NCERT message
‘Give girls their chance’ says the banner at the entrance of the NCERT stall at the Delhi Book Fair — a farewell message of enduring value. “Every effort is being made by the NCERT to emphasise the importance of women’s literacy,” said Bhoopendra Singh, the manager of the stall and assistant business manager with the Publication Department (NCERT).
Singh’s words echo in one of the books lined up on the stall’s shelves. It details the State’s prerogative to give free and compulsory education for children aged between 6 and 14 — a Fundamental Right under the Indian Constitution.
A slim volume titled ‘Kyun’ a Hindi poem by the late Kamala Bakaya, a prominent educationist, offers insight into the child’s perspective of the world. Other women achievers who share the shelf space with Bakaya are eminent names like Bhikaji Cama and Ahilya Bai.