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No longer Saraswati, but Savitri

Bahujans are setting a new precedent in a country used to worshipping the Hindu goddess Saraswati. The birth anniversary of India’s first woman teacher Krantisurya Savitribai Phule is now celebrated as Sarvashiksha Diwas

NEW DELHI: Bahujans are setting a new precedent in a country used to worshipping the Hindu goddess Saraswati. The birth anniversary of India’s first woman teacher Krantisurya Savitribai Phule is now celebrated as Sarvashiksha Diwas. Her 184th birth anniversary, was celebrated all over the country on 3 January. Stones and dirt were hurled at her after she started the first school for girls in 1848 but that didn’t break her resolve. Here, we present glimpses of how this feat was remembered last month:

 

(In her book Vidyechi Sphoortinayika Sarswati ki Savitree? well-known Marathi writer Nutan Malvi asks: Who is the leading light of education — Saraswati or Savitri?)

 

Published in the February 2015 issue of the Forward Press magazine


Forward Press also publishes books on Bahujan issues. Forward Press Books sheds light on the widespread problems as well as the finer aspects of the Bahujan (Dalit, OBC, Adivasi, Nomadic, Pasmanda) community’s literature, culture, society and culture. Contact us for a list of FP Books’ titles and to order. Mobile: +919968527911, Email: info@forwardmagazine.in)

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