Shakuntala Choudhary

Shakuntala Choudhary was a Gandhian social worker who spent her life at the Sarania Ashram in Guwahati, where Mahatma Gandhi stayed in 1946. She was named for the Padma Shri in 2022 in the field of social work, from Assam ^[1].

A life at the ashram

Shakuntala was born on 25 June 1920 at Panbazar, Guwahati, to Harinath Pathak Choudhury and Bidyadhari Choudhury, who encouraged her to take up social work ^[2]. After studying at Handique Girls’ College, she taught at a higher secondary school in Guwahati in 1945–46 ^[2]. Through Amal Prova Das, a follower of Gandhi and Vinoba Bhave, she joined the Assam branch of the Kasturba Gandhi National Memorial Trust on 19 October 1947, and stayed with it for the rest of her life ^[2]. She served as its secretary for 20 years ^[2].

Walking for land

She led a padayatra of the Bhoodan, or land-gift, movement that began on 18 April 1951 and crossed Assam ^[2]. Vinoba Bhave entrusted her with the regular printing of Asomiya Viswanagari, a publication that became a source of strength for her ^[2]. She ran campaigns to awaken women, and founded the Kasturba Juba Matri Samaj to involve students and young people in mother and child welfare, literacy and self-reliance ^[2].

Her honours included the Jamnalal Bajaj Award and the Assam government’s Gopinath Bordoloi Award ^[2]. She died on 22 February 2022, shortly after her Padma Shri was announced ^[2].