The correct option is Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay.
Explanation
The Salt Satyagraha (1930) was the catalyst for the Civil Disobedience Movement. Initially, Mahatma Gandhi planned the Dandi March with a select group of 78 male volunteers from the Sabarmati Ashram, intending to keep women away from the direct breaking of salt laws to avoid potential violence or the perception of using women as shields.Detailed Analysis:
- Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay: She was a prominent freedom fighter and social reformer. When Gandhi announced the Salt March, she met him and strongly argued against restricting the protest to men. She persuaded him that women had an equal right to participate in the struggle for freedom. Consequently, Gandhi agreed to let women join the Satyagraha. Kamaladevi herself proceeded to break the salt law at Chowpatty Beach in Bombay.
- Sarojini Naidu: While she was a key figure in the movement and famously led the raid on the Dharasana Salt Works after Gandhi's arrest, the specific act of persuading Gandhi to lift the gender restriction is historically attributed to Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay.
- Annie Besant: She was a leader of the Home Rule Movement (1916) and was not the primary influence regarding women's participation in the Salt Satyagraha of 1930.
- Aruna Asaf Ali: She is best known for her role in the Quit India Movement (1942), particularly for hoisting the flag at the Gowalia Tank maidan, and was not the central figure in this specific context of the 1930 movement.
Key Takeaway:
Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay played a pivotal role in ensuring that the Civil Disobedience Movement became a mass movement with significant female participation, convincing Gandhi to include women in the breaking of salt laws.