When India is undergoing a most tempestuous socio-political transition, the plans to immortalize as many as ten legendary women by setting up academic chairs in honor of them are like bright sunrays penetrating through floating clouds. The Ministry of Women and Child Development has announced to incept 10 chairs to etch eminent women achievers in different walks of life, in the memory of next generations.
The women-centric academic chairs in universities will, reportedly, be named after the first Indian female physician Anandibai Gopalrao Joshi, Carnatic singer MS Subbulakshmi, Maratha queen Devi Ahilyabai Holkar, freedom fighter Mahadevi Verma, mathematician Lilavati, reforming Hansa Mehta, wildlife conservationist Amrita Devi, biochemist Kamala Sohonie, Naga freedom fighter Rani Gaidinliu, and Kashmiri poet Lalleshwari.
Nature Conservationist Amrita Devi
One of the university chairs will be set up in honor of Amrita Devi Beniwal who led Jodhpur’s Bishnoi community against the Maharaja of Marwar’s unjust act of felling trees in 1730, two centuries before Uttarakhand’s Chipko Movement. A member of the Bishnoi community of Khejarli in Rajasthan, Amrita Devi Beniwal along with her three daughters sacrificed her life to prevent the felling of trees which, otherwise, would have burned to produce lime for use in the construction of a new palace. Furthermore, 363 Bishnois died in the Khejarli massacre.
Maratha Queen Devi Ahilyabai Holkar
The upcoming ten academic chairs include one dedicated to Devi Ahilyabai Holkar, the ruler of Malwa in the Maratha kingdom. Popularly known as Rajmata Ahilyabai, she was stopped from committing sati on the funeral pyre of her husband by her father-in-law who had immense trust in her leadership and her traits of a ruler. Despite objection from all quarters, she took reigns of Malwa and continued to rule the province in a noble manner. Devi Ahilyabai Holkar’s achievements include the transformation of Indore from a quaint village to a prosperous city. To honor her contributions, Indore Airport was named Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Airport.
First Female Physician Anandibai Joshi
Anandibai Gopalrao Joshi, India’s first female physician with a degree in western medicine from the United States, is one of the ten women selected for new chairs in universities across India. The demise of her son in ten days of his birth owing to want of medical care motivated her to study medicine and become a physician when girls’ education was unthinkable. She had started her journey to New York from Calcutta where she learned to speak English and Sanskrit. Anandibai Joshi graduated from Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania. The then orthodox Indian society did not spare her from brickbats for her decision to study abroad.
Poet and Freedom Fighter Mahadevi Verma
Mahadevi Verma, a renowned Hindi poet, educationist, freedom fighter and Gandhian, is honored with one of the academic chairs in universities. Born in 1907, she was nicknamed ‘modern Meera’. Her grandfather wanted to see her as a scholar though schooling of girls was a taboo in those days. She started teaching at village schools near Allahabad after her husband deserted her for her not-so-good looks. Mahadevi Verma participated in Gandhi’s civil disobedience campaigns by adopting the Gandhian way of life; she started wearing Khadi and stopped speaking in English. She was honored with Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan, Sahitya Akademi Award, and Jnanpith Award.
Carnatic Vocalist MS Subbulakshmi
One of the proposed university chairs will be established in the memory of MS Subbulakshmi, a legendary Carnatic vocalist. She was the first Indian musician to receive the Bharat Ratna, the Ramon Magsaysay Award, and perform in the 1966 UN General Assembly. Since her first performance that took place at Rockfort Temple in Tiruchirappalli when she was only 11, there was no looking back. Her performances at Carnegie Hall in New York, Royal Albert Hall in London, and the Festival of India in Moscow were some of the historic milestones in her career. Alongside taking Carnatic music to global heights from the confines of Chennai (then Madras), she played lead roles in a few Tamil films, including Meera, Sakuntalai, and Savithiri.
