Dhanvanthi Rama Rau
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Dhanvanthi, Lady Rama Rau (1893–1987) was founder and president of the Family Planning Association of India and the International Planned Parenthood Federation. Her husband was Sir Benegal Rama Rau, the noted civil servant; she was the mother of Santha Rama Rau, the writer.
Early lifeEdit
Dhanvanthi was born into a Kashmir Brahmin family as Dhanvanthi Handoo, born and brought up in Hubli (now in Karnataka) and was therefore conversant with Kannada. After schooling in Hubli, she moved to Madras to join the Presidency College, from where she graduated with a bachelor's degree in arts, and was awarded the Griggs Gold Medal in English.<ref name="DH">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Open University"/>
In Madras, she met and married the distinguished economist and diplomat Sir Benegal Rama Rau a Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmin and a south Indian from a distinguished family.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
CareerEdit
She started her career as an assistant professor at Queen Mary's College, Madras.<ref name="Open University">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 1917, she co-founded the Women's Indian Association along with Annie Besant, Margaret Cousins, Jeena Raja Dasa, and others. This organization aimed to address and improve the difficult socio-economic and political conditions women faced during the 19th and early 20th centuries.<ref name="Open University"/>
In 1932, she attended the International Alliance of Women for Suffrage and Equal Citizenship in Berlin, leading the Indian delegation at the behest of Sarojini Naidu.<ref name="Open University"/>
In 1946, she was elected president of the All India Women's Conference.<ref name="Open University"/>
In 1949, she started the Family Planning Association of India.<ref name="NIE">Template:Cite news</ref>
In 1952, Dhanvanthi co-founded and served as the joint president of the International Planned Parenthood Federation, along with Margaret Sanger.<ref name="Tanffonline">Template:Cite journal</ref>
AwardsEdit
- Kaisir-i-Hind gold medal by the British Government for her work with women's associations.<ref name="Open University"/>
- Padma Bhushan by the Indian Government in 1959.<ref name="Padma Awards">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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BibliographyEdit
Her memoirs have been published under the title An Inheritance.<ref name="Memoirs">Template:Cite book</ref>
ReferencesEdit
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