New Vision

  When the first Englishman visited Leh, the capital of Ladakh in north-west India, in the early 19th century, he quickly recognized the region’s strategic significance. Not only was it an important conduit for trade with Central Asia, but its position on the frontier of India meant it could be used as “a strong outwork against an enemy from the north.” William Moorcroft, a veterinarian working for the East India Company, signed an agreement with the ruler of Ladakh in which the latter pledged allegiance to Britain in exchange for protection. The agreement, however, was repudiated by Moorcroft’s British masters who were unwilling to alienate the then-powerful Sikh empire that controlled neighboring Kashmir and claimed rights over Ladakh. Thus began more than a century of British ambivalence about Ladakh. It was a period in which imperial Britain wielded enormous power while also suffering from what Moorcroft complained was “ misplaced squeamishness and unnecessary tim...

  Whether you’re an introvert or an extrovert doesn’t say much about how outgoing you are – that’s a common misconception. “It’s definitely not about the shy versus confident idea,” explains Kyla Flanagan, an education researcher at the University of Calgary, Alberta, whose work has looked at how to ensure teaching methods are optimized for both introverted and extroverted students. “Instead, you should think about where you get your energy from – groups or solitude.” For example, someone who needs time to recuperate alone after a gathering is most likely an introvert, whether they enjoyed the party or not. Conversely, someone who leaves a get-together buoyant and enthused is probably an extrovert. “An introvert spends energy in a social group doing small talk whereas an extrovert thrives on that,” says Arnie Kozak, a psychologist and assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine. “The pandemic has favored introverts as a r...

  The first indigenously-run school for girls in Pune (at that time Poona) was started by Jyotirao and Savitribai in 1848 when the latter was still in her teens. Although they were ostracized by both family and community for this step, the resolute couple was given shelter by a friend Usman Sheikh and his sister Fatima Sheikh, who also gave the Phule couple place in their premises to start the school. Savitribai became the first teacher of the school. Jyotirao and Savitribai later started schools for children from the Mang and Mahar castes, who were regarded as untouchables. Three Phule schools were in operation in 1852. Report in ‘The Poona Observer’ on May 29, 1852: “The number of girl students in Jotirao’s school is ten times more than the number of boys studying in the government schools. This is because the system for teaching girls is far superior to what is available for boys in government schools. If this situation continues, then the girls from Jotirao’s school will prove ...

Savitribai was founder of modern women education in India. She struggled, criticized a lot in past. She not only fought for right education for girls but also for the right to dignity for widows, unwed mothers and women with unwanted pregnancies. She understood the importance of women education, even she understood the importance of knowing English. In spite of continuous harassment, she did not stop with her efforts. Many revolutions took place in the world like agricultural revolution, industrial revolution, information revolution, bio revolution but all these revolutions could not end the problems and sufferings of human being. She worked for the women when women were objects to be used, education for them was considered as a crime. She spoke against all boundaries because she was the woman of modern thoughts. She ignited many lives for which today’s women should be grateful. Today’s women tasting the fruit of that tree of education which was planted and nourished by Savitribal Phul...

 The Second letter is about a great social taboo – a love affair between a Brahman boy and an Untouchable girl; the cruel behavior of the ‘enraged’ villagers and how Savitribai stepped in. This intervention saves the lives of the lovers and she sends them away to the safety and caring support of her husband, Jyotiba. With the malevolent reality of honour killings in the India of 2016 and the hate-driven propaganda around ‘love jehad’ this letter is ever so relevant today. 29 August 1868 Naigaon, Peta Khandala Satara The Embodiment of Truth, My Lord Jotiba, c salutes you! I received your letter. We are fine here. I will come by the fifth of next month. Do not worry on this count. Meanwhile, a strange thing happened here. The story goes like this. One Ganesh, a Brahman, would go around villages, performing religious rites and telling people their fortunes. This was his bread and butter. Ganesh and a teenage girl named Sharja who is from the Mahar (untouchable) community fell in love....

Most of us are fairly familiar with the meaning of planning in our everyday life. We do often decide in advance about the things to be done on a busy working day. Parents make advance decisions on the education of their children. As students, you may think in advance how to go ahead with the preparation for your examination? How to make use of your time in the best possible manner and so on? Laymen understand planning as some systematic way of deciding about and doing things in a purposeful manner. However, in the context of formal organisations and their management, the concept of planning has a specific connotation. It means deciding in advance what is to be done in the future for a specific period and then taking the necessary steps to do the things decided upon. It means looking ahead into the future and trying to anticipate what is it likely to be, how will it affect the organisation, what direction the organisation should take, and how to cope with the future events? Planning als...

  Though Savitribai is primarily known as an educator, but she worked tirelessly to uplift and empower women and save them from sexual exploitation. She fought against misogyny and patriarchy, and became an inspiration for a whole generation of women leaders who fought for gender justice in Maharashtra— Dr Anandi Bai, Gopal Joshi, Pandita Ramabai, Tarabai Shinde, Ramabai Ranade and many others. In 1863, Jyotirao and Savitribai also started a care center called ‘Balhatya Pratibandhak Griha,’ possibly the first ever infanticide prohibition home founded in India. It was set up so that pregnant Brahmin widows and rape victims can deliver their children in a safe and secure place thus preventing the killing of widows as well as reducing the rate of infanticide. In the mid-1800s, there was a case of a widow who was arrested for killing her child born outside a marital relationship that she may have been forced into. Savitribai had heard of this incident and several other similar ones- wi...