Google celebrated the birthday of Muthulakshmi Reddi – awoman with many firsts to her name, who broke the barriers of genderdiscrimination in multiple areas – with a Doodle on Tuesday, July 30. Reddileft her indelible prints in the fields of medicine, education, law and socialreforms.
Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Bangalore-based guest artistArchana Sreenivasan, celebrates the Indian educator, lawmaker, surgeon, andreformer Muthulakshmi Reddi. Constantly breaking down barriers throughout herlife, Reddi was a trailblazer who devoted herself to public health and thebattle against gender inequality, transforming the lives of countlesspeople—especially young girls,” said Google in a statement.Born on July 30,1883, in Tamil Nadu, Reddi became the first female student admitted toprestigious Indian institutions. She is also the first woman to work as a surgeonin a government hospital, and the first female legislator in the history ofBritish India.
“As a young girl, Reddi resisted her parents’ plan for anearly arranged marriage, convincing them she deserved an education. Afterpassing her exams, she attended Maharaja College, formerly an all-boys school.Despite threats of students pulling out from the school, she won a scholarship,graduated with honors, and went on to be the first female student at MadrasMedical College,” said Google.
Reddi later gave up her medical practice to join the MadrasLegislative Council, where she worked to raise the legal age of marriage and combattedexploitation of girls.
In 1914, she married a doctor named Sundara Reddi on theunderstanding that he treat her as an equal. Working for the upliftment ofwomen and battling gender inequality, she supported Gandhi’s efforts for Indianindependence.
After losing her sister to cancer, Reddi launched the AdayarCancer Institute in 1954. One of the most respected oncology centers in theworld, it treats some 80,000 patients each year. In recognition of her serviceto her country, in 1956, Reddi was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Governmentof India.
In a question and answer session with Bangalore-based artistArchana Sreenivasan, who created the Doodle on Muthulakshmi Reddi, she says, “Iwas excited to have the opportunity to create a Google Doodle! When I got thebrief for Dr. Muthulakshmi, and read the long list of her accomplishments, Iwas keen to learn more about her.”
“The main inspiration for this Doodle was Dr. Muthulakshmiherself. I tried to let a sense of her energy, determination, and clarity shapethis Doodle,” she added.