Google Doodle Celebrates 133rd Birth Anniversary of India's First Female Lawmaker Muthulakshmi Reddi

New Delhi: Google celebrates Indian educator, lawmaker, surgeon, and reformer Muthulakshmi Reddi with today's doodle. lIlustrated by Bangalore-based guest artist Archana Sreenivasan, the doodle marks the 133rd birthday of Reddi, who devoted herself to public health and the cause of gender equality. She worked to transform the lives of several people, especially young girls.

Born on July 30, 1883 in Tamil Nadu, Reddi went down in history for the fact that she became the first woman to work as a surgeon in a government hospital and the first female legislator in the history of British India.

At a young age Reddi rebelled against her parents' plan for her early marriage and instead persuaded them to allow her to study further. She became the first female student to be admitted to a pretigious Indian institutes as she attended an all-boys school, Maharaja College.

She was faced with threats of students pulling out from the school but she went on to win a scholarship and graduated with honors. She was also the first female student at Madras Medical College.

After her stint as a medical practitioner, Reddi joined the Madras Legislative Council in her bid to work in direction of raising the legal age of marriage and fighting against exploitation of girls.

Known for her struggle for gender equality, she was married a doctor named Sundara Reddi in 1914 on the understanding that he treat her as an equal. She also supported Gandhi’s efforts for independence of the country alongside her battle against gender inequality and work for the upliftment of women.

Reddi established the Adayar Cancer Institute in 1954 after losing a sister to deadly disease. The institute has become one of the most respected oncology centers in the world, where over 80,000 patients are treated each year.

The Government of India awarded her the Padma Bhushan in 1956 in recognition of her service to the country.