View source for Sarojini Naidu

{{short description|Indian
 political activist and poet (1879–1949)}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Sarojini Naidu
| image               = Sarojini-naidu-2.jpg
| caption             = 
| order               = 1st
| office              = Governor of the United Provinces
| term_start          = 15 August 1947
| term_end            = 2 March 1949
| predecessor         = ''Position established''
| successor           = [[Homi Mody|Hormasji Peroshaw Mody]]
| order2              = 44th
| office2             = President of the Indian National Congress
| term2               = 1925–1926
| predecessor2        = [[Mahatma Gandhi]]
| successor2          = [[S. Srinivasa Iyengar]]
| birth_name          = Sarojini 
Chattopadhyay 
| nickname            = {{ublist|"Nightingale of India"|"Bhārata Kōkiḷā"|"Bulbul-e-Hind"}}
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1879|2|13|df=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Hyderabad]], [[Hyderabad State]], [[British Raj]]<br>{{small|(present-day [[Telangana]], [[India]])}}
| death_date          = {{death date and age|1949|3|2|1879|2|13|df=yes}}
| death_place         = [[Lucknow]], [[United Provinces (1937–1950)|United Provinces]], [[Dominion of India|India]]<br />{{small|(present-day [[Uttar Pradesh]], [[India]])}}
| alma_mater          = {{ublist|[[King's College, London]]|[[Girton College, Cambridge]]}}
| occupation          = Political activist, Poet
| party               = [[Indian National Congress]]
| spouse              = {{marriage|Govindarajulu Naidu|1898}}
| children            = 5, including [[Padmaja Naidu|Padmaja]]
| relatives           = {{hlist|[[Virendranath Chattopadhyay|Virendranath]] (brother)|[[Harindranath Chattopadhyay|Harindranath]] (brother)|[[Suhasini Chattopadhyay|Suhasini]] (sister)}}
| module              = {{Infobox writer
| embed        = yes
| language     = English
| genre        = [[Lyric poetry]]
| notableworks = {{cslist|''The Golden Threshold''|"[[In the Bazaars of Hyderabad]]"}}
| subject = [[Indian nationalism]]
| signature = Sarojini Naidu signature.png
}}
}}
'''Sarojini Naidu ([[Birth name|née]] Chattopadhyay)''' ({{IPA|bn|ʃɔrod͡ʒini}};<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dipanwita |title=India's Freedom Struggle: 8 Bengali Women Who Played a Noteworthy Role |url=https://www.shethepeople.tv/top-stories/inspiration/indias-freedom-struggle-8-bengali-women-who-played-a-noteworthy-role/ |access-date=2025-02-16 |website=www.shethepeople.tv |language=en}}</ref> 13 February 1879 – 2 March 1949)<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-02-13 |title=Sarojini Naidu birth anniversary: Remembering the 'Nightingale of India' - poems, quotes, history |url=https://www.zeebiz.com/trending/news-sarojini-naidu-birth-anniversary-poems-quotes-history-biography-national-women-day-2023-in-india-221769 |access-date=2023-12-31 |website=Zee Business}}</ref> was an Indian political activist and poet who served as the first [[Governor of Uttar Pradesh|Governor of United Provinces]], after [[Independence Day (India)|India's independence]]. She played an important role in the [[Indian independence movement]] against the [[British Raj]]. She was the first Indian woman to be president of the [[Indian National Congress]] and appointed governor of a state.

Born in a [[Bengalis|Bengali]] family in [[Hyderabad]], Naidu was educated in [[Madras]], London and [[Cambridge]]. Following her time in Britain, where she worked as a [[suffragist]], she was drawn to the Congress party's struggle for India's independence. She became a part of the national movement and became a follower of [[Mahatma Gandhi]] and the idea of [[swaraj]] (self-rule). She was appointed Congress president in 1925 and, when India achieved its independence, became  the Governor of the [[United Provinces (1937–1950)|United Provinces]] in 1947.

Naidu's literary work as a poet earned her the nickname the "Nightingale of India" by Gandhi because of the colour, imagery, and lyrical quality of her poetry. Her oeuvre includes both children's poems and others written on more serious themes including patriotism and tragedy. Published in 1912, "[[In the Bazaars of Hyderabad]]" remains one of her most popular poems.

== Personal life ==
Sarojini Naidu was born in [[Hyderabad]] on 13 February 1879 to [[Aghorenath Chattopadhyay]].<ref name="Raman2006">{{Cite encyclopedia |year=2006 |title=Naidu, Sarojini |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of India |publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons |last=Raman |first=Sita Anantha |editor-last=Wolpert |editor-first=Stanley |volume=3 |pages=212–213}}</ref> Her father was from [[Brahmangaon]], [[Bikrampur]], [[Bengal]] (now in [[Munshiganj District|Munshiganj]], [[Bangladesh]]).<ref name="Ahmed2015">{{Cite web |last=Ahmed |first=Lilyma |title=Naidu, Sarojini |url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Naidu,_Sarojini |access-date=5 August 2015 |publisher=[[Banglapedia]]: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh}}</ref> Her father was a Bengali Brahmin and the principal of [[Nizam College]].<ref name="Raman2006" /> He held a doctorate of Science from [[University of Edinburgh|Edinburgh University]]. Her mother wrote poetry in [[Bengali language|Bengali]].<ref name="Raman2006" />

