In a letter to President on Wednesday, Maharashtra Congress has requested President to confer Bharat Ratna on social reformer Chhatrapati Shahu and social reformer and first Muslim teacher Fatima Sheikh.
State Congress Working President M. Arif Naseem Khan wrote that the two legendary figures started significant social changes for all societal segments during that time, and we remember their groundbreaking work even Today
Khan claimed that the Chhatrapati had established the first reservations for the underprivileged classes, established free schools and dormitories to provide the impoverished with a decent education, and made sure they found productive jobs following their education.
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According to Khan, he was also the first monarch to establish boarding schools for Muslim pupils in his realm and translate the Holy Quran into Marathi.
At India’s first school for females, which opened at Bhidewada in Pune on January 1, 1848, Sheikh had worked closely with Jyotirao and Savitribai Phule. Later, Sheikh taught at all five of the schools the Phule pair established in the state, including two in Mumbai.
The former minister stated that in order to recognise these two historical figures for their outstanding services and to motivate future generations, the government need to bestow upon them the nation’s highest civilian honour.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi have also received the copies of letter to the president annotated by Khan for Bharat Ratna to Shahu and Sheikh.
