Editing Sarojini Naidu (section)

==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" />