Lakshmi Ramachandran was born in a middle class family; her mother was a teacher and her father was a central government employee. She and her brother were raised in Karaikudi and Madurai before the family moved to Chennai when she was about 14 years old. Lakshmi’s father, in his youth, had been inspired by the Nehruvian dream for India, and he nurtured in her an interest on issues concerning the nation and people.

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Lakshmi’s early years were spent observing, reading and discussing with friends and family about what was happening in the country. Like the proverbial idealism that youth sees in socialism, she too, started out as a socialist. Her perceptions about economics and its policy implications for addressing poverty underwent a major revision post the economic liberalization that India initiated in 1991 and uplifted millions of Indians. Nevertheless, principles of egalitarianism and access to opportunities for all, continue to be an intrinsic part of her political philosophy.

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While India and the world at large changed in the 90s, Lakshmi, with a special interest in Mathematics, went on to major in mathematics - Bachelors from Stella Maris and later a Master’s degree, also in mathematics, from IIT, Madras. Seeing the promise she showed as a student, some of her teachers thought she would, after her masters, pursue research in mathematics but she belied their hopes and took up a software job.

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In 2003, she got married to Swami, her friend from IIT Madras, and moved to the US. A chance conversation with a friend made her curious about school education in the US. She joined as a volunteer in a school as well as enrolled into a program in teaching at a local university. This turned out to be one of the defining moments of her life – she found a purpose that would become her work and passion for the next decade. Thomas Friedman’s book, ‘The World is Flat’, had just been published and there was a lot of interest on everything about India in the US. The conversations impressed upon her the nature of a shrinking world and shaped her ideas of what she wanted to do with her life and career. Teaching in public and private schools in the Seattle area gave her new insights on public education, curriculum, pedagogy and modern methods of instruction, which was very unlike what she was used to as a student in India. Overcoming cultural barriers to connect with the students and wider community was a great learning experience.

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Lakshmi’s family, now including her first daughter Sarojini, moved back to Chennai in 2007 and she joined an ed-tech company. As a delivery head for the South African business of this company, she was involved in engaging with over 700 public schools in four provinces of South Africa, taking technology and modern pedagogy to those schools. South Africa’s public education grapples with problems similar to those faced in India – under resourced schools trying to fulfill the aspirations of a growing middle class. Wanting to know more about the history of the community that she operated in, she read avidly about Nelson Mandela, Steve Biko and the South African struggle against Apartheid.

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In 2009, Mr. Rahul Gandhi’s efforts to revitalize the Congress party by reviving the Youth Congress captured her attention. The memory of riding her scooter to the Youth Congress office in Thiruvanmiyur, Chennai to become a member of the party still brings a smile on her face.

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In Feb 2014, Lakshmi, whose family now included her second daughter Krishna, resigned her private sector job and moved to the social sector. For the first time in her life, she had to confront issues related to poverty and social inequity, battling them on an everyday basis. She joined as teacher and fund-raiser at the Olcott School, run by Theosophical Society, in Chennai. At Olcott school she was mentored by veteran educationist Mrs. Lakshmi Suryanarayanan, who had spent many years teaching and running the school for children from families of urban- poverty. Lakshmi along with her mentor was responsible for raising one of the biggest endowments for the school in its 130-year history.

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The year 2014 saw political setbacks for the Congress party. All the work done to usher in financial prosperity in the country and taking the fruits of these gains to the bottommost section of the society did not seem to be appreciated. Congress lost after being in government for 10 years. This was a regime that had been acknowledged by the UN as the one that pulled 140 million people out of poverty. But these electoral setbacks only served to inspire Lakshmi to dive deeper into politics. She became active in the Mahila wing of the party.

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Lakshmi’s work led to deeper involvement at the grassroots level in various ways. She came in touch with many interesting people – researchers in Dalit studies in India, activists, advocacy groups, rural educationists, entrepreneurs and many others doing grassroots-level developmental work. These associations broadened her understanding of India and its people. She was also involved in a social sector startup engaged in enabling government welfare benefits to reach eligible people. This gave her an opportunity to travel to many districts in Tamil Nadu, liaising with VAOs, Tahsildars and the district administration, which gave her new insights on local government and reforms needed in ways in which public interface with government agencies happens.

 

In 2018, she became the Joint coordinator of the Shakti Project in TN – a project to digitally connect grassroots workers of the party with the Congress Party leadership. Her constant follow-ups, the communication and reporting protocol she put in place saw one of the biggest Shakti enrollments across TN. She also started representing the party in television and other media – both in Tamil and English. In early 2021, when the congress committee in TN was reconstituted, she was made one of the General Secretaries and spokespersons of the party in Tamil Nadu.

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In the run up to the 2021 elections in Tamilnadu, she was instrumental in organising and conducting two events in Erode and Tenkasi where the party leader Mr.Rahul Gandhi interacted with weavers and small traders in the two regions to understand the issues they faced in their sectors. The two events were much appreciated within the party and in the media.

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Through Kamaraj Study Centre, an initiative that she runs along with a few friends, she continues to stay involved in literacy and educational projects. She speaks and writes on education-related issues in various forums.

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An India where all citizens have equal opportunity to pursue their dreams, regardless of where they are born, their religion, caste, colour, class or gender, is the India of Lakshmi’s dream. Political work and public office are, to her, a means to realizing that dream.