Sarojini Naidu

Naidu, Sarojini (sərōˈjĭnē nĪˈdō) [key], 1879–1949, Indian poet and political leader. Born Sarojini Chattopadhyay, she was educated in Madras (now Chennai) and at King's College, London, and Cambridge. In 1898 she married Dr. M. G. Naidu. Her poetry, originally published in three volumes— The Golden Threshold (1905), The Bird of Time (1912), and The Broken Wing (1915)—was written in English but deals, in a romantic vein, with Indian themes. She was active in the Indian National Congress and in 1925 became its first woman president. Participation in passive disobedience campaigns brought her several jail sentences. She was a close associate of Mohandas Gandhi and served (1947–49) as governor of the United Provinces.

See her verses collected in The Sceptred Flute (1928) and The Feather of the Dawn (1961); biography by P. Sengupta (1966).