By the Book: Two children’s books that pay homage to the makers of modern India | Parenting News,The Indian Express
Two books introduce children to the men and women who changed the course of India’s history
The recent influx of biographies for children offer a glimpse of the grit and determination of trailblazers whose legacies we still celebrate. Here are two such books:
Incredible Indians: 75 People Who Shaped Modern India Ashwitha Jayakumar HarperCollins India 124 pages Rs 499
Born to a Brahmin father and a Devadasi mother in 1886, at a time when Devadasis were relegated to the edges of society, Muthulakshmi Reddy did what few women of her time were able to. She owned her unique legacy and forged an identity of her own, defying social norms of the time. A gifted child, she was encouraged by her father, a principal in a college in Pudukottai (modern-day Tamil Nadu) to study. Reddy created a sensation by studying in the state-run all-male Maharaja College before going on to study medicine, specialising in surgery. Founder of the Adyar Cancer Institute in Chennai, Reddy was committed to women’s rights, advocating for rights to healthcare, education and enfranchisement for women and for the abolition of the devadasi system.
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Like Reddy, Hansa Mehta (1897-1995), too, made use of her liberal upbringing, joining the freedom struggle while studying in England and dedicating her life to the cause of Independence. She defied conventions to marry a man outside her caste and was imprisoned several times for her anti-colonial activities. An equal rights advocate, Mehta was among those who pushed for the enshrinement of women’s rights in the Constitution after Independence.
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