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Aruna Asaf Ali
Aruna Asaf Ali was born in 1909 at Kalka in Haryana, in a Bengali family of distinguished and Brahmo-samaj lineage. She married Asaf Ali, a prominent lawyer of Delhi against convention. Very active in the National struggle for independence, she participated in the Civil Disobedience Movement in 1930's and went to jail. In 1941, when Gandhiji started individual satyagraha against British war effort, she courted arrest.
The Quit India Movement, 1942, was a turning point in her life. Following the arrest of all prominent Congress leaders, Aruna went underground and sought to build up an underground centre to guide the movement. She toured Calcutta, Bombay and Delhi evading police and made heroic efforts to regroup the forces after the collapse of the movement in 1943. During this period she became a symbol of spirit of the youth of the country. she remained underground till 1946, when the warrant of arrest against her was with-drawn.
Aruna was elected President of Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee in 1947, However, in 1948 she joined the Socialist group and took an active interest in the trade union movement. In 1955 this group merged with Communist Party of India and she became a member of its Central committee and a Vice President of the All India Trade Union Congress. In 1958 she left the Communist Party of India and was elected Delhi's first Mayor. she rejoined the Congress party in 1964 but ceased to play any active part in politics.
Aruna Asaf Ali, selfless, sensitive and emotional, charming in her manners, radical in her views,. belonged to the heroic age of India's freedom movement. She could not adjust herself with political realities when that heroic age was over and finally chose to live in retirement in New Delhi, till her death on 29th July, 1996. She was awarded the Lenin Prize for peace in 1975 and the Jawahar Lal Nehru award for International understanding for 1991.
The Department of Posts is happy to issue a commemorative stamp on Aruna Asaf Ali.
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