Saraswathi Gora

Saraswathi Gora
Born	28 September 1912
Died	19 August 2006 (aged 93) Vijayawada, India
Nationality	Indian
Occupation	Social worker
Known for	Co-founder of the Atheist Centre
Spouse(s)	Gora
Children	Lavanam Chennupati Vidya
Relatives	Hemalatha Lavanam (daughter-in-law)
Awards	Jamnalal Bajaj Award (1999)

Saraswathi Gora (28 September 1912 – 19 August 2006) was an Indian social activist. Notable as the leader of the Atheist Centre for many years, she campaigned against untouchability and the caste system.

Biography

Along with her husband Gora, Saraswathi Gora established the Atheist Center in 1940. Their goal was to promote human values based on atheism, rationalism and Gandhism.

A political activist of India's freedom movement, she was imprisoned during the Quit India movement. She went to jail carrying her two-and-half-year old son, Niyanta.

Private life

Born on 28 September 1912 in Vizianagaram in today's Andhra Pradesh, she got married at the age of ten to Goparaju Ramachandra Rao. Together, they had nine children: Manorama, Lavanam, Mythri, Vidya, Vijayam, Dr.Samaram, Niyanta, Dr.Maru and Nauv.

The wedding of her eldest daughter Manorama's inter-caste marriage with Arjun Rao, who belonged to a Dalit caste was performed in the presence of Jawaharlal Nehru in 1960.

Her autobiography My Life With Gora was published (in Telugu) in 2012. She died of lung infection on 19 August 2006 at Vijayawada.^[1]

Awards and recognition

In 2001, she was selected for the Basava Puraskar, conferred by the Karnataka Government. She is also the recipient of the G.D.Birla International Award for Humanism ; the Jamnalal Bajaj Award (1999);^[2] the Janaki Devi Bajaj Award; and the Potti Sriramulu Telugu University Award.

References

1. "Saraswathi Gora passes away". The Hindu. 20 August 2006.
2. "Jamnalal Bajaj Awards Archive". Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation.

External links

• A short biography of Saraswathi Gora in Indian Skeptic by Sunanda Shet
• Obituary in Deccan Herald
• Obituary at www.newsfix.de