Suman K. Sharma
A casual visitor can easily pass it by. Even the signboard declaring its presence won’t be of much help as it is one among the many declaring diverse shops of Jammu’s bustling Patel Bazaar near the historic landmark of Fattu Chaugan. With its location and the worn-out look, Gurmat Kanya Pathshala High School looks rather incongruous for a modern educational institution – as if some ancient lady had chosen to register her presence amid her great-grandchildren.
Entering the compound, you have to guess which of the two rooms on the bazaar side the Principal’s room is. You take your chance. It is a strictly utilitarian office having an ordinary table, a few chairs and a telephone. Then your eyes wander to a cupboard in which countless trophies and shields lie pell-mell, ridden with years of dust and protesting as if of dereliction. Each one of these badges of distinction must have brought moments of glory to the now-faceless students and their school. But then, perhaps, this is what time does to the old and the aged. A couple of feet above the Principal’s chair is the framed picture of the school’s founder, Shrimati Jeevan Muktaji, in her lotus posture. The year of the school’s establishment is also there on the wall: 1888.
The Principal, Sardar Sarwan Singhji Tara comes to his room in a while. A superannuated principal from the Government Senior Secondary School, Basohli, he hails from Punch. In the measured style of an academic, Singh gives the details of the school and the lady who founded it. Jeevan Mukta was the daughter of a forwarding-looking Brahmin family of means. She was still in her tenth class when her parents married her off. But as luck would have it, she lost her husband at a very early stage. In Jammu of the late nineteenth century, what would have a young widow done when the custom of sati was still fresh in the living memory and women in general were considered but appendages to their husbands? Jeevan Mukta had a few things going in her favour though. She had the energy and hope of the very young, she had education, she had the resources and most important of all, she had the inspiration of ‘guru-mat’ that calls for selfless service to humanity.
Jeevan Mukta donated her own house at Jullah ka Mohalla to run the school. Her objectives were two fold – emancipation of women and enabling widows to stand on their feet. Both the aims were considered preposterous in her times. The orthodox of Jammu were up in their arms against the institution. But Jeevan Mukta, the spirited lady that she was, not only withstood the prevailing antagonism, but herself began taking classes in the school.
Her vision and her courage paid off. In a span of a quarter-century, Gurmat Kanya Pathshala had won itself a place in the whole of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. In 1916, H. Sharp wrote in his Note on Education in the State of Jammu and Kashmir that because of the conservative habits of the people, no substantial headway has been made with the education of girls. Sharp has recorded that there were at that time only 16 girls schools in the entire state and the number of girls enrolled in public institutions was a mere 1,661. In this dismal scenario, Gurmat Kanya Pathshala stood out illustriously like a beacon on a moonless night. It ran a training class for Hindu widows and paid them each a monthly stipend of Rs. 3/-. Forget that today a 1916-silver coin can fetch in the market of archival coins anything between US dollars 40 to 499 (one dollar roughly equivalent to Rs 50/-), but Rs. 3/- back then was still a considerable amount to meet the rudimentary demands of a Hindu widow.
Indeed, Gurmat Kanya Pathshala has had many distinctions to its credit. It was the first-ever all-girls school in the state. It was established by a Brahmin widow on the percepts of Sikhism but did not subscribe to any particular religion or creed. Started off as a one-woman show, it became a public venture in time to come, with many Jammu stalwarts like Blaki Ram, Sardar Pratap Singh and Sardar Mool Singh feeling proud to associate with it. In 1935, thanks to their efforts, Maharaja Hari Singh agreed to lease the present premises to the school. In keeping with the emerging trend, a major departure in the admission policy was made 40-45 years ago when admission was thrown open to boys as well, albeit with a rider. Clause 2 of Admission Rules reads, in part: “No male student will be admitted in middle and high classes….Boy-students will be admitted in primary classes only but they will not be allowed to continue after 5th standard.” The idea behind this restriction was perhaps to maintain the original character of the institution, which was girl-oriented.
Today, there are about 200 students on the rolls of the schools in grades 1 to 10. The teaching staff is qualified as per the norms of the government schools (it is another matter though that they are not paid the government prescribed scales). The school also boasts of a library and a modest laboratory. Among its achievers is Sushma Chaudhary, a well reputed IAS officer.
That said, Gurmat Kanya Pathshala is past its heyday; rues the principal, Sarwan Singh. With a fee structure of Rs. 150-250 – and no admission fee and fee-exemptions in deserving cases – it is a constant headache for the school-body to pay salaries and defray other expenses. Occasional contributions from B.Ed. students who are sent to the school for practical experience are welcome, but just that. Mahant Manjit Singh has also chipped in with his donation of computers and other financial help. Nonetheless, the once prominent institution has fallen to decline because of lack of funds. Prior to 2005, it received an annual grant from the state government but that has been stopped with the current policy not to fund any private schools.
Gurmat Kanya Pathshala High School is not like any other private school run from the backyard of the house as a family business; but a venerable, no profit institution that has done a yeoman’s service to the cause of girl-child and women. This finer point seems to have been lost on the authorities. Could another Jeevan Mukta rise to the occasion and revive it to its pristine glory?
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