[[File:Sarojini Naidu by JB Yeats.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Drawing of Naidu by [[John Butler Yeats]], 1896, from the [[book frontispiece|frontispiece]] of ''The Golden Threshold'' (1905)]]
She was the eldest of the eight siblings. Her brother [[Virendranath Chattopadhyay]] was a revolutionary, and another brother [[Harindranath Chattopadhyay|Harindranath]] was a poet, a dramatist, and an actor. Her sisters, Sunalini and Mrinalini, were actresses in silent films.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rewind: When Hyderabad shaped India's silent film era |work=[[Telangana Today]] |url=https://telanganatoday.com/rewind-when-hyderabad-shaped-indias-silent-film-era}}</ref> Another sister, [[Suhasini Chattopadhyay|Suhasini]], was an Indian communist leader. Their family was well-regarded in Hyderabad.

=== Education ===
Sarojini Naidu passed her [[matriculation examination]] to qualify for university study, earning the highest rank, in 1891, when she was twelve.<ref name="Raman2006" /> From 1895 to 1898 she studied in England, at [[King's College London|King's College, London]] and then [[Girton College, Cambridge]], with a scholarship from the [[Nizam of Hyderabad]].<ref name="TimesIndia">{{Cite news |title=Nizam's kin pulls out 'firmans' showing last ruler's generosity |work=[[The Times of India]] |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/nizams-kin-pulls-out-firmans-showing-last-rulers-generosity/articleshow/67416257.cms}}</ref> In England, she met artists from the [[Aestheticism|Aesthetic]] and [[Decadent movement|Decadent]] movements.<ref name="Reddy2010">{{Cite journal |last=Reddy |first=Sheshalatha |date=2010 |title=The Cosmopolitan Nationalism of Sarojini Naidu, Nightingale of India |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25733492 |journal=Victorian Literature and Culture |volume=38 |issue=2 |pages=571–589 |doi=10.1017/S1060150310000173 |jstor=25733492 |s2cid=162597244 |issn=1060-1503|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

=== Marriage ===
Chattopadhyay returned to Hyderabad in 1898.<ref name="EGS">{{Cite encyclopedia |year=2009 |title=Naidu, Sarojini (1879-1949) |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Gender and Society |publisher=SAGE Publications Inc |last=O'Brien |first=Jo9167 }}</ref> That same year, she married Govindaraju Naidu (who hailed from [[Machilipatnam]], [[Andhra Pradesh]]), a doctor whom she met during her stay in England,<ref name="Raman2006" /> in an [[inter-caste marriage]] which has been called "groundbreaking and scandalous".<ref name="EGS"/> Both their families approved their marriage, which was long and harmonious. They had five children.<ref name="Raman2006" /> Their daughter [[Padmaja Naidu|Padmaja]] also joined the [[Quit India Movement]], and she held several governmental positions in independent India.

==Political career==
[[File:Sarojini Naidu.jpg|thumb|upright|right|Naidu in 1912]]

===Early oratory===
Beginning in 1904, Naidu became an increasingly popular orator, promoting [[Indian independence movement|Indian independence]] and [[women's rights]], especially [[women's education]].<ref name="Raman2006" /> Her oratory often framed arguments following the five-part rhetorical structures of [[Nyaya]] reasoning.<ref name="Shekhani2017" /> She addressed the [[Indian National Congress]] and the Indian Social Conference in Calcutta in 1906.<ref name="Raman2006" /> Her social work for flood relief earned her the [[Kaisar-i-Hind Medal]] in 1911<ref name="Raman2006" /><!-- The reason for the medal being awarded seems unclear. Two sources say she was awarded it for her flood relief [1] [4] work in Hyderabad. Another says it was for her work during the plague epidemic  [2]. A third source simply says that it was awarded 'in recognition of her accomplishments' [3]. Needs verification/citation.

Sources:
1. http://upgovernor.gov.in/en/post/smt-sarojini-naidu
2. http://www.streeshakti.com/bookS.aspx?author=10
3. https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/naidu-sarojini-1879-1949
4. cited Encyclopedia of India entry-->, which she later returned in protest over the April 1919 [[Jallianwala Bagh massacre]].{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}  She met [[Muthulakshmi Reddy]] in 1909, and in 1914 she met [[Mahatma Gandhi]], whom she credited with inspiring a new commitment to political action.<ref name="Iyer">{{cite book|last=Iyer|first=N Sharada|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4D9b4QSeoMIC|title=Musings on Indian Writing in English: Poetry|publisher=Sarup & Sons|year=1964|isbn=9788176255745|pages=135|access-date=1 July 2013}}</ref> She was the first woman President of the Indian National Congress and first Indian woman to preside over the INC conference .

