During a visit to India in December 2010, Russian President Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev met with the country's political leaders. In addition to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, all the top posts in India were held by women: President Pratibha Patil, leader of the government majority in parliament and president of the ruling Indian National Congress (Congress) party Sonia Gandhi, Speaker of the lower house of Parliament Meira Kumar, leader of the opposition BJP (Indian People's Party) in the same chamber Sushma Swaraj:.

India's achievements in promoting women to the top of public and political life were largely due to the activities of those who made a great contribution to the struggle for independence of the country, actively and resolutely advocated for women's equality. Sarojini Naidu is one of these outstanding women who occupies a special place in the history of twentieth-century India.

Keywords: Gandhi, Nehru, moral ideals, nonviolent non-cooperation movement, women's equality, Hindu-Muslim unity.

TIME OF SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT

Sarojini was born on February 13, 1879 in the village of Brahmanagar in East Ben-Galia to an impoverished Brahmin, Agorenath Chattoiadhyaya, and his wife, Sundari Devi. Her father was a man of diverse talents and interests. After graduating from the University of Calcutta, he received a grant to continue his studies at the University of Edinburgh, where in 1877 he defended his doctoral thesis in physics and became the first Indian to be awarded such a degree. He then continued his studies in Bonn, Germany. Before leaving for England, Agorenath joined the Brahmo sa-maj Reform Society. While studying abroad, his wife lived in the ashram of the Brahmoist leader Ke-shab Chandra Sena, where she was introduced to the norms and rules of the reformers of Hinduism.

Upon his return to India in 1878, Agorenath first worked as a schoolteacher in Hyderabad. Subsequently, he founded the Hyderabad College, which was later transformed into the Ottoman University. Together with his wife, he opened a women's college at this university. An outstanding linguist, he spoke English, German, French, Greek, Yiddish, and Russian in addition to Bengali and Sanskrit [Baig, 1974, p. 7, 8].

Agorenath was one of the first Indians to participate in the founding of the Congress in 1885. He also promoted the swadeshi movement (for domestic production) in Bengal in 1905 and tried to spread it in the principality of Hyderabad, where the nizam (ruler) forbade any political activity. All of this had a huge impact on his children. All of them, each in their own way, became

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famous people. Sarojini was the eldest of eight children in this family and the most famous.

By the time Sarojini graduated from high school, she was influenced by her governess not only to become interested in English poetry, but also to write her own youthful lyric poems, poems, dramas, and even a novel in English. In 1895, she received a grant from the Nizam of Hyderabad to study in England. There, she threw herself into poetry to the detriment of regular classes. After three years of being in an unusual climate, she became seriously ill and was sent by her father to Switzerland for treatment, and then to Italy, where she became interested in Garibaldi's patriotic ideas. In September 1898, Sarojini returned to India without a university degree. In December of the same year, she married Govindorajula Naidu, a doctor who was much older than her. Their marriage was a violation of traditional caste norms, as Sarojini was a Brahmana by caste and Bengali by nationality, while Naidu was a non-Brahmana and Madras Tamil. The next five years were for Sarojini years of domestic care and joy in an atmosphere of complete well-being. During this time, she gave birth to four children. This period also saw the flourishing of Sarojini's poetry, which brought her the recognition and fame of Bulbul-i-Hind, the Nightingale of India.

Many years later, her brother Harindranath, himself a highly gifted and creative person, wrote that Sarojini became known as the "Nightingale of India" not only because of her poetry, but because she had an extraordinary skill in public speaking. Her speech flowed like music... she charmed, attracted. Being a lyricist by nature, she suddenly transformed, her speech becoming " sharp as a sword that deals heavy blows "[Baig, 1974, p. 74].

R. Tagore's assessment of Sarojini's poetry is of interest. In August 1917. she sent him a letter asking for his opinion on her latest book of poetry, Broken Wing. Tagore replied: "May I confess to you? Again and again, reading the poems in your latest book, I felt even more like a broken wing in my flight in the alien sky of the English language. You make me envy you your ease and grace in every movement of thought among the foreign words that are so friendly to you. It fills my heart with pride that you have won your place among the most recognized poets in the West. And in this way we have eased the pain of insults and insults hanging over our Homeland "[Baig, 1974, p. 58, 59].

Already in 1902, Sarojini plunged into social activities with her usual enthusiasm. She began to speak at meetings and rallies in Calcutta and Bombay in defense of women's rights, against child marriage, polygamy, lifelong widowhood, and for the development of women's education. She was able to make an emotional impact on the audience with her inspired speeches filled with poetic images, which is so highly appreciated in India.

After the partition plan of Bengal announced in 1905 by Viceroy Curzon of India, Sarojini began to make appeals against British rule and especially in favor of the unity of Hindus and Muslims. In 1906, in a speech to the Congress in Calcutta, where about 20 thousand people gathered, she demanded the abolition of the partition of Bengal and supported the Swadeshi movement. Since then, she has participated in mass gatherings alongside such recognized Indian leaders as Ferozshah Mehta, Madan Mohan Malawiya, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Surendranath Banerji, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Dadabhai Naoroji, Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak. At the same time, in Calcutta, Sarojini spoke at a number of conferences, emphasizing the spiritual strength of India, the unity of its peoples belonging to different faiths.

