The golden bird, Rukhmabai; Image Source- Wikipedia 

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Born in 1864, Rukhmabai was a staunch feminist and the second Indian woman to practise medicine in colonial India after her legendary predecessor, Dr. Kadambini Devi.

Like every other girl of her time, Rukhmabai was married off to Dadaji Bhikaji at 11. When Rukhmabai's step-father, Dr. Sakharam Arjun, intervened in an early consummation of the marriage, Bhikaji left for his uncle's house in a fit of rage. His stay at his uncle's house turned him indolent and wayward. Giving in to the vice of gambling, Bhikaji accumulated debt which he dreamt of clearing using Rukhmabai's inheritance.

A needy Bhikaji now urged Rukhmabai to rekindle their marriage. Being fully aware of his intentions, Rukhmabai refused to go back to him. Fortunately, her step-father supported her decision.

> In the meantime, Rukhmabai, now an adolescent, became busy with her studies. She would study at home using free books available to her from the  Free Church Mission library. This period also brought some radical changes in the thought process of young Rukhmabai. She entered the blooming world of feminism and women's causes.

Alas! Not everything is rainbows and sunshine. A legal notice from Bhikaji in 1884 threatened further legal action if Rukhmabai was not to fulfil her duty as a wife. Thus the battle of *Bhikaji vs Rukhmabai, 1885*, commenced. This famous case was not only a legal battle but was also a social and ideological one. It was the fight of a caged bird who desperately wanted to break the bars of a suffocating marriage and conservative Hindu traditions which shackled women.

The initial judgement by Justice Robert Hill Pinhey worked in favour of Rukhmabai. Pinhey identified that Rukhmabai was too young to give consent to her marriage. After Pinhey's retirement, a retrial took place. The news about the case travelled fast, and it caught the attention of many acclaimed people. Bal Gangadhar Tilak, in his weekly, the *Mahratta,* expressed his dismay towards Pinhey's judgement. He further added that the British rule was swiping Hindu tradition and killing its spirit. Such opposition highlighted the urgent need of India's patriarchal society to grant rights to its women.

> The second judgement by the council consisting of J.D. Inverarity Jr. and Kashinath Trimbak Telang decided that Rukhmabai must return to her husband or face imprisonment for six months. A brave Rukhmabai claimed that she would rather go to jail than live with Bhikaji.

> A disheartened Rukhmabai sought help from Queen Victoria. The queen then took the matter into her hands and dissolved the marriage. After receiving a sum of Rs. 2000, Bhikaji agreed to relinquish all claims of his marriage with Rukhmabai.

The case by now had become a buzzing topic both in India and England. It provoked hot debates and discussions on feminism and, the need to remodel the age-old traditions. The buzz generated by the case enabled the enactment of the **Age of Consent Act** in 1891. The Act sanctioned consensual sex for both married and unmarried women from 10 to 12 years of age.

After a long-drawn legal battle, Rukhmabai proceeded to divert her energy into career-building. She was lucky to have the support of many organisations and people like Dr. Edith Pechey and Shivajirao Holkar, who helped gather enough funds for her further studies.

> She received her medical degree in 1894 from the  London School of Medicine for Women. On her return to India, she took up the job of the Chief Medical Officer at the Women's Hospital in Surat.

Google honours Rukhmabai on her 153rd birth anniversary, Image Source- First Post 

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> Her retirement gift to the world was the pamphlet, *Purdah*, which sympathised with the widows who were bereft of the colours of life.

After many trials and tribulations, Rukhmabai left her cage and soared high in the limitless sky of opportunities. As sad as it is, like every other old bird, she left the earth on 25 September 1955 at the age of 90 after succumbing to lung cancer.

We all have known or at least have heard the story of the bird in a golden cage. Even though the bird had all the jewels and comforts of life, it could never accept the caged life. Rukhmabai was one such bird who felt constricted by the conformist norms of the Indian society, which never allowed her to flap her wings.