Before Punjab

Sarla Devi Chaudhurani was born in Calcutta in 1872. Bharati Ray’s introduction places her within a literary family, including her mother Swarnakumari Devi. Swarnakumari’s father was Debendranath Tagore, and her younger brother was Rabindranath Tagore, placing Sarla within that family’s wider literary world. Paid employment at Maharani School in Mysore offered another experience outside the household. Marriage to Rambhuj Dutta Chaudhuri subsequently took her to Punjab.[1]

Writing and organising in Lahore

Ray’s later account, drawing on Jogesh Chandra Bagal, follows activity beyond the marriage at which the autobiography ends. In Punjab, Sarla co-edited the nationalist Urdu weekly Hindusthan with her husband. After its proscription, she supervised an English version. Ray also describes her organisation of Bharat Stree Mahamandal in Lahore, bringing politically active women and social workers together for women’s advancement. Editing and association-building thus gave her different means of public participation. The later Lahore narrative is Ray’s reconstruction, rather than an episode independently read in Sarla’s autobiography.[2]

Practical contacts in 1920

Gandhi’s Punjab Letter, editorially dated 15 February 1920, names Sarladevi as a companion on the journey to Gujrat. He describes visiting a district previously under martial law and then a weaving village. The report places her within Punjab travel connected with political conditions and local production; it does not assign every later action on the route to her.[3]

A separate Lahore letter asks Maganlal Gandhi whether Kantilal could be spared to teach boys for Sarladevi, amid discussion of spinning and weaving. It documents a practical request, not confirmation that the proposed teaching occurred.[4]

In another letter, editorially dated 17 March 1920, Gandhi reports her comment that the Ashram used too little khadi. The reported criticism concerned daily practice, bringing her voice into his discussion of work and clothing.[5]

Sources & notes

Source records include access dates and, where known, limits on what was examined. Checks used AI assistance; independent human or specialist review has not been completed.

  1. Bharati Ray; Sukhendu Ray and Malavika Karlekar, Routledge / Social Science Press. The Many Worlds of Sarala Devi & The Tagores and Sartorial Styles: Introduction ↗authorised book preview / scholarly introduction · Source date: 2017 · Locator: Actual 2017 imprint/contents PDF pp. 5–6; introduction printed pp. 3,11,14 / PDF pp. 10,18,21; preview ends printed p. 16 / PDF p. 23. Accessed 2026-11-02.The authorised preview’s introduction and imprint were inspected. The autobiography begins beyond the available preview.Return to Before Punjab, paragraph 1 ↑
  2. Bharati Ray; The Indian Express. First Lady of Revolution ↗signed scholarly review · Source date: 2012-06-02 · Locator: Actual signed 2 June 2012 review; paragraphs beginning “Her autobiography does not mention it” and “While in Lahore”, and closing distinction between memoir and later life. Accessed 2026-11-02.The signed review was inspected. Its later Punjab narrative is attributed to Bagal, rather than to an independently inspected autobiography.Return to Writing and organising in Lahore, paragraph 1 ↑
  3. M.K.Gandhi; edited English Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, vol. 17, item 25. Punjab Letter ↗edited primary letter / published report · Source date: publication date not established · Locator: Vol.17, item 25, printed p. 29 / PDF p. 1, opening dateline and Gujrat paragraph; delivered item continues pp. 29–31. Accessed 2026-11-02.The actual edited English item was inspected. Its bracketed date is editorial; the original Gujarati manuscript was not read.Return to Practical contacts in 1920, paragraph 1 ↑
  4. M.K.Gandhi; edited English Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, vol. 16, item 266. Letter to Maganlal Gandhi, after 23 January 1920 ↗edited primary letter · Source date: publication date not established · Locator: Vol.16, item 266, printed p. 496 / PDF p. 1, letter and editorial date note; Gujarati original identified as C.W.5779. Accessed 2026-11-02.The identified letter and editorial dating note were inspected. A request is not treated as evidence of its execution.Return to Practical contacts in 1920, paragraph 2 ↑
  5. M.K.Gandhi; edited English Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, vol. 17, item 68. Letter to Maganlal Gandhi,[17 March 1920] ↗edited primary letter · Source date: publication date not established · Locator: Vol.17, item 68, PDF p. 1; printed folio not visible in delivered crop; C.W.5783 and editorial dating note. Accessed 2026-11-02.The edited letter and dating note were inspected. The comment is reported by Gandhi, not read in a separate letter by Sarla.Return to Practical contacts in 1920, paragraph 3 ↑
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Record PH-PEO-0082 · English edition · human review not performed