Duvvuri Subbamma
Duvvuri Subbamma, 1887-1964, political and social worker. One of the earliest woman political activities of Andhra Pradesh, she was born in a lower middle-class Brahman family in East Godavari district, and was married at a very young age to a person who was virtually a pauper. Left a childless widow ten years after her marriage, she was fortunate in attaching herself to the scholar-poet, Tirupati Venkata Sastri, who was also a near relation of hers. He taught her to read religious books and took her along with him on his tours to recite and sing religious verses. She was drawn into the national movement since 1921 and was arrested and sentenced on many occasions for her political activities. She was also sentenced during the Quit India Movement of August 1942. She worked actively for the cause of women and established a school exclusively for widows at Rajahmundry in 1924, and organized a lady’s wing of the Provincial Congress. She retired from active politics after independence, and was given a pension.
