Posted on: 30 October 2010

Class in the Alexandra Native Girls' Institution, Bombay - 1873

Photograph of a class in the Alexandra Native Girls' Institution at Bombay in Maharashtra from the Archaeological Survey of India Collections: India Office Series (Volume 46), taken by an unknown photographer in c.1873. This image, showing a class of pupils seated in a semi-circle around a globe was exhibited at the Vienna Exhibition of 1873, and is mentioned on page 224 of John Forbes Watson's catalogue of the Indian Department. Female education in India grew dramatically in the latter part of the nineteenth century. The Imperial Gazetteer of India states regarding female education, "The Government did not take up the subject until 1849, when Lord Dalhousie informed the Bengal Council of Education that henceforth its functions were to embrace female education, and the first girls' school recognized by Government was founded shortly afterwards by a committee of native gentlemen. The despatch of of 1854 directed that female education should receive the frank and cordial support of Government...The Education Commission of 1882 advised that female education should receive special encouragement and special liberality...The adoption of this attitude has resulted in a considerable development of the public instruction of girls, although it still lags far behind that of their brothers. In 1871 there were 134 secondary and 1,760 primary girls' schools; in 1901-2 the numbers were 461 and 5,628 respectively."

Source : British Library


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Edith Pechey-Phipson (1845-1908) was one of the first women doctors in the United Kingdom and a campaigner for women's rights. She spent more than 20 years in India as a senior doctor at a women's hospital and was involved in a range of social causes. Arriving at the end of 1883, she learnt Hindi fast. As well as her work at the Cama Hospital she was in charge of the Jaffer Sulleman Dispensary for women, and after a few years, she succeeded in starting a training programme for nurses at Cama. She tried to counteract tendencies to treat women as inferior to men, wishing to establish equal pay for female medical workers at the same time as campaigning for wider social reform; she also campaigned against child marriage. She often gave lectures on education and training for women and was involved with the Alexandra Native Girls' Educational Institution. Various prestigious institutions invited her to be the first woman member, including the senate of the University of Bombay and the Royal Asiatic Society. - Wiki

EDITH PECHEY-PHIPSON, M.D.: UNTOLD STORY by EDYTHE LUTZKER http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1033666/pdf/medhist00148-0048.pdf

Quite an inspiring story. Equally inspiring would have been the story of Dr. Anandi Joshi, the first Indian woman to become a Doctor, after much struggle and despite odds, had she survived longer than barely one year of working after returning to India before succumbing to Tuberculosis at the age of 22.

The book on Dr.Anandibai Joshi has already been posted : SKETCHES OF SOME DISTINGUISHED INDIAN WOMEN. By Mrs.E. F. Chapman http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=326787626674&set=a.449035981674.239824.196174216674

Thanks, RBSI : The story contains much more than Anandi's life and pusuit of education and is very interesting.

Parsees in India, have always been quite progressive...and when the other castes observed strict "purdha",The Parsee ladies were making their mark felt in the society...and with the beautiful Garas these ladies are dressed in I can vouch for the fact. That this is a Parsee class...

This is a classic photo used in many writings on Parsi attire. The ladies are all dressed in a embroidered garo, and wear a mathobano on their forehead. Also you can notice that the pallav is meticulously draped on their forehead, covering one ear. Parsi women during this time, often wore pendants converted into earrings on the other exposed ear. This can be seen clearly in mostly all the women in this picture. The children are dressed in jabhla - ijars and sport velvet topis.

This was my sisters school ... sadly only a small wall of the old bldg survives and is maintained like a monument. @ Priya Mani this attire was most definitely worn especially for this picyure as these kinds of sarees were definitely not for daily wear. the one long pendantic earing (called a 'lulak') with a simple stud (usually a solitaire or a solid gold ball) in the covered ear was worn as recently as 60 years ago. Also the term 'badiyan' or blouse was noirmally used for young womens attire as the word 'jhabla' was usually associated with little tots. Most of the borders and the brocade that made up the sarees was sourced from China and brought back almost as ballast by the opium trading ships of the Wadia, Readymoney and Jijibhoy families.

exquisite photo......thnx RBSI.....and @Deepak Ingawale, @Priya Mani and @Kurush F Dalal......thanx for all the info......very welcomed and liked by people like me.

What are they trying to teach? Barbecuing?