Chameli Devi was a diminutive lady, clad in traditional attire and she looked no different from so many other women of her times, but she was no ordinary woman.

Born in 1910, in an orthodox family in a village of Alwar state in Rajasthan, she was bound by tradition and religious conventions. She could study only up to the fifth standard. Later, she tied the knot to Phool Chand Jain who was a journalist and freedom fighter.

Even after her marriage, she played the role of a dedicated housewife looking after the family and attending to the daily household chores. Her husband on the contrary was a very brave man who was actively involved in the freedom struggle. He was imprisoned a number of times during the period  from 1930 to 1942. Once, he was involved in a bomb conspiracy and the Britishers were on the look out for him. When Phool Chand became certain that he cannot evade arrest, he told Chameli Devi to look after the child and the family.

The turn of events lit a spark in Chameli Devi and she retorted that she would go out and fight, and will go to jail before her husband. Though she had never been out of her cloistered household, she was highly influenced  by the freedom struggle spreading all over the country.

Strong willed and determined, this young woman from an orthodox Jain family transformed herself into a freedom fighter. This brave lady who always had to wear a ghoonghat (veil) now brazenly stood in public view for the first time.

She chanted nationalist slogans and inspired many woman to join the freedom struggle. Once in 1932, she led a picketing throng at a shop selling foreign goods and got arrested.

She was lodged in the Delhi jail and was later shifted to Lahore jail. Her husband was afraid that she may not be able to cope so far away from home and suggested paying the fine of Rs 250 imposed by the British to secure her release. Chameli Devi rebuked her husband for such weakening and sent him back home.

After her release, Chameli Devi picked up the threads of her family life. She spun Khadi in a charka and became a strong and silent agent of change, advocating Gandhian ideals of simple living and sacrifice.

Her husband continued to be a fearless journalist disseminating facts and information of those tumultuous times that preceded independence. 

Chameli Devi left for her heavenly abode in August 1980. It was decided to honour her by constituting an award in her name to women who excelled in journalism. The Chameli Devi Award for Outstanding Woman Journalist is presented every year to fearless women journalists who use their pen to fight against anything that is socially and morally wrong.

Neha Dixit, an independent journalist is the recipient of this year,s award for the amount of work put into her stories through travelling, collecting documentary evidence and cross-checking facts to give authenticity and a humane touch to them.