A special place in her performances was occupied by women's themes. In her opinion, the central theme in the issue of national liberation of India should be the freedom of the media.-

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women's health. She was particularly active in insisting on the development of women's education, which Indian women were deprived of. This situation was intolerable, Sarojini said. Without the active participation of women, all congresses and conferences will be meaningless [Naidu, 1904, p. 18-20].

Thus, Sarojini is already at the beginning of the XX century. I found myself in the general flow of the national movement. The themes of her speeches centered around harmony and brotherhood, peace and love, and against the injustices of the colonial administration. Particularly notable during this period was her involvement in helping the population in the principality of Hyderabad affected by the flood of 1908. For this work, she received the Kaiser-I-Hind gold medal from the British authorities.

All this contrasts with the activities of her brother Virendranath (1880-1937), who took the path of revolutionary struggle against colonial power, was expelled from India and lived most of his life in Europe and the Soviet Union. Such an episode is of interest. Virendranath, who was in Germany, sent a secret letter in 1903 to his sister Mrinalini, who shared his views. The British intelligence service found out about this. Forty police officers, led by Chief Constable Sir Charles Teggert, surrounded Agorenath's house. Teggart demanded that the letter be given to him. The police searched the house, but found nothing. After the police left, it turned out that the letter was in the mouth of 8-year - old Ronen-Virendranath's brother, who chewed it during a long and very thorough search.

Family tradition also says that the authorities demanded that Sarojini give up his brother, otherwise his father's family could expect big trouble. In her desperation to save her parents, Sarojini wrote a letter rejecting her father and Virendranath. The email was published. Her angry father forbade her to come to his house. Although he did not share his son's political views, he always supported him.

These episodes shed light on how complex relations and political views in the same family could have been, and on the "hood" under which the British intelligence service kept figures of the national liberation movement and simply people close to them due to family and kinship relations. They also say that these figures were often faced with a tough choice, which affected their subsequent life and activities. This also applied to Sarojini Naidu.

One of Sarojini's close friends, C. P. Ramaswamy Ayyar, said that she was naturally in need of a guru. The first guru who had a great influence on her was her father. The second was a prominent figure of the national liberation movement Gopal Krishna Gokhale (1866-1915), who "called her to the service of the Motherland."

Gokhale was the most prominent representative of the moderate trend in the Congress. He believed in the spiritual principle in politics, believed that righteous means should be used to achieve righteous goals, saw the revival of India in the social rise of the people, and advocated the elimination of social barriers and inequality. Gokhale was opposed to the use of violence in the struggle for Indian independence, and adhered to the idea of Indian self-government in the form of a dominion [Yurlov and Yurlova, 2010, p. 33, 34].

The young, romantic Sarojini took the idea of Hindu-Muslim unity particularly to heart. When asked by Gokhale about her vision for India's immediate future, Sarojini enthusiastically replied, " Hindu-Muslim unity in five years." Gokhale, an experienced politician, said:: "You have too high expectations. This unity will not exist either in your lifetime or in my lifetime" (Baig, 1974, p. 47).

The death of her father and Gokhale almost at the same time, in February 1915, was a blow to Sarojini, but it did not change her views on the main problems facing India. Among them, the main issue remained the issue of Hindu-Muslim unity. In this regard, her attention was drawn to the activities of Muhammad Ali Jinnah (1876-1948).,

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one of the most talented Indian politicians, an excellent lawyer, educated in England, who at the beginning of the twentieth century was one of the young leaders of the Congress. In 1916, he became president of the All India Muslim League (hereinafter referred to as the League) at its session held in Lucknow simultaneously with the Congress session [Yurlov, Yurlova, 2010, p.67]. Then an agreement was signed between the two parties, called the Lucknow Pact. The convergence of the positions of the Congress and the League on the issue of self-government fully corresponded to the aspirations of Sarojini, who herself had become a member of the Congress the day before. She spoke at this session of the League and said that for many years she was a "loyal companion of the younger generation of Muslims" and a fighter for women's rights in the Muslim community. This episode was preceded by a speech by Sarojini at the Congress in 1915, where she read her poem "Wake Up!" dedicated to the Genie. She repeatedly spoke with him from the same public platform and for many years retained the hope that he would contribute to Muslim-Hindu unity [Sengupta, 1966, p. XIX]. However, with the output of MK. Gandhi's entry into the Indian political arena began a gradual withdrawal of Jinnah from Congress.

MAHATMA GANDHI AS GURU SAROJINI

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948) had a special gift for attracting talented men and women who were ready to fight selflessly for India's independence. At first it was just a few, then tens, hundreds and thousands of such people who became his supporters. There were quite a few women among them. One of them - a bright, gifted, educated, unconventional person - was Sarojini Naidu. She became one of Gandhi's devoted and loyal disciples and associates, who had a huge impact on her.

During Gandhi's long struggle against racial discrimination against Indians in South Africa, his life philosophy, moral and ethical credo and methods of civil disobedience to the authorities as a way to achieve the goal were formed. These ideas corresponded to Sarojini's spiritual mood.

According to Gandhian teaching and practice, violence cannot lead to a positive outcome. Gandhi strongly defended the importance of moral principles as the main direction in politics. At the beginning of his career, he faced opposition to his policies from some major political leaders, who criticized this theory of his as impractical and unrealistic. To this Gandhi replied: "I'm not a dreamer. I claim to be a practical idealist. Nonviolence is the law of our (human) species, and violence is the law of animals. Human dignity requires submission to a higher law, the power of the spirit. So I ventured to offer India the ancient law of self-sacrifice" [Young India, 11.08.1920].

