Women Teachers Day;A tribute to savitri bai phule

3rd January To Be Celebrated As Women Teachers Day

There is no better way to pay tribute to the supreme name, Savitribai Phule, other than declaring her birthday as Women Teachers Day. This day will be celebrated in the State similar to the Teachers’ Day remembering teacher and former President Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan.

Savitribai was the first female teacher of the first women’s school in India and was also considered as the pioneer of modern Marathi poetry. In 1852, she opened a school for Untouchable girls. Several have wondered why the “Teacher’s day” is not celebrated on the birthday of Savitribai Phule, the lady who started first ever school for the downtrodden.

She was the first Dalit women, in-fact first women whose poems got noticed in the British Empire. Savitribai Phule was the mother of modern poetry stressing upon the necessity of English and Education through her poems. During the yester years when even a shadow of untouchables was considered impure and when the people were unwilling to offer water to thirsty untouchables, she along with her husband opened their own well for the use of untouchables. This, in itself, was a big challenge thrown upon at the Brahmins so as to change their mindset towards untouchables. But even after almost 200 years, dalit (untouchables) still strive for water rights.

Andhra Pradesh HRD Minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao made this announcement while interacting with the media persons at a hotel. He informed that the state government had come up with a novel concept of improving schools as model ones initially sprucing up a school at Chandrampalem near Madhurawada in Vizag city and with the inspiration they had planned to develop similar schools in all revenue divisions across the State. For the same, the government has been contemplating to provide basic infrastructure with Rs 4,000 crore for the schools.

Still the people who possess rational thinking will definitely question, how could it be possible that name of such a legend is omitted from the history books, when names like “Jhansi ki Rani” Laxmibai and names of wives and ‘girl-friends’ of Gandhi-Nehru family are given in history books? Till date, the Indian society is not aware of the greatness of this lady, who dared to purse the nobel profession of ’teaching’ in the ‘Dark Age’. She dared to speak against the unpardonable boundaries imposed on the women society of India, for which today’s women society should be grateful to her.