [[Jyotiprasad Agarwala]], [[Omeo Kumar Das]], [[Chandra Nath Sarma]], [[Lakhidhar Sarma]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.assamtimes.org/node/3631/|title=Chandraprabha Saikiani: The Legendary Crusader|work=Assam Times | date=16 March 2010}}</ref> In 1918, at Tezpur session of [[Asom Chhatra Sanmilan]], she was the only female delegate and addressed a huge throng on the harmful effects of opium eating and asked for its ban.<ref name="Chandraprabha Saikiani : The Path-Breaking Lady of Assam" /> It was the first event where an Assamese woman spoke in front of a large gathering.

Affected by the rise of nationalism in 1921, she joined the [[non co-operation movement]] of [[Mahatma Gandhi]] and worked to spread the message among women of Tezpur.<ref name="Chandraprabha Saikiani : The Path-Breaking Lady of Assam" /> She was an invited speaker at the Nagaon session of the [[Assam Sahitya Sabha]] in 1925 where she called upon the women attendees who were seated in a separate enclosure to break the barriers and the women heeded her call to come out to the open area.<ref name="Chandraprabha Saikiani : The Path-Breaking Lady of Assam" /> Returning to her village, she joined Kaljirapara school as a teacher but resigned her job when she was denied permission to attend the Guwahati session of the [[Indian National Congress]].<ref name="Chandraprabha Saikiani : The Path-Breaking Lady of Assam" /> She continued her social activism and founded Assam Pradeshik Mahila Samiti in 1926<ref name="Life and works of Chandraprabha Saikiani recalled">{{cite web |url=http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/detailsnew.asp?id=mar2012/state05 |title=Life and works of Chandraprabha Saikiani recalled |publisher=Assam Tribune |date=20 March 2012 |access-date=5 June 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160129044134/http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/detailsnew.asp?id=mar2012%2Fstate05 |archive-date=29 January 2016 }}</ref> to act against child marriage, polygamy and the discrimination of women at the temples and to take up issues like women's education and self-employment. Her efforts were reported in getting the [[Hayagriva Madhava Temple]], [[Hajo]], near [[Guwahati]] opened to women.<ref name="Chandraprabha Saikiani : The Path-Breaking Lady of Assam" /> Her involvement with the [[civil disobedience movement]] landed her in jail in 1930 and later in 1943, she was jailed again while participating in the [[non co-operation movement]].<ref name="Literary Vision" /><ref name="Chandraprabha Saikiani (1901-1972)" />

After the Indian independence, she joined the [[Socialist Party (India)|Socialist Party]] but returned to the Indian National Congress and unsuccessfully contested in the 1957 [[Assam Legislative Assembly]] elections.<ref name="Chandraprabha Saikiani : The Path-Breaking Lady of Assam" /> Her son, Atul Saikia, is a politician and a former member of Assam Legislative Assembly.<ref name="Literary Vision" />

== Literary activities, awards and recognitions ==
Saikiani published her first short story in a local magazine, Bahi, in 1918 at age of 17 followed by several novels such as ''Pitribhitha'' (The Paternal Home) (1937), ''Sipahi Bidrohat'' (Sepoy Mutiny), ''Dillir Sinhasan'' (Throne of Delhi) and Kavi Anav Ghosh. She served as the editor of Mahila Samiti's Assamese journal [[Abhijatri]] for a period of seven years<ref name="Chandraprabha Saikiani : The Path-Breaking Lady of Assam" /> and also headed the Al India Assam Peasants' Conference.<ref name="Literary Vision" />

Chandraprabha Saikiani was a noted poet and a prolific writer. She also published a novel titled [[Pitribhita]] in 1937. The Government of India honoured her with Padmashree in 1972 shortly after her death. Again in 2002, the Government of India released a [[commemorative stamp]] in her honour.

==Death and legacy==
Saikiani died on her 72nd birthday on 16 March 1972<ref name="Chandraprabha Saikiani : The Path-Breaking Lady of Assam" /> succumbing to cancer.<ref name="Literary Vision" /> A couple of months before her death, the [[Government of India]] awarded her the civilian honour of Padma Shri in 1972.<ref name="Padma Shri" /> She was honoured again in 2002 by the government when a commemorative postage stamp was issued by the [[India Posts|Department of Posts]] in 2002 under the series, social reformers.<ref name="Indian Postage Stamps" /> The government polytechnic in Kamrup, [[Guwahati]]<ref name="Padmashree Chandraprava Saikiani Girls Polytechnic">{{cite web |url=http://www.icbse.com/colleges/padmashree-chandraprava-saikiani-girls-polytechnic/7176/1 |title=Padmashree Chandraprava Saikiani Girls Polytechnic |publisher=Padmashree Chandraprava Saikiani Girls Polytechnic |date=2015 |access-date=4 June 2015}}</ref> is named after her<ref name="The Legendary Crusader" /> and the [[Tezpur University]] established a women's centre in her name, ''Chandraprabha Saikiani Center for Women’s Studies'' (CSCWS) in 2009 for promoting women's education in the Northeast India.<ref name="Chandraprabha Saikiani Center for Women’s Studies">{{cite web |url=http://www.tezu.ernet.in/wsc/ |title=Chandraprabha Saikiani Center for Women's Studies |publisher=Tezpur University |date=2015 |access-date=5 June 2015}}</ref>

