Unsung Heroes Detail

An Assamesesocial reformer, writer, teacher, and women's rights activist, Chandraprabha Saikiani established theAll Assam Pradeshik Mahila Samiti in the year 1926. She was a zealous supporter of women's and girls' education. In 1918, during the Assam session of the Asom/Axom Chhatra (Assam Students) Sanmilan, she ardently spoke about the ill effects of opium consumption and demanded for its ban. She was against caste discrimination and attacked it with the help of the teachings of Srimanta Sankardev (a 15th-16th century social revolutionary).

Chandraprabha Saikiani also demanded for the entry of women at religious places and rituals. She became a part of the Non-Cooperation Movement and participated with enthusiasm in the Indian freedom struggle. In the state of Assam, she was the second woman novelist. She shed light on the position of women in Assamese society by describing her own life in her novel Pririvitha. For seven years, she was the editor of Abhijaytri (mouthpiece of All Assam Pradeshik Mahila Samiti). She was awarded with the Padmashree Award in 1972. She inspired many youths to participate in the Indian freedom struggle.