Mridula Sarabhai

by Aparna Basu

'If I had a hundred women like Mridula,' said Gandhiji, 'I could launch a revolution in India'. Born in 1911 into the Sarabhai family of Ahmedabad, she came under the spell of Gandhi and left her home to join the Salt Satyagraha. She was imprisoned several times between 1930 and 1944. Deeply influenced by Nehru's ideas on socialism and secularism, and a close associate of his, Mridula Sarabhai was involved not only in the freedom struggle but also in the fight for women's right to equality, civil liberty, and in the individual's right to dissent. She worked fearlessly during communal riots to protect the rights of minorities and restore communal peace and harmony. Her work for the recovery of abducted women in the Punjab in the aftermath of the Partition of India is well known. The last twenty years of her life were devoted to Kashmir and championing the Cause of Sheikh Abdullah. This is the story of Mridula Sarabhai's public life, her work for women, the freedom of the country, and Hi