Mumbai, June 27 (IANS) The Maharashtra Congress has urged President Droupadi Murmu to confer the Bharat Ratna on legendary social reformer Chhatrapati Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj and India’s first Muslim woman teacher Fatima Sheikh.
In a letter to the President on Wednesday, state Congress Working President M. Arif Naseem Khan said that the two iconic personalities had initiated massive social reforms in that era for all sections of the people, and their trailblazing efforts are remembered even now.
Today (June 26) is the 150th birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj (1874-1922) of Kolhapur and next October will mark the start of the 125th death anniversary year of Fatima Sheikh (1831-1900) — a close associate of the pioneer in women’s education, Savitribai Jyotiba Phule.
Khan said that the Chhatrapati had introduced the first reservations for the backward classes, opened free schools and hostels to impart proper education for the poor and also ensured that they got gainful employment after education.
He was also the first king who translated the Holy Quran into the Marathi language and built boarding schools for Muslim students in his kingdom, said Khan.
Sheikh had worked closely with Jyotirao Phule and Savitribai Phule at India’s first school for girls launched at Bhidewada in Pune on January 1, 1848, and later taught at all the five schools the Phule couple set up in the state, including two in Mumbai.
The former minister said that the government should recognise the sterling contributions of these two historical personalities by conferring them with the country’s highest civilian honour, and inspire future generations.
Khan has also marked copies of the letter to the President to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge.
–IANS
qn/sha
Disclaimer
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by BhaskarLive.in and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of BhaskarLive.in We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, BhaskarLive.in takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
For any legal details or query please visit original source link given with news or click on Go to Source.
Our translation service aims to offer the most accurate translation possible and we rarely experience any issues with news post. However, as the translation is carried out by third part tool there is a possibility for error to cause the occasional inaccuracy. We therefore require you to accept this disclaimer before confirming any translation news with us.
If you are not willing to accept this disclaimer then we recommend reading news post in its original language.
