Essay on Pandita Ramabai in English (100 to 150 words)
Answers
Answer:
Pandita Ramabai was born Rama Dongre to a Marathi Brahmin family in 1858. Her father was a Sanskrit scholar and Ramabai learnt Sanskrit from him initially. Her parents died during the famine of 1877. Ramabai and her brother travelled all over the country and her fame as a scholar reached Calcutta. The University of Calcutta invited her to give a lecture and also awarded her the title of ‘Pandita’ because of her erudition in SanskriT She was also conferred with the title of ‘Saraswati’ owing to her knowledge and interpretations of the various Sanskrit texts.
Renowned reformer Keshub Chandra Sen gave her a copy of the Vedas.
In 1880, Ramabai married Bipin Behari Medhvi, a Bengali lawyer. This was a bold move for that era as it was an inter-caste marriage. It was, therefore, a civil wedding.
Ramabai had a daughter Manorama. Tragedy struck in 1882 when Medhvi died.
After her husband’s death, Ramabai started Arya Mahila Samaj (Arya Women’s Society) at Pune.
The purpose of the Society was to provide education to women and to discourage and fight against the practice of child marriage.
The government of India appointed a commission to look into the matter of education in 1882. Ramabai gave evidence before the commission. She recommended that women school inspectors be appointed. She also suggested that Indian women be taken into medical colleges since women doctors were needed to treat women.
This event created a ripple effect and even reached the ears of the British monarch Victoria. The result was the establishment of the Women’s Medical Movement by Lady Dufferin.
Ramabai travelled all over India giving speeches about the importance of educating women. She left for England in 1883 to study medicine. During her stay, she converted to Christianity.
She also travelled to the USA to attend the graduation of Anandibai Joshi, the first Indian woman doctor. Between her travels, she also wrote and translated a vast number of books.
Returning to India in 1889, she started the ‘Sharada Sadan’. She founded the Mukti Mission for the education of child widows.
Many accused her of using these organisations as a front for conversions.
The British government presented her with the Kaiser-i-Hind medal in 1919.
Ramabai died on 5 April 1922, 9 months after the death of her daughter. In October 1989, the Indian government issued a commemorative stamp in her honour.
Explanation:
Answer:
Pandita Ramabai Sarasvati (23 April 1858 – 5 April 1922) was an Indian social reformer, a pioneer in the education and emancipation of women in India. She was the first woman to be awarded the titles of Pandita as a Sanskrit scholar and Sarasvati after being examined by the faculty of the University of Calcutta.She was one of the ten women delegates of the Congress session of 1889.In the late 1890s, she founded Mukti Mission at Kedgaon village, forty miles east of the city of Pune.The mission was later named Pandita Ramabai Mukti Mission.
In many ways, Pandita Ramabai's family life departed from the norms expected of women in her day. Her childhood was full of hardships and she lost her parents early. Her marriage to Bipin Bihari Medhvi crossed caste lines. Moreover, when her husband died after just two years a marriage, she was left a widow. Under ordinary circumstances, such a tragedy put nineteenth century Indian women in a vulnerable condition, dependent upon their deceased husband's family for support. Pandita Ramabai, however, persevered as an independent woman, and a single mother to Manorama Bai. She ensured that Manorama Bai was educated, both in Wantage by the sisters of the CSMV, and later at Bombay University, where Manorama earned her BA. After going to the United States for higher studies, she returned to India where she worked side-by-side with Ramabai. Serving first as Principal of Sharada Sadan, she also assisted her mother in establishing Christian High school at Gulbarga (now in Karnataka), a backward district of south India, during 1912. In 1920 Ramabai's health began to flag and she designated her daughter as the one who would take over the ministry of Mukti Mission. However, Manorama died in 1921. Her death was a shock to Ramabai. Nine months later, on 5 April 1922, Ramabai herself died from septic bronchitis, a few weeks before her 64th birthday.