V. Shantha Kumari
V. Shantha Kumari, popularly known as Shanthakka, was born on 5 February 1952 in Bangalore, Karnataka. She is the current Pramukh Sanchalika (chief) of the Hindu women’s organisation Rashtra Sevika Samiti, a position she has held since 2013.
Her family supported the nation’s cause: her father participated in the Quit India Movement, and her mother gave away all her jewelry following Gandhi’s call.
Shantha Kumari joined Rashtra Sevika Samiti in 1968 at age 16. By 1969 she had completed the training and was leading a daily shakha (branch) in Wilson Garden, Bengaluru. She quickly rose through the ranks to become Chief Instructor and then Nagar Karyavahak (city in-charge).
In 1978 she chose to devote herself full-time to the Samiti and decided not to marry. She became Sahakaryavahika (coordinator) for Karnataka in 1978. In 1991 she became Sahakaryavahika for the Southern region (Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Kerala), helping the Samiti grow in southern India.
During the Ayodhya movement in 1992, she led about 200 Samiti activists from the southern states. She wrote to her employer about the possibility of resignation to join the movement, but returned to Bengaluru and was encouraged to continue.
In 1994 she moved to the Samiti office in Bengaluru, and in 1995 she resigned from her teaching job to travel across Karnataka as a pracharika (campaigner). From 1996 she trained under Pramila Tai Medhe, and in 1997 she became Sahakaryavahika.
Shantha Kumari knows many languages, including English, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil, and Telugu, which helps her work with diverse audiences. She views Rashtra Sevika Samiti as different from Western feminism, aiming to strengthen women physically, mentally, and intellectually to support the nation.
Her leadership has increased the organization’s visibility and diversification.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 16:30 (CET).