Lakshmi Bai

Indian social reformer who established India's first girls' school in 1920

Lakshmi Bai (1901-1982) pioneered female education in South India through her 1920 founding of the Vedavalli Girls' School in Tamil Nadu. Defying societal norms, she enrolled 150 students in her first year and later expanded to night classes for married women. Her 1935 <《Women's Education: Key to National Progress》 became a manifesto for India's women's education movement. As leader of the All India Women's Conference (1943-1950), she secured government funding for 200+ girls' hostels. Lakshmi's 1958 collaboration with UNESCO established literacy programs in rural areas, teaching 50,000 women to read. Her personal archives document her strategies for overcoming caste barriers in education.