Civil disobedience was organically combined in Gandhi with his ideas of freedom, equality and social justice - there can be no freedom where there is injustice and inequality. He said that the inequality of men and women is the first universal dividing line created by human society, between the oppressed and the oppressors. Without eliminating this division, all attempts to make progress in human and social development are doomed to failure. These thoughts were very much in line with Sarojini's mindset.

Sarojini was one of the first women in India to fight for equal rights for women in political life. In 1917, at the Provincial Congress conference in Bombay, she raised the issue of women's electoral rights. In the same year, at a meeting of leaders of fourteen women's organizations with the Minister of Indian Affairs Edwin Montagu, Sarojini demanded the introduction of self-government in India and the removal of restrictions on women's participation in political and public life. Svoie 3 Vostok, No. 6

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Montagu recorded his impressions of this meeting in his diary: "We had an interesting deputation of women who raised the issue of education for girls and the creation of medical colleges. The deputation was headed by Mrs. Naidoo, a poet, a very attractive and intelligent woman, but I think a revolutionary at heart" [Baig, 1974, p.63].

Sarojini Naidu's first meeting with Gandhi marked the beginning of their close friendship and cooperation. Here is what she writes in this regard:

"My first meeting with Mahatma Gandhi took place in London in 1914 on the eve of the First World War... He arrived there from South Africa, where he first tested the principles of passive resistance and won freedom for his compatriots, who at that time were mostly contract workers... I was unable to meet the steamer on which Gandhi arrived in London. But the next day I went to look for his place in an abandoned part of Kensington. I climbed the steep stairs of an old, unassuming house. In the open doorway, she saw a small man with a shaved head. He was sitting on the floor, wrapped in a black prison blanket, eating some crumbs of tomatoes and olive oil from a wooden prison cup. Around it were battered jars of dried groundnuts and tasteless cookies made from dried banana flour. I laughed out loud at the unexpected sight of the famous chief... He looked up and laughed back. "Aha," he said, " you must be Mrs. Naidoo! Who else would dare to be so disrespectful? Come in and share a meal with me." No, thank you, " I said, sniffing the food. "What a disgusting mess!" So, Sarojini continues, " at that very moment, our friendship began, turning into a true camaraderie. It resulted in my long and dedicated discipleship, which was never interrupted for an hour during more than thirty years of service to the common cause of India's liberation " [The Mahalma..., 1998, p. XVII].

Sarojini never forgot that meeting. 33 years later, on October 2, 1947, the birthday of Gandhi, she remembered her again: "So, laughing, we began a friendship that continued to grow, grow stronger, develop all these years" [The Mahatma..., 1998, p. XVIII].

Gandhi finally returned to his homeland on January 9, 1915. In April 1917, he spoke out in support of the demands of indigo farmers in the Champa Run district of Bihar, where the peasants had long struggled with the dominance of English plantation owners in trade and finance. Local authorities initially banned Gandhi from remaining in the district, but under the threat of satyagraha (a campaign of civil disobedience), higher authorities were forced to consent to his presence in the area.

In March 1918, he started India's first peasant satyagraha in the Kheda district of Gujarat. It covered about 70 villages. The purpose of this satyagraha was to get the tax suspended due to a bad harvest. Gandhi's next notable success in resolving social conflicts peacefully was mediating a compromise between the owners and workers of a textile factory in Ahmedabad.In March 1918, Gandhi proposed a 35% wage increase. To achieve this goal, for the first time since returning to India, he used the means he had tested in Africa - a hunger strike. In Champaran, Kheda, and Ahmedabad, Gandhi pioneered, albeit on a limited scale, satyagraha, his method of political struggle, and also demonstrated his ability to achieve the desired result through compromise. Sarojini was watching all this closely.

THE LOSS OF HOPE FOR BRITISH JUSTICE

In March 1919, Gandhi led a movement to repeal the Rowlett Laws, which gave the colonial authorities the right to arrest and exile without trial. Gandhi called these laws unfair, undermining the foundations of freedom and destroying the basic rights of the individual and demanded their repeal. In early April, he started satyagraha. At the same time, events occurred in Punjab that became a turning point

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in the history of the national liberation movement. The shooting of civilians by the British General Dyer in Jalianwalla Bagh Square (near the Sikh shrine-the Golden Temple in Amritsar) on April 13, 1919, led to the death of more than a thousand people, twice as many were injured.

Many prominent political and public figures in India gave a harsh assessment of this crime of the colonial authorities. Among them was R. Tagore, who in protest refused the knighthood bestowed on him by the British King in 1915. In 1919, Sarojini followed suit and returned the Kaiser-i-Hind gold medal to the government. On August 1, 1920, Gandhi also refused orders and medals received from the British government for his support of Great Britain in the Anglo-Boer war in South Africa [Yurlov, Yurlova, 2010, p. 101].

During the discussion of the report of the official Hunter commission on the events in Amritsar, Sarojini, who was in England as part of the delegation of the Indian League for Self-Government, gave a public lecture on June 3, 1920, "The Agony and shame of Punjab", in which she spoke about "the bloody guilt of those who committed murder in my country". Harindranath wrote that he had heard his sister perform at the packed Albert Hall in London in 1920. Her voice was "filled with hatred and a call for revenge." She was uncompromising. "Her words were spoken by India, bleeding and humiliated" (Baig, 1974, p. 75).

