Tulasi Munda | |
|---|---|
 Munda in 2011 | |
| Born | (1947-07-15)15 July 1947 (age 78) |
| Other names | Tulasi Apa |
| Occupations | Educator, social activist |
| Known for | Contribution to education amongadivasis (indigenous populations) |
| Awards | Padma Shri (2001) |
Tulasi Munda (born 15 July 1947) is a social activist from the Indian state ofOdisha. She was awarded thePadma Shri in 2001 byGovernment of India for her contribution to spreading literacy among the impoverishedadivasi peoples of Odisha.[1] Munda started an informal school in 1964 in Odisha's iron ore mining area to educate children from localadivasi populations, who would otherwise have ended up aschild labour in the mines. She had been a child labourer in the mines ofKeonjhar herself.[2]
Munda is illiterate and has no formal education.[3] She belongs to theMundaethnic group ofadivasis, the collective term in mainland South Asia forindigenous peoples.
She is popularly known as "Tulasi Apa", literally meaning "Sister Tulasi" inOdia.
Munda was born on 15 July 1947 in Kainshi village located in the present-day Keonjhar district in Odisha.[4][unreliable source?] Keonjhar is one of the most economically underdeveloped districts in Odisha.[5] As a child, she wished to study but the idea of educating girls and women was largely socially unacceptable at the time.[2]Child labour, poverty andslavery prevented indigenous children from getting an education. When she was 12, she went to Serenda village to live with her sister.[2] There she worked in the mines.
In 1961, Munda met social reformersRamadevi Choudhury,Nirmala Deshpande andMalati Choudhury who advocated for education for women. She joined their efforts happening in different parts of the country.[2] Munda also met AcharyaVinoba Bhave when he visitedOdisha in 1963 during theBhoodan movement.[2][3] Her social service training and the guidance of social reformers inspired her future efforts.[2][3]
She returned to Serenda in 1964 and started an informal school for children in the veranda of her home.[6][2] Later, she started the "Adivasi Vikas Samiti School".[3] As of 2019, the school provides education up to the 10th standard for nearly 500 boy and girl students every year. The school has increased the level of education andstandard of living in the area.[7]Since 1964, she has educated more than 20,000 children and helped the government establish 17 schools for primary or secondary education.[8]
Tulasi Apa, a biographic film based on her based on her life was released in 2015 at theKolkata Film Festival, where it received critical acclaim.[13] The film was also screened at the 4th edition of theTehran Jasmine International Film Festival (TJIFF) on 30 October 2016.[14]
{{cite web}}:|last= has generic name (help)
Authority control databases: National |
|---|