Mirabehn
Madeleine Slade was born on the 22nd of November 1892 into a well-connected British family. Her father served as Rear-Admiral Sir Edmond Slade, an officer in the Royal Navy who commanded the East Indies Squadron. She spent much of her childhood at her mother's large country estate near Dorking. At age fifteen, she developed a deep passion for Ludwig van Beethoven's music. She began playing the piano and eventually became a concert manager. In 1921, she arranged for a German conductor to lead the London Orchestra. This effort helped end the British boycott of German musicians that followed the First World War. She visited Vienna and Germany to see where Beethoven had lived and composed his work. She read Romain Rolland's books on Beethoven extensively before meeting him personally.
During a meeting with Romain Rolland at Villeneuve, he mentioned a new book about Mahatma Gandhi. He described Gandhi as another Christ and the greatest figure of the twentieth century. Madeleine had not yet read this biography when they spoke. Upon returning to England, she read Rolland's account of Gandhi immediately. She later recalled that she could not put it down. From that moment, she knew her life was dedicated to Gandhi. Rather than traveling to India right away, she decided to prepare herself first. She studied material on the Sabarmati Ashram while sitting cross-legged. She adopted a vegetarian diet and gave up all wine, beer, and spirits. In 1924, she wrote to Gandhi expressing her wish to join him. She sent him twenty pounds along with her letter. Gandhi replied pleased with her patience and asked if she would come in one year.
Gandhi was arrested on orders of Lord Willingdon shortly after returning from London. Mirabehn took on the task of preparing weekly reports detailing who had been arrested. This work soon led to her own arrest at Arthur Road Jail for three months. Inside that prison she met Sarojini Naidu and Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay. Shortly after release, she was arrested again in 1932 for entering Bombay without permission. She spent time in Sabarmati Jail sharing a cell with Kasturba, Gandhi's wife. In August 1942, she was arrested along with Gandhi during the Quit India movement. They were jailed in Aga Khan Palace in Poona until May 1944. Both Mahadev Desai and Kasturba Gandhi died while imprisoned there. After her release, she established the Kisan Ashram near Haridwar with local help. The locals constructed a home and cattle shed for the new settlement.
After Independence,
she established a settlement named Bapu Gram in Rishikesh. She also founded the Gopal Ashram in Bhilangna Valley in 1952. During her time in Kumaon and Garhwal, she observed the destruction of forests. She noted the impact this deforestation was having on floods in the plains below. She wrote an essay titled Something Wrong in the Himalaya about these dangers. Her advice was ignored by the Forest Department at that time. These areas later witnessed a large Gandhian environmental campaign to save the forests called the Chipko Movement in the 1980s. She took to dairying and farming experiments in these ashrams. She spent some time in Kashmir working among the people.
She returned to England in 1959 before relocating to Austria in 1960. Her long-time friend Indira Gandhi ensured she received care even while living abroad. The Indian Embassy in
Austria provided Mirabehn with whatever she needed daily. Four friends visited her every day throughout her years there. Nonetheless, she continued to live simply eating only natural foods. She abstained from using labor-saving devices during those decades. She spent twenty-two years in small villages within the Vienna Woods. These locations included Baden, Hinterbrühl, and Kracking where she died in 1982. She was awarded India's second highest civilian honour, the Padma Vibhushan, in 1981. Her autobiography is titled The Spiritual Pilgrimage and she published other works on Beethoven.
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Common questions
Who was Mirabehn and what was her birth name?
Mirabehn, born Madeleine Slade on the 22nd of November 1892, was an English activist who dedicated her life to supporting Mahatma Gandhi.
How did Mirabehn meet Mahatma Gandhi and when did she join him in India?
Romain Rolland introduced her to Gandhi through a book about him before she wrote to him in 1924 with twenty pounds to request joining his work.
When was Mirabehn arrested during the Quit India movement and where was she imprisoned?
She was arrested in August 1942 along with Gandhi and held at Aga Khan Palace in Poona until May 1944.
What environmental issues did Mirabehn observe in Kumaon and Garhwal that influenced later movements?
She documented forest destruction causing floods in the plains below and wrote an essay titled Something Wrong in the Himalaya which preceded the Chipko Movement.
Where did Mirabehn spend her final years and when did she die?
She lived for twenty-two years in villages within the Vienna Woods including Baden, Hinterbrühl, and Kracking before dying there in 1982.