Sister R. S. Subbalakshmi (sometimes spelled Subbulakshmi or Subhalakshmi) (18 August 1886 – 20 December 1969), was a social reformer and educationist in India.

Early life and education

Subbalakshmi was born at the remote Thanjavur village of Rishiyur, the other view was Mylapore in

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

as the first daughter of Visalakshi and R. V. Subramania Iyer (a civil engineer. Her father, R.V. Subramania Iyer was employed in the Public Works Department of the Madras Presidency),. They belonged to an orthodox Tamil

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...

family from the

Thanjavur Thanjavur (), also Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is the 11th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of South Indian religion, art, and architecture. Most of the Gr ...

district. Subbalakshmi was ranked first in the public examination in the Chingleput District, for the fourth standard of the Madras Presidency at the age of nine. She was married while very young, as was customary, but her husband died soon after. In April 1911, she became the first Hindu woman to graduate from the Madras Presidency and she did this with First Class Honors from Presidency College, Madras.

Work

In 1912, she founded the Sarada Ladies Union to provide a meeting ground and platform for housewives and other ladies to promote consciousness among them regarding social problems and to encourage them to educate themselves and the Sarada Illam or Widow's Home, which rehabilitated and educated child widows in Madras. Later, in 1921 or 1927, she established the Sarada Vidyalaya under the aegis of the Sarada Ladies Union. In 1922 she inaugurated the Lady Willingdon Training College and Practice School and was its first principal. She also established the Srividya Kalanilayam, a school for adult women at Mylapore in 1942, and while she was the president of the Mylapore Ladies Club, she formed the Mylapore Ladies Club School Society, in 1956, which was then renamed as the Vidya Mandir School, in Mylapore. In addition, she was involved in setting up a social welfare center for women and children in

Madambakkam Madambakkam () is a residential locality present in Tambaram Corporation located south Chennai, India. It borders Selaiyur in the west, Sembakkam in north and Vengaivasal in north east and Sithalapakkam in east. The town is well known for its ...

village. near Tambaram, in 1954.

Awards and recognition

The government of the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

honoured her with the Kaisar-i-Hind Gold Medal for Public Service in 1920, and in 1958, after

independence of India 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 ...

, the Indian Government awarded her the

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

Political career

While she was in government service as Headmistress of the Lady Willingdon Training College and Superintendent of the Ice House Hostel, Subbalakshmi was prohibited from joining the

Women's Indian Association The Women's Indian Association (WIA) was founded at Adayar, Madras, in 1917 by Annie Besant, Margaret Cousins, Jeena Raja Dasa, and others to liberate women from the deplorable condition women suffered in socio-economic and political matters duri ...

. To keep her school running Subbalakshmi compromised on her beliefs and efforts against child marriage. Nevertheless, using her fluency in

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

, she made efforts to abolish child marriage and to encourage education of girls. The historic, first conference, of the then newly established All India Women's Conference, called the "All India Women's Conference on Educational Reform", was held at the Fergusson College, Poona in January 1927. Subbalakshmi was one of the fifty eight prominent delegates attending this meeting. She actively supported the

Child Marriage Restraint Act The Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929, passed on 28 September 1929, in the Imperial Legislative Council of India, fixed the age of marriage for girls at 14 years and boys at 18 years. In 1949, after India's independence, it was amended to 15 for ...

, passed in 1930, and appeared before the Joshi committee which formulated the Act instrumental in raising the marriageable age of girls to fourteen and boys to sixteen. After retirement, she was involved in the activities of the Women's Indian Association, through which she befriended

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 ...

and others. She served as a nominated member of the

Madras Legislative Council Tamil Nadu Legislative Council was the upper house of the former bicameral legislature of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It began its existence as Madras Legislative Council, the first provincial legislature for Madras Presidency. It was initia ...

from 1952 to 1956.

Death

Subbulakshmi died on 20 December 1969 on an Ekadashi Day.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Subbalakshmi, R. S. Indian women activists Indian women educational theorists Recipients of the Padma Shri in social work 1886 births 1969 deaths Presidency College, Chennai alumni Indian social reformers University of Madras alumni Tamil scholars 19th-century Indian women 19th-century Indian people 20th-century Indian politicians Scholars from Chennai Indian Tamil people Women in Tamil Nadu politics Women's education in India 20th-century Indian educational theorists Scientists from Tamil Nadu 20th-century Indian women scientists 20th-century Indian social scientists Women scientists from Tamil Nadu Trade unionists from Tamil Nadu Indian women trade unionists 20th-century Indian women politicians Politicians from Chennai Women educators from Tamil Nadu Educators from Tamil Nadu 20th-century women educators