Uttarakhand > Personalities of Uttarakhand - उत्तराखण्ड की महान/प्रसिद्ध विभूतियां

प्रसिद्ध उत्तराखंडी महिलाये एवम उनकी उपलब्धिया !!! FAMOUS UTTARAKHANDI WOMEN !!!

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एम.एस. मेहता /M S Mehta 9910532720:

Gaura Devi (1925-91)
 

Forest is like our mother's home. We will defend it - come what may." After Gandhi's Satyagrah, this housewife, born in Lata village in Chamoli, gave he next weapon, in the fight against state oppression - Chipko movement. Women's natural environment, which provides, fuel, fodder & water is under tremendous stress. Chipko literally means to hug a tree and die with it, if need be ! A long series of forest movements over last two centuries in Himalayas have been an assertion of usufructuous rights of the community to the forest. The State has tried to curtail it ever since the Raj days. The battle is on..

Source..
http://www.uttaranchal.org.uk/uww_wog.php

एम.एस. मेहता /M S Mehta 9910532720:
Tilaka Devi

Tilaka was the kind and obedient daughter of a farmer in Yamuna valley - 400 yrs ago. On the eve of her marriage her six brothers died. She too disappeared mysteriously. Then, her father realised that he had forgotten to keep his promise to the goddess made years ago, even before Tilaka's birth. The goddess herself had condescended to be born as his daughter. Tilaka, has been loved and worshipped as a goddess since then. Many of the goddesses & gods have human origin & temperament. They accompany the bride to the village where she is married, to protect her. They join villagers in celebrations & fights..
(Jaunpur ke lokdevta - Surendra Pundeer)

एम.एस. मेहता /M S Mehta 9910532720:
Ichhagiri Mai

Ichhagiri Mai alias Tinchari Mai (1912-92)
"Comissioner, send me to prison; I have burnt the liquor shop down. And I won't stop with this one..." The woman avenger - against liquor in Pauri Garhwal in 70-80s. Government earns considerable revenue by licensing country liquor shops in the hills. For men it is a cheap way of escapism. Finally it is women who have to pay the price in terms of violence, abuse and no money to run the household. Tinchari Mai was an illetrate sanyasini (nun).

एम.एस. मेहता /M S Mehta 9910532720:
Pratibha Naitthani

Pratiba Naitthani is an Indian professor and activist. She is known for opposing vulgarity and violence on Indian televisions.

Born in Mumbai,her family hails from Pauri Garhwal,Uttarakhand, Pratiba Natthani is currently based in Mumbai. She currently teaches political science at St. Xavier's College, Mumbai. Her father Professor Dr. Shahi Shekar Naitthani founded St. Xavier's Hindi department. Her campaign is to make media safe for children. She is best known for her Public Interest Ligitation (PIL) filed in the Bombay High Court against the broadcast of all Adult films and programmes on cable television. Due to her efforts, several international channels such as Star Movies, HBO, AXN, BBC and Fashion TV went off air as they were violating the programming code of India. The Information and Broadcasting Ministry and the High Court of Maharashtra legally support her PIL as the law provided that no Adult content can be shown on television 24 hours.

Though she has been given the title of moral police it is actually legal policing. She says that if a film is certified as Adult by the censor board, where by only adult can watch it in a closed theatre then how can the same films be shown on television which is watched by children as well? As per the laws any adult programme can not be shown on a public means. The channels showing violence and * in India blatantly violated Indian laws where as the same channels abided by the laws of other countries. In India their argument was that they are foreign channels and hence need not follow the Indian laws. Whereas her argument was that if the software is produced here, the sponsors are here and revenue is generated from here then how can it be foreign channel. Their argument also mentioned attacks on so called 'Freedom of Speech' and 'Freedom of the Press'. Her argument was that like other countries, India puts restrictions on these so called 'Fundamental Rights' when necessary and that all parties are expected to obey them. She also mentioned that being a foreign national does not give a licence to people to violate Indian laws then how can the channels give this lame argument?

