When she returned to politics, she concentrated on socialism rather than Congress doctrines.Īruna Asaf Ali wanted to enlighten the downtrodden masses of India who were the victims of caste hierarchy, poverty and gender oppression. On her release from there, she again plunged into the social life of the capital. She was sent to Ambala, which had only a male prison and Aruna had to live in solitary confinement.

There she organized women political prisoners to protest against the heartless attitude of jail authorities. She was sent to Lahore jail to serve a one-year prison term.Īruna Asaf Ali was held for participating in the 1932 movement and was held in the Delhi district jail. Aruna joined the band of Satyagrahis and was arrested. Influenced by Mahatma Gandhi and other leaders of the Indian National Congress, she joined the civil disobedience movement of 1930.Īruna`s first venture into active politics was triggered off with the arrest of Asaf Ali during the Salt Satyagraha. Her husband loved and respected her.Īsaf Ali took active interest in Congress programmes. As a result, her relatives disowned her but she had no regrets. The unorthodox marriage created quite a storm. After which, Aruna was named Kulsum Zamani. In spite of her father`s disagreement they married under Muslim rites. She said that without her parent`s consent she couldn`t accept his proposal.Īruna Asaf Ali father was enraged at the suggestion and refused to give his consent as Asaf Ali belonged to a different faith and he was 22 years senior to Aruna in age. With her western education, she developed interest in English Literature and was fond of fashionable clothes.Īsaf Ali who was a successful barrister and a member of the Congress Party proposed to Aruna. Aruna`s Brahmin family was shocked by her decision and in no time she was transferred from Lahore Convent to a Protestant school in Nainital.Īfter her education she took to teaching to save enough money to pay for her higher education in England. She said that offering prayers to an unseen being was a mysterious experience.Īruna Asaf Ali was attracted to Catholicism and made up her mind.

She considered religion as a fascination to the unknown. She did her schooling at the Convent of the Sacred Heart in Lahore.Īruna Asaf Ali was bought up as an independent child. She had been conferred honour nationally and internationally.Īruna Asaf Ali was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize in 1964 and Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding in 1992.Īruna Asaf Ali was born on 1906 into an orthodox Hindu Bengali family. She worked in the worst of slums to offer aid to the poor and the exploited. Indian Freedom Fighter Aruna Asaf Ali BiographyĪruna Asaf Ali is known as the `Grand Old Lady` of the Independence Movement.Īruna Ali was a freedom fighter and is widely remembered for hoisting the Congress flag at Bombay during the Quit India Movement.Īruna Asaf Ali is known as the `Grand Old Lady` of the Independence Movement.

Aruna asaf ali