Ashoka Gupta ( bn, অশোকা গুপ্ত; November 1912 – 8 July 2008) was an Indian freedom fighter and social worker. She was the founder of Mahila Seva Samity, member of the All India Women's Conference and president of Indian Society for Sponsorship and Adoption. She took part in rescue and relief operation during the

Noakhali genocide The Noakhali riots were a series of semi-organized massacres, rapes and abductions, combined with looting and arson of Hindu properties, perpetrated by the Muslim community in the districts of Noakhali in the Chittagong Division of Bengal ( ...

Early life

Gupta was born the fourth of six children and second daughter to Kiran Chandra Sen and Jyotirmoyee Devi. Her father died at the age of six, and she was brought up by her mother, who struggled to bring her up along with five other siblings. She attended St. Margaret's school in

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

. She stood first among the girls in the matriculation examination. She graduated from Bethune College with honours in Mathematics. At the age of 20, she was married to Saibal Gupta, an I.C.S. officer.

Career

In 1936, Gupta became a member of the All India Women's Conference, founded in 1927. She actively participated in setting up branches of AIWC and various welfare organizations. During the Bengal famine of 1943, she took part in relief work in Bankura. In 1945, she moved to Chittagong where her husband was transferred. In 1946, during the

, she led a team of relief workers on behalf of the Chittagong branch of the AIWC, for rescue and relief operations in Noakhali. After the

Partition Partition may refer to: Computing Hardware * Disk partitioning, the division of a hard disk drive * Memory partition, a subdivision of a computer's memory, usually for use by a single job Software * Partition (database), the division of a ...

, she moved to

along with her husband. After the

, she engaged herself in refugee rehabilitation, child literacy and uplift of rural women and tribals. She was the chairperson of the West Bengal State Social Welfare Advisory Board from 1955 to 1959. In 1959, Gupta became a member of the Central Social Welfare Board, at the suggestion of

Bidhan Chandra Roy Bidhan Chandra Roy (1 July 1882 – 1 July 1962) was an Indian physician, educationist, and statesman who served as Chief Minister of West Bengal from 1948 until his death in 1962. Roy played a key role in the founding of several institutio ...

and

Durgabai Deshmukh Gammiḍidala Durgabāi Deshmukh, Lady Deshmukh (15 July 1909 – 9 May 1981) was an Indian freedom fighter, lawyer, social worker and politician. She was a member of the Constituent Assembly of India and of the Planning Commission of Indi ...

. In 1964, he took part in relief work among the

Bengali Hindu Bengali Hindus ( bn, বাঙ্গালী হিন্দু/বাঙালি হিন্দু, translit=Bāṅgālī Hindu/Bāṅāli Hindu) are an ethnoreligious population who make up the majority in the Indian states of West Ben ...

refugees Mana and other camps in the Dandakaranya. She was the State Commissioner (Guides) from 1956 to 1967 and the State Chief Commissioner of The Bharat Scouts and Guides from 1968 to 1974. She was a Fellow of the Senate of the University of Calcutta from 1948 to 1953. She was associated with the Palli Sangathan Vibhag of Vishwabharati University from 1956. In 1965, she became a member of the Executive Council of the University and remained there till 1973.

Honours

In 2007, Gupta was bestowed upon an honorary D.Litt. in recognition of her work for the cause of women and children. She was also awarded the Jamnalal Bajaj Award in 2007.

Publications

* ''Noakhalir Durjoger Dine''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gupta, Ashoka 1912 births 2008 deaths 20th-century Bengalis Bengali Hindus Social workers Bethune College alumni University of Calcutta alumni People from Kolkata Social workers from West Bengal Women educators from West Bengal Educators from West Bengal Indian independence activists from West Bengal Women in West Bengal politics 20th-century Indian women politicians 20th-century Indian politicians Indian women writers 20th-century Indian writers Indian activists Indian women activists Indian women's rights activists Indian feminists Indian social workers Indian educators Indian women educators 20th-century Indian educators Indian educational theorists Indian women educational theorists 20th-century Indian educational theorists