Shrimati G. Durgabai from Madras told the House that she, along with…

Shrimati G. Durgabai from Madras told the House that she, along with many others, had obeyed the call of Mahatma Gandhi. What had she done?

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 2

The correct answer is Option (2) → Carried on Hindi propaganda in the south and started Hindi schools

Option (1) Taught Hindustani in the Persian script in schools of the south — Incorrect. Durgabai's work was in Hindi classes; she did not speak of teaching in the Persian script.

Option (2) Carried on Hindi propaganda in the south and started Hindi schools — Correct. Durgabai carried on Hindi propaganda in the south, started schools and held classes in Hindi. That is why the later narrowing of Hindustani shocked her.

Option (3) Translated Gandhi's Hindustani writings into languages of the south — Incorrect. She did not mention translating Gandhi's writings. Her work was spreading Hindi itself.

Option (4) Led the opposition in the south against the use of Hindi — Incorrect. She told the House the southern opposition was strong, but she herself had worked for Hindi, braving that resistance.

NCERT (2026-27): “5.2 The fear of domination …
Durgabai informed the House that the opposition in the south against Hindi was very strong: “The opponents feel perhaps justly that this propaganda for Hindi cuts at the very root of the provincial languages ...” Yet, she along with many others had obeyed the call of Mahatma Gandhi and carried on Hindi propaganda in the south, braved resistance, started schools and conducted classes in Hindi. “Now what is the result of it all?” asked Durgabai. “I am shocked to see this agitation against the enthusiasm with which we took to Hindi in the early years of the century.” She had accepted Hindustani as the language of the people, but now that language was being changed, words from Urdu and other regional languages were being taken out. Any move that eroded the inclusive and composite character of Hindustani, she felt, was bound to create anxieties and fears amongst different language groups.”