With Reddy, she helped established the [[Women's suffrage#India|Women's Indian Association]] in 1917.<ref name="Raman2006" /><ref name="Pasricha">{{Cite book |last=Pasricha |first=Ashu |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p-j4fWQxpGIC&q=naidu+Women%27s+Indian+Association+%28WIA%29&pg=PA24 |title=The political thought of Annie Besant |publisher=Concept Pub. Co. |year=2009 |isbn=978-81-8069-585-8 |location=New Delhi |pages=24}}</ref> Later that year, Naidu accompanied her colleague [[Annie Besant]], who was the president of [[Home Rule League]] and Women's Indian Association, to advocate [[universal suffrage]] in front of the Joint Select Committee in [[London]], [[United Kingdom]].She also supported the [[Lucknow Pact]], a joint  [[Hindu–Muslim unity|Hindu–Muslim]] demand for British political reform, at the Madras Special Provincial Council.<ref name="Raman2006" /> As a public speaker, Naidu's oratory was known for its personality and its incorporation of her poetry.

=== Women's movement ===
Naidu utilized her poetry and oratory skills to promote [[women's rights]] alongside the [[Indian nationalist movement|nationalist movement]]. In 1902, Naidu entered the world of politics after being urged by [[Om Shanti]], an important leader of the nationalist movement.<ref>Marx, Edward. "Everybody's Anima: Sarojini Naidu as Nightingale and Nationalist." In ''The Idea of a Colony: Cross-Culturalism in Modern Poetry''. (University of Toronto Press, 2004), 57.</ref> In 1906, Naidu spoke to the Social Council of Calcutta in order to advocate for the education of Indian women.<ref>Nadkarni, Asha. "Regenerating Feminism: Sarojini Naidu's Eugenic Feminist Renaissance." In ''Eugenic Feminism: Reproductive Nationalism in the United States of America and India''. (University of Minnesota Press, 2014), 73.</ref> In her speech, Naidu stressed that the success of the whole movement relied upon the "woman question".<ref name=":0">Naidu, Sarojini. ''Speeches and Writings of Sarojini Naidu'' (Madras: G. A. Natesan, 1925), 17.</ref> Naidu claimed that the true "nation-builders" were women, not men, and that without women's active cooperation, the nationalist movement would be in vain.<ref name=":0" /> Naidu's speech argued that Indian's nationalism depended on women's rights, and that the liberation of India could not be separated from the liberation of women.<ref>Alexander, Meena. "Sarojini Naidu: Romanticism and Resistance." ''Economic and Political Weekly'' 20, no. 43 (1985): 70.</ref> The women's movement developed parallel to the [[Indian independence movement|independence movement]] for this reason.<ref name="Reddy2010" />

In 1917, Naidu sponsored the establishment of the [[Women's Indian Association]], which finally provided a platform for women to discuss their complaints and demand their rights.<ref>Sengupta, Padmini. "Sarojini Naidu: A Biography" (Bombay: Asia Publishing House, 1966), 148.</ref> That same year, Naidu served as a spokesperson for a delegation of women that met with [[Edwin Montagu]], the Secretary of State for India, and [[Lord Chelmsford]], the Viceroy of India, in order to discuss reforms.<ref name=":1">Nadkarni, Asha. "REGENERATING FEMINISM: Sarojini Naidu's Eugenic Feminist Renaissance." In ''Eugenic Feminism: Reproductive Nationalism in the United States and India''. (University of Minnesota Press, 2014), 71.</ref> The delegation expressed women's support for the introduction of self-government in India and demanded that the people of India should be given the right to vote, of which women must be included.<ref>Sengupta, Padmini. "Sarojini Naidu: A Biography" (Bombay: Asia Publishing House, 1966), 150.</ref> The delegation was followed up with public meetings and political conferences supporting the demands, making it a huge success.<ref>Sengupta, Padmini. "Sarojini Naidu: A Biography" (Bombay: Asia Publishing House, 1966), 151.</ref>

In 1918, Naidu moved a resolution on [[Women's suffrage|women's franchise]] to the Eighteenth Session of the Bombay Provincial Conference and to the special session of Congress held in Bombay.<ref name=":1" /> The purpose of the resolution was to have on record that the Conference was in support of the [[Suffrage|enfranchisement]] of women in order to demonstrate to Montagu that the men of India were not opposed to women's rights.<ref>Naidu, Sarojini. ''Speeches and Writings of Sarojini Naidu'' (Madras: G. A. Natesan, 1925), 194.</ref> In her speech at the Conference, Naidu emphasized "the influence of women in bringing about political and spiritual unity" in ancient India.<ref>Naidu, Sarojini. ''Speeches and Writings of Sarojini Naidu'' (Madras: G. A. Natesan, 1925), 196.</ref> She argued that women had always played an important role in political life in India and that rather than going against tradition, women's franchise would simply be giving back what was theirs all along.<ref>Nadkarni, Asha. "Regenerating Feminism: Sarojini Naidu's Eugenic Feminist Renaissance." In ''Eugenic Feminism: Reproductive Nationalism in the United States and India''. (University of Minnesota Press, 2014), 72.</ref>

