155th Birthday Celebrations for Great Torrington heroine, revered and celebrated across India

District and Town Councillors including the mayor of Great Torrington, Councillor Doug Smith, gathered at the towns cemetery on Friday to mark the 155^th birthday of Sister Nivedita, a renowned and celebrated champion of the poor in India. Sister Nivedita was born Margaret Elizabeth Noble in 1867 and grew up in Great Torrington but then spent much of her life in India where she is revered as an educationalist and campaigner for India's freedom movement. Her involvement with India came about after a meeting with Swami Vivekananda in London in 1895 after which she travelled to Calcutta. She was given the name Nivedita meaning "dedicated to god" and opened a girl's school in 1898. Her intention was to educate girls who, at the time, were deprived of even the most basic education. She is also noted for nursing the poor during the plague epidemic in Calcutta in 1899 as well as having a close association with the Ramakrishna Mission and later made an active contribution in the field of Indian Nationalism.

A bronze statue of Sister Nivedita who died in 1911 was unveiled in Great Torrington in 2019 as although she died in Darjeeling her ashes were returned to the UK and interred in the family grave. The statue and plinth were commissioned and paid for by the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Ms Mamata Banerjee. Torridge District Council provided the plot on which the bronze statue sits as a permanent memorial, and is unique in being the first statue of Sister Nivedita to be erected outside of India. It's become a site of pilgrimage for followers and devotees from India with Fridays gathering generating a lot of interest from news outlets and social media in that country.

TDC Lead member for Community, Culture and Leisure - Councillor Cheryl Cottle-Hunkin said:

"I must admit that I was largely unaware of Sister Nivedita's family connection to the Great Torrington area or the fascinating and selfless work she devoted herself to in India before the statue was erected in 2019. Clearly she was a remarkable woman at a time when people, and women in particular, were not given the opportunities that they have today. This makes her achievements even more significant, and I'm glad that the statue has attracted visitors from across the globe and brought about a greater recognition of her life and achievements in helping those who were less fortunate."

Mayor of Great Torrington - Councillor Doug Smith said:

"I was fortunate enough to be present as deputy mayor and take part in the unveiling of Sister Nivedita's statue in 2019 and meet with the monks and devotees of the Ramakrishna Mission who travelled to Great Torrington for the unveiling. It's a privilege to be here again, as mayor this time, to celebrate and remember everything that she achieved. We reach out to our friends in the UK and India who are here with us in spirit and were able to join us online and on social media to celebrate this gathering and thank them for their kind words and contributions towards the event."

Main picture L-R TDC Chair Cllr Doug Bushby, TDC & Great Torrington Councillor Cllr Cheryl Cottle-Hunkin, GTC Cllr and Mayor Doug Smith

28 October 2022