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By:

Commodore S.L. Deshmukh

31 October 2024 at 3:00:19 am

The Revolution That Never Stopped

In 1896, when Dhondo Keshav Karve founded the Maharshi Karve Stree Shikshan Samstha (MKSSS) in Pune, the idea of educating women was not merely unconventional but an act of social rebellion. Karve’s radical yet simple conviction was by educating a woman, you altered not merely an individual life but the destiny of generations. More than 125 years later, that conviction has expanded. Social Mobility Today, MKSSS encompasses more than 65 institutions, ranging from schools and engineering...

The Revolution That Never Stopped

In 1896, when Dhondo Keshav Karve founded the Maharshi Karve Stree Shikshan Samstha (MKSSS) in Pune, the idea of educating women was not merely unconventional but an act of social rebellion. Karve’s radical yet simple conviction was by educating a woman, you altered not merely an individual life but the destiny of generations. More than 125 years later, that conviction has expanded. Social Mobility Today, MKSSS encompasses more than 65 institutions, ranging from schools and engineering colleges to vocational training centres, nursing institutes, hostels for working women and teacher-training academies. Yet its significance lies not in the scale of its infrastructure but in the philosophy that binds it together. It views education not as a degree to be acquired but as an instrument of economic independence, dignity and social mobility. The organisation understood long before policymakers did that educational inequality begins early. Its network of pre-primary, primary and higher secondary schools spread across Pune, Satara and Wai, focuses particularly on girls from rural backgrounds, while its English-medium schools seek to equip students with the confidence and skills demanded by an increasingly competitive world. Education here is conceived not merely as classroom instruction but as character formation. Its commitment extends even to communities that often remain invisible in discussions of educational reform. The tribal Ashram School at Kamshet provides quality education to tribal boys and girls, with enrolment steadily rising over the years. In regions where educational access has historically been patchy, such institutions often represent the only bridge between marginalisation and opportunity. MKSSS has deliberately diversified beyond conventional disciplines. It operates institutions specialising in architecture, management, fashion technology, nursing, computer applications, arts and sciences. Its greatest milestone came in 1991 with the establishment of Cummins College of Engineering for Women - the first all-women engineering college in India - created with support from the Cummins Diesel India Foundation. At a time when engineering classrooms were overwhelmingly male, the college quietly demonstrated that talent required opportunity, not permission. That philosophy has become even more relevant in an economy increasingly shaped by technology and specialised skills. Perhaps nowhere is this more evident than at the Manilal Nanavati Vocational Training Institute (MNVTI), established in 1995. Long before “skill development” became fashionable government vocabulary, MNVTI recognised that employability depended on practical competence as much as academic qualifications. The institute offers industry-oriented programmes spanning computer technology, interior design, fashion design, cosmetology, hospitality and culinary arts, alongside online courses that extend its reach into remote areas. Students benefit from workshops, industrial visits, entrepreneurship projects and placement assistance, ensuring that education translates into livelihoods rather than certificates gathering dust. Safe hostel accommodation enables young women from distant regions to pursue education without compromising security, a factor often overlooked in discussions about female participation in higher education. Statistics alone, however, rarely capture institutional impact. Consider the story of Pavitra Gowda. Married immediately after completing Class 10, she returned to her parental home with a young daughter after enduring domestic abuse. With little education and mounting financial pressures, domestic work became her only source of income. Recognising both her predicament and her potential, MNVTI waived its qualification requirements and admitted her to a one-year cosmetology course. Today she owns three salons in Pune. Her transformation illustrates what genuine empowerment looks like. MKSSS complements these efforts with teacher-training institutes, a skill development centre, a women’s studies centre and even an old-age home, reflecting an understanding that social reform cannot be confined to classrooms alone. It requires ecosystems that nurture women at every stage of life. Yet institutions of this kind face an enduring paradox. Their social value is immense, but their financial resources are often fragile. Government assistance covers only part of the costs. Much of their work continues because individuals and philanthropists believe that investing in education yields the highest social returns imaginable. India often celebrates unicorns and startup founders as symbols of national progress. But the country’s real transformation has always depended on quieter revolutions taking place inside classrooms where girls acquire confidence, skills and independence. Maharshi Karve planted the seed of one such revolution in 1896. More than a century later, MKSSS continues to demonstrate that the finest monument to a visionary is not a statue or a memorial, but an institution that continues changing lives long after its founder has gone. (The writer is a retired naval aviation officer and a defence and geopolitical analyst. Views personal.)

Unrest within Mahayuti

Updated: Jan 21, 2025

Mahayuti

Mumbai: The state administration on Sunday stalled the appointments of guardian ministers in Raigad and Nashik districts. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had cleared the appointments before he left for Davos in Switzerland to attend the World Economic Forum on Saturday. They are believed to have been stalled on behest of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who heads the state in absence of the Chief Minister.


NCP’s Aditi Tatkare and BJP’s Girish Mahajan were entrusted with responsibilities of guardian minister for the Raigad and Nashik districts respectively, where Shiv Sena’s Bharat Gogawale and Dada Bhuse had staked claims. Gogawale is a first-time minister while, Bhuse had been the guardian minister of the district during previous government under Eknath Shinde.


Shiv Sena, NCP and BJP all the three constituents of Mahayuti have strong roots in both the districts. However, the Shiv Sena and the NCP had been particularly on loggerheads there. The Shiv Sena, which had been demanding the guardian minister’s post in Nashik district has managed to win only two assembly seats in the district where the NCP has Six and the BJP has Five MLAs. On the contrary, in Raigad the NCP has won only one seat while the Shiv Sena and the BJP both have Three MLAs each in the district.


Sunil Tatkare, MP from Raigad Lok Sabha constituency and the stat unit president of the NCP and father of Aditi Tatkare, had been the guardian minister of Raigad between 2004 and 2014. Gogawale had always been his political opponent before Tatkare joined the Mahayuti government under Ajit Pawar’s leadership in 2023. Gogawale claimed that all the Six Shiv Sena-BJP MLAs in the district had opined in his favour to be the guardian minister of the district and after the decision to appoint Aditi Tatkare was announced, his supporters resorted to violent protests. They burnt tyres in bid to stall traffic on highway in the district. Reacting to the developments, Tatkare said that the issue should be pondered over after CM Fadnavis returns from Davos on Saturday and settled amicably.


In Nashik Girish Mahajan had been the guardian minister of the district between 2014 and 2019 when Fadnavis was the Chief Minister.


The post of guardian minister doesn’t have any constitutional mandate and is considered to be a political appointment. Guardian ministers head the district planning and development councils (DPDC) that control the funds for development works being carried out in the particular district. This control wields much of political power to the minister in that district whereby spreading the party in the district becomes much easier. This is the reason why the grass root politicians seem to be very sensitive to such appointments.


While Gogawale and Bhuse are unhappy about not being appointed as guardian ministers, some others like NCP’s Hasan Mushrif and BJP’s Pankaja Munde are unhappy about not being appointed as guardian district in their home districts of Kolhapur and Beed respectively. DCM Shinde is learnt to have gone to his ancestral village Dare in Satara district after the decision and BJP’s firefighters Chandrashekhar Bawankule and Girish Mahajan are expected to meet him there to try finding a way out of the issue.

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