Several channels and programs fall under this category:

-Explicitly *ual shows like AXN's "World's *iest Commercials." Content related to condoms was mentioned (a taboo in Indian society).
-Extremely violent cartoons like The Tom and Jerry Show.
-Highly graphic images of disasters broadcast by news channels.
-Cartoons encouraging degenerative traits like The Simpsons.
-Shows depicting homo*uality in a positive light like Will and Grace. Homo*uality is a punishable offence under Indian law.


Despite her best efforts, such programs are still broadcast.

In her PIL she had drawn the attention of the court not only towards the violation of the law but also towards the need to have an independent regualtory body for television and the down linking laws in place, similar to the colonial-era Ministry of Information. The court took note of the issue and directed the I & B ministry, censor board and the police to perform their duty and take necessary steps to bring things in order.

She has strived to shield the nations children from such degenerative influences. "Children and their parents cannot understand what is good and bad for themselves. If the government refuses to protect them, I am obliged to do so." she said at a press meeting in Mumbai (11/23/06).

Besides teaching in college, she has been taking up issues of welfare of women, children and tribals. In Mumbai she is a member of voluntary organisation of reconstructive and plastic surgeon Reconstructive Foundation, which offer free plastic and reconstructive surgery to primarily children and people from economically underprivileged section of our society. Besides she is also part of the struggle of tribals in Uttarakhand fighting for their traditional rights violated by the conservation policies of the state govt.

She is an active member of the Mumbai Local Anti-Sodomy Foundation, and has helped rehabilitate many such criminals under Section 377.

She is a Rajasthani folk singer and has album to her credit. She has been to 11 countries in the world as a cultural representative being a member of Rajasthani Ghoomar group for India. Along with the group she conducts workshops to promote Rajasthani songs, dance and culture.

She is also fond of travelling and trekking. She was among the first 7 women who went for the Nanda devi Raj jat, a pilgrimage of Nandadevi [Parvati] in Uttarakhand held once in 16 years. Since centuries women were not allowed to go for this pilgrimage which is 280 km long, going up 17.500 feet above sea level to be completed on foot in 22 days. When the pilgrimage began, she had to face resistance as women traditionally were never allowed to go for it. Without fighting she convinced the authorities to give her a fair chance and not to be biased as she is a woman. With her determination and efforts she has paved the way for future generation women to go for the pilgrimage.

She has been on trekking trips and has been to areas of Uttarakhand, Everest Base Camp etc. She among the few women who have done the route from Dehradoon to Leh Laddakh on Motorcycle.

She was among the 29 women selected by India Today in 2005 as Power Goddesses of India. Besides many awards for her contribution in the field of social service and media issues she has been awarded Pannadhai Awadrd by Maharana Mewar Foundation, Udaipur for going beyond the call of duty for social welfare.

एम.एस. मेहता /M S Mehta 9910532720:
Bachendri Pal

Bachendri Pal, born in 1954 in Nakuri village, Garhwal, India, is the first Indian woman (and the fifth in the world), to scale the Mt. Everest, the highest peak in the world. She scaled the peak on 23rd May 1984, and stood on the summit of Sagarmatha (the Nepali name for the Mt. Everest) at 1.07 p.m. IST, and remained there with one of her co-mountaineers, for 43 minutes.

Early life
Bachendri Pal was born into a family of very moderate means, in 1954, in a village named Nakuri in Garhwal. Her father, Kishan Singh Pal, was a small trader who used to carry provisions like wheat flour and rice from India to Tibet on mules and goats. Eventually he settled in Uttarkashi, where he married; the couple had five children, Bachendri being the middle one. Bachendri was an active child, and did well in her school; she excelled in sports too, and at the same time was singled out in school for punishments for a variety of petty misconducts.

Her first exposure to mountaineering was at the age of 12, when during a picnic she along with several schoolmates climbed a 13,123 feet high peak. They could not climb down as it had already become dark and had to spend the night at the peak without any food or cover. The experience remained ingrained in her memory, heightening her love for adventure and the mountains. Despite many constraints, she continued her schooling and completed it successfully. On being persuaded by the principal of her school, her parents sent her to college. She completed her graduation, becoming the first girl of her village to do so. While doing her graduation, she also secured the first position in a rifle shooting event, beating other boys and girls. She also completed university courses leading to securing an MA and a Bachelor's degree in education.