In her speech at the Bombay Special Congress, Naidu claimed that the "right of franchise is a human right and not a monopoly of one sex only."<ref>Naidu, Sarojini. ''Speeches and Writings of Sarojini Naidu'' (Madras: G. A. Natesan, 1925), 199.</ref> She demanded the men of India to reflect on their humanity and restore the rights that belonged to women. Throughout the speech, Naidu attempted to alleviate worries by reassuring that women were only asking for the right to vote, not for any special privileges that would interfere with men.<ref name="Reddy2010" /> In fact, Naidu proposed that women would lay the foundation of nationalism, making women's franchise a necessity for the nation.<ref>Naidu, Sarojini. ''Speeches and Writings of Sarojini Naidu'' (Madras: G. A. Natesan, 1925), 200.</ref> Despite the increasing support of [[women's suffrage]] in India, which was backed by the [[Indian National Congress]], the [[All-India Muslim League|Muslim League]], and others, the [[Southborough Franchise Committee]], a British committee, decided against granting franchise to women.<ref name=":1" />

The [[Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms|Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms]] had a shocking revelation: although the women's delegation appeared successful at the time, the reforms made no mention of women and had completely ignored their demands.<ref>Sengupta, Padmini. "Sarojini Naidu: A Biography" (Bombay: Asia Publishing House, 1966), 154.</ref> In 1919, Naidu, as representative of the WIA, went to plead for the franchise of women before a Joint-Select Committee of Parliament in London.<ref name=":1" /> She presented a memorandum to the committee and provided evidence that the women of India were ready for the right to vote.<ref>Sengupta, Padmini. "Sarojini Naidu: A Biography" (Bombay: Asia Publishing House, 1966), 157.</ref> The resulting [[Government of India Act 1919|Government of India Act of 1919]], however, did not enfranchise Indian women, instead leaving the decision to provincial councils.<ref name=":1" /> Between 1921 and 1930, the provincial councils approved of women's franchise but with limitations. The number of women actually eligible to vote was very small.<ref name=":1" />

In the 1920s, Naidu began to focus more on the nationalist movement as a means of achieving both women's rights and political independence.<ref name=":2">Hodes, Joseph R. "Golda Meir, Sarojini Naidu, and the Rise of Female Political Leaders in British India and British Mandate Palestine." In ''Jews and Gender'', edited by Leonard J. Greenspoon. (Purdue University Press, 2021), 184.</ref> Naidu became the first Indian female president of the [[Indian National Congress]] in 1925, demonstrating how influential she was as a political voice.<ref name="Reddy2010" /> By this period, Indian women were starting to get more involved in the movement. Female leaders began to organize nationwide strikes and [[nonviolent resistance]] across the country.<ref name=":2" /> In 1930, Naidu wrote a pamphlet that would be handed out to women with the goal of bringing them into the political struggle.<ref name=":2" /> The pamphlet stated that until recently, women had remained spectators, but now they had to get involved and play an active role.<ref name=":3">Naidu, Sarojini. ''Speeches and Writings of Sarojini Naidu'' (Madras: G. A. Natesan, 1925), 103.</ref> To Naidu, it was women's duty to help in the fight against Britain.<ref name=":3" /> In this way, Naidu asserted women's role as an agent of political change and effectively linked women to the struggle for independence from British rule.<ref>Hodes, Joseph R. "Golda Meir, Sarojini Naidu, and the Rise of Female Political Leaders in British India and British Mandate Palestine." In ''Jews and Gender'', edited by Leonard J. Greenspoon. (Purdue University Press, 2021), 185.</ref>

=== Nonviolent resistance ===
Naidu formed close ties with Gandhi, [[Gopal Krishna Gokhale]], [[Rabindranath Tagore]] and [[Sarala Devi Chaudhurani]].<ref name="Raman2006" /> After 1917, she joined Gandhi's ''[[satyagraha]]'' movement of nonviolent resistance against British rule.<ref name="Raman2006" /> Naidu went to London in 1919 as a part of the [[All India Home Rule League]] as a part of her continued efforts to advocate for independence from British rule.<ref name="EGS" /> The next year, she participated in the [[Non-cooperation movement (1909–22)|non-cooperation movement]] in India.<ref name="Raman2006" />

[[File:Mahatma & Sarojini Naidu 1930.JPG|thumb|left|Naidu with [[Mahatma Gandhi]] during [[Salt Satyagraha]], 1930]]
In 1924, Naidu represented the Indian National Congress at the [[East African Indian National Congress]].<ref name="EGS" /> In 1925, Naidu was the first Indian female president of the Indian National Congress.<ref name="Raman2006" /> In 1927, Naidu was a founding member of the [[All India Women's Conference]].<ref name="Raman2006" /> In 1928, she travelled in the United States to promote nonviolent resistance.<ref name="EGS" /> Naidu also presided over East African and Indian Congress' 1929 session in South Africa.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}

