Press Release

HarperCollins India to Publish ‘Savitri and Fatima’ by Reeta Ramamurthy Gupta

HarperCollins India
is delighted to announce the acquisition of
SAVITRI AND FATIMA
BY REETA RAMAMURTHY GUPTA

About the Book
The book opens in 19th century Maharashtra and spans over four decades. We start in 1813, when the Charter Act allowed Christian missionaries into the country. We trace the end of the Peshwai and how the Marathas adapted to British rule. From here, we take the reader to the birth and upbringing of Savitri Phule and Fatima Shaikh, born just six days apart in January 1831. We delve into their childhood influences and the compunctions that shaped them.

Savitri eventually got married to Jyotirao Phule, a man who appreciated her thirst for learning. He taught her the basics of Marathi and was delighted to see that Savitri had no intentions of stopping there. He encouraged her to complete her education. It is on this quest for knowledge that Savitri met Fatima.

The duo first met while pursuing their teacher training course, where they became conversant in English. Jyotirao and Savitri started the first school (non-British, non-missionary) for girls in 1848. However, the powers that be were threatened by the couple’s ideals, instigating Jyotirao’s father and threatening him with dire consequences.

Eventually, the couple had to leave their home. They eventually found shelter in Fatima Shaikh’s house, where Fatima lived with her brother, Usman Shaikh, a textile merchant.

Living together deepened Savitri and Fatima’s friendship. They suffered physical and emotional violence every day, but persevered. At the time, Jyotirao Phule was a champion of social reform, aggressive about abolishing the caste system, Sati and other regressive customs. When Savitri wanted to support his vision, Fatima took over the running of the schools with the help of another common friend, Saraswati Govande. The women went on to train a number of teachers from within their student ranks. This enabled Savitri to take over other activities like starting a home for the prohibition of female infanticide, pioneering widow remarriage and inspiring more and more women and people from the lower castes to come forward and get educated. She also wrote poetry, with a view to awaken society.

Savitribai Phule’s name is counted among the top teachers across the world. Yet, her friendship with Fatima – her able deputy – and their work together remains unsung and unknown. They had a dream, ‘education for all,’ irrespective of caste, creed or religion. The spark lit by Savitri and Fatima had far-reaching consequences. As more and more Indians got educated, their minds opened up to the ideas of freedom, justice and liberty.

Reeta Ramamurthy Gupta says, ‘Today, on the 132nd death anniversary of Mahatma Jyotirao Phule, I am delighted to announce my second book with HarperCollins India, Savitri and Fatima. India’s earliest feminist icon and wife to Jyotirao Phule, every Indian woman, anywhere in the world, who can read and write, owes a debt of gratitude to Savitri Phule. She was the first non-missionary woman to open India’s first school for girls in 1848. Her friend and co-worker Fatima Shaikh – much like Malala – was a trailblazer in her own right. I am grateful to HarperCollins for supporting me as I celebrate the most unique, unsung, unrecognised friendship in Indian history.’

Prema Govindan, Senior Commissioning Editor at HarperCollins India, says, ‘Savitri and Fatima revolutionized women’s education in India and empowered Indian women in more ways than one. Living in the pre-Reformation era, their inspiring journey was as arduous as its result was gratifying. We are delighted to publish Reeta Ramamurthy Gupta’s book which makes the lives, times and friendship of these two women come alive on paper.’

Author Bio
Reeta Ramamurthy Gupta is a bestselling author. She is currently known for her intricate biographies of luminaries. She is credited with the acclaimed Red Dot Experiment, a ten-year-long and six-nation study on how culture impacts communication, and runs her own column, ‘BookStrapping’, on Storyboard and CNBCTV18

About HARPERCOLLINS INDIA
HarperCollins is also celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, having begun publishing in India in 1992. HarperCollins India publishes some of the finest writers from the Indian Subcontinent and around the world, publishing approximately 200 new books every year, with a print and digital catalogue of more than 2,000 titles across 10 imprints. Its authors have won almost every major literary award including the Man Booker Prize, JCB Prize, DSC Prize, New India Foundation Award, Atta Galatta Prize, Shakti Bhatt Prize, Gourmand Cookbook Award, Publishing Next Award, Tata Literature Live! Award, Gaja Capital Business Book Prize, BICW Award, Sushila Devi Award, Sahitya Akademi Award and Crossword Book Award. HarperCollins India also represents some of the finest publishers in the world including Harvard University Press, Gallup Press, Oneworld, Bonnier Zaffre, Usborne, Dover and Lonely Planet. HarperCollins India has won the Publisher of the Year Award four times at Tata Literature Live! in 2022, 2021, 2018 and 2016, and at Publishing Next in 2015. HarperCollins India is a subsidiary of HarperCollins Publishers.

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View Comments

  • I'm from Pune and our university is named after the esteemed Savitribai Phule, goes to show how impactful her reform activities were.

    Can't wait for the book ?

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