Devi Chaudhurani

Devi Chaudhurani is a Bengali novel written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and published in 1884. It was later translated into English by Subodh Chunder Mitter. Following closely after Anandamath, Bankim Chandra renewed his call for a resurgent India that would resist the oppression of the British Empire through the strength of the common people, drawing on traditional Indian values of austerity, dedication and selflessness. Considered a significant work in both Bengali and Indian literature, the novel was banned by the British for inspiring patriotic sentiment. The ban was lifted after India’s independence. In the story, Bankim Chandra emphasises that armed resistance against the British Army was, in his view, the only way to achieve independence.

Notably, Bankim Chandra made the leader of the struggle a woman — the protagonist — at a time when most women remained behind purdah and rarely interacted with men outside their families. This portrayal inspired many women to join the independence movement in later decades. Some feminists, however, regard the ending as disappointing because the protagonist chooses to focus on domestic life rather than continue the freedom struggle.