Sharda Rani Trivedi

Sharda Rani Trivedi (died 1998) was a north Indian educator who contributed to higher education for women, for which she is remembered in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.

Family and early life

Daughter of Rajaram Chaubey and Basanti Devi Chaubey, she was born at Moradabad and later moved with her mother and father to Varanasi, where her grandfather was invited to teach Persian in the newly formed Banaras Hindu University. Although they were rich landlords, her grandfather chose to teach and sold off their estate and relocated to Banaras (present-day Varanasi). Her father died young. He was on his way to the United States, where he was invited to teach but died en route at New Delhi. She was brought up and educated by her mother alone. She was a meritorious student and received Chancellors medal for coming first in her class. While in her student days, she became a good friend of Jaipur royalty.

She was married to Major Dr. Vidya Sagar Trivedi (RAMC), who had just returned after completing his studies at Edinburgh University (Scotland). He was a scion of Trivedi Saraswats and held a Zamindari in Moradabad District of U.P.

She was supported in life by her brothers, one of whom, Awadh Narayan Lal, a professor of chemistry, remained a bachelor and with his guidance saw all her children become Class-I Officers and leading experts in their own chosen fields. Her youngest son retired as a secretary to government.

Educational achievements and activities

She received master's degrees in five subjects viz. Education, Psychology, Sociology, English and Hindi. These were from different colleges.

She was alumnus of CIEFL – Hyderabad.

She was Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Meerut University. (presently Chaudhary Charan Singh University)

She was the first female Post Graduate teacher in DAV College, Dehradun.

Her final feat in higher education studies was when she became the founder Principal of Dayanand Women's Training College Dehradun. It was the first College to start M.Ed. Course in Uttarakhand.

Although she was not a Ph.D., she guided three scholars to get their degrees.

She retired from active college teaching in 1975 yet she remained involved as a Visiting Professor in various universities and colleges.

In 1976 she decided to settle in Chandausi, Distt. Moradabad.

In 1980 she started a school in the memory of her late mother at Chandausi, called Basant Academy, where it was the first English Medium school. The school eventually closed because of her age, failing health and loneliness.

Religious beliefs

Though born in an ultra orthodox Brahmin family, she was not very conservative in her beliefs. Her education imbibed the theosophical beliefs of her age that there is a grain of truth in every religion so believe in every way for salvation. She continued to read Balgangadhar Tilak's version of Gita or Gitarahasya till the very end, and actually had it in her hands when she died. She was passionately fond of Ramayana and other religious literature.

She was devoted to the Sikh faith and considered the teachings of Guru Granth Sahib as an interpretation of Gita itself. After her death local Sikh community organised Antim Ardas for her soul.

She made it a point to send cooked food to a local mosque every Ramadan to support the poor. After her death grateful local Muslims read fatiah in her honour. She was very much interested in the works of Sufi saints and also in the poetry of Ghalib and that of Zafar.

She equally appreciated the Roman Catholic faith and for years before her death continued to visit the Church and one of her favourites was the All Saints Garrison Church of Dehradun.

Academic works

She authored three books, — one of which A treatise on Educational Psychology — is still a standard textbook for M.Ed. classes.

Just before her death she authored another book on the educational beliefs of Mahatma Gandhi (Under Publication).

Struggle with cancer

In 1989 she was diagnosed with uterine cancer. She was treated at Sanjay Gandhi P.G.I. Lucknow.

Quotable / quoted sayings

• "Education is the only weapon in the hands of a woman."
• "It's alright if no dowry is given provided your girl is educated."