Her speech received extensive press coverage and was discussed in the House of Commons. Edwin Montagu issued a statement refuting the charges against Sarojini. She rejected these denials. In this regard, Sarojini wrote to Gandhi on July 15, 1920: "It is in vain to expect justice from a power that is blind and intoxicated in its arrogance, with its rigid ethical, religious and racial prejudices, which completely ignores Indian conditions, opinions and moods. The Punjab debate in the House of Commons last week shattered what remained of my hope and faith in British justice and goodwill for India's future. This debate is deeply saddening and inherently tragic. Our friends have shown their ignorance, our enemies their arrogance and contempt. All this is heartbreaking" [The Mahatma..., 1998, p. 20].

The depth of friendship between Gandhi and Sarojini is reflected in their extensive correspondence over many years. If in her first letter to Sarojini (February 23, 1915), Gandhi refers to her as "my dear sister" and she responds by calling Gandhi "dear brother", then later (May 4, 1919), she writes to Gandhi as "dear friend" and adds: "whom I am proud to call my leader and mentor." And when Gandhi launched an active propaganda campaign for home spinning and weaving, Sarojini signed her letter to him: "from a traveling singer to a home spinner "(July 20, 1926).

Gandhi's correspondence with Sarojini is filled with deep content, assessments of the political situation in each specific period of the national liberation movement. And at the same time, their letters are characterized by openness and frankness, a sense of humor and friendly disposition to each other. Sometimes Sarojini calls him "Little Man" and "Mickey Mouse"in a letter to Gandhi. And in response, he addresses her as "Dear Nightingale" and signs his name: "Little man" (August 8, 1932). A little later, Gandhi continues this game of words and friendly jokes. He's writing: "Dear Mother, Singer and Guardian of my soul" (September 17, 1932).: "My beloved Little Man "and signed" Your singer and dearly loving friend " (August 17, 1934). Most of all, Gandhi preferred to sign letters with the word "Spinner". This fully corresponded to his spiritual state and the importance that he attached to home spinning in his political and social life. As Sarojini explained, for Gandhi, spinning and weaving were part of an inseparable relationship.

3*

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fraternity with all people, especially the peasantry and the lower classes of society, including the untouchables [Speeches..., 1925, p. 327-328].

Even later, Gandhi did not abandon this intellectual game with a person who was spiritually close to him. He wrote to her: "My dear nightingale of India," etc. In turn, Sarojini responded to Gandhi's efforts to prevent religious and communal discord in the various towns and villages where he went, often on foot to be closer to the people. She affectionately called him" The Beloved Pilgrim " (July 1946). Friendly correspondence continued until Gandhi's death.

SAROJINI - CONGRESS PRESIDENT

In December 1925, at a Congress session in Belgaum, Sarojini was elected president of the party for the following year. By this time, she was already an experienced politician. After joining Congress, Sarojini was actively involved in all major political events, including the British Government's discussion of the Indian Government Act of 1919, known as the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms. The law provided for granting some powers to Indians in provincial legislative councils. However, Indian ministers did not manage finances. In addition, the British-appointed governor had the right to veto decisions of provincial councils. The Congress, in which Sarojini began to play a prominent role, opposed the participation of Indians in the work of executive bodies.

In the following years, Sarojini took an active part in the activities of the party, conducted propaganda work in the interests of the Congress in Europe and South Africa. She was elected a member of the Congress Working Committee, the party's governing body.

Sarojini's candidacy for Congress president was proposed by Gandhi. However, there were many who expressed doubts about this choice. Among them was the great industrialist G. D. Birla, to whom Gandhi wrote: "I think your concerns about Sarojini Naidu are unfounded. I firmly believe that she serves India faithfully, and I believe that if those who have held this post before were worthy of it, then she is also worthy of it. Everyone is charmed by her enthusiasm. I am a witness to her courage" [The Mahatma..., p. 170].

After Sarojini's election as Congress President, Gandhi wrote:: "The energetic prophets of the failure of the Cawnpore session in 1926 predicted that if Sarojini Naidu became president, it would be difficult for her to manage the audience, and that only a few delegates would attend, etc. But things turned out differently. Sarojini Naidu successfully fulfilled her duties and won the hearts of everyone with her tactful behavior. She showed boundless energy and paid attention to all the important aspects. Her speech as president of the Congress was filled with poetry. Her English is amazing." Moreover, Gandhi emphasized that no Indian woman had ever been a party president before. And this "gave us a great opportunity to pay tribute to our sisters, which they have long deserved" [The Mahatma..., p. 171-173]. Gandhi spoke specifically about Indian women, since the first female Congress president was an Irish woman named Annie Besant in 1917.

Sarojini's efforts to bring together women's organizations from different parts of India also date back to this period. To this end, in January 1927, largely due to her efforts, the All-India Women's Conference was established, which is still active today. Sarojini believed that women's struggle for their rights should be combined with the struggle for the liberation of India [Yurlova, 1982, pp. 107-110].

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SAROJINI IS A STRUGGLING INDIA'S AMBASSADOR ABROAD

Sarojini has spent a significant part of her life promoting the ideas of Indian independence abroad - in many countries in Europe, Africa, the United States and Canada. She spoke at numerous meetings, rallies, among women, youth, students. Her public speaking skills attracted people from all walks of life. The main topics of her speeches were the struggle for the emancipation of women and the untouchables, Hindu-Muslim unity, the elimination of discrimination against Indians in the British colonies, and the promotion of Gandhi's ideas of nonviolent resistance in the name of national liberation of India.

