SAROJINI NAIDU

(February 13, 1879 - March 2, 1949)

Sarojini Naidu (February 13, 1879 - March 2, 1949), known as Bharatiya Kokila (The Nightingale of India), was a child prodigy, freedom fighter, and poet. Naidu was the first Indian woman to become the President of the Indian National Congress and the first woman to become the governor of a state in India.

Sarojini Naidu was born in Hyderabad, India as the eldest daughter of scientist-philosopher, Aghornath Chattopadhyaya, and Varada Sundari Devi, a poetess. Her father was the finder of the Nizam College. She learnt to speak Urdu, Telugu, English, Persian and Bengali. Her favorite poet was P.B. Shelley.

She attained national fame for entering Madras University at the age of twelve. At sixteen, she travelled to England to study first at King's College London and subsequently at Girton College, Cambridge.

At the age of 17, she met Dr. Muthyala Govindarajulu Naidu and fell in love with him.

Freedom Struggle

She joined the Indian independence movement, in the wake of the aftermath of partition of Bengal in 1905. During 1903-17 Sarojini came into contact with Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Rabindranath Tagore, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Annie Besant, C. P. Ramaswami Iyer, Mohandas Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru.

From 1915 to 1918 she lectured all over India on welfare of youth, dignity of labour, women's emancipation and nationalism. After meeting Jawaharlal Nehru in 1916, she took up the cause of the indigo workers of Champaran. In 1925 she was elected as the President of the Congress, the first Indian woman to hold the post.

In 1925, Sarojini Naidu presided over the annual session of Indian National Congress at Kanpur. Sarojini Naidu played a leading role during the Civil Disobedience Movement and was jailed along with Gandhiji and other leaders. In 1942, Sarojini Naidu was arrested during the "Quit India" movement and was jailed for 21 months with Gandhiji. She shared a very warm relationship with Gandhiji and used to call him "Mickey Mouse".

After Independence, Sarojini Naidu became the Governor of Uttar Pradesh. She was India's first woman governor. Sarojini Naidu died in office on March 2 ,1949.

Poetry, writings and quotes

In 1905, the first volume of her collection of poems was published as The Golden Threshold. Two more volumes were published: The Bird of Time (1912) and The Broken Wing in (1917).

Sarojini Naidu is also well acclaimed for her contribution to poetry. Her poetry had beautiful words that could also be sung. Her collection of poems was published in 1905 under the title “Golden Threshold”. She published two other collections called “The Bird of Time”, and “The Broken Wings”. Later, “The Magic Tree”, “The Wizard Mask”, and “A Treasury of Poems” were published.

Naidu writes:

Shall hope prevail where clamorous hate is rife,

Shall sweet love prosper or high dreams have place

Amid the tumult of reverberant strife

'Twixt ancient creeds, 'twixt race and ancient race,

That mars the grave, glad purposes of life,

Leaving no refuge save thy succoring face ?

Naidu said, "When there is oppression, the only self-respecting thing is to rise and say this shall cease today, because my right is justice."Naidu adds, "If you are stronger, you have to help the weaker boy or girl both in play and in the work."

In 1916, Naidu published the first biography of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, The Ambassador of Hindu-Muslim Unity.

Margaret Thatcher

(Margaret Thatcher)

Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, PC (née Roberts; born 13 October 1925) served as British Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990 and leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 until 1990, being the first (and, to date, only) woman to hold either post.

Margaret Thatcher was Britain's first female prime minister, and first British prime minister in the twentieth century to win three consecutive terms. A lawyer, Margaret first entered Parliament in 1959, eventually serving in a variety of ministerial posts. In 1974 she was elected leader of the Conservative Party, and brought her party to victory in 1979. Espousing conservative ideals of based on free enterprise, she advocated public spending cuts, limited money supply, and raised interest rates. Her privatization programs led to union opposition, labor unrest, and high unemployment rates. She earned the nickname "The Iron Lady" because of her hard line against the USSR over their invasion of Afghanistan, and because when Argentina challenged Britain's right to the Falkland Islands, she went to war. In 1990 she resigned as prime minister, although she stayed in Parliament until 1992.

Thatcher is still the longest-serving British Prime Minister since Lord Salisbury and had the longest continuous period in office since Lord Liverpool who was prime minister in the early 19th century. She was the first woman to lead a major political party in the UK, and the first of only three women to have held any of the four great offices of state. She currently has a life peerage as Baroness Thatcher, of Kesteven in the County of Lincolnshire, which allows her to sit in the House of Lords.

Titles and honours:

Titles Baroness Thatcher has held from birth, in chronological order:
* Miss Margaret Roberts (13 October 1925 – 13 December 1951)
* Mrs Denis Thatcher (13 December 1951 – 8 October 1959)
* Mrs Denis Thatcher, MP (8 October 1959 – 22 June 1970)
* The Rt Hon. Margaret Thatcher, MP (22 June 1970 – 7 December 1990)
* The Rt Hon. Margaret Thatcher, OM, MP (7 December 1990 – 4 February 1991)
* The Rt Hon. Lady Thatcher, OM, MP (4 February 1991 – 16 March 1992)
* The Rt Hon. Lady Thatcher, OM (16 March 1992 – 26 June 1992)
* The Rt Hon. The Baroness Thatcher, OM, PC (26 June 1992 – 22 April 1995)
* The Rt Hon. The Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, PC (22 April 1995 – )

Honours
* Lady of the Most Noble Order of the Garter
* Member of the Order of Merit
* Member of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council
* Fellow of the Royal Society
* Honorary member of the gentlemen's club the Carlton Club, and the only woman entitled to full membership rights.

Foreign honours

• Presidential Medal of Freedom
• Republican Senatorial Medal of Freedom
• Patron of the Heritage Foundation
• Ronald Reagan Freedom Award
• In December 1999 Thatcher was among 18 included in Gallup's List of Widely Admired People of the 20th Century, from a poll conducted of the American people.

Chancellorships
* Buckingham University (1992-1998)
* College of William & Mary, Virginia, USA (1993-2000)

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Queen Victoria, England

(Queen Victoria - 24 May 1819 - 22 January 1901)

Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837, and the first Empress of India from 1 May 1876, until her death on 22 January 1901. Her reign lasted sixty-three years and seven months, longer than that of any other British monarch. In general, the period centred on her reign is known as the Victorian era.

The Victorian era was at the height of the Industrial Revolution, a period of significant social, economic, and technological progress in the United Kingdom. Victoria's reign was marked by a great expansion of the British Empire; during this period it reached its zenith, becoming the foremost Global Power of the time.

Victoria was the granddaughter of George III, and was almost entirely of German descent. She was the last British monarch of the House of Hanover. Her son King Edward VII belonged to the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

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