In 1930, Gandhi initially did not want to permit women to join the [[Salt March]], because it would be physically demanding with a high risk of arrest.<ref name="Raman2006" /> Naidu and other female activists, including [[Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay]] and [[Khurshed Naoroji]], persuaded him otherwise, and joined the march.<ref name="Raman2006" /> When Gandhi was arrested on 6 April 1930, he appointed Naidu as the new leader of the campaign.<ref name="Shekhani2017" />

The Indian National Congress decided to stay away from the [[First Round Table Conference]] that took place in London owing to the arrests.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}} In 1931, however, Naidu and other leaders of the Congress Party participated in the [[Second Round Table Conference]] headed by [[Viceroy of India|Viceroy]] [[Lord Irwin]] in the wake of the [[Gandhi-Irwin pact]].{{citation needed|date=October 2021}} Naidu was jailed by the British in 1932.<ref name="Raman2006" />

The British jailed Naidu again in 1942 for her participation in the [[Quit India Movement]].<ref name="Raman2006" /> She was imprisoned for 21 months.<ref name="EGS" />

[[File:Sarojini Naidu plants a tree in Mehrauli, Delhi.jpg|thumb|Naidu plants a tree in Mehrauli, Delhi, 1947]]

===Governor of United Provinces===
Following India's independence from the British rule in 1947, Naidu was appointed the governor of the [[United Provinces (1937–50)|United Provinces]] (present-day [[Uttar Pradesh]]), making her India's first woman governor. She remained in office until her death in March 1949 (aged 70).<ref name="Raman2006" />

==Writing career==
Naidu began writing at the age of 12. Her play, ''Maher Muneer'', written in [[Persian language|Persian]], impressed the [[Nizam]] of [[Hyderabad State|Kingdom of Hyderabad]].{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}

Naidu's poetry was written in English and usually took the form of [[lyric poetry]] in the tradition of British [[Romanticism]], which she was sometimes challenged to reconcile with her Indian nationalist politics.<ref name="Reddy2010" /> She was known for her vivid use of rich sensory images in her writing, and for her lush depictions of India.<ref name="Iyer" /><ref name="Jagadisan">{{cite book|author=Jagadisan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7_NShyA_s7YC|title=A thing of beauty|publisher=Orient Blackswan|year=2001|isbn=9788125016250|page=55|access-date=3 July 2013}}</ref> She was well-regarded as a poet, considered the "Indian [[W. B. Yeats|Yeats]]".<ref name="Shekhani2017">{{Cite journal |last=Shekhani |first=Ummekulsoom |date=3 April 2017 |title=Sarojini Naidu—The Forgotten Orator of India |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07350198.2017.1282223 |journal=Rhetoric Review |language=en |volume=36 |issue=2 |pages=139–150 |doi=10.1080/07350198.2017.1282223 |s2cid=151326415 |issn=0735-0198|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Her first book of poems was published in London in 1905, titled "''[[The Golden Threshold]]''".<ref name="Sarkar">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4NcHdrqUJpYC&q=%22The+Broken+Wings%22+was+published+1905+naidu&pg=PA11 |title=Critical response to Indian poetry in English |publisher=Sarup & Sons |year=2008 |isbn=978-81-7625-825-8 |editor-last=Sarkar, Amar Nath |location=New Delhi |pages=11 |editor-last2=Prasad, Bithika}}</ref> The publication was suggested by [[Edmund Gosse]], and bore an introduction by [[Arthur Symons]].<!--<ref name="Reddy2010" />--> It also included a sketch of Naidu as a teenager, in a ruffled white dress, drawn by [[John Butler Yeats]].<!--<ref name="Reddy2010" />--> Her second and most strongly nationalist book of poems, ''[[The Bird of Time (poetry)|The Bird of Time]]'', was published in 1912.<ref name="Reddy2010" /> It was published in both London and New York, and includes "[[In the Bazaars of Hyderabad]]".<ref name="BirdTime">{{Cite book |last=Naidu |first=Sarojini |url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000634356 |title=The bird of time; songs of life, death & the spring |date=1912 |publisher=John Lane company; W. Heinemann |editor-last=Gosse |editor-first=Edmund |location=New York, London}}</ref> The last book of new poems published in her lifetime, ''The Broken Wing'' (1917). It includes the poem "The Gift of India", which exhorted the Indian people to remember the sacrifices of the [[Indian Army during World War I]], which she had previously recited to the Hyderabad Ladies' War Relief Association in 1915.<!--<ref name="Reddy2010" />--> It also includes "Awake!", dedicated to [[Muhammad Ali Jinnah]], which she read as the conclusion to a 1915 speech to the Indian National Congress to urge unified Indian action.<ref name="Reddy2010" /> A collection of all her published poems was printed in New York in 1928.<ref name="FirstEdition">{{Cite web |title=The Sceptred Flute: Songs of India |url=https://thefirstedition.com/product/the-sceptred-flute-songs-of-india/ |access-date=7 October 2021 |website=The First Edition Rare Books |language=en-US}}</ref> After her death, Naidu's unpublished poems were collected in ''The Feather of the Dawn'' (1961), edited by her daughter [[Padmaja Naidu]]''.<ref name="Nasta2012">{{Cite book |last=Nasta |first=Susheila |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dgYGlJI9vrUC&q=The%20Feather%20of%20The%20Dawn%20Padmaja&pg=PR4 |title=India in Britain: South Asian Networks and Connections, 1858–1950 |date=16 November 2012 |isbn=978-0-230-39271-7 |page=213 |publisher=Springer |author-link=Susheila Nasta |access-date=13 February 2016}}</ref>''