Many of Sarojini's trips abroad took place on the advice or initiative of Gandhi. So, in 1924, she traveled almost all of Africa, visited Natal and Pretoria, Transvaal and Cape Town, Durbin and Phoenix, visited Rhodesia, Kenya and Uganda. There, she spoke to Indians at dozens of rallies. Gandhi highly appreciated the results of Sarojini's work in South Africa. He wrote: "All the information that I have received from Ms. Naidu herself and from my old South African friends convinces me that her presence in South Africa has been beneficial for our compatriots. No doubt it gave them courage, gave them hope. Her incomparable talent has attracted many Europeans to our side." Gandhi noted that Sarojini makes a special contribution to the development and strengthening of Hindu-Muslim unity. "She knows Muslims much better than I do. She has access to their hearts, which I can't claim. Add to that her gender, which represents her strongest quality that no man can match. And defending peaceful ways of fighting is a special prerogative of women... Sarojini's personal bravery and tireless energy infect people" [Paranjape, 1996, p. 168-169, 172].

After the publication in 1927 of the American K. Mayo's book "Mother India" [Mauo, 1927], 1 which contained a critical description of the state of society in India and made the main conclusion about the impossibility of providing this colony with self-government, Sarojini went to the United States on behalf of Gandhi. On this occasion, Gandhi wrote:: "If a visit to the West can make sense at all, it should certainly be a visit by Sarojini Naidu or the great poet Rabindranath Tagore. Sarojini Naidu is widely known in the West for her poems. She has the gift of a poet and orator. She is exceptionally tactful. She knows how to say the right word in the right place and at the right time. She has the art of telling the truth without offending others" [Paranjape, 1996, p. 172].

Here Gandhi notes those qualities and virtues of Sarojini that were especially valuable and close to him. He always spoke and wrote about her in the highest words and expressions. And especially emphasized her inner strength and dignity. But Gandhi did not idealize Sarojini. He also saw her weaknesses - "a love of making speeches and making a big fuss." This is the essence of her public life, the food she enjoys, he wrote. "Take this away from me,"she once confessed to me," and I will die." "And I believe it. These bursts of energy ignite her passion and desire to serve society" [Desai, 1984, p. 84-86].

As Gandhi wrote, the purpose of Sarojini's trip to America was to correct the wrongs caused by Mayo's false, slanderous book.

"No essay in India itself could undo the damage done by this creation, which was created in search of sensationalism with the expectation of a trusting public that expects this kind of thing. No serious American is likely to be influenced by Mayo's obscene writing. A serious American does not need to refute this. And the general reading public, which has already been influenced by Mayo's book "Mother India", will never be

1 Written as a result of K. Mayo's three-month stay in India, this book was accompanied by a large set of illustrations made by the author. In total, the book was published in the United States 27 times.

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read refutations written in India, however excellent they may be. So, fortunately, the idea was born in America to send Sarojini there with a lecture tour... A poetess could gather large audiences wherever she went. And, of course, that it will be patiently and carefully listened to. The magic of her eloquence will certainly capture the imagination of Americans "[Young India, 05.01.1928].

Sarojini was in the United States and Canada from October 1928 to July 1929. During this time, she visited almost all the states of America, spoke in a variety of audiences -in universities, colleges, women's, youth, religious and other organizations with the "message of India" (in her words). She notes the warm welcome given to her everywhere. Sarojini describes the United States as "a young country and a young nation ... that is relentlessly searching for some truth higher than the one that originated in the old world... And although today stone, steel and gold are its only symbols, it challenges and expresses the dream of Youth in its unspent and invincible courage, ambition, power and haughty pride... " [The Mahatma..., 1998, p. 90].

At the same time, Sarojini writes about "the abandoned children of America - the colored population, the descendants of those whom Abraham Lincoln proclaimed free people at the cost of his life... It breaks my heart to see the defenseless, hopeless, silent and patient bitterness and spiritual suffering of educated Negroes... They are socially and spiritually deprived children of America " [The Mahatma..., 1998, p. 91, 92].

Sarojini's keen spiritual eye was also drawn to the situation of Native Americans. She communicates with them, admires their music, songs and dances - the Eagle dance, the Buffalo Hunter, the Victory dance. After her speech in San Francisco ,a "proud young representative of one of the Indian tribes" said to her: "Thank you for your inspiring speech about the situation in India. And our country once belonged to me and my people. We're dying out. They may kill us, but they will never win." "Just so," Sarojini writes, " these abandoned children are the children of the Eagle and the Wind and Thunder. Who can break their spirit?"

Characteristic of Sarojini's performances in the United States were her speeches in New York. One of them was at a meeting organized by the Indian community, where she spoke on the topic: "Will India be free?". At another meeting, which was attended by representatives of about 70 nationalities (under the auspices of the World Peace Alliance), Sarojini spoke, in fact, on the same topic. "What is the real meaning of all the talk about peace," she asked, " when one-fifth of humanity is in political subjection? Enslaved India will remain a threat to world peace, and all talk of disarmament is now nothing more than a mockery. The only guarantee of lasting peace is a free India. And as long as the Indian flag... if it does not fly among other symbols of freedom, there can be no true peace in the world " (The Mahatma..., 1998, p. 93).

