User:Bonhomie1/Vidyaben Shah

Vidyaben Shah (Hindi: विद्यावेन शाह, Gujarati: વિદ્યાબેન શાહ) is a leading Indian social worker and activist known for her work with children, women and the elderly in India. She was appointed the first non-officio President of the New Delhi Municipal Committee (NDMC) by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1975. She has held several leading positions in the field of social welfare since the 1940s.

Early years and background

Born in the small village of Jetpur, Gujarat, daughter of a school teacher, at a young age when she was a university student she participated in the Quit India Movement under the guidance of Mahatma Gandhi. As there was no college in her parents' town, she left home in 1942 to study for a B.A. in Economics, and later continued to study for an M.A. Since 1942, she has been one of India’s leading activists in the field of child welfare. She has been associated with a large number of organisations working for Child Welfare, Education, Women and Family Welfare, Civic Administration, Fine Arts and Culture, Welfare of the Disabled, Senior Citizens and a number of other social and relief work activities. She has also received numerous awards for her distinguished work, including the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 1992.

In 1940 she met her would be husband Manubhai Shah who went on to become a Union Minister in the governments of Jawahar Lal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri and Indira Gandhi. Manubhai was also an active Freedom Fighter. Due to the Indian Freedom Movement, their marriage was delayed as Manubhai was imprisoned by the British. They have one daugther and three sons.

Career

Child Welfare

A pioneer in the field of Child Welfare, Behnji or Vidyaben, as she is affectionately known, laid the foundation of the Bal Bhawan movement by establishing the first ever Bal Bhawan in Rajkot, which was to become a harbinger of the entire Bal Bhawan Movement in India. In 1948, she was appointed the first Honorary Magistrate for Juvenile Courts in Rajkot, a post she held for 8 years. In 1956, when her husband transferred to New Delhi to join the Cabinet of Pandit Nehru, she brought her activism to Delhi. Since 1956, she was actively associated for four decades in New Delhi with Bal Sahyog, a unique institution established by Indira Gandhi for the rehabilitation of vagrant children.

She was President of the Indian Council for Child Welfare (ICCW) for nine years; ICCW is the single largest institution in India working for the welfare of children. She was the Chairperson of the Christian Children’s Fund Advisory Board for five years.

Women's Welfare

Her involvement with women’s issues dates back to her college days, where she set up the first craft centre for underprivileged women in Saurashtra. The Government of India appointed her as the Chairperson of the Central Social Welfare Board (CSWB) in 1995 for three years, during which time she initiated many path-breaking programmes to revive this premier institution to its old glory. A brainchild of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Durgabai Deshmukh, CSWB was set up by an Act of Parliament in August 1953. CSWB has been implementing various programmes for the welfare of women and children through its network of over 20,000 NGOs spread all over the country. During her tenure, Vidyaben expanded the programmes of Family Counselling Centres (FCC), Working Women’s Hostels (WWH), Vocational Training Programme and Creches. She set targets of providing support for at least one FCC and one WWH per district in the country.

Welfare of Gujaratis in Delhi

She was founder President of Delhi Gujarati Samaj for 40 years since 1960, playing a formative role in developing the multifarious activities for the Gujaratis of Delhi. Under her Presidentship, the Gujarati Samaj started a Higher Secondary School in Delhi, where over 1000 students pay very nominal fees. Jawahar Lal Nehru laid the foundation of the school. One of the most popular initiatives of the Samaj under Vidyaben’s leadership was the development of the Sardar Vallabhbhai Bhavan (a hospitable guest house for economically weaker sections and students coming from outside Delhi). Vidyaben also pioneered the setting up of the Mahatma Gandhi Sanskrutik Kendra in the 1970s for facilitating cultural exchange between the people of Delhi.

Education

She played a leading role in the establishment of one of Delhi’s most renowned schools, Sardar Patel Vidyalaya. For many years, she was President of the SPV Board of Trustees. For several years, she was also a member of the Managing Committees of Modern School, Barakhamba Road and Vasant Vihar and the Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan.

Institution Builder in Fine Arts and Culture

Vidyaben played the most pioneering role in the establishment of the Triveni Kala Sangam, a premier institution for imparting training in dance, music and painting. She did most of the fund raising for the construction of this renowned institution and has been President of the Triveni Kala Sangam for over five decades, while the institution is very ably run by its Founder Director Sundari Shridharani.

