S. Ambujammal

S. Ambujammal (1899–1981) was born into great wealth, her father being a top-ranking lawyer of Madras, yet she chose a life typical of many women of colonial India, who at huge personal sacrifice opted to serve the nation. She underwent imprisonment for the cause and later, post India’s Independence, dedicated her life to social service. On the passing of the Mahatma in 1948, she founded the Srinivasa Gandhi Nilayam, named after her biological and spiritual fathers (Sriman Srinivasa Iyengar and M.K. Gandhi), an organization devoted to women’s welfare which continues to operate even today. She was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India.