Pandita Ramabai (1858-1922) A brief history

Pandita Ramabai was a social reformer who was passionate about Christ and passionate about woman. Ramabai was born in 1858 to a high caste  Brahmin Sanskrit  scholar, Anant Shastri Dongre. Her father breaking tradition, taught his wife and daughter, Pandita, the sacred languages 

The family traveled, Ramabai’s father teaching the Holy Scriptures for a living. Tragedy struck as her mother, father and sister all perished in the famine of 1877. Ramabai and her brother continued to travel and teach. Ramabai’s knowledge was so impressive that she was the first woman to be given the title Pandita and Saraswati, meaning wisdom. After the death of her brother, Ramabai married a Bengali lawyer below her caste and her husband soon died of cholera, leaving with her a baby daughter.

Ramabai’s travels throughout India made her aware of the terrible plight of woman in India. Many women were married as children to much older men and therefore were widowed and left without status or protection.

Ramabai soon became a leading advocate for the rights and welfare of woman in India. Trough her work she came into contact with Christians who paid for her to travel to England. There she was taken in by the sisters at St Mary’s Home in Wantage. The sisters taught her about Christ. Ramabai undertook serious study of the Bible and decided to be baptized.

On re-touring to India, she continued to study the Bible and accepted Christ as her personal Saviour, a moment she described as being shut up in a dark room and suddenly released into bright daylight. In 1889, she established Sharada Sadan, a school in Bombay for child widows. She promised not to pressure the girls to become Christians but she had daily devotions which the girls could choose to attend. Many of the girls became Christians.

In 1890, she moved the home to Pune. She purchased a farm outside Pune and in 1896, 300 girls were rescued from the Madhya Pradesh famine. During a plague outbreak in 1902, she moved Sharada Sadan to the farm property outside Pune. During a severe famine Ramabai toured the villages of Maharashtra with a caravan of bullock carts and rescued thousands of outcast children, child widows, orphans, and other destitute women and brought them to the shelter of Mukti and Sharada Sadan. By 1901 there were almost 2000 residents including those rescued from the Gujarat famine.

A learned woman knowing seven languages, she also translated the Bible into her mother tongue – Marathi – from the original Hebrew and Greek. She was the first native speaker to do so, not just the first woman. She died at Mukti in 1922 soon after completing the translation. She was awarded the Kaiser-I-Hind medal, the highest honour under the British Raj.  The Indian government released a stamp in 1989 commemorating  Pandita Ramabai’s work.

The  condition of child widows during Ramabai’s time was horrendous. I am sure your heart will be moved as you read the prayer of a child widow.

Mukti Today

Mukti Mission is standing as a BEACON OF LIGHT for the past 126 years. Very little has changed with regard to giving dignity to children and women since the inception of Mukti in 1889.  The trauma of victimized children and women who are unwanted and therefore abandoned still continues.  Mukti opens doors to wives deserted by society, children, flung off the railway tracks, some abandoned in secret places and some denied of their existence.  This story would break your heart :  

 A couple of months ago, a grandmother along with her daughter and granddaughter came to Mukti seeking help and guidance from us. The baby was one day old and born out of wedlock. The grandmother was in a distraught condition and did not know the way forward. She had told her husband that their daughter had a growing tumor in her tummy and it had to be operated. After counseling and calming them down, the grandmother and mother decided that the best option was to leave their little girl into the safe arms of Mukti Mission. In no way, could they take the child back home and shock the grandfather.  With tears in their eyes and with an aching heart, the two ladies handed over the precious bundle to us for care and safety.  Isaiah 49.15: “…Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you.”

From the Mission Director’s heart 

Dear like-minded friends sharing the same Vision:

In Mukti, there’s never a dull day. From dawn to dusk, many adventurous things take place. While I am quietly sitting at my desk, I would suddenly receive a call that there is someone at the door seeking help or there’s a family who is at the door to pour out their  blessings on us and so on. There could be shocking and dramatic news given to me that an intruder has encroached a piece of Mukti’s property. There could also be fantastic news that the long awaited registration is now in our hands and we have to go to the concerned office to collect it. 

The word 'Mukti' means 'freedom'. It’s my job to see that the women and children who enter the gates of Mukti find freedom and are able to transition from their horrible past to a life full of hope and a bright future. 

However in order to achieve my dreams, it is a big battle to face everyday. These precious words from 2 Chron.  20:17. “You do not have to fight this battle. Stand firm, take up your position and see the deliverance the Lord your God will give you today.” 

It is the Lord’s special anointing and amazing grace which is poured out on all of us we (the leadership team) have a share in the momentous task of taking Mukti forward in the 21st Century.

The Lord has enabled us to transition trough some of the valley experiences and the reproach we faced. Ezekiel 36:33-36 says, “In the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will also cause the waste places to be rebuilt. The desolate land shall be tilled and all those who pass by shall say, ‘This land that was desolated has become like the garden of Eden and the waste places fortified again.’ Then the nations around you shall know that I, the Lord have rebuilt the ruined places and replanted that wich was desolate.” The Lord’s promises will never return to us void and this is the proof:

  A big break- through in the farm/dairy

  A new Sunshine Nursing Home-as part of the Preventative Care Unit.

  Influx of new Indian donors with large gifts and numerous other testimonies.

I dream of the fire of Holy Spirit falling on Mukti as never seen before, and for India to know that the God of Ramabai is alive in our midst. The dream of seeing in reality an International School, new campsite, new construction of Sadans to give our women dignity and acceptance.

Thank you, dear people of God who labour and partner with us to continue the vision the Lord gave His servant Pandita Ramabai. I am confident that with your continued prayers and support, Mukti will continue to be a catalyst in the growth and development of every needy person who walks through our gates, seeking to find care and solace and eventually that they will find Jesus as their personal Saviour and Lord.

In closing, a visitor who recently came to Mukti blessed us by declaring, “This year and the coming years are going to be YEARS OF JUBILEE and the Lord is going to do extraordinary things in this place. “ Isn’t your partnership worthwhile?

Lorraine Francis

Missions Director, Pandita Ramabai 

Mukti Mission, Kedgaon

For the rest of my life, this is MY VISION:

I SEE MYSELF AS A VOICE TO THE VOICELESS, SERVING THE MASTER WITH EXCELLENCE AND UPRIGHTNESS OF HEART, MAKING USE OF EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO BRING A SPARK IN SOMEONE’S DARK WORLD.