During a trip to America, Sarojini experienced pain when meeting immigrants from India in the state of California. She wrote to Gandhi about the bleak life of Indian settlers who, under the new American immigration law, were deprived of citizenship and land ownership rights. Most of them became day laborers. Almost all of them (more than five thousand people) were Sikhs from Punjab.

After a visit to America (and earlier to Africa), Sarojini came to the conclusion that the situation of Indian immigrants will not be decent anywhere until India becomes free [The Mahatma..., 1998, p. 101, 102].

Gandhi praised the results of Sarojini's trip to the United States. In a letter dated July 21, 1929, he wrote to her, among other things: "My American friends have told me much more about your victories in America than your modesty allowed me to write about them. With almost every mail I received from America something remarkable about your affairs" [The Mahatma..., 1998, p. 106].

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A FOLLOWER OF GANDHI'S MORAL IDEALS

Gandhi's practice of nonviolent methods and the mass perception of Gandhi himself as a Mahatma, i.e., a spiritual leader and even a messiah, were particularly attractive to women. "Gandhi's focus on the nonviolent struggle for Indian independence became an open appeal to women, because his methods were most suitable for them. He felt that there was no need for a special invitation for women. In this way, he expressed confidence that women themselves were well aware of their responsibilities to the country," Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya (1903-1988), a prominent member of the national liberation movement, later wrote (Chattopadhyaya, 1958, p.18).

Mothers, wives, sisters and children of political figures spoke at rallies calling on them not to cooperate with the colonialists, not to work in government offices, refuse to pay taxes, support domestic crafts and hand spinning, and called for Hindu-Muslim unity. Inspired by the moral, peaceful slogans of the struggle, women actively joined politics at the call of Gandhi. They were widely involved in mass campaigns such as picketing shops selling foreign fabrics and wines, and for the use of domestically produced goods. They were particularly prominent during the campaign of civil disobedience, an important part of which was the violation of the state monopoly on salt.

On March 12, 1930, Gandhi, along with 71 followers from the Sabarmati Ashram (near Ahmedabad), began a salt hike across Gujarat to the town of Dandi on the Arabian Sea. Gandhi said he would not return to the ashram until the salt tax imposed by the British administration was lifted.

Thousands of volunteers joined the campaign as they made their way to the sea. On April 6, 1930, a symbolic violation of the salt monopoly took place on the beach near Dundee - the audience began to evaporate salt from sea water. Gandhi was the first to break the salt law by taking a pinch of this salt. On the same day, the salt monopoly was violated at five thousand points by five million Indians. At first, the authorities began to arrest only the leaders of the movement in order to disorganize it. Then Congress and the organizations involved in the civil disobedience campaign were outlawed.

Anticipating his arrest, Gandhi had already entrusted Sarojini with the leadership of the salt satyagraha. By May 5, 1930, when Gandhi was arrested, 25,000 volunteers had gathered under Sarojini and she led them to a state-owned salt production facility in Dharasana. The police resorted to violent reprisals against the participants of satyagraha, beating not only men, but also women, and even children with batons. On May 30, the police stopped the march, and after Sarojini refused to stop satyagra-hu, they arrested her. Later, Sarojini Naidu was sentenced to prison in Pune, where she and Gandhi stayed until January 1931 [Baig, 1974, p. 106-109; Kalinnikova, 1999; Kalinnikova, 2002, p.98].

In total, more than 17,000 women were arrested for participating in this nonviolent non-cooperation movement. J. Nehru wrote in his Autobiography: "The most striking thing, without a doubt, was the role that women played in the national struggle. grandiose demonstrations took place in all the cities, in which only women participated; in general, women took a more adamant position than men" [Nehru, 1955, p.236].

Close cooperation and friendship with Gandhi did not mean that Sarojini was his blind follower. There were episodes when she not only disagreed with the actions and statements of her guru, but also criticized them. Thus, at the Second Round Table Conference in London in 1931, Gandhi declared that it was the Congress that was the true law.-

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He is a champion of the untouchables and protects the interests of the Indian people and all their classes, and personally represents the "oppressed classes", i.e. the untouchables, better than their leader B. R. Ambedkar. He said the same thing about other minorities [Yurlov and Yurlova, 2010, pp. 182-183]. However, Sarojini had a different opinion. In a letter to her daughters from London on October 8, 1931, she wrote:: "I know that some of us at least understand that the Mahatma's boast that he represents the nation and speaks on its behalf is groundless "(Paranjape, 1996, p. 250).

But on other occasions, especially in public, Sarojini has spoken out in support of Gandhi. This is evidenced, for example, by the events during Gandhi's hunger strike in September 1932 in protest against the creation of a separate electoral curia for the untouchables [Yurlova, 2003, pp. 97-98]. Then, at a critical time, Sarojini supported Gandhi, being with him in the Ieravada prison near Pune.

When there was controversy in Congress over Subhas Chandra Bose's position on Gandhian methods of fighting, Sarojini took a very definite stand on Gandhi's side. In 1938, at a session in Haripur, Gujarat Bos, who Sarojini also voted for, was elected president of the Congress. Bos unexpectedly criticized Gandhi's policies, including speaking out against his theory and practice of nonviolence. He believed that India's future lay in "radical and militant forces willing to make sacrifices and suffer for the sake of freedom" (Bose, 1964, p.295-298).

