Empowering Women through Education

Gandhiji said, “Educate one man, you educate one person, but educate a woman and you educate a whole civilization”.

When I look at my Mother and my Aunts, and all the other Women in that age group in Dayalbagh (in their 70s now), what is striking is the level of Education each one has. Many hold Doctorates and I have to still find one who has not done a Bachelors.

According to the Indian Census data, Women’s Literacy in India in 1951 was 8.81% and in 1961 was 15.35%. In those years, for the purpose of Census, those who could read and write with understanding above the age of 5 (later changed to 7) were considered literate.

And at the same time, here was an Indian community in 1950s-60s, where 100% of the women were literate and close to 100% of the young girls of that time will later go on to do their Bachelors/ Masters or Doctorates.

In today’s post, we take a trip sixty years back in time to the 1950s, a time when 

Women in Dayalbagh got empowered through Education,

a cornerstone of a progressive civilization.

This post is by Dr. Dayal Pyari Singh, an alumnus of Prem Vidyalaya Girls Intermediate College, who did her B.A. and B.T. from Women’s Training College (WTC) of Dayalbagh in 1958-59, and went on to Head one of the largest Girl’s Post-Graduate Colleges in India, Maharani Laxmibai Girls Govt. (Autonomous) College, Bhopal.

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Dr. Dayal Pyari Singh writes…

Dayalbagh was founded on Basant Panchami day (20^th Jan) in 1915 by Revered Sir Anand Sarup, as an Ashram or the spiritual home for the followers of the Faith. On the very next day, was laid the foundation of the first building in Dayalbagh, which was for an educational institution, the Radhasoami Educational Institute (later Dayalbagh Educational Institute). There was no plan of the building. Revered Sir Anand Sarup drew a long line with His walking stick on the ground from south to north on the sandy soil, decked with thorny bushy shrubs of xerophytic plants, parallel to the Poiya Ghat Road (which leads to the Yamuna Banks in Agra).¹

The straight line took shape, under the able supervision of Revered Mehtaji Maharaj, into a colossal structure with huge Gothic arches of red bricks merging into the crimson rays of the sun.

The education system right from the beginning (1^st January 1917) had several distinguishing features, and reflected the glorious vision of the Founding Father. One of the forward thinking one was starting of co-educational classes up to class V right from the first day. At a time when girls were reluctantly sent even to purely girls’ schools, this was perhaps the only school in the country having co-educational classes.

On October 14, 1918, an extraordinary meeting of the Radhasoami Satsang Sabha passed a resolution which made Primary Education compulsory for boys and girls residing in Dayalbagh (literacy rate in India, i.e. reading and writing with comprehension was about 1.5% for women at that time). It was also resolved to open a girls’ school in the same meeting.

Revered Sir Anand Sarup was a great believer in the power and influence of women in moulding the character of their children. He asserted, “It is really the women on whom rests the mental, moral and spiritual development of the coming generation”. He further explained, “We understand very well that as long as girls are not properly brought up and their education is not properly arranged, the Satsang community cannot progress as much as we want”.

He stated that “…progress of India mainly depends on women. I wish that the Satsangis pay special attention to this matter and make proper arrangements for the education of their daughters and sisters”.

With this context, Prem Vidyalaya, a Middle school for girls, was started in 1930 and raised to High School standard four years later and to the Intermediate standard in 1939.

Revered Mehtaji Maharaj further summed up the motivation for Women’s education thus, “India expects her women folk to kindle the flame of learning within themselves so they could shed light and lustre around to dispel darkness prevailing in this world of ignorance, hate and strife”.

In 1947, on the occasion of the inauguration of the Women’s Training College, Revered Mehtaji Maharaj said, “The Women’s Training College has been started by the Managing Committee of REI to provide professional training to the young lady graduates… I trust that educated young ladies will set a correct example of womanhood in their homes and outside… India is now free and will require a host of dedicated workers in every field of activity, one of the important being the role of teachers…”.

I was born in the district of Banda where girls education was provided up to High school level in a Government school. In 1954, my parents shifted us (sisters and brother) to Dayalbagh, where the facilities for education were inclusive and wholesome, the environment was safe and high values and ideals were followed and inculcated.

When my sisters and I shifted to Dayalbagh, there was already special emphasis in Dayalbagh on education of the girl child, irrespective of class, creed, caste or status. The environment ensured that every girl child got wholesome education. Prem Vidyalaya and Women’s Training College played vital roles in providing a platform for empowering the girl. These institutions believed in holistic development of the girl child and this attracted students from nearby cities and states. The staff was highly qualified and motivated creating an atmosphere congenial for learning. Special scholarships were awarded to deserving students. Uniforms were supplied to ameliorate status differences. We enjoyed fresh pollution free air, working in the fields every morning in the serene and calm atmosphere of Dayalbagh.

Another interesting aspect was the focus on vocational education and this helped me, my sisters and other students to get suitable jobs, many of them going on to become top educationists.

Cultural programmes presented by the college were of high standard and we had the privilege of representing Agra University and participating in Youth Festival organized in Talkatora grounds in Delhi and being invited in a “at home” at President’s house and Teen Murti Bhavan.

Sports formed an integral part of Women's education with Volleyball, Kho-Kho and Kabaddi as the primary sports. There was also a National Cadet Corps (NCC) wing, with girls participating in Rifle Shooting and parades every Sunday.

For us when we completed our formal education at Dayalbagh and were ready for the world, our motto was, in the words of Revered Sir Anand Sarup, “…go from this arena to the wider arena of the world with heart within and God overhead, to meet the exigencies of life…”.

Th tradition of Women's Education in Dayalbagh continues...

References:

1. Many of the excerpts and data are from “Progress of Education in Dayalbagh – Basant 1915 – Basant 2005”