Subhadra Kumari Chauhan, the Hindi poetess who combined in her  personality the patriotic fire of Joan of Arc and the lyricism of Meera, was born in 1904 at Nihalpur village, which now forms a part of the city of Allahabad.   She is reputed to have composed her first  couplet  in Hindi when she was barely  six.  Her poems were published in 1920-21 in the fiery Hindi weekly 'Karmaveer' and she immediately  shot  into  fame.

Subhadra Kumari Chauhan was married to Thakur Lakshman Singh of Khandwa in 1919. She abandoned her studies in 1920 during the Non Co-operation Movement launched  by  Mahatma  Gandhi. The young couple decided to throw themselves into the national struggle. They went from village to village collecting funds for the Satyagraha movement. Then began the "Flag Satyagraha" from Nagpur and Subhadra Kumari Chauhan became the first woman satyagrahi to court arrest. This was only a beginning of many more confrontations with the alien rulers.

These  and her future  political  activities could  only  help  in  fanning  the  poetical fires lying dormant in her soul and she wrote highly inspiring patriotic poems like "Senani ka Swagat", "Veeron ka Kaisa ho Vasant", and "Jhansi ki Rani "­ one of the most recited and sung poems in Hindi literature. Her first collection of verse "Mukul" was awarded the first 'Seksaria Prize' in 1931, followed by another on her collection of short stories "Bikhare Moti" in 1933. She also wrote poems for children. The other collections  of her  short stories are "Unmadini" (1934) and the posthumously published "Seedhe­Sade  Chitra".

Nothing, however, would be farther from truth than to assume that Subhadra Kumari Chauhan had an "aggressive" personality. Subhadra Kumari Chauhan was not only a political agitator or a member of the Legislative Assembly of the erstwhile Central Provinces or a popular poet, but a devoted wife, a loving mother, and a faithful friend. She was capable of extreme tenderness and humanity as scores of her lyrics and the reminiscences of her family and friends amply testify. Her  tragic  and  untimely  death in an automobile accident near Seoni in Madhya Pradesh on February 15, 1948, was  a  severe  blow  to  Indian  literature, Indian political life and to Indian womanhood.

According to G.M. Muktibodh, a great Hindi poet and critic, "Subhadra perceives human relationships within a given national circumstance; therefore her Jove inspires its object towards duty. This duty is the great national cause through which India will be a free and great nation. She inspires husbands, brothers, sisters and women towards this ideal. Subhadra's Jove for them constantly pulls them towards this national ideal, as though this love­ relationship shall not succeed unless the national ideal is achieved... In a special way, Subhadra's national service is unique. As she sees the national ideal permeating the whole life, and finds its expression in her soul, she illuminates all her life­ relationships with the glow of that inclination. This is the zenith and achievement of her "national" poetry ..."

The P&T Department is privileged to bring out a commemorative postage stamp in  honour  of  Subhadra  Kumari Chauhan.

Source : Information Folder issued by Indian Posts & Telegraph Department, Government of India