Anasuya Sarabhai

Anasuya or Anusyabehn Sarabhai (11 November 1885 – 1972) was a pioneer of the women’s labour movement in India. She founded the Ahmedabad Textile Labour Association (Majoor Mahajan Sangh), India's oldest union of textile workers, in 1920.[1]

Early life and education

Sarabhai was born in Ahmedabad on 11 November 1885 into the Sarabhai family, a family of industrialists and business people. Both her parents died when she was nine, so she, her brother Ambalal Sarabhai, and a younger sister were sent to live with an uncle.[2] She undertook an unsuccessful child marriage at the age of 13.[2] The marriage was later annulled. With the help of her brother, she went to England in 1912 to take a medical degree, but switched to the London School of Economics when she realised the animal dissection involved in obtaining a medical degree was in violation of her Jain beliefs.[3] Whilst in England, she was influenced by the Fabian Society, and got involved in the Suffragette movement.[2][4]

Political career

Sarabhai returned to India in 1913[5] and started working for betterment of women and the poor, particularly among mill workers. She also started a school. She decided to get involved in the labour movement after witnessing exhausted female mill workers returning home after a 36-hour shift. She helped organise textile workers in a 1914 strike in Ahmedabad. She was also involved in a month-long strike in 1918, where weavers were asking for a 50 per cent increase in wages and were being offered 20 per cent. Mahatma Gandhi, a friend of the family, was by then acting as a mentor to Sarabhai.[2] Gandhi began a hunger strike on the workers' behalf, and the workers eventually obtained a 35 per cent increase. During the time, Sarabhai organized daily mass meetings of the workers that Gandhi addressed.[6] Following this, in 1920, the Ahmedabad Textile Labour Association (Majdoor Mahajan Sangh) was formed.[1]

Sarabhai organized assorted craft unions early in her career and by 1920 was instrumental in establishing the conglomerate Textile Labour Association. Throughout her life, Sarabhai assisted with negotiations and dispute resolution for the labourers that she worked with.[7]

Legacy and death

Sarabhai was called Motaben, Gujarati for "elder sister".[2] She mentored Ela Bhatt, founder of the Self-Employed Women's Association of India (SEWA).[8] Sarabhai died in 1972.[8][7]

On 11 November 2017, Google celebrated Sarabhai's 132nd birthday with a Google Doodle,[9] visible to users in India.[10]

Anasuya Sarabhai was the aunt of Indian scientist Vikram Sarabhai who is regarded as the father of the Indian space program.[11]

See also

References
  1. "Role and Activities". Ahmedabad Textile Mills' Association. Archived from the original on 16 December 2013. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  2. Goswamy (4 August 2013). "A recent exhibition on Anasuya Sarabhai, popularly known as Motaben, paid a tribute to the courageous woman, who worked selflessly for the uplift of the less fortunate". The Tribune. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  3. "Sarabhai family". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  4. Uglow, Jennifer S., ed. (1985). The International Dictionary of Women's Biography. New York: Continuum. p. 412. ISBN 0-8264-0192-9.
  5. "What Made Anasuya Sarabhai, a Woman Born to Privilege, Become India's First Woman Trade Union Leader?". thebetterindia.com. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  6. Jha, Pravin Kumar (2012). Indian Politics in Comparative Perspective. Pearson Education India. p. 39. ISBN 9788131798874. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  7. Cooksey, Gloria (1999). "Sarabhai, Anusyabehn (1885–1972)". Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia. Waterford, Connecticut: Yorkin Publ. [u.a.] ISBN 0-7876-4080-8.
  8. Gargi Gupta (28 July 2013). "Sewa founder Ela Bhatt pays tribute to Anasuya Sarabhai". Daily News and Analysis. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  9. "Google celebrates 132nd birth anniversary of Anasuya Sarabhai". The Hindu. 11 November 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  10. "Anasuya Sarabhai's 132nd Birthday". Google. 11 November 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  11. Bonner, Arthur (1990). Averting the Apocalypse: Social Movements in India Today. Duke University Press. p. 193. ISBN 0822310481. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
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