1952, marked an historic moment, by holding the first ever general elections, in the democracy of India. However, where on one had India was moving at full strength towards liberalisation and democratisation from being oppressed for so long on the other hand there still lay the age-old repressive practices regarding the women of this country.
It was not that nobody was fighting for the unjust practices by which women were oppressed. many social reformers like Raja Rammohan Roy, Jyotiba Phule, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, etc who fought for equal rights of women. With constant efforts of Raja Ram Mohan Roy, the practice of Sati was abolished, and it took Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar’s campaign to improve the conditions of widows in India. The Widow Remarriage Act of 1856 helped the cause through a formal law.
Rai Bahadur Late Bissessurlalji Halwasiya, founder of the trust, was a great believer in education and took seriously the quality of education. He in his lifetime helped in publishing of books by prominent writer so that more material would be available in Hindi language for students.
Shri Shikshayatan College was conceived as an extension of this nationwide constructive movement. The vision of Shri Shikshayatan college was to promote education for the girls at a time when educating girls where though of as a waste of family resources.Raibahadur Bissessurlal Motilal Halwasiya trust, under the Guidance of Late Babu Shyam Sundarji Halwasiya and Late Babu Purushottam Dassji Halwasiya, believed that women like men must be given equal opportunity to learn and grow, actively contributed to this noble cause by fully constructing the front Building (as shown In the Picture)
Fast forward a couple of years to 1964, twelve years since the Construction of College Building at Shri Shikshayatan. With a lot of notable achievement in revolutionary movements for upliftment of Women, Education and literature, equal treatment for women began to emerge into the general thinking. Initiative were being taken to educating women.
However it came as a shock that there was still no swimming pool in Calcutta where a girl child could go and learn how to swim. This fact alone shattered all the myths of equality of women were broken. Late Babu Shyam Sundarji Halwasiya and Late Babu Purushottam Dassji Halwasiya took this matter very seriously and under their guidance a swimming pool was constructed by Rai Bahadur Bissessurlal Motilal Halwasiya Trust in the Compound of Shri Shikshayatan College.
With a lot of effort the Swimming pool was constructed and ready at Shri Shikshayatan College and an historic day was marked in Calcutta as first ever swimming pool where a girl student could fearlessly learn to swim was formed.
I would request to reopen the swimming classes for outsiders and ex students.
the decision to re-open the above mentioned classes lies with the managing committee of Shikshayatan College. you are requested to please connect with them