Was Established By Crowdfunding On Mahatma’s Call
The Chutki Bhandar Girls Inter College in Hussainganj area of Lucknow, that was founded by Mahatma Gandhi in 1921, has been declared unsafe by the district administration because of its dilapidated condition. The Chutki Bhandar Girls Inter College in Hussainganj area of Lucknow, that was founded by Mahatma Gandhi in 1921, has been declared unsafe by the district administration because of its dilapidated condition.
Lucknow: Founded by Mahatma Gandhi in 1921, Chutki Bhandar Girls Inter College in Hussainganj area of Lucknow, has been declared unsafe by the district administration because of its dilapidated condition. After declaring the building unsafe, Allahabad High Court ordered closure of all academic activities within a week.Housed on a premises built during the ‘Chutki’ movement launched by Gandhi ji, where local women donated one ‘chutki’ (pinch) of flour daily to support freedom fighters. The excess flour was sold to raise Rs 64, from which this school for girl child education was built and named Chutki Bhandar Girls Inter College. Following the court order, around 25 girl students of the historic college were shifted to a new school on Wednesday.DIOS Rakesh Kumar Pandey said, “Our team visited the school and 25 students enrolled in different classes have been shifted to other govt schools. The student record register was not available, so only those who were present could be shifted to other schools.”He said the court allowed the institution’s management committee to explore reconstruction of school building and seek financial assistance from state govt under Alankar Scheme for schools with less than 300 students, which allows renovation funds and grants of up to Rs 25 lakh for institutions with enrolment between 100 and 250 students. To avail of the scheme, management committees must contribute a matching share.Birth of the historic school:According to the book ‘Uttar Pradesh Mein Gandhi’ (1969) by Ramnath Suman, Gandhi urged women in the area to spare a pinch of flour before cooking so that freedom fighters and revolutionaries could be fed. This movement led to establishment of Chutki Bhandar school in 1921.Kunti Verma, who taught at the school for four decades, said, “In 1921, when Mahatma Gandhi visited Lucknow, freedom fighters informed him about scarcity of food they faced and he urged women to contribute a pinch of flour each. Earthen pots placed at various locations collected contributions which were used to prepare meals for freedom fighters. Surplus was sold. Freedom fighter Pandit Vishwanath Vajpayee had requested Gandhi to establish a national school for girls.”According to Suman’s book, sale of the collected flour raised Rs 64 and four annas, with which foundation for Chutki Bhandar Girls School was laid on Aug 8, 1921.FIRST BATCH HAD 19 GIRLS:In the school’s inaugural batch, 19 girls were enrolled but the school shut down in 1924. When Gandhi returned to Lucknow in 1925, he was presented with a silver plate, which he auctioned and the proceeds, amounting to Rs 101, were used to reopen the school. Two classrooms were built on the premises. In 1924, the Municipal Corporation leased a plot of land measuring 80 feet by 8 feet to the school.EMINENT VISITORSIn 1931, Sarojini Naidu and Acharya Narendra Deva visited Chutki Bhandar School. In 1936, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya too visited the institution. In 1932, through efforts of Pandit Vishwanath Vajpayee, the primary school was upgraded to a junior high school.A new management committee was formed in 1950. In 1952, govt granted Rs 2,000 for school’s development. In 1955, the institution was upgraded to Chutki Bhandar Higher Secondary School. After death of Pandit Vishwanath Vajpayee, Chandrabhanu Gupta was appointed patron of the school in 1952.
