Meeratayi Koppikar, veteran Gandhian who ran Vatsalya Dhama, a commune of natural farmers and Khadi and village industries workers in Mudhol, passed away on Friday. She was 97.
She was ailing for sometime, but continued to spin on the Charkha and do her chores around the house, commune sources said.
Born in an affluent family, she plunged into the freedom struggle while still a teenager. The British jailed her twice. After advice from Mahatma Gandhi, she joined the Sarvodaya movement. She also joined the North Karnataka efforts of the Bhoodan movement of Vinoba Bhave.
