New Britain herald., 1918-01-18
WOMEN OF INDIA
 ID BE EDUCATED
Wealthy Native Prince Gives ST.
 OOO,OOO for School

London, Jan. 1.-(Correspondence of The Associated Press) or the greatest charitable gifts in the history of India has just been announced dC Delhi. The Maharaj Kumar of 1lkaT1' one of the wealthy native princes, has executed a deed of trust devotlng HIS entire personal estate to founding an institution for the education of Indian women. The property concerned IS valued at about $7,0O0,00O. Tn view of the much greater purchasing power of money in India, it is believed that the gift will accomplish as much pro- portionately as a gift of nearly ten times the size in England or America.
 Dependent members of the Maha- rajs family have already been pro- vided for by separate funds, and all
 liabilities of the estate are duly se- cured The scheme is for a strictly "purdah" residential institution where the girls will be trained and educated on the best modern principles from the age of five to eighteen. There will
 be no question of caste or creed.
 The gift owed it's inspiration large ly to the Maharaj's wife, who has been one of the foremost native Indian
 women in the crusade for the inn provement of the lot of Indian women The Maharaj himself was one of the first native princes to fight in France, and has spent over two years on the battlefield. He was brought up by
 n a great traveller.
 The Maharaj's wife, in a letter de- scribing the gift, says:
 The education of women is a, prob lem demanding the attention of all
 governments in every country of the
 world. In India the issue is more vital even than in other countries. A young man leaves his home in India to be educated; he comes, perhaps to the English university, and at the end of three years he returns to marry an Indian girl of his own social position During his college days the young man has associated with cultivated Euro peans has learned many of their ways, has become used to clever, well-in- formed conversation and companion ship. What about his Indian bride :? If she has been brought up in the tra- ditional Indian way she will be quite l uneducated, according to Western standards and will know little of life outside her immediate surroundings. All her days she will have been kept in secusion for the ultimate purpose ] of marriage at the age of thirteen or l fourteen.
 l "It is because I feel the position of ] the Indian girls so keenly, because I 1 realize the grave dangers which their general inability to be real helpers en- 1 tails, that I am so enthusiastic and so 1 anxious to do all I can to help. ] My husband has executed a deed Of trust of his whole estate for the 1 founding of an institution to educate
 Indian and Cingalese girls, and has
 made it an essential point that creed 1 and caste shall be no bar. We hope l to introduce into the school a thor 1 ough knowledge of English. college 1 will be built and will include residen- ] tial quarters where the students will l live. A girl can stay until the age of l eighteen and this I think very inn ] portant, for the prevailing early mar l rying age in India at present cannot { but prove detrimental to the physical l welI-being of our women"
 A site for the college has been given 1 by Sir Ali Imam, one of the leading
 native lawyers.