Civic Administration

As President of NDMC Vidyaben was instrumental in starting a large number of projects for the amelioration of the economically weaker sections of the Delhi society, particularly slum children and women. These projects include home for destitute children, home for abandoned children, hostels for working women, and the rehabilitation centre for the mentally challenged among others. She was responsible for initiating the concept of Navyug Schools – that has proved a landmark in the educational field for gifted children from the weaker sections of the society. She also worked to improve the civic amenities of a rapidly growing metropolitan area of Delhi, to beautify it and make life comfortable for the citizens of Delhi. At the same time, she took up modernisation initiatives such as establishing a new office complex for the NDMC, housing blocks for its employees, and many commercial and shopping complexes.

Social Activism

Vidyaben used her fund-raising skills in providing relief in many national calamities, such as Bihar floods and Andhra cyclone of the 1970s and Gujarat floods of the early 1980s. She also led peace marches from area to area at the outbreak of arson and riots in Delhi following the assassination of Indira Gandhi. After the post-Godhra riots in Gujarat, disregarding her advancing years, at the request of Sonia Gandhi, she went from district to district, to spread the message of peace and communal harmony in Gujarat.

Various other sectors

Vidyaben continues to be Trustee of the Hellen Keller Trust for the Blind, Deaf and Dumb in India. Between 1990-96, she was the President of the Delhi State Branch of the Bharat Scouts and Guides, an organisation devoted to the cause of national reconstruction. During the International Year of the Youth, the organisation did remarkable constructive work under her able leadership. In 2005, she was nominated on the Committee of Ethics on Research on Cardiac Disorders by the Indian Council for Medical Research.

Since the 1990s, she continues to be an active President of the Senior Citizens Service Forum which is a member of the State Council for Senior Citizens as well as a member of the National Council for Elder Persons set up by the Indian Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. In 2007 she was invited to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment to examine the “Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Bill 2007”. Currently she is also Chairperson of the Bhagidari Scheme of the Delhi Government and a Vishishtha Sahayogi of an Electricity Board in Delhi.

Awards

1976 Best Social Worker Award, Federation of Organisations Working for Children in India

1986 The National Award of the Government of India for outstanding services in the field of Child Welfare

1987 Bal Mitra Award by Nehru Bal Samiti for significant work towards welfare of children

1988 Bal Sahyog Award from the United Children Movement in recognition of outstanding services in the welfare of children in India

1989 Nehru Fellow Award for outstanding achievements in field of child welfare activities

1992 Padma Shri, Government of India

1994 N V Gadgil Award for distinguished social service

1996 Silver Elephant Award, the highest award of the Scouts and Guides Movement by the President of India

1998 Samaj Sewa Shiromani Award from the Family Planning Association of India, New Delhi, for distinguished services in family planning

1999 Radha Raman Award for outstanding contribution to Delhi and its people in the field of Child Welfare and Social Work

2000 Vishwa Gurjari Award for significant contribution in the field of women’s development, educational enhancement and welfare

2000 Shatabdi Mahila (woman of the century) Award for Social Work spanning the entire lifetime

2001 The Millennium Award from the All India Kitchen Garden Association for contributing to a green and clean environment

2001 Honoured by the Swatantrata Andolan Yaadgaar Samiti for valuable contribution to the freedom struggle

2002 Plaque of Honour of Indian Council of Child Welfare for 50 Golden Years of Service to the Children of India presented by Sonia Gandhi

2005 Delhi Hindi Sahitya Sammelan Evam Chitra Kala Sangam Award on the International Women’s Day

2006 Kalpana Chawla Women Excellence Award for excellence in the field of social service

2007 Freedom Fighter Award by Government of India (at August Kranti Maidan, commemorating 65 years of Quit India Movement)

2007 Salutation (Samman Patra) as Freedom Fighter on the 150th Anniversary of the First War of Independence by the Government of Delhi

2007 Distinguished Senior Citizen Award, Shri Delhi Gujarati Samaj by Chief Minister of Delhi

2008 Freedom Fighter Award by President of India at Rashtrapati Bhavan

2009 National Priyadarshini Samman (in celebration of lifetime achievements and contributions) given by Guild for Service