Pandita Ramabai Sarasvati
Pandita Ramabai Sarasvati, 1858-1922, Sanskrit scholar, educationist and Christian Missionary. Daughter of Anant Shastri Dongre, a reputed Sanskrit scholar, she had a miserable Childhood following the death of her parents and a sister in the famine of 1874, and only her brother was left alive. She won wide acclaim as a Sanskrit scholar, and was awarded the title of Pandita and Saraswati at Calcutta, where she came with her brother in 1878. Following the death of her brother (1RFO) she married Bipin Behari Das but was widowed in 1882. She came to Pune, and with the help of reformers like Ranade and Bhandarkar, started a society for women. She also came in contact with Christian missionaries, who sent her to England in 1853 where she became a Christian and repudiated Hinduism. On return to India she established Sharada Sadan and a school at Bombay, which were later shifted to Pune. However her proselytizing activities for Christianity leading to the conversion of some of the inmates made her unpopular. She was vehemently attacked by Tilak, and most of her supporters left her. Nevertheless, she carried on her activities, and did yeoman service during the famine of 1896.
