Bhubaneswar: The Thinkers’ Club of Bhubaneswar Wednesday wrote a letter to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik seeking establishment a memorial hall in the honour of freedom fighter Sarala Devi, at Swaraj Ashram in Cuttack.
In the letter, president of the club Barada Prasanna Das said, “We take the privilege of putting the following few points before you, that were discussed in the 80th webinar of the club recently. The theme of the meeting was to honour Late Sarala Devi, the first woman freedom fighter of the city and pioneer in many aspects.”
Das said that Sarala Devi joined the non-cooperation movement called by Gandhiji as the first woman from the state in 1921. She was first to join the Congress party as a woman member. She was also the first woman MLA of the state when Odisha became an independent state based on language April 1, 1936. She was the first woman speaker of the Odisha Legislative Assembly for a brief period. Moreover, she was the first woman director of the Cuttack Cooperative Bank and the woman member of the senate of Utkal University.
Hence, intellectuals felt that the government should take steps to provide due honour and gratitude to this virtuous woman of substance.
