Ramabai Ranade
(January 5, 1862 – 1924)
was an Indian active social
worker and one of the first women's rights activists in the 19th century. She
was born in Kurlekar family in 1862. At the age of 11, she was married to
Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade,
who was a distinguished Indian scholar,
social reformer at that time. In that era of social inequality, when women were
not allowed to go to school and become literate, Ramabai, soon after her
marriage, started to learn reading and writing with strong support and
encouragement from Mahadev Govind Ranade.
Starting with the native language Marathi, Ramabai thrived hard
to master English and then Bengali with the due
course of time.
Inspired by her husband,
Ramabai started 'Hindu Ladies Social Club' in Mumbai to develop public speaking among women. Ramabai was also a
founder and the president of 'Seva Sadan Society' in Pune. Ramabai devoted her life for the improvement of women's lives.
Ramabai Ranade opened famous girl's school in Pune "Hujurpaga".
Introduction
Ramabai Ranade has been the pioneer
of the modern women's movement in India and outside. Though an illiterate she
toiled hard to climb up the social ladder with the guidance of her husband,
Mahadev Govind Ranade. She was the founder and president of the Seva Sadan, which is the most successful of
all Indian women's institution and is attended by thousands of women. The
immense popularity of the institution was due to the fact that it was under
Ramabai's close personal supervision. She concentrated all her energy for the
growth of Seva Sedan and as a result, it has become an institution without a
second of its kind. It will ever remain a monument in her sacred memory.
Early life and background
Ramabai Ranade, was born in
January 1862 in Kurlekar family, living in a small village of Sangli District, Maharashtra. As educating girls was
a taboo in those days, her father had never imparted education to her. In 1873,
she was married to Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade,
a pioneer in the social reform movement. He devoted all his apparel time to
educate her in face of all opposition of the women in the house and helped her
to become an ideal wife and a worthy helpmate in social and educational reform.
With his strong support and sharing his visionary path, Ramabai spent all her
life making women self-reliant and economically independent.[2]
She was barely 11 years old
when she was married to Mahadev Govind Ranade,
who was a scholar, idealist and a revolutionary social activist. Ramabai was an
illiterate when she was married as she lived in a time when the superstitious
belief existed that it was a sin for a girl to read or write. On the contrary,
her husband, addressed as the "Prince of Graduates", was a graduate
of Bombay University with first class honors. He not only worked as the
Professor of English and Economics at the Elphinstone College in Bombay, but
was also an oriental translator and a social reformer. With strong legislative
background, he worked rigorously against all the evils that existed in the
society.
He was against untouchability, child marriage and Sati. He claimed for women's education and equal rights for women. He
took over the Sarvajanik Sabha and led a number of movements for social
development. He had won the praise of the whole ofMaharashtra by the time he was
in his early thirties. His overarching thinking, dynamic vision, passionate and
devoted social commitment strongly inspired Ramabai and illuminated her path
for future social work.
Education
Ramabai made it a mission to
educate herself, so that she could be an equal partner in the active life led
by her husband. Justice Ranade gave regular lessons to young Ramabai in writing
alphabets, reading Marathi, History, Geography, Mathematics and English. He
used to make her read all newspapers and discuss with him current affairs. She
became his devoted disciple and slowly became his Secretary and his trusted
friend. Ramabai's important literary contribution is her autobiography Amachya
Ayushyatil Athavani in Marathi[3] in which she gives a detailed
account of her married life. She also published a collection of Justice
Ranade's lectures on Religion. She was very fond of English literature.
Ramabai made her first
public appearance at Nasik High School as the
Chief Guest. Justice Ranade wrote her a maiden speech. She soon mastered the
art of speaking Marathi and English effectively in public. Her speeches were
always simple and heart-touching. She began working for Prarthana Samaj in Bombay. She established a branch of Arya
Mahila Samaj in the city. From 1893 to 1901 Ramabai was at the
peak of her popularity in her social activities. She established the Hindu Ladies Social and Literary Club in Bombay and started a
number of classes to train women in languages, general knowledge, tailoring and
handwork.[2]
The later half of her
life was tragic as it was shadowed by the death of her husband. She left Bombay
and came to Pune and stayed at their old ancestral house near the Phule Market.
For one year, she led an isolated life. Finally, she came out of her
self-imposed isolation to organize the first Bharat
Mahila Parishad in Bombay. Ramabai
lived 24 years after her husbands death a life full of activity for social
awakening, redressal of grievances and established social institutions like
Seva Sadan for rehabilitation of distressed women. Ramabai vigorously worked
for the next 25 years for women's education, legal rights, equal status, and
general awakening. She encouraged them to enter the nursing profession. At that
time, this profession was not looked up on as service-oriented and was so
called forbidden for women. To encourage women to come forward, she always
asserted, "Don't we nurse our father or brother when he falls ill? All
male patients are our brothers and nursing them is our sacred duty. Thus more
and more women came forward to learn nursing." Ramabai's pioneering work
in the field of nursing through Seva Sadan deserves special praise. The first
Indian nurse was the product of Seva Sadan and Ramabai took great pain to win
orthodox opinion in favor of nursing as a career for women and to encourage
young girls and widows to join the nursing course in Seva Sadan.[4]
Work for society
Ramabai made her entry
into public life in the 1870s, but it was after Justice Ranade's death in 1901
that she wholly identified herself with the cause of women in India. She willingly became a regular visitor to the Central Prison,
especially the women's wing, and kindle self-esteem.