Bose's views and statements drew strong objections from Gandhi and his conservative supporters, including Sarojini. The right in Congress decided not to allow Bose to be re-elected as the party's president. In January 1939, at the initiative of Gandhi against Bose, Pattabhi Si-taramaya was nominated as a candidate for this post. However, Bos won the majority of votes and became president of the Congress again. After that, Gandhi declared that Sitaramaya's defeat was his (Gandhi's) personal defeat. Bose's victory means, he wrote, that " the delegates do not support my principles and policies." This statement by Gandhi led to a crisis in the leadership of the Congress. In February 1939, 12 of the 15 members of Congress, including Sarojini, supported Gandhi and announced their joint resignations. Nehru did not join them, but submitted a separate application. In a letter attached to it, he said that he could no longer cooperate with the Boss, as well as with those who resigned. "I was persistently persuaded to join others in their retirement. I refused" (cit. according to: [Tendulkar, 1969, p. 46, 47]).

Under these circumstances, in March 1939, at the Congress session in Tripuri (Central Provinces), the right-wing leadership of the party passed a resolution stating that when appointing members of the Working Committee, the party President Bose had to enlist the support of Gandhi. As a result, Bos was unable to form a Working Committee and resigned at a meeting of the All India Congress Committee in Calcutta on April 29. Rajendra Prasad was elected President of the Congress and appointed only Gandhian devotees, including Sarojini, to the Working Committee. Even Nehru was not included in it [Yurlov and Yurlova, 2010, p. 213, 214; Ramakrishnan, 1998, p. XVIII-XIX].

Sarojini, like other members of Congress, faced a major challenge in the August Revolution. On July 14, 1942, the Congress Working Committee at a meeting in Wardha adopted a resolution proposed by Gandhi, " Get out of India!". On August 7, at a session of the All India Congress Committee (WICC) in Bombay, the party demanded the withdrawal of Great Britain from India. The next day, WICC decided to start a massive struggle for Indian independence and bring it to an end. But at 5 a.m. on August 9, police arrested Gandhi, Nehru, and other members of the Congress Working Committee, including Sarojini Naidu, on charges of plotting to overthrow the colonial regime. Arrests were made across the country. More than four thousand congressmen were jailed.

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Sarojini was imprisoned in Pune along with Gandhi, his wife Kasturboy, his secretary Mahadev Desai and other associates. Kasturba and Mahadev died in this prison. On February 10, 1943, Gandhi went on a hunger strike to protest his imprisonment. The hunger strike lasted all three weeks. Sarojini, who along with others was by his side all this time, wrote that he was on the verge of life and death. Gandhi himself said that God saved him for some purpose, but he (Gandhi) still remained in prison. Sarojini, suffering from heart disease and malaria, was released on March 21, 1943. She was carried out of the prison on a stretcher.

As the only member of the Congress Working Committee who was still at large, Sarojini made a number of statements, including in connection with the famine in Bengal in 1943. She called on party members to do everything possible to help starving people [Baig, 1974, p. 141-143].

In May 1944, Gandhi was released from prison, and by May 1945, all other Congress leaders were also released. In August 1946, Hindu-Muslim clashes broke out in the country. In November 1946, Gandhi visited a number of areas in East Bengal, including Noakhali, where many people were killed in inter-communal clashes. He walked through dozens of villages, calling for peace and nonviolence. Sarojini supported him in his efforts to appease Hindus and Muslims. She wrote to Gandhi: "This is not just a letter. This is a confirmation of my love and faith. Go with God, as the Spanish say. I have no fear for you. Only faith in your mission" (cit. according to [Baig, 1974, p. 147]).

SAROJINI IS A NATIONAL LEADER

During World War II, Sarojini's sympathies were with the Soviet Union. In November 1943, in connection with the victories of the Red Army at Stalingrad and Kursk, it sent a message on behalf of the Congress to the Soviet people, in which it conveyed "respect, love and admiration" for their achievements and successes [Mitrokhin and Yunel, 1987, pp. 100-101].

In a speech to the Constituent Assembly of India in December 1946, Sarojini called for the unity of all religious, ethnic, caste, tribal communities and groups to achieve independence. And in March 1947. She chaired the conference of 25 Asian countries, which was held in Delhi. The conference was also attended by representatives of the Central Asian republics of the USSR. In her speech, Sarojini said that Indians are interested in the common ideal of social and economic progress of Asian countries, which can ensure lasting political success. The peoples of Asia must work together, despite all the problems and difficulties [Baig, 1974, p. 150].

After India's independence, 78-year-old Sarojini Naidu was appointed governor of the largest state of Uttar Pradesh. And in this post, she proved to be a national leader. Speaking as Governor on August 15, 1947, she emphasized:: "On this day, we pray for our freedom in the future. Our fight for many years has been an epic and dramatic fight. It cost many lives... It was a struggle between young and old people, rich and poor, literate and illiterate, sick and outcast, infected with leprosy and saints. We were born again today from the melting pot of our suffering. Peoples of the world, I greet you on behalf of my Mother India, whose house is covered with snow and whose walls are the seas, whose doors are always open to you... I bring to the whole world the freedom of India, which has never died in the past, will never die in the future, and will lead humanity to the ultimate peace." according to [Baig, 1974, p. 151, 152]).

After Gandhi's assassination on January 30, 1948, Sarojini gave a heartfelt speech on All India Radio. She praised Gandhi, comparing him to

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resurrected after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. She said that grief and sadness were completely inappropriate in connection with his death. "How can someone die who has taught all his life that the spirit is the main thing, that the spirit is stronger than all the armies of all time. So there is no time for sadness, for beating your chest and tearing your hair out. We must stand up and say: we accept the challenge of Mahatma Gandhi. Our banner is truth, our shield is nonviolence, our sword is spirituality, which brings victory without blood... My father, don't die, don't let us rest. Give us - your heirs, your followers, the keepers of your dreams-the strength to fulfill our promises." by: [Ramakrishnan, 1998, p. 2]).

