Durgabai Desmukh protested against English-teaching school and participated Hindi Rashtra Bhasha Prachar Movement. She also joined the campaign against foreign goods and started spinning charka. She was a renowned member of the Constituent Assembly of India and of the Planning Commission of India which played an important role in our struggle for independence from the British rule.
Durgabai was married at the age of 8 to her cousin, Subba Rao. She refused to live with him after her maturation, and her father and brother supported her decision. She later quit him to pursue her education. In 1953, she married the then Finance Minister of India Chintaman Deshmukh. According to her own account, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was one of the three witnesses. C. D. Deshmukh had a daughter from a previous marriage but the couple remained otherwise childless. Though she had parted ways with Subba Rao, she supported his widow Timmaiamma after his death. Timmaiamma lived with Durgabai and Chintaman Deshmukh, and Durgabai also organized for her to get vocational training
To spread education among women Durgabai Desmukh established Balika Hindi Pathshala in 1922. She successfully led the Salt Satyagraha in 1930. She was imprisoned by the British Government thrice. In 1933 she was released. After that she received B. A.( Hons) and M. A.( Pol. Sc.) degrees. She also obtained a degree in law. In 1933 she established Andhra Mahila Sabha in Madras to eradicate the plight of common women. She became the President of Blind Relief Association and founded a school-hostel and a light engineering workshop for them. As a member of planning commission Durgabai Desmukh raised her voice for the poor and weaker section of the society.
Andhra, among all the other southern states of India, had the most distinction of contributing the largest proportion of women Satyagrahis, who were oblivious to their hardships and entered the prisons. During the non-cooperation moment in the year 1922, Lady Deshmukh was only a girl of twelve years and offered Satyagraha at Kakinada. This young little girl there onwards exhibited her dynamic abilities by building a unique organization called the Andhra Mahila Sabha. This foundation of the organization is regarded as the foremost among the women’ s welfare in the South India including the educational institutes of entire south.
Durgabai was married at the age of 8 to her cousin, Subba Rao. She refused to live with him after her maturation, and her father and brother supported her decision.
Durgabai was known to the rest of the country as Durgabai Deshmukh. After the suspension of the Noncooperation Movement, she spread the idea of Gandhiji in villages around her place Rajahmundry and Kakinada. She did this by establishing schools to impart to women in spinning and weaving.
She participated in the Satyagraha movement in Madras city along with Andhra Kesari T. Prakasam in May 1930. After which she was imprisoned in 1930 and again in the year 1932. In spite of her taking part in the national struggle, Durgabai made time for her education and took the M. A. and B. L. degrees. From the 1935, until her death, Durgabai had devoted her
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