Indira Miri (1910–2004), popularly known as Mereng, was an Indian educationist from

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

, known for her efforts in promoting education in the

North East Frontier Agency The North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA), originally known as the North-East Frontier Tracts (NEFT), was one of the political divisions in British India, and later the Republic of India until 20 January 1972, when it became the Union Territory of ...

. She was a recipient of the fourth highest Indian civilian honour of

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

Biography

Indira Senapati alias Indira Miri was born to

Brittial_Bania The Brittial Bania/Bania is an ethnic community in Assam, India. The group traces its roots to a merchant community who reached Assam (Ancient Kamarupa) in ancient times. Some historians claim that after the Austric group migrated to ancient Assam ...

/ Bania, an indigenous schedule caste community of Assam. Born in 1910 in Shillong, Miri lost her mother at an early age and was brought up by her father, Sonadhar Senapati, who sent her to

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

for school and college studies which she started at

Bethune School Bethune College is a women's college located on Bidhan Sarani in Kolkata, India, and affiliated to the University of Calcutta. It is the oldest women's college in India. It was established as a girls' school in 1849, and as a college in 1879. ...

and completed with a BA from

Scottish Church College Scottish Church College is a college affiliated by Calcutta University, India. It offers selective co-educational undergraduate and postgraduate studies and is the oldest continuously running Christian liberal arts and sciences college in A ...

. Later she obtained a degree in education (BT) from St. Mary's College of Teacher Education, Guwahati and did advanced training course in Montessori system in

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per t ...

on a government scholarship where she was trained by

Maria Montessori Maria Tecla Artemisia Montessori ( , ; August 31, 1870 – May 6, 1952) was an Italian physician and educator best known for the philosophy of education that bears her name, and her writing on scientific pedagogy. At an early age, Montessori e ...

. Another government scholarship helped her to travel to the UK to secure a master's degree from the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

and a three-month training at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. On her return to India in 1947, Miri was appointed as the Chief Education Officer of NEFA with her base at

Sadiya Sadiya is a town in Tinsukia district, Assam. It was the capital of the Chutia Kingdom and after the downfall of the kingdom it became the seat of the ''Sadiya-khowa-Gohain'' of the Ahom kingdom. Extensive remains of buildings and fortificati ...

, a small Assamese town and worked among the tribals for ten years. During the earthquake of 1950, Miri and her fellow teachers were known to have worked for bringing relief to the people of the region. She resigned from NEFA service in 1957 to join the Jorhat BT College as it principal and worked there till her retirement in 1969. She also served the

Guwahati University Gauhati University, also known as GU, is a Collegiate university, collegiate public state university located in Guwahati, Assam, India. It was established on 26 January 1948 under the provisions of an Act enacted by the Assam Legislative Assem ...

as a member of its executive council. ''During the late 1880s', ''Sjt. Sonadhar Senapati who was a well educated Assamese man and was working in a good position at the Assam Secretariat at Shillong represented the problems of the oppressed castes and tribes of Assam in front of the British. During the meeting he met Mr. Mohi Chandra Miri who represented the Mising Tribe in the meeting. Sonadhar Senapati was impressed with the Charming personality of Mr. Miri. Sonadhar Senapati breaking all the stereotypes of the society during that time, arranged his daughter's (Indira Senapati's) marriage with Mr. Mahi Miri who later became the Chief Conservator of

Kaziranga National Park Kaziranga National Park is a national park in the Golaghat and Nagaon districts of the state of Assam, India. The park, which hosts two-thirds of the world's great one-horned rhinoceroses, is a World Heritage Site. According to the census held i ...

.Sonadhar Senapati was also the founder of

som Bania Sabha Som, SOM or Søm may refer to: Computing * System Object Model (file format), of the HP-UX operating system * Simulation Object Model, in computer High-level architecture (simulation)#HLA rules, high-level architecture (simulation) * System on m ...

, a dalit organization of Assam during the early period of 19th Century. Miri died on 5 September 2004 at the age of 94, at her ancestral home in Silpukhuri. She had had three children. One of her sons,

Mrinal Miri Mrinal Miri (born 1 August 1940) is an Indian philosopher and educationalist. Early life He was awarded a BA in Philosophy from the University of Cambridge in 1966 and gained his doctorate in 1970. Career From 1970 to 1974 he was a Lecturer in ...

, is an educationist, writer and a member of

Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...

. The

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

awarded the civilian honour of

in 1977 and she received the Sankardev Award in 2004. Her life has been documented in two biographies, one a fictionalized biography, ''Mereng'', written by

Anuradha Sharma Pujari Anuradha Sharma Pujari (Assamese language, Assamese: অনুৰাধা শৰ্মা পূজাৰী) (born 1964) is an Assamese journalist and author. She is the editor of ''Sadin'' and ''Satsori''. Her contributions to Assamese liter ...

, published in 2010 and the other, ''Bisishta sikshabida Indira Miri'', by Hiranmayi Dewi, published in 2001.

Publications

* ''Mahendramohana Caudhurī'', 1984 * ''Mahatma Gandhi's educational theory''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miri, Indira 1910 births 2004 deaths Recipients of the Padma Shri in literature & education People from Shillong Scholars from Assam Indian women educational theorists Scottish Church College alumni University of Calcutta alumni Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Oxford 20th-century Indian women scientists Montessori teachers Indian schoolteachers 20th-century Indian educational theorists Women scientists from Assam Women educators from Assam Educators from Assam 20th-century women educators

Biography

Publications

See also

References