Pandita Ramabai

Pandita Ramabai

Infobox Person
name = Pandita Ramabai



caption = Christian social reformer
birth_date = April 23, 1858
birth_place = Maharashtra, India
death_date = April 5, 1922
death_place =

Pandita Ramabai (23 April 1858, Maharashtra- 5 April 1922) was an eminent Indian Christian social reformer and activist.

She was a poet, a scholar, and a champion of improvement in the plight of Indian women. As a social reformer, she championed the cause of emancipation of Indian women. A widely traveled lady, she visited most parts of India, and even went to England (1883) and the U.S. (1886-88). She wrote a book titled "The High Caste Hindu Woman", which was used as an appeal to raise funds in the US and elsewhere, for a home for Brahmin widows in India.

Her father was Anant Shastri Dongre, a scholar of Sanskrit, and her mother was Lakshmibai. They were a Chitpawan Brahmin couple. Her father taught her Puranic Sanskrit and she made quite a name for herself as a scholar in Puranic circles, earning the name "Pandita".

Although she was a Brahmin, she married, on 13 November 1880, Babu Bipin Behari Madhavi, a Bengali lawyer at Bankipore (Patna, Bihar), who was not a Brahmin, and this created a stir in the orthodox circles of Hindu society.

Bereft after her husband's death shortly thereafter, she found herself unable to play the role traditionally reserved for upper-caste Hindu widows, and converted to Christianity, an action which created a scandal even in liberal Calcutta society.

She was given a scholarship to study medicine in England; when she arrived there, she found that her hearing was defective and so she could not participate in lectures. While in England, she wrote the feminist classic "The High Caste Hindu Woman", a scathing attack on traditional practices including widowhood, polygamy and child marriage. The book was translated into English and was widely read in England and America. Though the original book was written in Marathi for an Indian audience, it was poorly received in India. Pandita Ramabai also translated the Holy Bible into her native tongue of Marathi.

Pandita Ramabai also traveled in the United States in the 1890s, and wrote a book about it, recently published in translation as "Pandita Ramabai's American Encounter". The book is a traveler's account of the people and culture of the United States. It contains a pointed comparison of the status of women in the U.S. and India, and strongly suggests that India should follow down the path of reform. However, the book is not without its criticisms of American society, particularly its race problem. While in the U.S., Ramabai also raised money for a school she planned to found upon returning to India.She established the Mukti Mission in 1889 as a refuge for young widows who were abused by their families. In Marathi, her native tongue, the word mukti means liberation. The Pandita Ramabai Mukti Mission is still active today, providing housing, education, vocational training, and medical services, for many needy groups including widows, orphans, and the blind. Mukti Mission is located near the city of Pune in the province of Maharashtra and enjoys support from several foreign countries including the United States and Australia.

In 1919, the king of England conferred on her the Kaiser-i-Hind award, one of the highest awards an Indian could receive during the period of the British Raj.

Her contributions as a builder of modern India was recognized by the Government of India by issuing a commemorative postal stamp [ [http://www.indianpost.com/viewstamp.php/Alpha/P/PANDITA%20RAMABAI PANDITA RAMABAI ] at www.indianpost.com] on 26 October 1989 in honor of her.

Notes

Further reading

*"India’s 50 Most Illustrious Women" (ISBN 81-88086-19-3) by Indra Gupta

External links

* [http://www.mukti.org.nz Mukti Mission New Zealand]
* [http://www.mukti.org.au Mukti Mission Australia]
* [http://www.panditaramabai.com Pandita Ramabai Mukti Mission]
* [http://in.christiantoday.com/articles/life-of-pandita-ramabai-jesus-was-her-guru/2681.htm Jesus was her guru]
* [http://www.womenexcel.com/womenstudies/pandita.htm Pandita Ramabai]
* [http://unjobs.org/authors/pandita-ramabai Pandita Ramabai documents and sources]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Pandita Ramabai — Ramabai Dongre Medhavi, genannt Pandita Ramabai (* 23. April 1858; † 5. April 1922) war eine indische Christin, soziale Reformerin und Aktivistin. Sie war Autorin, Wissenschaftlerin und kämpfte für bessere Lebensbedingungen indischer Frauen.… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Pandita Ramabai Mukti Mission — is a relief and development charity based in Kedgaon, Maharastra India. Mukti Mission India provides Christ centred homes where destitute women and children irrespective of their background are accepted, cared for, transformed, and empowered to… …   Wikipedia

  • Ramabai — Pandita Ramabai Ramabai Dongre Medhavi, genannt Pandita Ramabai (* 23. April 1858; † 5. April 1922) war eine indische Christin, soziale Reformerin und Aktivistin. Sie war Autorin, Wissenschaftlerin und kämpfte für bessere Lebensbedingungen… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Ramabai Dongre Medhavi — Ramabai Dongre Medhavi, genannt Pandita Ramabai (* 23. April 1858; † 5. April 1922) war eine indische Christin, soziale Reformerin und Aktivistin. Sie war Autorin, Wissenschaftlerin und kämpfte für bessere Lebensbedingungen indischer Frauen.… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Ramabai, Sarasvati Mary — (c. 185 8 1922 )    Indian scholar, social reformer, and pioneer Pentecostalist    Sarasvati Mary Ramabai was thoroughly educated in the Hindu scriptures (and English) by her father, a social reformer. Following her parents death in the famine of …   Encyclopedia of Protestantism

  • Ramabai, Pandita — (1858–1922)    Educator and Missionary.    Ramabai was born of high caste Hindu parents near Mangalore, India. She became interested in Christianity in Bengal and then went to England in 1883 to further her education. There she was baptised and… …   Who’s Who in Christianity

  • Pandita — Ein Pandit (Sanskrit: पन्दित, pandita) ist ein indischer religiöser Gelehrter, mithin eine brahmanische, im späteren Sprachgebrauch auch eine allgemein universitär ausgebildete Person. Der Titel wird auch für hinduistische Musiker der klassischen …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Mukti mission — Pandita Ramabai Mukti Mission is a relief and development charity based in Kedgaon, Maharastra India. Mukti Mission India provides Christ centred homes where destitute women and children irrespective of their background are accepted, cared for,… …   Wikipedia

  • Meera Kosambi — (born April 24, 1939) is a prominent Indian sociologist. She is the youngest daughter of a prominent Marxist historian and mathematician, D.D. Kosambi, and grand daughter of Acharya Dharmananda Damodar Kosambi, prominent Buddhist Schloar and a… …   Wikipedia

  • Witwenverbrennung — Dieser Artikel beschäftigt sich mit dem Phänomen der Witwenverbrennung im Hinduismus; für die gleichnamige Göttin siehe Sati (Göttin); zur Bedeutung von Sati (Pali) im Buddhismus siehe Achtsamkeit. Darstellung einer Witwenverbrennung im 19.… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”