Indian women did not fall behind in the fight for independence. The pre-independence feminist movements in India were instrumental in guaranteeing women’s rights in the Constitution. Many of them made individual contributions; some gave away their lands, the majority gave up their jewellery, and a small number became radicals despite the possibility of being targeted by British authorities.
Mahatma Gandhi’s speeches during his visits to Nellore in the 1920s impressed both men and women in the area. In the fight for freedom, many women participated. They collected money for the Harijan and Handloom funds.
Ponaka Kanakamma was one of them from Nellore. Ponaka Kanakamma was a social worker, activist, and freedom fighter, who was imprisoned for over a year, as a disciple of Mahatma Gandhi, in India. She founded Sri Kasturidevi Vidyalam, a large school for girls in Nellore.
She married Potlapudi Village, near Nellore, landlord Subbarama Reddy. When she got married, she was eight years old. She was not permitted to go to school since her husband was traditional
Kanakamma, a poet and the first female president of the Nellore Congress Committee was born in 1896. She participated in the Salt Satyagraha and Vande Mataram protests. She was consequently forced to spend more than a year behind bars in both the Vellore and Nellore jails.
Ponaka Kanakamma died in Nellore, on 15 September 1963. In 2011, her autobiography in Telugu named “Kanakapushyaragam” was released by Dr.K.Purushotham. Ponaka Kanakamma’s story will make any Nellore citizen proud and will continue to inspire future generations.
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