Defence
The Mahakali Pathshala, a school for girls in Calcutta founded in 1893 to give education based on Indian traditions, was started by:
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Answer: Option A — Mataji Maharani Tapaswini
Detailed Solution
The Mahakali Pathshala was founded in Calcutta in 1893 by Mataji Maharani Tapaswini, to give girls an education based on Indian religious and cultural traditions.
About Mataji Maharani Tapaswini:
- Her original name was Gangabai; she is believed to have been a niece of Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi.
- She was born in Maharashtra, and was widowed at a young age.
- She is said to have taken part in the Revolt of 1857, and then went into exile in Nepal, where she spent many years as an ascetic.
- She later came to Calcutta and devoted herself to education and the service of society.
About the Mahakali Pathshala:
- It was founded in 1893 in Calcutta.
- It was meant to give an education to girls that was rooted in Hindu religious values and Indian culture, rather than a purely Western education.
- It taught subjects such as religion, Sanskrit, Bengali, history, needlework and household management.
- It grew into a network of schools in Calcutta and other parts of Bengal and northern India.
- It was supported by many prominent people of Bengal.
Significance:
- It was one of the early institutions for the education of girls founded by an Indian woman.
- It showed the growing interest in women's education, combined with a desire to preserve Indian traditions.
Other women educators of the period:
- Sister Nivedita (Margaret Noble), a disciple of Swami Vivekananda, opened a school for girls in Calcutta in 1898.
- Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain founded the Sakhawat Memorial Girls' School in Calcutta (1911), for Muslim girls.
- Swarnakumari Devi, the sister of Rabindranath Tagore, founded the Sakhi Samiti (1886) for the education and welfare of widows.
- Pandita Ramabai founded the Sharada Sadan (1889) for widows in Bombay and Poona.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Sister Nivedita, Begum Rokeya and Swarnakumari Devi founded other schools and organisations for women.
Quick tip
Remember: Mahakali Pathshala (Calcutta, 1893) = Mataji Maharani Tapaswini (said to be a niece of Rani Lakshmibai); Sister Nivedita's school (1898).
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Socio-Religious Reform Movements — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Socio-Religious Reform Movements, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
In the 19th century, reformers worked to remove social evils and revive Indian society. This topic covers organisations such as the Brahmo Samaj, Arya Samaj, Prarthana Samaj, Ramakrishna Mission, Theosophical Society, Satyashodhak Samaj and the Aligarh Movement, along with their founders and the social reforms they achieved. Questions usually ask who founded an organisation and when, or which reformer is linked to a reform. For example, Raja Ram Mohan Roy founded the Brahmo Samaj and campaigned against sati, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar championed widow remarriage, and Jyotiba Phule founded the Satyashodhak Samaj. A table of organisation, founder, year and place covers most questions. Practise the socio-religious reform movements questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.