Her family was facing financial troubles and she wanted a job desperately. However, the offers coming to her were not of her choice. She shared with her parents her desire to become a professional mountaineer. The family was “devastated,” as for them, her relatives and local people, the most suitable job for a woman was teaching, not mountaineering.

However, Bachendri did not budge from her determination. She joined the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM). She was declared the best student and was considered as “Everest material”. In 1982, while at NIM, she climbed Gangotri I (21,900 ft) and Rudugaria (19,091 ft). Around that time, she got employment as an instructor at the National Adventure Foundation, which had set up an adventure school to train women to learn mountaineering.

The ascent
In 1984, India had scheduled its fourth expedition, christened “Everest ‘84’”, to the Mount Everest. Bachendri was selected as one of the members of the elite group of six Indian women and eleven men who were privileged to attempt an ascent to the Mount Everest, Sagarmatha in the Nepalese. The news made her filled with a sense of ecstasy and excitement. The elite team was flown to Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal in March 1984; and from there the team moved onwards. Recalling her first glimpse of the Mount Everest, Bachendri once reminisced: “We the hill people have always worshipped the mountains … my overpowering emotion at this awe-inspiring spectacle was, therefore, devotional.”

The team commenced its ascent in May, 1984. On the night of 15th-16th May, 1984, Bachendri and her tent mate were sleeping in one of the tents at Camp III at an altitude of about 24,000 feet. At around 00:30 hours (IST), at around 24,000 feet, she was jolted awake; something had hit her hard and she also heard a deafening sound; and at the same time she found herself being enveloped within a very cold mass of material. A serac on the Lhotse glacier, above the Camp III has slid down, and fallen on the camp raking havoc at the camp. Her tent mate using his knife could slash his way out of the mass of ice. He, thereafter, assisted Bachendri to dig her way out of the mess. Many members of the team were injured, and became unnerved; and they climbed down to the base camp. Despite an injury on her head, Bachendri chose to continue the ascent.

On 22nd May 1984, some other climbers joined the team to ascent the summit of the Mount Everest. Bachendri was the only woman in this group. They continued the ascent climbing “vertical sheets of frozen ice”, cold winds sometimes blowing at the speed of about 100 km per hour, temperatures touching below up to minus 30 to 40 degrees Celsius. On 23rd May 1984, Bachendri reached the summit of Mount Everest, and at 1:07 PM IST, she was standing at the peak (29,084 ft) along with one other climber. The peak was small to accommodate two persons; and there was a vertical drop of thousands of feet all around the peak. So they first made themselves secured by anchoring themselves by digging their ice axes into the snow.

Bachendri then sat on her knees, touched the summit with her head in the Hindu gesture of thanksgiving to the almighty; took an image of goddess Durga and a copy of Hanuman Chalisha (the Book of Forty Verses of Hanuman) and placed them in the snow. She remained on the summit for about 43 minutes, and took some photographs too. She became the first Indian woman to scale the Mount Everest, and the fifth women in the world.

She climbed down and reached the base camp safely. Her achievement brought her congratulations from many quarters across the world. In India, the President, the Prime Minister, and J. R. D. Tata congratulated her in person.

And beyond
She continued to be active after ascending the highest peak in the world. In 1985, She led an Indo-Nepalese Everest Expedition team comprising of only women. The expedition created seven world records and set benchmarks for Indian mountaineering. Nine years later, in 1994, she led an all women team of rafters. The team coursed through the waters of the river Ganges, covering 2,500 km from Haridwar to Kolkata.

Presently, she is working at a senior position in Tata Steel Adventure Foundation of the Tata Group. Her job includes training the management teams of the Tata Steel to build the team spirit through adventure activities like trekking and mountaineering; rowing and rafting; and spending time in camps and learning survival skills in difficult conditions.

Encapsulating the reasons of these adventure activities, she has once said: “Many people suffer from a misconception that mountaineering is just climbing and descending mountains with a rucksack. Well, it is much, much more. Any person who has had some experience in this will tell you how the adventure toughens a person, both mentally and physically. Both trekking and mountaineering are ideal and ultimate tests of human endurance. They teach you how to deal with critical situations; they force discipline and leadership qualities, humility, courage, self-respect, and self-confidence, besides bringing one in contact with people from different areas and different cultures.”


 

 

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