Sunday, August 6, 2000		Article

She led an exemplary life
By Suneet Kaur

PANDITA Ramabai life was a beacon of hope for the women of the eighteenth century. She inherited the ability to steadfastly abide by what she believed in and have the courage of her convictions from her father A.S Dongri, a reputed Sanskrit scholar. At a time when women were not allowed to study, he educated his wife Lakshmi Bai and taught her Sanskrit, as a result of which he was ostracised from society. Wherever the family went, orthodox Hindus stood in their way and denied them food and shelter and socially boycotted them.

After his death, A.S Dongri’s work was carried on by his daughter and son. They went to Calcutta where Pandita Ramabai’s work was not received with much enthusiasm but her knowledge of Sanskrit earned her the title of Pandita and Saraswati. This inspired her to work harder and she took on the task of educating the upper caste Hindu women and emancipating them from social injustice. She went on a lecture tour to Bengal and Assam and became known all over India.

Her brother died in 1880, and she got married to a Shudra named Bipin Bihar Dass Medhari but he, too, died in 1882. Left alone with her new-born daughter, she felt the need to learn English. With the help of Maratha reformers like Ranade and Bhasharkar, she started the Arya Mahila Samaj for the uplift of Hindu women. But she found that her resources were insufficient and hence she left for England where she studied English and got baptised in 1883.

She went on lecture tours to the USA and Canada where she managed to raise sufficient funds to be able to return to India and start Sharda Sadan, a boarding house for widows and a school for day-scholars in Bombay. Later the sadan was transferred to Pune.

When in 1896, a terrible famine broke out in Central India, she took 600 women and children from the affected areas under her care. At Kedgaon, 30 miles from Pune, she founded a colony, Mukti Sadan, under the supervision of a Christian sister, Sundrabai. She then started the Kufa Sadan which got 300 inmates within a span of three years.

In 1900, when another famine broke out in Gujarat and Kathiawar, she sent 20 of her sisters to the famine-stricken areas. There were now 1900 inmates in her sadans. Her work was appreciated so much that workers and visitors came to her from all over the world. Her work bought her so much peace and courage that she was able to face the death of her only daughter in 1921, with fortitude.

Pandita Ramabai was a tireless and dedicated worker. She not only alleviated the physical sufferings of the people under her care but also prayed for their moral and spiritual regeneration. She passed away on the morning of April 5, 1922.