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CHANDRA PRABHA SAIKIANI
ENGLISHCLASS: 8
LESSON: 8
ASSAM SCERT TEXTBOOK
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| Chandraprabha Saikiani |
1.Lesson Questions
(a) Who was Chandraprabha Saikiani?
Answer: Chandraprabha Saikiani was a renowned social reformer from Assam who devoted her entire life to fighting for making formal education available for a girl.
(b) What did Chandraprabha do to educate the girls of her village?
Answer: Chandraprabha understood that getting an education for girls was not easy in society. So, she decided to share her learning with other girls in her village. For that, she would gather the village girls and taught them what she had learned during the day.
(c) Which two incidents show us how Chandraprabha fought for the rights of girls?
Answer: The two major incidents which show us how Chandraprabha fought for the rights of girls are:
(i) When she was refused admission into a hostel without being converted to Christianity, she opposed strongly and the authorities were compelled to allow her admission.
(ii) In 1925, she challenged the custom of women sitting behind a bamboo screen in public meetings.
(d) On what occasion did Chandraprabha Saikiani inspire women to come out from behind the bamboo screen?
Answer: In 1925, Chandraprabha Saikiani raised a bold voice against the prevailing custom of women sitting behind a bamboo screen in public meetings. She raised this issue in the Assam Sahitya Sabha session held that year in Nagaon.
(e) What steps did Chandraprabha take to eliminate the caste system?
Answer: Chandraprabha Saikiani, in order to eliminate the caste system, fought for the entry of everyone irrespective of caste, gender, and class, into the famous Hayagriva Madhava Temple at Hajo.
(f) What was Chandraprabha Saikiani's role in the freedom movement of India?
Answer: Chandraprabha Saikiani met Mahatma Gandhi in 1921 and she was then inspired to take an active part in freedom fight. She spread the message of khadi, the boycott of foreign clothes, removal of untouchability, banning of opium, and other social evils. She was also imprisoned for her participation in the freedom movement thrice in 1931, in 1942 and in 1943.
2.Questions
(a) At a time when society did not allow young girls to step out of home, she fought for the equal rights of the girls.
(b) In those days girls' school did not exist, so Chandraprabha walked up and down several kilometers on a muddy road to attend a school.
(c) Chandraprabha and her sister were awarded a scholarship by the school sub-inspector Nilkanta Barua to study at Nagaon Mission School.
(d) In order to eliminate the evils of the caste system, Chandraprabha fought for the entry of everyone irrespective of caste, gender, and class, into the famous Hayagriva Madhava Temple at Hajo.
(e) Being inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, Chandraprabha also joined the freedom movement and spread the message of khadi and several other things for the cause of the movement.
3. Read the following sentences and find a word from the text to replace the underlined part.
(a) Chandraprabha Saikiani was a famous and respected social worker from Assam.
Answer: Renowned
(b) She tried to get rid of all the cultural or religious restrictions against women that prevailed during those days.
Answer: Taboos
(c) Chandraprabha refused to accept and questioned the prevailing custom of women sitting behind bamboo screens in public meetings.
Answer: Challenged
(d) She was strong in her attitude against society's restriction and her protest against the norms of society was not confined to a particular incident.
Answer: Staunchly
(e) Whenever she saw any injustice, her desire to resist authority rose to the occasion.
Answer: Rebellious Spirit
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5.Questions
(a) The first paragraph is about:
(i) Chandraprabha Saikiani's childhood
(ii) Chandraprabha Saikiani's birth as a social reformer
(iii) Chandraprabha Saikiani's career as a school teacher
Answer: (ii)Chandraprabha Saikiani's birth as a social reformer
(b) The second paragraph is about
(i) Chandraprabha Saikiani's preparation to be a school teacher
(ii) Girl's education vs boy's education
(iii) Chandraprabha Saikiani's efforts to get an education just like the boys of her village
Answer: (ii) Girl's education vs boy's education
(c) The third paragraph is about:
(i) her fight for freedom
(ii) her fight for the rights of girls
(iii) her fight against British rule
Answer: (ii) her fight for the rights of girls
(d) The fourth paragraph is about
(i) formation of Assam Pradeshik Mahila Samiti
(ii) Chandraprabha Saikiani's protest against restrictions imposed on women
(iii) Chandraprabha Saikiani's speech at the Assam Sahitya Sabha meeting
Answer: All of the above
(e) The fifth paragraph is about:
(i) the caste system of India
(ii) Chandraprabha Saikiani's visit to Hajo
(iii) Chandraprabha Saikiani's protest against the caste system
Answer: (i) the caste system of India, and (iii) Chandraprabha Saikiani's protest against the caste system
(f) The sixth paragraph is about:
(i) Chandraprabha Saikiani's meeting with Mahatma Gandhi
(ii) Chandraprabha Saikiani as the freedom fighter
(iii) the punishment Chandraprabha Saikiani received for being a freedom fighter
Answer: All of the above
(g) The seventh paragraph is about:
(i) Chandraprabha Saikiani's rebellious spirit
(ii) Chandraprabha Saikiani's imprisonment
(iii) Chandraprabha Saikiani's motivation to join the freedom movement
Answer: None of the above
Biography Of Chandraprabha Saikiani
Born on 16 March Chandraprabha Saikiani was a social reformer from Assam who tried to remove the taboos faced by herself and other women of her days. She fought to make the formal education available for girls. Chandraprabha Saikiani born and brought up in Doisingari Village in Kamrup District. Her journey of a lifetime to rid society of all the taboos against women that prevailed during those days started when she and her sister Rajaniprabha did not mind wading through mud to attend a school that only had boys.
During her school days, she realized that girls had to fight a battle to receive an education as good as that received by boys. Therefore she decided to gather other girls from her village and teach them that she had learned during the day at school. Her effort greatly impressed Nilkanta Barua(School Sub-Inspector). She and her sister were awarded a scholarship to study at Nagaon Mission School. There she made the best of her school education.
In the year 1925, Chandraprabha Saikiani challenged the prevailing custom of women sitting behind a bamboo screen in public meetings. In the same year Assam Sahitya Sabha was held, their she delivered a very powerful speech and demanded the removal of the bamboo screen that was placed between men and women.
In the year 1926, at her initiative the first women's organization, "Assam Pradeshik Mahila Samiti" was formed. She was greatly affected by the deep-rooted caste system in India. In her own state, Assam, she took matters in her own hands. One of such radical steps was to fight for the entry of everyone, irrespective of caste, gender, and class into the famous Hayagriva Madhava Temple at Hajo.
In the year 1921, she met Mahatma Gandhi and join the freedom movement. She was imprisoned thrice. Nothing could dampen her indomitable patriotic spirit. Whenever she saw any injustice, her rebellious spirit rose to the occasion.
This great freedom fighter spread the message of her mission also through a number of books. The Padma Shri was conferred upon her a few days after her death in 1972. Apart from this great honor, she was also remembered with a commemorative postal stamp in 2002.
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