Her life has been documented in four biographies:
*''Agnisnata Chandraprabha'' (1998) by Pushpalata Das,<ref name="Agnisnata Chandraprabha">{{cite book |url=http://www.dli.gov.in/cgi-bin/metainfo.cgi?&title1=Agnisnata%20Chandraprava&author1=Unknown&subject1=GENERALITIES&year=1998%20&language1=hindi&pages=70&barcode=99999990186117&author2=NULL&identifier1=NULL&publisher1=National%20Book%20Trust&contributor1=NULL&vendor1=NONE&scanningcentre1=cdac,noida&slocation1=NONE&sourcelib1=NBT&scannerno1=0&digitalrepublisher1=Digital%20Library%20of%20India&digitalpublicationdate1=2005-01-04&numberedpages1=0&unnumberedpages1=0&rights1=National%20Book%20Trust&copyrightowner1=NULL&copyrightexpirydate1=0000-00-00&format1=NULL%20&url=/data2/upload/0040/423 |title=Agnisnata Chandraprabha |publisher=Digital Library of India |author=Pushpalata Das |year=1998 }}{{Dead link|date=November 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
*''Chandraprabha Saikiani'' (2001) by Achyut Kumar Sharma,
*''Muktixongrami Chandraprabha'' (2002) by Hironmoyi Devi and
*''Chandraprabha'' [2011]<ref name="Chandraprabha">{{cite book |url=http://nelitreview.tumblr.com/post/20403817933/new-prints |title=Chandraprabha |publisher=Banalata |author=Anjali Sarma |year=2011}}</ref> by Anjali Sarma.<ref name="Leader of Women's Liberation" />

''Abhiyatri: One Life Many Rivers'',<ref name="Abhiyatri: One Life Many Rivers">{{cite book |title=Abhiyatri: One Life Many Rivers |publisher=Sahitya Akademi |author=Nirupama Bargohain (Author), Pradipto Bargohain (Translator) |year=2000 |pages=168 |isbn=978-8126006885}}</ref> a novel by [[Nirupama Borgohain]], renowned Assamese novelist and wife of [[Homen Borgohain]],<ref name="Homen Borgoahain">{{cite web |url=http://assamtopix.blogspot.in/2014/07/homen-borgoahain.html |title=Homen Borgoahain |publisher=Assam Topics |date=2015 |access-date=5 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305164121/http://assamtopix.blogspot.in/2014/07/homen-borgoahain.html |archive-date=5 March 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> is a fictionalised account of Saikiani's life<ref name="Chandraprabha Saikiani (1901-1972)" /> and the novel went on to win the [[Sahitya Akademi award]] in 1996.<ref name="Akademi Awards">{{cite web |url=http://sahitya-akademi.gov.in/sahitya-akademi/awards/akademi%20samman_suchi.jsp |title=AKademi Awards |publisher=Sahitya Akademi |date=2015 |access-date=5 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304084937/http://sahitya-akademi.gov.in/sahitya-akademi/awards/akademi%20samman_suchi.jsp |archive-date=4 March 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Later on [[Prodipto Borgohain]] translated Abhijatri into English and won the [[Sahitya Akademi Award]].<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.streeshakti.com/bookC.aspx?author=4/|title=Chandraprabha Saikiani|work=StreeShakti}}{{Dead link|date=November 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name="Chandraprabha Saikiani (1901-1972)" />

==See also==
{{portal|India}}
* [[Jyotiprasad Agarwalla]]
* [[Homen Borgohain]]
* [[Pushpalata Das]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |title=Literary Vision |publisher=Sarup & Sons |author=Basavaraj Naikar |year=2005 |pages=390 |isbn=9788176255660}}
* {{cite book |title=Abhiyatri: One Life Many Rivers |publisher=Sahitya Akademi |author=Nirupama Bargohain (Author), Pradipto Bargohain (Translator) |year=2000 |pages=168 |isbn=978-8126006885}}

{{Padma Shri Award Recipients in Social Work}}
{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saikiani, Chandraprabha}}
[[Category:Women Indian independence activists]]
[[Category:1901 births]]
[[Category:1972 deaths]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri in social work]]
[[Category:Social workers]]
[[Category:Indian social reformers]]
[[Category:Indian women novelists]]
[[Category:Assamese-language writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian novelists]]
[[Category:Women writers from Assam]]
[[Category:Novelists from Assam]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian women writers]]
[[Category:Indian independence activists from Assam]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian educators]]
[[Category:Scholars from Assam]]
[[Category:Social workers from Assam]]
[[Category:Women educators from Assam]]
[[Category:Educators from Assam]]
[[Category:20th-century women educators]]

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Chandraprabha Saikiani