Anasuya Sarabhai

Early life and education

Sarabhai was born in Ahmedabad in 11 November 1885 into the Sarabhai family of Sarabhai and Godavariba, a wealthy family of industrialists and business people. Both her parents died when she was nine, so she, her brother Ambalal Sarabhai, and a younger sister were sent to live with an uncle. She undertook an unsuccessful child marriage at the age of 13. With the help of her brother, she went to England in 1912 to take a medical degree, but switched to the London School of Economics when she realised the animal dissection involved in obtaining a medical degree was in violation of her Jain beliefs. Whilst in England she was influenced by the Fabian Society and got involved in the Suffragette movement.

Political career

Once back in India, she worked for betterment of women and the poor; she opened a school. She decided to get involved in the labour movement after witnessing exhausted female mill workers returning home after a 36-hour shift. She helped organise textile workers in a 1914 strike in Ahmedabad. She was also involved in a month-long strike in 1918, where weavers were asking for a 50 per cent increase in wages and were being offered 20 per cent. Gandhi, a friend of the family, was by then acting as a mentor to Sarabhai. Gandhi began a hunger strike on the workers' behalf, and the workers eventually obtained a 35 per cent increase. Following this, in 1920, the Ahmedabad Textile Labour Association (Majoor Mahajan Sangh) was formed.

Legacy and death

Sarabhai was called Motaben, Gujarati for "elder sister". She mentored Ela Bhatt, founder of the Self-Employed Women's Association of India. Sarabhai died in 1972.