Ever since she set up the Mahila Samity in 1959 with an express view to help out underprivileged tribal girls, Mukherji has set a hectic pace for herself. From managing the day-to-day affairs at the Samity's office to visiting rural centres in remote areas to counselling women, her day is full of activity. A woman of strong convictions, Mukherji, a member of Tripura's royal family who married a commoner, believes women's emancipation lies in giving them practical, vocational training. Says she: 'If you give women the confidence to stand on their feet, they can do wonders as our experience has proved.' She should know. Over the past four decades, she and her co-workers have helped several hundred women put their life back together after domestic problems, poverty and lack of education had trapped them in a hopeless situation.
Today, the Mahila Samity is an affiliated state branch of the All India Women's Conference and the Kasturba Gandhi National Memorial Trust. But when Mukherji, who was attracted to the communist movement,which perhaps, partly explains her concern for the underprivileged,launched the Samity, the going was not easy. 'Partly because I belonged to the royal family, people initially looked at me with scepticism. But gradually they started responding enthusiastically,' Mukherji recalls. The Maharaja of Tripura, a relative from her mother's side, was an early patron. 'He was always concerned about the welfare of the people and anyone who thought about them received his full backing,' Mukherji fondly remembers. Slowly, as the organisation began making an impact, more and more people came forward to extend their help.
The activities of the Samity include organising self-help groups in at least 200 rubber plantations spread all over Tripura, imparting education to drop-out school girls and providing shelter to abandoned women. Says Mukherji: 'Given the abject poverty in the rural areas, women's education is often the first casualty. Therefore the drop-out rate among girls is very high. That's where we come in. We conduct condensed educational courses for girl students who drop out at the matriculation level. They are given hostel facilities and are well-cared for during their stay with us.' Over 200 girl students have benefited from this facility over the past three years. Significantly, even the state government, impressed with Mukherji's success, has chipped in with financial assistance.
Another popular facility run by the Samity is the 'short stay home',women who have fallen on hard times due to domestic problems are accommodated here, given vocational training and are empowered enough so that they can lead their own life. 'Income generation skills is what we stress upon,' says one of the instructors at the centre. The Samity has also established a working women's hostel for the lower income group in Agartala. The dedication with which the Samity's workers reach out to the rural power, especially the women, has earned Mukherji a lot of goodwill over the years. Even in extremist-infested areas in remote villages Mukherji's workers face no problem. 'Her reputation and her work is so good that people welcome her with open arms,' says journalist Sanjib Deb.
Mukherji herself is modest about it all, indeed it's her concern for the poor, especially the women, that drives her to work 12 hours a day even now. 'Woman by nature is the stronger of the two genders but circumstances make her weak. My attempts are centred around correcting this anomaly,' the lady says. If you wish to contact Mukherji or contribute to her work, you can get in touch with her at the Tripura Adibashi Mahila Samity, 9/4 Krishnanagar Road, Agartala, West Tripura. Phone: (0381)-224218.
