The nation is remembering the first female teacher in Modern India, Savitri Bai Phule on her birth anniversary today. She was born on 3rd January, 1831 in Naigaon, a small village in Maharashtra. Her life is heralded as a beacon of women's rights in India. She was married at the mere age of nine years to Jyotirao Phule in 1840. Impressed by her enthusiasm to learn, Jyotirao taught Savitribai to read and write. She undertook teachers' training and became a qualified teacher in 1847.<br />''<br />''Determined to change the condition of women in the country, Savitribai, along with Jyotirao, opened a school for girls in Pune in 1848. She became the first female teacher of India. Sympathising with the plight of widows in the country, Savitribai also established a shelter for destitute women in 1864. Mrs. Savitribai was instrumental in shaping  Satyashodhak Samaj, established by Mahatma  Jyotiba Phule. When the Bubonic plague spread across Maharashtra in 1890s, Savitribai opened a clinic for the plague victims in Hadapsar, Pune. And it was while carrying a 10-year-old plague victim to the clinic in her arms, she contracted the disease herself. On March 10, 1897, Savitribai Phule breathed her last. Savitribai's life and work is a testament to social reform and female empowerment in Indian society. <br />