From her early years, Durgabai had been associated with Indian politics. At age 12, she left school in protest to the imposition of English-medium education. She later started the Balika Hindi Paathshala in
Rajamundry to promote Hindi education for girls. When the
Indian National Congress had its conference in her hometown of
Kakinada in 1923, When the organisers of the exhibition saw what she did and angrily chided her, she replied that she was only following instructions. She allowed Nehru in only after the organisers bought a ticket for him. Nehru praised the girl for the courage with which she did her duty. She was a follower of
Mahatma Gandhi in India's struggle for freedom from the
British Raj. She never wore jewellery or cosmetics, and she was a satyagrahi. She was a prominent social reformer who participated in Gandhi-led Salt
Satyagraha activities during the
Civil Disobedience Movement. She was instrumental in organising women satyagrahis in the movement. This led to British Raj authorities imprisoning her three times between 1930 and 1933. With similar demands for speedy justice for women in familial matters from women's movement and organisations, the Family Courts Act was enacted in 1984. She was the first chairperson of the National Council on Women's Education, established by the Government of India in 1958. In 1959, the committee presented its recommendations, as follows: • "The Centre and State Governments should give priority to the education of girls. • In the central ministry of education, a department of women's education should be created. • For proper education of girls, a Director of Women's Education should be appointed in each state. • Co-education should be properly organised at higher level of education. • The University Grants Commission should specify a definite amount separately for the education of girls. • In the first phase of development, provision of free education should be made for girls up to Class VIII • Facilities in the choice of optional subjects should be made available for girls. • Girls should get training facilities on a liberal basis. • Education of Girls should be given due encouragement in rural areas. • A large number of seats in various services should be reserved for them. • Programmes for the development of adult women's education should be properly initiated and encouraged." To commemorate her legacy, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam has named its Department of Women Studies as
Dr. Durgabai Deshmukh Centre for Women's Studies. In 1963, she was sent to Washington D.C. as a member of the Indian delegation to the World Food Congress. == Contribution in Constituent Assembly ==