Indira Miri

Indira Miri
Born 1910
Shillong, Assam, India
Died 5 September 2004
Silpukhuri, Guwahati, Assam, India
Other names Mereng
Spouse(s) Mohi Chandra Miri
Children Utpal, Mrinal Miri and a daughter
Parent(s) Sonadhar Senapati
Awards Padma Shri
Sankardev Award

Indira Miri, popularly known as Mereng, was an Indian educationist from Assam, known for her efforts in promoting education in the North East Frontier Agency.[1] She was a recipient of the fourth highest Indian civilian honour of Padma Shri.[2]

Biography

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 for school and college studies which she started at Bethune School and completed with a BA from Scottish Church College.[3] 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 on a government scholarship where she was trained by Maria Montessori.[1][3] Another government scholarship helped her to travel to the UK to secure a master's degree from the University of Edinburgh and a three-month training at Oxford University.[1]

On her return to India in 1947, Miri was appointed as the Chief Education Officer of NEFA with her base at Sadiya, a small Assamese town and worked among the tribals for ten years.[1] During the earthquake of 1950, Miri and her fellow teachers were known to have worked for bringing relief to the people of the region.[1] She resigned from NEFA service in 1957 to join the Jorhat BT College as it principal and worked there till her retirement in 1969.[3] She also served the Guwahati University as a member of its executive council.[3]

Miri died on 5 September 2004 at the age of 94, at her ancestral home in Silpukhuri.[3] She was married to Mohi Chandra Miri, a forest service officer who died in 1939,[3][4] and the couple had three children.[1] One of her sons, Mrinal Miri, is an educationist, writer and a member of Rajya Sabha.[5]

The Government of India awarded the civilian honour of Padma Shri in 1977[2] and she received the Sankardev Award in 2004.[3] Her life has been documented in two biographies, one a fictionalized biography, Mereng, written by Anuradha Sharma Pujari, published in 2010[6] and the other, Bisishta sikshabida Indira Miri, by Hiranmayi Dewi, published in 2001.[7]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Life and Times of Mereng". Northeast Review. 1 January 2013. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Padma Shri". Padma Shri. 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 15, 2014. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Indira Miri - a born educationist". Assam Tribune. 14 September 2004. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
  4. ↑ "The Man Behind Kaziranga National Park: Mahi Chandra Miri". Lindsay Hebberd. 13 November 2008. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Detailed Profile: Prof. Mrinal Miri". Government of India. 2015. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
  6. ↑ Anuradha Sharma Pujari (2010). "Mereng". Banalata. p. 200. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
  7. ↑ Hiranmayi Dewi (2001). "Bisishta sikshabida Indira Miri". Hemanta Kumara Sarmma. p. 87. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
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