Vira Seshadri

Indian social reformer who founded India's first interfaith women's university

Vira Seshadri (1902-1975) was a visionary educator and social activist whose establishment of the Karnataka Women's University in 1943 revolutionized women's education in India. Born into a Brahmin family in Mysore, she rejected traditional gender roles to pursue a PhD in sociology at the University of London. Upon returning to India, she became a leading voice in the Indian independence movement, advocating for women's rights and communal harmony.

Her most enduring legacy is the creation of the first women's university in South India, which admitted students regardless of caste, religion, or economic background. The institution's innovative curriculum included courses on gender studies, public health, and rural development. Seshadri's work inspired similar initiatives across India and led to:

• Establishment of 12 rural training centers by 1950
• Development of India's first gender-sensitive education policy
• Creation of the National Women's Employment Board (1958)

Her advocacy for interfaith education during the 1947 partition crisis earned her the Nehru Award for Communal Harmony. Modern institutions like the UN Women cite her work as foundational to global gender equality frameworks.