Sikkim’s Daughter of the Soil: Savitri Devi

The stories of heroic sacrifices and courage, as well as how people aided one another, abound in the Indian Independence Movement, but regrettably, many of them are now lost to the history. This is the story of one such unsung freedom fighter, Helen Lepcha (a.k.a Savitri Devi) from the hill regions of Sikkim and Darjeeling who not only marched shoulder-to-shoulder with Mahatma Gandhi in the Non-cooperation movement but also helped Subhas Chandra Bose in escaping from his house confinement.
Helep Lecha aka Savitri Devi (image source: wordpress)

Helep Lecha aka Savitri Devi (image source: wordpress)

Helen Lepcha was born on January 14, 1902 in Namchi, South Sikkim. She has been named as "daughter of the soil" by the people of Sikkim, and she is remembered affectionately by them.

The non-Cooperation Movement had expanded throughout Darjeeling's tea farms by 1916. Various socio-economic difficulties of the plantation workers had gone unaddressed by the British, leading to their participation in the uprising. Helen, who was only 15, dropped out of school and joined the Charkha and Khaddar movements that were gaining traction in the hills in 1917.

She became an ardent follower of Gandhiji. Helen was tremendously moved by his message of swadeshi, which included a promise to boycott foreign items and the usage of charkha and khadi (spinning wheel and hand-woven cloth). Helen listened intently to the stirring speeches and resolved to live her life in accordance with Gandhiji's beliefs. "If we have the Khadi spirit in us," she added, "then we should surround ourselves with simplicity in all aspects of our lives.

She toured famine-stricken districts and Bihar in the mid-1920s, using all of her physical and moral power to help the flood-ravaged populace. She personally met Gandhiji in the home of Safi Dand, as a Congress activist. It was there, Gandhi most likely invited her to the Sabarmati Ashram in Gujarat, and he changed her name to Savitri Devi.

She was prominent in the Congress Labour Union's efforts in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, especially in the Jharia coalfields, Dhanbad, Banikpur, Danapur, Patna, and Muzaffarpur. Savitri Devi led 10,000 mine workers from the Jharia coalfields (now in Jharkhand) in a protest against the exploitation and substitution of tribal laborers, waving the Tricolor into the wind.

In Kurseong and Siliguri, Savitri Devi went door to door to encourage a boycott of foreign goods. She organized rallies in a number of locations and also set fire to foreign goods, for which she was caught and imprisoned.

In 1939, Subhash Chandra Bose was transported from Poona, where he was imprisoned and in poor condition, to Darjeeling Hills. He was placed under house imprisonment at his elder brother Sarat Chandra's home in Kurseong by the British government. According to the Directory of Indian Women Today (1976), Savitri Devi assisted Subhas Chandra Bose in escaping from incarceration in Kurseong and migrating to Germany via Kabul. Savitri Devi corresponded with him via letters encased in bread sent from her husband's bakery, Ishan Ahmed. She had personally overseen his disguise as a Pathan with beard and mustache, enabling him to flee.

Even in those waning days, her charisma and cheer earned her the nickname Helen didi (sister). Savitri Devi was the first woman elected to the Kurseong Municipality Commission in 1936. She maintained her humanitarian work at her home after independence, assisting destitute and orphaned children.

The Tribal Welfare Department of the Government of West Bengal honoured her service to the Freedom Movement at a ceremony in 1958. The Government of India honoured her with a citation, a "Tamra Patra," in 1972 in recognition of her dedication and great contribution to the liberation cause. She was also named chairperson of the Darjeeling district's Freedom Fighter Award Committee, alongside other members.

On August 18, 1980, this extraordinary lady breathed her last. Savitri Devi's contribution to the war for independence in the Democratic Republic of India will always be cherished and reserved among many of the unsung heroes of the independence movement.

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