Kamala Satthianadhan (1880–1950) was an Indian writer, feminist, and editor. She established and edited the ''Indian Ladies' Magazine'', a popular local publication that was in circulation between 1901 and 1938.

Life

Kamala Satthianadhan was born as Hannah Ratnam Krishnamma, in 1880. She was home-schooled, and later attended

Noble College Noble College in Machilipatnam was founded by late Robert Turlington Noble, an English missionary, in 1843. Rev. Noble came to then Masulipatnam (now Machilipatnam also known as Bandar) as a Christian Missionary in 1841 and stayed until his dea ...

, graduating with a B.A. in 1898, after studying Sanskrit and Indian literature. In 1898 after graduating, she was married to

Samuel Satthianadhan Samuel Satthianadhan (1860 – 4 April 1906) was an Indian writer, educationist and social reformer. Early life Satthianadhan was born in 1860 to missionary Rev W. T. Satthianadhan and his wife Annal Arockiam (anglicized to Anna John). Rev. Sa ...

, a professor at Noble College, and a widower whose first wife, the writer Krupabai, died in 1893. Following custom, she changed her name to Kamala Satthianadhan. They had several children, and their daughter, Padmini Satthianadhan Sengupta, became a writer as well, whose memoir of her mother, ''Portrait of an Indian Woman'' (1965) is one of the primary sources of information on Satthianadhan's life. Samuel Satthianadhan died in 1906, and Kamala Satthianadhan supported her family by tutoring a local

Rani ''Rani'' in Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia, sometimes spelled ''Ranee'', is a Hindu/Sanskrit feminine given name. The term is the female form of the term for princely rulers in South and Southeast Asia and applies equally to the wife of a ...

(queen) in Sanskrit. In 1918, she travelled with her children to the United Kingdom, to provide them with higher education there, returning in 1923. She died in 1950.

Career and writing

Satthianadhan established the ''Indian Ladies' Magazine'' in 1901 with the intention of recording and writing about reforms relating to women's rights. The magazine soon gained popularity, being in local circulation until 1915, when she left for the United Kingdom to provide her children with a graduate education. Although during this period, her sister, S. G. Hensman, was to continue as editor, the magazine ceased active circulation. On her return to India, Satthianadhan became active in the

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...

, and re-started the magazine in 1927, this time with a greater focus on politics, and continued to run it until it stopped circulation in 1938. Contributors to the magazine included political activist and poet Sarojini Naidu, writer and educator

Begum Rokeya Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain") is the commonly used spelling of Rokeya's full married name, Rokeya herself is never seen to use her full married name in this English spelling. In much of her correspondence in English, she used just her initials: � ...

, lawyer and writer Cornelia Sorabji, politician and Theosophist

Annie Besant Annie Besant ( Wood; 1 October 1847 – 20 September 1933) was a British socialist, theosophist, freemason, women's rights activist, educationist, writer, orator, political party member and philanthropist. Regarded as a champion of human f ...

, feminist and educator

Pandita Ramabai Pandita Ramabai Sarasvati (23 April 1858 – 5 April 1922) was an Indian Social Reformer. She was the first woman to be awarded the titles of '' Pandita'' as a Sanskrit scholar and ''Sarasvati'' after being examined by the faculty of the Unive ...

, and Satthianadhan's niece, missionary and teacher

Mona Hensman Mona Hensman Order of the British Empire, MBE (25 August 1899 – 5 December 1991), born Mona Mitter, was an Indian educator, feminist, and politician. She was a Member of Parliament, representing Madras State in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house ...

. Before and after her temporary stay in the United Kingdom, Satthianadhan was active in women's groups and social service organisations, establishing nine co-operative societies for women in Andhra Pradesh and the Madras Presidency, to help women gain financial independence. She also established a center in

Tirunelveli Tirunelveli (, ta, திருநெல்வேலி, translit=Tirunelveli) also known as Nellai ( ta, நெல்லை, translit=Nellai) and historically (during British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a major city in the Indian state of Tami ...

aimed at providing care for pregnant women and children, worked with the Red Cross and YMCA, and supported anti-discrimination measures aimed at the caste hierarchy. Satthianandhan was also a member of the senates of Andhra University and Madras University. In 1898, along with her husband Samuel, she published a collection of stories titled ''Stories of Indian Christian Life'', each of them contributing six stories, chiefly consisting of religious parables. She also published several stories and critical essays on literature and politics in the ''Indian Ladies' Magazine,'' along with regular editorial features supporting early feminist movements in India. Her daughter's biography indicates that during her life, Satthianadhan published three novels, including one titled ''Detective Janaki'' about a young female detective, but these are no longer in publication.

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Life

Career and writing

References

Sources

Further reading