This year's Google Doodle honours Fatima Sheikh, the country's first Muslim woman educator, on her 191st birthday on January 9.
On their birthdays, Google honours well-known people by creating a special doodle in their honour.
Sheikh, a feminist and icon who co-founded one of India's first schools for girls, the Indigenous Library, in 1848 with social reformers Jyotirao Phule and Savitribai Phule, was born on January 9, 1831, in Pune.
Sheikh allegedly met Savitribai Phule in a teacher training institute headed by Cynthia Farrar, an American missionary. In 1851, she was also involved in the establishment of two schools in Bombay.
Phule and Sheikh taught the Dalit and Muslim women and children who were discriminated against and refused education because of their faith, caste, or gender.
Sheikh was a member of the 'Satyashodhak Samaj' (Truthseekers' Society), an equality organisation that aimed to provide educational opportunities to underprivileged populations. She went door to door inviting people to the Indigenous Library, encouraging them to seek education and break free from the caste system in India.
The movement was met with opposition and retribution from the ruling classes, who attempted, but failed spectacularly, to shame all those engaged.
Her contributions to society have been recognised by the Indian government, which has included her in Undu textbooks with other notable educators.
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