Hello all,
Today I would like to share the stories of two real-life couples where the husband was responsible for educating his wife.
Ramabai and Mahadev Ranade: Mahadev Govind Ranade (18 January 1842 – 16 January 1901) was an Indian scholar, social reformer, judge and author. He was one of the founding members of the Indian National Congress party and owned several designations as member of the Bombay legislative council, member of the finance committee at the center, and judge of the Bombay High Court, Maharashtra. Ranade was a social activist whose whose and activities were deeply influenced by western culture and the colonial state. His activities ranged from religious reform to public education to reform within the Indian family, and in every area, he was prone to see little virtue in Indian custom and tradition and to strive for re-forming the subject into the mould of what prevailed in the west. He himself summarised the mission of the Indian Social Reform Movement as being to "Humanize, Equalize and Spiritualize," the implication being that existing Indian society lacked these qualities.
Upon the death of his first wife, his co-reformers believed that he would marry a widow to defy social norms and promote remarriage for widows. However, under family pressure, he married the then 11 year old Ramabai (25 January 1863 – 25 January 1924) Ramabai was illiterate when she was married as she lived in a time when considered a sin for a girl to read or write.
Ramabai, soon after her marriage, started to learn reading and writing with strong support and encouragement from Mahadev Govind Ranade. Starting with her native language Marathi, she strove hard to master English and Bengali. Justice Ranade also gave regular lessons to young Ramabai in History, Geography, Mathematics and English. He used to make her read all newspapers and discuss current affairs with him.
Ramabai's important literary contribution is her autobiography Amachya Ayushyatil Athavani in Marathi 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 lived 24 years after her husband's 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
A television series on Zee Marathi named Unch Maaza Zoka (roughly translated as 'my swing flies high', with an implication of 'Dream big in life and strive for it') based on Ramabai's life and her development as a 'women's rights' activist was telecast in March 2012.
Anandibai and Gopalrao Joshi: Anandibai was married at the age of nine to Gopalrao Joshi, a widower almost 20 years older. Gopalrao was a Postal clerk who supported education in women and insisted that Anandibai learn to read and write. After the death of their 10 day old son due to lack of neonatal care, Anandibai was inspired to become a doctor. To help her achieve this goal, Gopalrao initially enrolled her in a Missionary school and later arranged for her to go to study medicine in the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania. She graduated with an MD in March 1886; the topic of her thesis was "Obstetrics among the Aryan Hindoos." The thesis utilized references from both Ayurvedic texts and American medical textbooks. On her graduation, Queen Victoria sent her a congratulatory message. Unfortunately Anandibai died early the next year due to tuberculosis.
In 2019, a Marathi film titled Anandi Gopal was released based on her life.
Please share of you have come across any other such couples in our history.
Thanks for reading! 😊
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