Rani Rashmoni

Rani Rashmoni was born in Kona village near Calcutta into a poor farming family which belonged to the untouchable or Shudra caste. Her father knew how to read and write Bengali so Rashmoni received a basic education in the language. Her luck changed when Rajchandra Das of Janbazar, the son of a wealthy zamindar, spotted her and fell in love with her. Although she was 11 and he was 21 the couple got married.

Rajachandra was very compassionate and humane, and Rani Rasmani staunchly supported him in all his philanthropic and social reform activities. After his death she took charge of the business and the Zamindari (large land estate). She continued the charities and humanitarian activities initiated by her husband by improving civic amenities, building roads, markets, tanks and canals for irrigation and sewage.

Rani Rashomoni is also known for her protection of the people against the English East India Company (EIC). The EIC imposed a tax on fishing in the Ganga to increase their revenue and oppressed those who could not pay them. The people complained to Rani and she reacted by leasing five kilometers of Ganga from the EIC. She chained the entrance and exit to her part of the river and allowed the fishermen to fish freely within it, while all traffic on the river was stopped due to her action. The EIC sued her, but as all was done according to law the only way to resume traffic along the river was to obey her terms. The EIC had no alternative but to remove all taxes and restrictions and refunded the entire lease amount back to her. Throughout her life she continued to fight for the poor.