{"id":369117,"date":"2026-08-07T17:16:18","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T11:46:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/?p=369117"},"modified":"2026-08-07T17:16:18","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T11:46:18","slug":"kamaladevi-chattopadhyay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/kamaladevi-chattopadhyay\/","title":{"rendered":"Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"content-box-green\">\n<p><strong>News : <\/strong>Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, popularly known as &#8220;Hatkargha Maa&#8221; (Mother of Handlooms), is remembered for her exceptional contribution to Indian handlooms and handicrafts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"red-h2-box\">About Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_369126\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-369126\" style=\"width: 422px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-369126\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Source-Swarajya-Mag.jpg?resize=422%2C283&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"422\" height=\"283\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Source-Swarajya-Mag.jpg?resize=300%2C201&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Source-Swarajya-Mag.jpg?resize=768%2C515&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Source-Swarajya-Mag.jpg?w=774&amp;ssl=1 774w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 422px) 100vw, 422px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-369126\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source &#8211; Swarajya Mag<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay (1903\u20131988)<\/strong>\u00a0was a <strong>freedom fighter, social reformer, feminist<\/strong>, and a leading force behind the <strong>revival of Indian handicrafts, handlooms, and theatre.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Early Life:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Birth<\/strong>: She was <strong>born on 3 April 1903 at Mangalore<\/strong> to Ananthaya Dhareshwar and Girijamma.\n<ul>\n<li>Her father was the <strong>District Collector of Mangalore.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Family Background:<\/strong> She was <strong>born into a Saraswat Brahmin community.<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Her parents were <strong>progressive thinkers and participated in the freedom struggle.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Inspired by:<\/strong> She was deeply <strong>inspired by Gandhian ideas of non-violence. <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Role in the Freedom Struggle:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Entry into Politics:<\/strong> She joined the <strong>Indian National Congress in 1923<\/strong> and became the <strong>first woman in India to contest a legislative election in 1926.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Salt Satyagraha: <\/strong>She <strong>opposed Mahatma Gandhi&#8217;s decision to exclude women from the Salt March.<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>She <strong>sold &#8220;freedom salt&#8221; in defiance of the British salt laws<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>She became the <strong>first woman arrested during the Salt Satyagraha.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Nationalist Organisation:<\/strong> She <strong>headed the women&#8217;s wing of the Hindustani Seva Dal<\/strong> and trained hundreds of women volunteers for nationalist protests.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Socialist Politics:<\/strong> She <strong>helped found the Congress Socialist Party and became its President in 1936.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Socio-Political &amp; Feminist Milestones:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Women&#8217;s Leadership:<\/strong> She <strong>contested the Madras Provincial Legislative Assembly election <\/strong>with the support of<strong> the Women&#8217;s Indian Association<\/strong> and narrowly lost.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Women&#8217;s Rights:<\/strong> She <strong>co-founded the All India Women&#8217;s Conference with Margaret Cousins.<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>She later led the organisation to promote women&#8217;s education, voting rights, and campaigns against child marriage.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>International Role:<\/strong> She <strong>represented Indian women internationally,<\/strong> attended the <strong>International Alliance of Women in Berlin in 1929,<\/strong> and supported equality between nations.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Author:<\/strong> She wrote on women&#8217;s rights from 1929, and her book <strong>Indian Women&#8217;s Battle for Freedom<\/strong> was published in 1982.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Post-Independence Cultural Renaissance:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Handicrafts and Handlooms:<\/strong> She revived Indian handicrafts and handlooms by <strong>establishing the All India Handicrafts Board.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Support for Artisans:<\/strong> She founded the <strong>Central Cottage Industries Emporium (1952)<\/strong> to connect rural artisans directly with urban buyers.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Institution Building:<\/strong> She played an important role in establishing the <strong>National School of Drama, the Sangeet Natak Akademi, and the Indian Cooperative Union.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Refugee Rehabilitation:<\/strong> Through the <strong>Indian Cooperative Union,<\/strong> she helped <strong>develop Faridabad<\/strong> to rehabilitate tens of thousands of Partition refugees.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Major Awards &amp; Recognition:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Padma Bhushan:<\/strong> She received the <strong>Padma Bhushan in 1955.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Ramon Magsaysay Award:<\/strong> She became the <strong>first Indian woman to receive the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1966.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Padma Vibhushan:<\/strong> She was honoured with the <strong>Padma Vibhushan in 1987.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Legacy:<\/strong> She is affectionately <strong>remembered as &#8220;Hatkargha Maa&#8221; (Mother of Handlooms)<\/strong> for her exceptional contribution to Indian handlooms and handicrafts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>News : Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, popularly known as &#8220;Hatkargha Maa&#8221; (Mother of Handlooms), is remembered for her exceptional contribution to Indian handlooms and handicrafts. About Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay (1903\u20131988)\u00a0was a freedom fighter, social reformer, feminist, and a leading force behind the revival of Indian handicrafts, handlooms, and theatre. Early Life: Birth: She was born on&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/kamaladevi-chattopadhyay\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10401,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1566,11212,12039,11210],"tags":[11872],"class_list":["post-369117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-daily-factly-articles","category-history-and-art-culture-in-news","category-knolls","category-personalities-in-news","tag-9pm-daily-factly","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369117","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10401"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=369117"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369117\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=369117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=369117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=369117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}