She paid visit to boys
in the reformatory school, spoke to them and distributed sweets to them on
festive occasions. Ramabai's philanthropic instincts knew no bounds. Not only
did she go to visit patients in the local hospitals, distributing fruits,
flowers and books, and spoke to them with loving sympathy, but she also went
out to Gujarat and Kathiawar in 1913 to
organise relief for the famine-stricken people. Even in the final years of her
life she went to Alandi at the time of
Ashadhi and Kartiki fares, with volunteers from the Seva Sadan, to render help
to women pilgrims visiting the shrine of Sant Dnyaneshwar. In taking up this activity
she laid foundations for a new type of social service for women. In 1904 when Ramakrishna Gopal
Bhandarkar, Shri.Bhajekar and
other leaders of Social reform proposed to organise an All India Women
Conference they approached Shrimati Ranade for her co-operation, lead and
support. The first session of the conference was held under the Presidency of
Smt. Ranade in December 1904, at Bombay.
In 1908 Shri. B. M.
Malbari and Shri. Dayaram Gidumal, came across with the idea of founding home
for women and training Indian women to be "sevikas". They then turned
to Smt. Ranade, the President of the first All-India Women Conference for her
guidance and help for starting a Society and thus Seva Sadan[disambiguation needed] (Bombay) came into
being. Next in 1915 the Pune Seva Sadan was registered as a society under her
guidance, the society expanded its old educational departments and also started
new ones. It developed a Women's Training College, three hostels, one of them
for Medical students and other for probationer nurses.
In 1924, when Smt.
Ranade died, the Pune Seva Sadan[disambiguation needed] was training more
than one thousand women in different departments. It was largely owing to Smt.
Ranade's initiatives, guidance and exertions that Seva Sadan found a footing
and grew so rapidly in spite of prevailing prejudices. The last two outstanding
contribution which Smt. Ranade made were; first the organisation of agitation
for extending compulsory and pre-primary education to girls; and secondly
organisation of Women's Suffrage Movement in Bombay presidency in 1921-22. The
singular position, which Smt. Ranade assumed at the end of her life deserved Mahatama Gandhi's tribute to her as quoted:
"The death of Ramabai Ranade is a great national loss. She was the
embodiment of all that a Hindu widow could be. She was a true friend and helpmate of her
illustrious husband in his lifetime.
After his death she
chose her husband's reform activities as her life's aim. Justice Ranade was a
reformer and deeply concerned about the uplifting of Indian womanhood. Ramabai
put her heart and soul into Seva Sadan. She devoted her whole energy to it. The
result is that Seva Sadan has become an institution with no second of its kind
throughout India."
In those days mostly
widows took the nursing course sponsored by Seva Sadan. Once there was an occasion of the
annual social gathering of Seva Sadan. One of the highlights of the function
was the prize distribution ceremony. Among the prize winners was a widow. She
was dressed in the traditional dress of the widows of those days, a simple dark
red sari with the Pallu tightly drawn over her clean-shaven head. As the widow
stepped on the stage, the student crowding the galleries started hooting and
shout-ing. This outburst of misbehavior hurt Ramabai's feelings deeply. As she
stood upon the stage towards the end of the function to give a brief thanksgiving
speech, she was so provoked that she could not help chastising the student
crowd with all the severity at her command: "You are college students and
yet how can you be regarded as educated? How can those be considered as
educated who not only do not extend sympathy to their unfortunate sisters who
have fallen victims to cruel fate and merciless social customs, but find it fit
to heap ridicule on them. Every one of you probably has some unfortunate widow
sheltered under your roof, may be your sister, cousin or aunt or even your own
mother. If you had kept this in mind you would not have misbehaved the way you
did". These were sharp, stinging words striking the students like a
whiplash. There was pin drop silence. It was a triumph of Ramabais powerful and
spellbinding personality. She worked relentlessly against the system of child
marriage. All these efforts took shape in establishing the Seva Sadan Society
inBombay, which substituted as a
home for a number of distressed women. She started Pune Seva Sadan Society in
her own ancestral house. This later developed into an institution offering a
number of facilities like hostels, training colleges, vocational centers,
selling centers etc. Ramabais fame became synonymous with Seva Sadan. This was her great-est
contribution to the welfare of middle class women. Ramabai participated in the
War Conference and spoke to the Governor on behalf of Indian women. She also
fought for the cause of Indian labour in Fiji and Kenya. She even worked for
women's right to franchise. Everyone adored her, but she was modest to call
herself a shadow of her husband. .[5]
In her honor, the Indian
Post issued a Postage stamp picturing Ramabai on 15 August 1962, in her birth
centenary year for her great contribution towards the Indian society.
Started from March 2012,
a television series on Zee Marathi named Uncha maaza zoka (roughly translated as
'Dream big in life and thrive for it') is based on life of Ramabai's life, her
development as a woman right activist. [6] This series is
critically acclaimed and celebrated throughout Maharashtra.
References
1.
Indian Society and Social Institutions - N. Jayapalan - Google
Books. Books.google.co.in.
Retrieved 2012-08-13.
2.
Women and Social Reform in Modern India: A Reader - Sumit
Sarkar, Tanika Sarkar - Google Books.
Books.google.co.in. Retrieved 2012-08-13.
3.
"Diamond
Maharashtra Sankritikosh", Durga Dixit, Pune, India, Diamond Publications,
2009, p. 40. ISBN 978-81-8483-080-4.
4.
The Emergence of Feminism in India, 1850-1920 - Padma Anagol -
Google Books. Books.google.co.in.
Retrieved 2012-08-13.
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