Lakshmibai Kelkar, affectionately called "Mausiji" (mother's sister), was a young widow raising a large family in Wardha when she resolved that women too must be organised for strength, self-defence and service to the nation. In 1936 she founded the Rashtra Sevika Samiti, a women's organisation with its own daily shakhas, which grew across India and abroad.
Life
- 1905Born Kamal Date in Nagpur on 6 July.
- c. 1919Married at fourteen into the Kelkar family of Wardha.
- 1932Widowed; manages the household and children while taking up social work.
- 1936After discussions with Dr K. B. Hedgewar, founds the Rashtra Sevika Samiti at Wardha on Vijayadashami (25 October).
- 1940s–70sTravels widely to build the organisation; establishes training camps and an ideal of women's leadership drawn from figures such as Jijabai, Ahilyabai Holkar and Rani Lakshmibai.
- 1978Dies on 27 November.
Ideals
Mausiji believed that the strength of a nation depends on its women, as mothers, workers and leaders. The Samiti's programme combined physical training and self-defence, study and discussion, and service. Its ideal of womanhood drew on three figures — the mother (as Jijabai shaped Shivaji), the able administrator (as Ahilyabai Holkar) and the warrior (as Rani Lakshmibai).
Legacy
The Rashtra Sevika Samiti remains the largest women's organisation within the wider family of national volunteer bodies, with shakhas across India and among Indian communities abroad. It is organisationally separate from the men's organisation, which admits only men to its shakhas.
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Frequently asked questions
Who founded the Rashtra Sevika Samiti?
Lakshmibai Kelkar, known as Mausiji, founded it at Wardha on Vijayadashami, 25 October 1936.
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Read nextM. S. Golwalkar "Guruji"Sources & copyright status
- Rashtra Sevika Samiti, organisational history — facts
- Tanika Sarkar, "Heroic Women, Mother Goddesses" in Women and the Hindu Right (1995) — scholarly perspective
- Historical facts: not subject to copyright.
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