The Nightingale of India: Sarojini Naidu

1. The NightIngale
of India :
Sarojini Naidu

2. Introduction
• Sarojini Naidu (13 February 1879 – 2 March 1949)
was an Indian political activist and poet who served
as the first Governor of United Provinces, after India's
independence.
• She played an important role in the Indian
independence movement against the British Raj.
• She was the first indian woman to be president of
the Indian National Congress and appointed as
governor of a state.
• She became a part of the national movement and
became a follower of Mahatma Gandhi and his idea
of swaraj (self rule).
• Naidu's literary work as a poet earned her the
nickname the "Nightingale of India" by Gandhi ji.
• “In the Bazaars of Hyderabad” remains one of her
most popular poems Published in 1912.

3. Political career
• Early oratoryBeginning in 1904, Naidu became an increasingly
popular orator, promoting Indian independence and women’s rights,
especially women’s education.
• Her social work for flood relief earned her the Kaisar-i-Hind Medal in
1911.
• In 1914 she met Mahatma Gandhi, whom she credited with inspiring
a new commitment to political action.She was the second woman
President of the Indian National Congress.
• Women’s movementNaidu utilized her poetry and oratory skills to
promote women’s rights alongside the nationalist movement.
• Naidu claimed that the true “nation-builders” were women, not men,
and that without women’s active cooperation, the nationalist
movement would be in vain.
• In 1917, she joined Gandhi’s satyagraha movement of nonviolent
resistance against British rule.

4. Writing career
• Naidu began writing at the age of 12.
• Her play, Maher Muneer, written in Persian,
impressed the Nizam of Kingdom of Hyderabad.
• Naidu’s poetry was written in English and usually
took the form of lyric poetry in the tradition of British
Romanticism.
• Her first book of poems was published in London in
1905, titled “The Golden Threshold”.
• Her second and most strongly nationalist book of
poems, The Bird of Time, was published in 1912, it
includes “In the bazaars of Hyderabad”.
• Naidu’s speeches were first collected and published
in January 1918 as The Speeches and Writings of
Sarojini Naidu, a popular publication which led to an
expanded reprint in 1919 and again in 1925.

5. Legacy
• Naidu is known as “one of India’s feminist luminaries”. Naidu’s
birthday, 13 February, is celebrated as Women’s Day to recognise
powerful voices of women in India’s history.
• Sarojini Naidu was a woman ahead of her time and was a pioneer
in the field of women's rights and empowerment.As a poet, Naidu
was known as the “Nightingale of India”.
• In 1975, the Government of India Films Division produced a twenty-
minute documentary about Naidu’s life, “Sarojini Naidu – The
Nightingale of India”, directed by Bhagwan Das Garga.
• In 2020, a biopic was announced, titled Sarojini.
• Sarojini Naidu was a true visionary and her legacy continues to
inspire and motivate people to this day. She was a woman of many
talents, and her contributions to India's independence, women's
rights, and poetry have made her one of the most beloved and
respected figures in Indian history.

6. ConclusionSarojini Naidu was a woman of great courage and
passion, who dedicated her life to the cause of India’s
independence. She was a gifted poet, writer, and orator, who
used her talents to inspire and motivate the Indian people. Her
contributions to India’s independence, women’s rights, and
poetry have made her one of the most beloved and respected
figures in Indian history. The Nightingale of India continues to
inspire and motivate people to this day, and her legacy will live
on for generations to come.