Nandini Satpathy: The Iron Lady of Orissa

Obliterated from the pages of history, as women often are, Odisha’s first woman Chief Minister, Nandini Satpathy, known also as the Iron Lady of Orissa, was born to a family of revolutionaries and intellectuals. During her teenage years in the ‘40s, this petite girl in a starchy cotton saree was jailed for pulling down the Union Jack from atop the edifice of Ravenshaw College.

Thus began the makings of a force to be reckoned with.

Coming up through the ranks to ultimately reach the hallow...