At the India Mahila Congress session in Delhi, the then Congress president Indira Gandhi asked one of the members who was in the audience to come up on stage and address the gathering.
“It was G.V. Rajammal, my grandmother, a member of the Congress Committee,” says Padma Priyadharsini, Rajammal’s oldest granddaughter. “She was a known face in the party and a popular Congresswoman recognised for her service. My grandmother was ahead of her times. When I was doing my schooling in the 1960s, I remember her driving around in an Aston Martin. She would also travel to the U.S. alone,” she reminisces.
Dr.GV.Rajammal, born to G. Venkatasamy Naidu and Lakshmi ammal on July 17, 1916 at Upilipalayam, Coimbatore was the second of four siblings. She did her schooling at Sarvajana High School, Coimbatore, went on to study medicine at Stanley Medical College, Chennai. She was one of the earliest women medical practitioners from Coimbatore. She worked in Chennai and later at the Uppilipalayam Hospital in Coimbatore.
Rajeswari Devaraj, G.V.Rajammal’s daughter, mentions that her mother was requested to run the Kasturba Hospital for women at Singanallur, a social service initiative by eminent personalities like late G. Kuppusamy Naidu, founder of the LMW group, and late T.S. Avinashilingam Chettiar, Gandhian and Congressman from Tirupur. “Even in her late 50s, I remember her travelling to villages like Sarkar Samakulam in and around Kovilpalayam on Sathy Road and in Gobichettipalayam to provide medical care to pregnant women. There were hardly any roads in the villages. She would accompany the village men in double bullock carts to attend to the women,” she says
It was the principles of the Sarvodaya movement that inspired and drew Rajammal to the Congress. “For three consecutive times, when the Congress-led Kamaraj government ruled Tamil Nadu, she was elected as the councillor of the Coimbatore municipality from Ramnagar. I remember my grandmother as a Congress woman. The first picture that comes to my mind is that of her in a white saree with a blue border,” says Padma.
During her tenure as councillor, she did notable work with schools like Ranganathapuram Municipal Girls High School and Srinivasapuram School. “She encouraged girls to study and regularly awarded those who topped public examinations,” says Rajeswari Devaraj.
Her organisational skills at the “Gobi Congress Mahanadu” won her praise from party leaders like K. Kamaraj, C. Subramaniam and C. Bakthavathsalam. As the head of the women’s wing of the Indian National Congress at Coimbatore, Dr. Rajammal led the women’s contingent to the 60th session of the Indian National Congress in Avadi, Chennai, in 1955. To empower women, she worked closely with notable Congresswomen like Lakshmi Menon, Sarojini Varadappan and Lourdammal Simon.
Rajammal also co-ordinated relief efforts during the Indo-Pak war. “During the Indo-China war in 1962 and the Indo-Pak war in 1965, she was called by the party to attend meetings in Chennai. She was in the forefront in providing relief to Burmese refugees that had fled to India during the wars. She organised meetings to collect gold for the National Defence Fund,” says Rajeswari.
A Tamil newspaper clipping of that time carries a story in praise of Rajammal who gave away her gold bangles for the initiative. She played a pivotal role in building the Bhoodan movement.
“She travelled to the villages in and around Coimbatore, along with Vinobha Bhave during the Bhoodan movement, motivating people to donate land for uplift of society,” says Padma.
The social worker also helped establish the first branch of the Association of Health in India in Coimbatore and was also its first President. Rajammal keenly followed tennis and cricket. “She played tennis and is one of the founder-members of the Recreation Club for Women in the city,” says her daughter who describes her mother as someone who is bold, sociable, but always full of poise. “My mother showed keen interest in farming. Our coconut grove in Vellakinaru was barren. She would go to the farm, stayed alone there while she worked to convert it into a fertile land. An avid reader of newspapers, one could discuss any topic with her; be it stocks and shares, sports, medicine, economics or international politics. Whenever Indira Gandhi visited the city, she was asked to accompany the leader.” During one of the occasions the congress leader also visited Rajammal’s home in Ramnagar upon her request.
