Rajmohini Devi was an Indian social worker, gandhian and the founder of Bapu Dharma Sabha Adivasi Seva Mandal, established by her in 1951. The famine of Surguja in 1951 involved a great scarcity of food grains and crop failure. The famine had direct bearing on the rise of a reform movement called Rajmohini Devi Movement,[1] a non governmental organization working for the welfare of the tribal people of Gondwana, in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh.[2] It was reported that she had a vision about Mahatma Gandhi and his ideals during the famine of 1951,[3] and she started a movement, (popularly known as Rajmohini Movement) for the liberation of women.[4] and eradication of superstitions and drinking habits among the tribal people.[5] The movement gradually assumed the status of a cult movement with a following of over 80,000 people and was later converted into a non governmental organization, under the name, Bapu Dharma Sabha Adivasi Seva Mandal.[3] The organization functions through several ashrams set up in the states of Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.[3]
The Government of India awarded Devi the fourth highest civilian award of Padma Shri in 1989.[6] Her life has been documented in a book, Samajik Kranti ki Agradoot Rajmohini Devi, written by Seema Sudhir Jindal and published by Chhattisgarh State Hindi Granth Academy in 2013.[2] A research station, Raj Mohini Devi College of Agriculture and Research Station, housed at Indira Gandhi Agricultural University[7] and a government girls' college, Rajmohini Devi PG Girls College, in Ambikapur, are named after her.[8]
