The first woman honors graduate in British India

Kamini Roy was a leading Bengali poet, social worker and feminist in British India. She was the first woman honors graduate in British India. Kamini Roy was born on 12 October 1864 in the village of Basanda, then in Bakergunj district of Bengal Presidency and now in Barisal District of Bangladesh. She joined Bethune School in 1883. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with Sanskrit honors from Bethune College of the University of Calcutta in 1886 and started teaching there in the same year. 

Kamini hailed from an elite Bengali family. Her father, Chandi Charan Sen, a judge and a writer, was a leading member of the Brahmo Samaj. She learned from his collection of books and used his library extensively. She was a mathematical prodigy but later her interest switched to Sanskrit. Nisith Chandra Sen, her brother, was a renowned barrister in the Calcutta High Court, and later the Mayor of Calcutta while sister Jamini was the house physician of the then Nepal Royal family. In 1894 she married Kedarnath Roy.

Her writing is simple and elegant. She published her first collection of verses 'Alo Chhaya' in 1889, and two more books after that but then took a break from writing for several years following her marriage and motherhood. She was a feminist at an age when merely getting educated was a taboo for a woman. She picked up the cue for feminism from a fellow student of Bethune School, Abala Bose. In an address delivered at a girls' school in Calcutta, she declared that the aim of women's education was to contribute to their all-round development and fulfillment of their potential.

Roy went out of her way to encourage other writers and poets. In 1923, she visited Barisal and encouraged Sufia Kamal, then a young girl, to continue writing. She was involved in cultural and social welfare activities, especially women's welfare.  In 1921, she was one of the leaders, along with Kumudini Mitra (Basu) and Mrinalini Sen of the Bangiya Nari Samaj to fight for woman's suffrage. Limited suffrage was granted to women in 1925, and in 1926 Bengali women exercised their right for the first time.  She was a member of the Female Labor Investigation Commission (1922-23), president of the literary section of the Bengal Literary Conference (1930) and vice president of the Vangiya Sahitya Parishad (1932-33).

Kamini Roy lost her husband in 1909. Her intense grief and pain over his premature death deeply affected her personal life and was reflected in her poems. She was influenced by the poet Rabindranath Tagore and Sanskrit literature. Calcutta University honored her with the Jagattarini Gold Medal. Amongst her notable literary contributions were -Mahasweta, Pundorik, Pouraniki, Dwip O Dhup, Jibon Pathey, Nirmalya, Malya O Nirmalya, and Ashok Sangeet. She wrote Gunjanfor children and a book of essays Balika Sikkhar Adarsha. In her later life, she lived at Hazaribagh for some years. In that small town, she often had discussions on literary and other topics with such scholars as Mahesh Chandra Ghosh and Dhirendranath Choudhury. She passed away on 27 September 1933.