16 Facts About Chandraprabha Saikiani

Chandraprabha Saikiani or Chandraprava Saikiani was an Assamese freedom fighter, activist, writer and social reformer considered to be the pioneer of the feminist movement in Assam.

Chandraprabha Saikiani was the founder of The All Assam Pradeshik Mahila Samiti, a non governmental organization working for the welfare of the women of Assam and was a recipient of the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri for the year 1972 from the Government of India.

Chandraprabha Saikiani was born as "Chandrapriya Mazumdar" on 16 March 1901 to Ratiram Mazumdar and Gangapriya Mazumdar at Daisingari village of the Bajali district in the Northeast Indian state of Assam.

Chandraprabha Saikiani was the seventh of eleven children and choose the name "Chandraprabha Saikiani" for herself.

Chandraprabha Saikiani finally saw the result of her protest: the authorities admitted induct the girl into the hostel.

Chandraprabha Saikiani refused to honour her parents' commitment to marry her off to an elderly person and got engaged to Dandinath Kalita, an Assamese writer.

The relationship resulted in Chandraprabha Saikiani becoming a mother out of marriage and she remained a spinster for life after Kalita married another woman.

Chandraprabha Saikiani was an invited speaker at the Nagaon session of the Assam Sahitya Sabha in 1925 where she called upon the women attendees who were seated in a separate enclosure to break the barriers and the women heeded her call to come out to the open area.

Chandraprabha Saikiani continued her social activism and founded Assam Pradeshik Mahila Samiti in 1926 to act against child marriage, polygamy and the discrimination of women at the temples and to take up issues like women's education and self-employment.

Chandraprabha Saikiani's efforts were reported in getting the Hayagriva Madhava Temple, Hajo, near Guwahati opened to women.

Chandraprabha Saikiani's son, Atul Saikia, is a politician and a former member of Assam Legislative Assembly.

Chandraprabha Saikiani published her first short story in a local magazine, Bahi, in 1918 aged 17 followed by several novels such as Pitribhitha, Sipahi Bidrohat, Dillir Sinhasan and Kavi Anav Ghosh.

Chandraprabha Saikiani served as the editor of Mahila Samiti's Assamese journal Abhijatri for a period of seven years and headed the Al India Assam Peasants' Conference.

Chandraprabha Saikiani was a noted poet and a prolific writer.

Chandraprabha Saikiani died on her 71st birthday on 16 March 1972 succumbing to cancer.

Chandraprabha Saikiani was honoured again in 2002 by the government when a commemorative postage stamp was issued by the Department of Posts in 2002 under the series, social reformers.