The Seven of Wands represents standing up for what you believe in and not wavering in those beliefs. When others put you in a position to argue your point, you rise to the occasion. You’re passionate about your morals and desires, and you’re not afraid to defend them.
Sarla Devi Chaudhurani was a prominent freedom fighter working towards the betterment of women’s rights and education, especially in the subcontinent. Her central focus was on woman-power. She was a political activist for the women’s cause.
Chaudhurani was from Bengal as well as Punjab. She was born in Kolkata in a Bengali family in 1872. Sarla was raised with modern feminist values. The spirit of patriotism was infused in her by her mother Swarn Kumari who worked for the Swadeshi cause.
Growing up under a canopy of privilege, with attendants at her beck and call, Sarala Devi had no reason to learn any housework. She was allowed the special privilege of studying physics at a time when the discipline was not open to women students in Calcutta (now Kolkata). Her brothers sat next to her in class, the sole woman in a sea of male students.
Sarla worked as the editor of the Bengali Journal Bharti. She was a niece of Rabindranath Tagore and had connections with national leaders such as Satyendra Nath Tagore and Chaupekar brothers
Even though she had no need for a job, Sarala Devi took off to Mysore (now Mysuru) in 1892 to work for a while. She opened Laksmi Bhandar to make popular Swadeshi goods. She got married to a popular Arya Samajist Pandit Ram Bhuj Dutt Choudhary of Lahore, in 1905, as a result, her political activities shifted to Lahore. She became an active member of Bharat Stree Mahamandal of Lahore, which was meant to organize women of all colors and creeds for the common cause, and moral and material development of the women of the nation. She toured the whole of Punjab and opened branches of Arya Samaj for women.
Chaudhurani originated the idea of donating one-tenth of ornaments by women to the ‘revenge fund’, made committees for the collection of funds, and united the women folk for the cause of freedom. Her speeches, writings, articles, and poems motivated many men and women to join the freedom struggle. The government kept her activities under surveillance and warned her about her writings.
In 1919, she came under the influence of Mahatma Gandhi and started to follow non-violence methods. She raised her voice against the massacre at Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar. She became the pivot of the Swadeshi movement in Punjab. She was the first woman in the province who started to wear Khadi Sari. She remained a devoted worker of Congress till her death in 1945.
Gandhi Connection
Not surprisingly, given his stature, there have been many insinuations about the relationship Gandhi had with various people. Sarla Devi Chaudhurani was just one of these. It has been claimed that she was his spiritual wife. Google and you will find salacious snippets pointing to the Mahatma’s lust for her. Check out this article that appeared in Mint Lounge or read the Lost Letters and Feminist History by Geraldine Forbes and draw your own conclusions.
Waltzing With Matilda's 