Amalprava Das, also known as Amal Prabha Das, (1911–1994) was an Indian social worker,

Gandhian The followers of Mahatma Gandhi, the greatest figure of the Indian independence movement, are called Gandhians. Gandhi's legacy includes a wide range of ideas ranging from his dream of ideal India (or ''Rama Rajya)'', economics, environmentalism, ...

and the founder of ''

Kasturba Kasturbai Mohandas Gandhi (, born Kasturbai Gokuldas Kapadia; 11 April 1869 – 22 February 1944) was an Indian political activist. She married Mohandas Gandhi, more commonly known as Mahatma Gandhi, in 1883. With her husband and her eldest s ...

Ashram'' at Sarania Hills,

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

, a self help group for women and their economic upliftment and ''Guwahati Yubak Sevadal'', a

non governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in ...

working for the social development of

harijans Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold varna system of Hinduism and were seen as forming ...

. The

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

honoured her in 1954, with the award of

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

, the fourth highest Indian civilian award for her contributions to the society, placing her among the first recipients of the award. A recipient of the 1981

Jamnalal Bajaj Award Jamnalal Bajaj Award is an Indian award, for promoting Gandhian values, community service and social development. Established in 1978, by the Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation of Bajaj Group, it is given annually in four categories, and usually presente ...

, Das was honoured again by the

with the second highest civilian award of

Padma Vibhushan The Padma Vibhushan ("Lotus Decoration") is the second-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "exceptional and distinguished service". All persons without ...

which she declined to accept.

Biography

Amalprava was born on 12 November 1911 in a rich family to noted

couple, Hare Krishna Das and Hema Prabha Das in

Dibrugarh Dibrugarh (pron: ˌdɪbru:ˈgɑ:) is an industrial city in Upper Assam with sprawling tea gardens. It is located 435 kms East from the state capital of Dispur. It serves as the headquarters of Dibrugarh district in the state of Assam i ...

in the Northeast Indian state of

. She did her schooling at local educational institutions, but was denied admission at the local Cotton College and had to move to Bethune College in Calcutta for college studies from where she passed the school leaving (or university entrance) examination in 1929. Later she joined the

Scottish Church College Scottish Church College is a college affiliated by Calcutta University, India. It offers selective co-educational undergraduate and postgraduate studies and is the oldest continuously running Christian liberal arts and sciences college in A ...

and earned a bachelor's degree (BSc) in chemistry and a master's degree (MSc) in applied chemistry, and in so doing, became the first Assamese woman to obtain a master's degree in science. She continued her studies to gain a diploma in

clinical pathology Clinical pathology is a medical specialty that is concerned with the diagnosis of disease based on the laboratory analysis of bodily fluids, such as blood, urine, and tissue homogenates or extracts using the tools of chemistry, microbiology, h ...

and refused a teaching job at the British run Cotton College citing patriotic reasons. In 1934 Das had an opportunity to interact with

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

when the leader of the

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

stayed at her house during a visit to Guwahati. This meeting is reported to have influenced her and guided her in her future endeavors. She established Maitri Ashram (later renamed as Kasturba Ashram) in a property owned by her father in Sarania Hills which was later donated to Kasturba Memorial Trust. Under the aegis of the ashram, she organized training for the womenfolk of the village in cottage industries so that they might become financially self-reliant. She also founded several institutions such as Gram Sevika Vidyalaya, Kasturba Kalyan Kendra, Gauhati Katai Mandal, Guwahati Yubak Sevadal and Assam Go-Seva Samiti. When the

introduced the Padma Awards in 1954, she was included for the award of

. She received the

in 1981 for "Outstanding Contribution in Constructive Work". The Government of India selected her later for the second highest civilian award of

, but she declined the award due to apathy towards public honours. Her life and times have been recorded in the book, ''A Biography'', published in 1986, after her demise. The Department of Social Welfare of the

Government of Assam The Government of Assam is the subnational government of Assam, a state of India. It consists of the Governor appointed by the President of India as the head of the state, currently Jagdish Mukhi. The head of government is the Chief Minister, ...

has instituted an award in her honour, ''Amal Prava Das Award'' which is being awarded for commitment and excellence in social service since 2013. The department is in the process of making a documentary depicting the life of Amalprava Das.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Das, Amalprava Recipients of the Padma Shri in public affairs 1911 births People from Dibrugarh district Scholars from Assam Social workers Gandhians Year of death missing Bethune College alumni Scottish Church College alumni University of Calcutta alumni 20th-century Indian women 20th-century Indian educational theorists Women educators from Assam Educators from Assam Indian independence activists from Assam Women Indian independence activists Social workers from Assam 20th-century women educators

Biography

See also

References