Naidu's speeches were first collected and published in January 1918 as ''The Speeches and Writings of Sarojini Naidu'', a popular publication which led to an expanded reprint in 1919<ref name="NaiduSpeeches1919-9">{{Cite book |last=Naidu |first=Sarojini |url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/100500199 |title=Speeches and writings. |date=1919 |publisher=G.A. Nateson & Co. |edition=2nd |location=Madras |page=9}}</ref> and again in 1925.<ref name="NaiduSpeeches1925">{{Cite book |last=Naidu |first=Sarojini |url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001868048 |title=Speeches and writings of Sarojini Naidu. |date=1925 |publisher=G.A. Natesan & co. |edition=3rd |location=Madras}}</ref>

===Works===
* 1905: ''The Golden Threshold'', London: William Heineman<ref>{{Cite book|last=Naidu|first=Sarojini|url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001725616|title=The golden threstold|date=1905|publisher=Heineman|location=London}}</ref>
* 1915: ''[[The Bird of Time: Songs of Life, Death & the Spring]]'', London: William Heineman and New York: John Lane Company<ref name="BirdTime" />
* 1917: ''The Broken Wing: Songs of Love, Death and Destiny''<ref name="vkg313">Vinayak Krishna Gokak, [https://books.google.com/books?id=WLE8GVsAfEMC ''The Golden Treasury Of Indo-Anglian Poetry (1828–1965)'', p 313, New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi (1970, first edition; 2006 reprint)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221025172652/https://books.google.com/books?id=WLE8GVsAfEMC&printsec=frontcover |date=25 October 2022 }}, {{ISBN|81-260-1196-3}}, retrieved 6 August 2010</ref><ref name="Das2010">Sisir Kumar Das, [https://books.google.com/books?id=sqBjpV9OzcsC "A History of Indian Literature 1911–1956: Struggle for Freedom: Triumph and Tragedy"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221025172644/https://books.google.com/books?id=sqBjpV9OzcsC&printsec=frontcover |date=25 October 2022 }}, p 523, New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi (1995), {{ISBN|81-7201-798-7}}; retrieved 10 August 2010</ref>
* 1919: "The Song of the Palanquin Bearers", lyrics by Naidu and music by [[Martin Shaw (composer)|Martin Shaw]], London: Curwen<ref name="Shaw1917">{{Cite book |last1=Shaw |first1=Martin |url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.c034141508 |title=The Song of the Palanquin Bearers |last2=Naidu |first2=Sarojini |publisher=Curwen |year=1917 |location=London|hdl=2027/uc1.c034141508 }}</ref>
* 1920: ''The Speeches and Writings of Sarojini Naidu'', Madras: G.A. Natesan & Co.<ref name="NaiduSpeeches1919">{{Cite book |last=Naidu |first=Sarojini |url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/100500199 |title=Speeches and writings. |date=1919 |publisher=G.A. Nateson & Co. |location=Madras}}</ref>
* 1922: Editor, ''[[Muhammad Ali Jinnah]], An Ambassador of Unity: His Speeches & Writings 1912–1917'', with a biographical "Pen Portrait" of Jinnah by Naidu, Madras: Ganesh & Co.<ref name="JinnahSpeeches">{{Cite book |last=Jinnah |first=Mahomed Ali |url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001866917 |title=Mahomed Ali Jinnah, an ambassador of unity; his speeches & writings 1912–1917. |publisher=Ganesh & Co. |year=1919 |editor-last=Naidu |editor-first=Sarojini |location=Madras}}</ref>
* 1928: ''The Sceptred Flute: Songs of India'', New York: Dodd, Mead, & Co.<ref name="SceptredFlute">{{Cite book |last=Naidu |first=Sarojini |url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001058638 |title=The sceptred flute: songs of India |date=1928 |publisher=Dodd, Mead & company |location=New York}}</ref><ref name="FirstEdition" />
* 1961: ''The Feather of the Dawn'', edited by [[Padmaja Naidu]], Bombay: Asia Publishing House<ref name="Nasta2012" />

==Death==
[[File:Sarojini Naidu Ashes.jpg|thumb|upright|The ashes of Naidu kept at [[Golden Threshold]], Hyderabad before immersion]]