A year after Gandhi's death, on March 2, 1949, Sarojini Naidu passed away. Addressing the Legislative Assembly on March 3, Nehru said, " She was an exceptionally bright person, a person filled with great vitality and energy, a multi-talented person and completely unique... She breathed art and poetry into the national struggle, just as the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, brought moral grandeur to it. Like no one else in India, she stood for its unity, the unity of its culture, the unity of different regions of the country. It was her passion, the essence of her whole life." according to [Baig, 1974, p. 163, 164]).

Through the efforts of leaders such as Sarojini Naidu, India was able to make significant progress on the path of women's liberation during the years of the struggle for independence. This, in particular, is evidenced by the observations of Edwina, the wife of the last Viceroy of India, Mountbatten, after meetings with Indian women-representatives of public, political and cultural circles. Among them were Sarojini Naidu, Amrita Kaur, who became the Minister of Health in the Nehru government after independence, the famous politician Vijayalakshmi Pandit, Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya and others. They were all members of Congress. Edwins and League activists were not ignored. Among them are Fatima, the sister of M. A. Jinnah, Begum Raana Liaquat Ali Khan, the wife of the future Prime Minister of Pakistan, and other major figures in public and political life. Edwina noted that women in the upper echelons of Indian society are noticeably superior to women in England and the United States in terms of social, political and cultural development. In this regard, in one of her speeches in London in 1948, she said: "We need to wake up. Take a look at India. Despite the backwardness of the country, the illiteracy of the people, the low standard of living of the people and other problems and shortcomings, women there have made great progress on the path of emancipation "(cit. according to: [Tunzelmann, 2007, p. 147]).

Today, women in India play an important role in its social and political life. Many of them hold high government and political positions. These are Kumari Mayawati, the former Chief Minister of the largest state of Uttar Pradesh with a population of about 170 million people, Mamata Bannerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal (80 million people), J. Jayalalitha, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu (65 million people), and Shila Dixit, the Chief Minister of Delhi. In addition, a large number of women are ministers of the central and state governments, ambassadors and representatives of the country in international bodies, and heads of numerous public organizations. At the lower level of government in cities and almost 600,000 villages, women have become a significant force, especially in rural elected local governments. All this became possible as a result of the adoption of the Constitution of India and laws that affirm the equality of women, social and political development of the country during the years of independence.

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Kalinnikova E. Ya. Sarojini Naidu poetessa i politik [Sarojini Naidu poetess and politician]. 1999. № 9.

Kalinnikova E. Ya.Sarojini Naidu [Sarojini Naidu]. The goddess of the inspired word / / Outstanding women of India of the XX century. Moscow: IV RAS, 2002.

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Mitrokhin L. V., Yunsl A. I. SSSR i Indiya v gody Vtoroi mirovoi voiny [The USSR and India during the Second World War].
Nehru J. Autobiography, Moscow: IL Publishing House, 1955.
Yurlov F. N., Yurlova E. S. History of India. XX century. Moscow: IV RAS, 2010.

Yurlova E. S. Social status of women and women's Movement in India, Moscow: Nauka Publ., 1982.

Yurlova E. S. India: from untouchables to Dalits. Ocherki istorii, ideologii i politiki [Essays on History, Ideology and Politics], Moscow: IV RAS, 2003.

Baig Tara Ali. Sarojini Naidu. New Delhi: GOI, 1974.

Bosc S.Ch. The Indian Struggle 1920-1942. Calcutta: Asia Publishing House, 1964.

Chattopadhyaya Kamaladcvi. The Struggle for Freedom // Women of India. New Delhi: The Publications Division, 1958.

Desai Mahadcv. Day to day with Mahatma Gandhi: Secretary's Diary 1917-1927 & 1932. Vol. 1. New Delhi, 1984.

Mayo K. Mother India. N.Y.: Harcourt, Brace & Company, 1927.

Naidu Sarojini. Speeches and Writings. Madras: G.A. Natcsan, 1904.

Naidu Sarojini. "My Father, Do Not Rest": Broadcast on All India Radio, February 1, 1948.

Paranjapc Makarand. Naidu Sarojini. Selected Letters 1890s to 1940s. New Delhi: Kali for Women, 1996.

Ramakrishnan S. Preface to The Mahatma and the Poetess. Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1998.

Sengupta Padmini. Sarojini Naidu. A Biography. N.Y.: Asia Publishing House, 1966.

Scngupta Padmini. The Story of Women of India. New Delhi: Indian Book Company, 1974.

Speeches and Writings of Sarojini Naidu. Madras: G.A. Natcsan & Co., 1925.

Tendulkar D.J. Mahatma: Life of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Vol. V. Delhi: The Publication Division. Government of India (Reprinted Oct. 1969).

The Mahatma and the Poetess. Being a selection of letters between Gandhiji and Sarojini Naidu / Compiled by E.S. Rcddy / Ed. by Mrinalini Sarabai. Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1998.

Tunzclmann A. von. Indian Summer. The Secret History of the End of an Empire. N.Y.: Henry Holt and Company LLC, 2007.

Young India. 11.08.1920.

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