Books | A Matter of Choice

Tuhin A. Sinha

Growing up, Helen had two clear choices before her: one that would allow her to enjoy the newly evolved fast life of Kurseong, the hill station; the other which would mean treading the fiery path of the freedom struggle that could lead to having to give up basic comforts and face jail time or even death. Luckily for her, the commencement of the First World War in 1914 lifted the veil off the long-promoted belief that Western civilization was superior, advanced and to be desired. Instead, the fact that spinning, weaving and selling khadi could lead to economic independence found favour in her young mind.

The 14-year-old Helen found herself drawn to this bigger cause of freedom from the British, like many of her school-going friends. In 1916, after attending a Congress meeting in Kurseong, headed by Dal Bahadur Giri—the Darjeeling head of the Congress party—Helen became one of the first from her community to join the party, and, consequently, the freedom struggle. Quitting school, she joined the Khadi Movement started by Mahatma Gandhi. In 1918, she went to Calcutta, where her elder sister lived, and enrolled at the charkha training school run by Motimala Devi, the granddaughter of Pandit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar. Her dedication and deft skills at charkha-spinning and khadi-weaving impressed her instructors and in 1927, she was chosen to represent Calcutta at the national-level Khadi and Charkha Exhibition in Muzaffarpur in Bihar in 1927.

During the Bihar floods of 1920, Helen volunteered to do relief work and was praised for her selfless contribution. When Mahatma Gandhi came to tour the flood-affected region, he heard about Helen’s work from Safidat, a leading Congress leader of the area. A meeting was arranged between Mahatma Gandhi and Helen. Impressed by her work and personality, he invited her to Sabarmati Ashram. It was during her stay at the Sabarmati Ashram that Helen deepened her understanding of the Gandhian philosophy of non-violence and satyagraha in order to lead a meaningful life. At the suggestion of Mahatma Gandhi, Helen changed her name to Sabitri Devi.

A powerful woman in politics

This was the time when women leaders of the Congress, like S