Naidu died of [[cardiac arrest]] at 3:30&nbsp;p.m. ([[Indian Standard Time|IST]]) on 2 March 1949 at the [[Raj Bhavan (Uttar Pradesh)|Government House]] in [[Lucknow]]. Upon her return from [[New Delhi]] on 15 February, she was advised to rest by her doctors, and all official engagements were canceled. Her health deteriorated substantially and [[bloodletting]] was performed on the night of 1 March after she complained of severe [headache]. She collapsed following a fit of cough. Naidu was said to have asked the nurse attending to her to sing to her at about 10:40&nbsp;p.m. (IST) which put her to sleep.<ref name="IndianExpressObit">{{Cite news |date=3 March 1949 |title=Mrs. Sarojini Naidu Passes Away |page=1 |work=The Indian Express |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=dQBFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3904%2C5941395 |access-date=8 February 2018}}</ref> She subsequently died, and her last rites were performed at the [[Gomati River]].<ref name="IndianExpressRites">{{Cite news |date=4 March 1949 |title=Last Rites of Sarojini Naidu at Lucknow |page=1 |work=The Indian Express |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=dgBFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1910%2C6038939 |access-date=8 February 2018}}</ref>

== Legacy ==
Naidu is known as "one of India's feminist luminaries".<ref name="Raman2006" /> Naidu's birthday, 13 February, is celebrated as Women's Day to recognise powerful voices of women in India's history.<ref name="ISCE">{{Cite book |title=Treasure Trove: A Collection of ICSE Poems and Short Stories |publisher=Evergreen Publications (INDIA) Ltd. |year=2020 |isbn=9789350637005 |location=New Delhi |pages=13}}</ref>

Composer [[Helen Searles Westbrook]] (1889–1967) set Naidu's text to music in her song "Invincible."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Office |first=Library of Congress Copyright |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N0chAQAAIAAJ&dq=helen+searles+composer&pg=PA2328 |title=Catalog of Copyright Entries: Third series |date=1970 |language=en}}</ref> In 2021-2022, [[Indian Americans|Indian-American]] composer [[Shruthi Rajasekar]] created a large musical work called ''Sarojini'' on Naidu's life and the Independence movement, using text from Naidu's poetry and speeches.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hugill |first=Planet |title=Sarojini: Shruthi Rajasekar's new piece, premiered by Hertfordshire Chorus, merges Western classical and Carnatic musical traditions |url=https://www.planethugill.com/2022/10/sarojini-shruthi-rajasekars-new-piece.html |access-date=2025-07-23}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title='Pandemic has taught us how valuable, and indeed precious, live music is,' says musician Shruthi Rajasekar {{!}} EasternEye |url=https://www.easterneye.biz/pandemic-has-taught-us-how-valuable-and-indeed-precious-live-music-is-says-musician-shruthi-rajasekar/ |access-date=2025-07-23 |website=www.easterneye.biz |language=en}}</ref>

As a poet, Naidu was known as the "Nightingale of India".<ref name="Augestine2017">{{Cite news |last=Augestine |first=Seline |date=17 June 2017 |title=Nightingale of India |work=[[The Hindu]] |url=http://www.thehindu.com/children/nightingale-of-india/article19093162.ece |access-date=18 October 2019}}</ref> [[Edmund Gosse]] called her "the most accomplished living poet in India" in 1919.<ref name="NaiduSpeeches1919-11">{{Cite book |last=Naidu |first=Sarojini |url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/100500199 |title=Speeches and writings. |date=1919 |publisher=G.A. Nateson & Co. |location=Madras |page=11}}</ref>

[[File:Golden Threshold in Abids, Hyderabad.JPG|thumbnail|Golden Threshold in 2015]]
Naidu is memorialized in the [[Golden Threshold]], an off-campus annex of [[University of Hyderabad]] named for her first collection of poetry. Golden Threshold now houses the Sarojini Naidu School of Arts & Communication in the University of Hyderabad.<ref name="UHyderabad">{{Cite web |title=Sarojini Naidu School of Arts & Communication |url=http://www.uohyd.ac.in/index.php/academics/2011-10-27-18-38-04/sarojini-naidu-school-of-arts-a-communication |access-date=12 February 2014}}</ref> Also, [[Sarojini Devi Eye Hospital]] in Hyderabad is named after her.

Asteroid [[5647 Sarojininaidu]], discovered by [[Eleanor Helin]] at [[Palomar Observatory]] in 1990, was named in her memory.<ref name="jpldata" /> The official {{MoMP|5647|naming citation}} was published by the [[Minor Planet Center]] on 27 August 2019 ({{small|[[Minor Planet Circulars|M.P.C.]] 115893}}).<ref name="MPC-Circulars-Archive" />

In 2014, Google India commemorated Naidu's 135th birth anniversary with a [[Google Doodle]].<ref name="BiharPrabha2014">{{Cite web |title=Google Doodle celebrates Sarojini Naidu's 135th Birthday |url=http://news.biharprabha.com/2014/02/google-doodle-celebrates-sarojini-naidus-135th-birthday/ |access-date=12 February 2014 |publisher=news.biharprabha.com}}</ref>

