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Pandita Ramabai J 19-0285
Pandita Ramabai J 19-0285
•Born on April 23, 1858 in a Marathi speaking Brahmin family, as Rama Dongre.
•A learned, liberal Brahmin, Ramabai’s father Anant Shastri Dongare took it upon
himself to educate both his wife and his daughters, and was ostracised for his efforts.
•Pandita’S parents died during the Great Famine of 1876-78 when she was 16. She and
her brother, Srinivas, continued the family tradition of reciting religious texts.
•Her brother passed away in June 1880. During the same year, she married Bipin
Behari Medhvi, a Bengali lawyer.
•In deciding to marry Medhvi, who belonged to the socially ostracised lower caste she
did not allow considerations of her own high caste to come in the way.
•In 1882 Ramabai lost her husband to cholera. She educated her only daughter, all by
herself.
THE MAKING OF “PANDITA”
• However, she failed to connect to the women in Maharashtra and felt alienated
asShe had no community, no social base and no real emotional bonds to fall
back upon. It led to her search for solace in religion and God. which could
simultaneouslvaccommodate her social agenda as well as her quest for
religious fulfilments. Thus, she got converted to Christianity by the Anglican
Church.
• Ramabai had a conflict with the Patriarchy of the Anglican church which was
harsh enough. She was offered a Professorship to teach male students. But
Bishop of Bombay protested against it.
• Thus, the major contestation in Ramabai's educational and missionary
activities was that of Patriarchy.
PHILOSOPHY OF PANDITA RAMABAI
In the field of women education, Pandita Ramabai was one of the early
pioneers and A champion of women's rights. Her upbringing made her play
the role of a women activist in her later life. Significant contributions of
Ramabai are:
• Ramabai fought for the rights of women. She opposed the child marriages.
• She promoted the girl's Education.
• After her husband’s death, Ramabai, who was 23, moved to Pune and
founded Arya Mahila Samaj in 1881 to promote the education of women
and their deliverance from the oppression of child marriage.
CONTRIBUTIONS OF PANDITA RAMABAI
• In 1889, She established a Mukti Mission for the young widows. By 1900, this mission
gained popularity and hosted 2000 children and women attending the school, and
they were occupied in industrial production and training.
• She also came up with the establishment of Sharda Sadan. The aim of this Sadan was
to impart education, shelter, medical facilities and vocational, training to visually
challenged, widows and orphans.
• The curriculum made by Pandita Ramabai emphasized the following
subjects:Botany, Literature and Physiology. The training was an important aspect
and therefore was included in diverse fields such as farming, gardening,
carpentry,wood cutting, printing, tailoring, sewing, weaving and in industries. The
purpose was so that after training, they can join the relevant fields of their interests.
This was an excellent initiative to break the barrier of the cast.
CONTRIBUTIONS OF PANDITA RAMABAI
• Different societies were framed for the purpose. Students were the active
members of these societies, the children got the opportunity to learn the
rules of these societies and were encouraged to hold charge of these tasks
effectively.
• In her book titled “The High Caste Hindu Woman”, published in 1887,
Ramabai highlighted social evils of the time such as child marriage, the
plight of child widows and the oppression of women in British India.
• Pandita Ramabai translated the Bible into Marathi in 1924. Her daughter
Manoramabai also established a new school and in 1919, government
recognition was finally granted to the Sharada Sadan School.
ACHIEVEMENTS AND RECOGNITION