Her efforts are to maintain peace and brotherhood among people and to keep the spirit of the 1857 revolution alive.
Monitoring Desk
Lucknow, India
A 79-year-old former vice-chancellor of Lucknow University, identified as Roop Rekha Verma, was seen on the streets of Lucknow distributing pamphlets. Her efforts are to maintain peace and brotherhood among people and to keep the spirit of the 1857 revolution alive.
In a video surfaced across social media platforms, former vice-chancellor of Lucknow University Prof. Dr. Roop Rekha Verma was seen on the streets of Lucknow distributing pamphlets. She took this initiative to spread awareness among people to maintain peace and brotherhood and to keep the spirit of the 1857 revolution alive, ‘The Siege of Lucknow’.
The ‘Siege of Lucknow’ was a prolonged defense of the British Residency within the city of Lucknow from rebel sepoys during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. She distributed the pamphlets among the people to shed light on the freedom struggle and to keep the revolution of freedom alive. Her dedication is to keep history unforgotten and people aware of the freedom struggle. In the pamphlet, Verma also mentioned maintaining peace and brotherhood that will lead society to greater heights.
Who Is Retired Prof. Verma?
Professor Verma is a fierce feminist known to be a vocal advocate of women’s rights. Her works are extensively recognized and admired by the new generation of activists. From 1964 to 2003, Verma served as the Professor of Philosophy and Head of the Department at Lucknow University. Her interest majorly lies in social philosophy, metaphysics, philosophical logic, and epistemology. She is also a renowned writer who published over 50 research papers and other publications.
She has served on various academic committees including Aligarh Muslim University, Mahila Samakhya Bhatkhande Music University, and UP Social Welfare Board. Prof. Roop Rekha Verma also founded the Institute of Women’s Studies at Lucknow University. She is also a popular activist working for the justice of survivors of violence on Women and communal violence. She was awarded the Begum Hazrat Mahal Award for Communal Harmony and Life Time Achievement Award in 2006.
After retiring from the educational field she has been working for women’s rights and is well known for voicing out opinions on women’s issues. She founded the social organization called Saajhi Duniya, also called the Nagrik-Dharam Samaj. Professor Verma is working to spread awareness and bring about independence in its true essence, while keeping the spirit of freedom fighters that fought long and hard for our country’s independence.
Facing the RSS
In the 1980s, when Roop Rekha Verma was heading Lucknow University’s philosophy department, she waged a long, lone battle against colleagues who she said were affiliated to the RSS and wanted to use the department to propagate the organization’s ideologies.
For one year, her students were instigated to strike against her; they refused to take her classes based on rumors aired by Verma’s colleagues. “These teachers said that I made sure some students got less marks than others. Since these statements were made by professors, the students took them seriously and went on a strike,” she had said in an interview.
The harassment did not end there. Lucknow University’s sprawling campus was splashed with posters accusing Verma of several crimes; some of these posters also made their way to other busy parts of the city. Letters attacking Verma’s moral character were sent to colleagues, students’ parents and family.
Netizens Inspired
Many people took to LinkedIn and Twitter and appreciated her move toward making society a better place to live. One user Tweeted, “Mam is one of the most sensible and logical voices of Lucknow. We bow down in honor for Roop Rekha Verma Maam. Respect.” Another user said, “What does she get doing that? A true teacher will always teach everyone for the betterment of the society, to maintain peace and brotherhood.” A user took to LinkedIn and shared Verma’s video of distributing the pamphlet and wrote, “Hats off to this courageous lady who has a sense of responsibility towards society. It is the duty of every single citizen to wake up and stand toward safeguarding the Unity & Diversity of India and to bring change, that will make one a true Indian.”
____________________
Source: The Logical Indian, Shethepeople.tv, Huffpost