=== Works about Naidu ===
The first biography of Naidu, ''Sarojini Naidu: a Biography'' by Padmini Sengupta, was published in 1966.<ref name="Jungalwalla1966">{{Cite journal |last=Jungalwalla |first=P.N. |date=1966 |title=Review of ''Sarojini Naidu, a Biography'' by Padmini Sengupta |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23329487 |journal=Indian Literature |volume=9 |issue=2 |pages=101–103 |jstor=23329487 }}</ref> A biography for children, Sarojini Naidu: The Nightingale and The Freedom Fighter, was published by [[Hachette (publisher)|Hachette]] in 2014.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sarojini Naidu: The Nightingale and The Freedom Fighter|url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/lifestyle/books/2014/mar/16/sarojini-naidu-the-nightingale-and-the-freedom-fighter-586690.html|access-date=16 October 2021|website=The New Indian Express|date=14 March 2014 }}</ref>

In 1975, the [[Government of India]] [[Films Division]] produced a twenty-minute documentary about Naidu's life, "Sarojini Naidu – The Nightingale of India", directed by [[Bhagwan Das Garga]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=13 February 2021|title=Films Division pays tribute to Sarojini Naidu|url=https://www.thereportingtoday.com/films-division-pays-tribute-to-sarojini-naidu/|access-date=16 October 2021|website=The Reporting Today |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Sarojini Naidu {{!}} Films Division|url=https://filmsdivision.org/shop/sarojini-naidu|access-date=16 October 2021|website=filmsdivision.org}}</ref>

In 2020, a [[biopic]] was announced, titled ''Sarojini'', to be directed by Akash Nayak and Dhiraj Mishra, and starring [[Dipika Chikhlia]] as Naidu.<ref name="IndianExpress2020">{{Cite web |date=15 May 2020 |title=Ramayan actor Dipika Chikhlia to play Sarojini Naidu in biographical film |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/ramayan-actor-dipika-chikhlia-to-play-sarojini-naidu-in-biopic-6399601/ |access-date=30 September 2020 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
{{portal|Poetry|Biography}}
* [[Indian English literature]]
* [[Indian literature]]
* [[Indian poetry]]
* [[Indian poetry in English]]
* [[List of Indian poets]]
* [[List of Indian writers]]

== References ==
{{reflist|30em|refs=

<ref name="jpldata">{{cite web
  |type       = 11 May 2019 last obs.
  |title      = JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 5647 Sarojininaidu (1990 TZ)
  |url        = https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=2005647
  |publisher  = [[Jet Propulsion Laboratory]]
  |access-date = 25 September 2019}}</ref>

<ref name="MPC-Circulars-Archive">{{cite web
  |title      = MPC/MPO/MPS Archive
  |work       = Minor Planet Center
  |url        = https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/iau/ECS/MPCArchive/MPCArchive_TBL.html
  |access-date = 25 September 2019}}</ref>

}}

==Further reading==
{{Library resources box|by=yes|onlinebooksby=yes|viaf= 20485679}}
* {{cite book|last1=Gupta|first1=Indra|title=India's 50 most illustrious women|date=2004|location=New Delhi |publisher=Icon Publications|edition=2nd}}
* {{cite book|last1=Baig|first1=Tara Ali|title=Sarojini Naidu: portrait of a patriot|date=1985|location=New Delhi |publisher=Congress Centenary (1985) Celebrations Committee, AICC (I)}}
* {{cite book|last1=Ramachandran Nair|first1=K. R.|title=Three Indo-Anglian poets: Henry Derozio, Toru Dutt, and Sarojini Naidu|date=1987 |location=New Delhi |publisher=Sterling Publishers}}
* {{cite book|author=Padmini Sengupta|title=Sarojini Naidu |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ikVKnQEACAAJ|year=1997|isbn=9788178624495 }}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{wikisource|works=or}}
{{commons category|Sarojini Naidu}}
* [https://talkinghumanities.blogs.sas.ac.uk/2016/11/01/nightingale-of-india-a-sarojini-naidu-biopic/ Nightingale of India: a Sarojini Naidu biopic]
* [https://www.academia.edu/4132256/International_Journal_of_English_and_Literature_IJEL_ The poetry of Sarojini Naidu: A fusion of English language and Indian culture]
* {{Gutenberg author |id=346| name=Sarojini Naidu}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Sarojini Naidu}}
* [https://archive.org/details/goldenthreshold00naidgoog ''The Golden Threshold''] in The Internet Archive
* {{Librivox author |id=3569}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080518090448/http://www.poetseers.org/the_great_poets/in/sarojini_naidu/ Biography and Poems of Sarojini Naidu ]
* [http://www.rediff.com/freedom/19let1.htm Letter written by Sarojini Naidu ]
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=h6v8HsRUBucC&q=nizam+college&pg=PA85 Sarojini Naidu: An introduction to her life, work, and poetry By Vishwanath S. Naravane]
* [http://www.saadigitalarchive.org/entity/sarojini-naidu Sarojini Naidu materials at the South Asian American Digital Archive (SAADA)]
* {{PM20|FID=pe/022371}}

{{Indian National Congress Presidents}}
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