https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Gerda_PhilipsbornGerda Philipsborn - Revision history2026-10-21T10:29:18ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.6https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gerda_Philipsborn&diff=500283&oldid=prevAryaInIND at 06:32, 17 April 20262026-04-17T06:32:39Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Educationist and social reformer}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}<br />
{{Infobox person<br />
| pronunciation = <br />
| image = File:Gerda Philipsborn (cropped).jpg<br />
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1895|04|30|df=y}}<br />
| birth_place = [[Kiel]], [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]], [[German Empire]]<br />
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1943|04|14|1895|04|30|df=y}}<br />
| death_place = [[Delhi]], Punjab, British India<br />
| resting_place = Jamia's graveyard<br />
| resting_place_coordinates = {{coord|28|33|47.708|N|77|17|9.493|E|type:landmark|display=inline}}<br />
| other_names = Jamia's Aapa Jaan<br />
| education = <br />
| alma_mater = <br />
| occupation = [[Educationist]], [[Social reformer]]<br />
| years_active = <br />
| employer = <br />
| organization = <br />
| known_for = <br />
| movement = [[Indian independence movement]]<br />
}}<br />
'''Gerda Philipsborn''' (30 April 1895 – 14 April 1943) was a German-born educator who made significant contributions to the early development of [[Jamia Millia Islamia]], a central university in [[Delhi]], India. Known for her commitment to youth education and [[social reform]], she is called as the "'''Aapa Jaan'''" (elder sister) of Jamia.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sharma |first=Sakshi |date=10 April 2023 |title=Gerda Philipsborn: Educationist, Reformer And 'Aapa Jaan' Of Jamia Millia Islamia |url=https://feminisminindia.com/2023/04/10/gerda-philipsborn-educationist-reformer-and-aapa-jaan-of-jamia-millia-islamia/ |access-date=18 September 2024 |website=Feminism in India |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Thanvi |first=Ishika |title=Gerda Philipsborn: Forgotten German-Born Reformer Who Helped Build Jamia |url=https://www.shethepeople.tv/womens-firsts/gerda-philipsborn-aapajaan-jamia-millia-islamia-founder-7075391 |access-date=18 September 2024 |website=www.shethepeople.tv |language=en}}</ref><br />
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==Early life and education==<br />
Born in [[Kiel]] in 1895, Philipsborn was educated and trained as an [[opera singer]]. In [[Berlin]], she initiated her own kindergarten and worked in the Jewish People's home. She was involved in fundraising for the [[Ben Shemen Youth Village]] project, an agricultural boarding school in [[Mandatory Palestine]], where she taught in 1932. She was also associated with a Berlin asylum organization for [[refugee children]].<ref>{{Cite web |title='Aapa Jaan', a Biography of a German Lady Who Diligently Served the Jamia Community |url=https://thewire.in/books/gerda-philipsborn-jamia-aapa-jaan-book |access-date=19 September 2024 |website=The Wire |language=en}}</ref><br />
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==Move to India==<br />
In 1921, Gerda met three Indian students, [[Zakir Husain]], Abid Husain, and [[Mohammad Mujeeb]], who later became the founders of Jamia Millia Islamia and also played important roles in shaping India's political history, with [[Zakir Husain]] becoming the country's third president in [[1967 Indian presidential election|1967]]. She met them while they were studying in Berlin. The trio shared their vision of creating an [[educational institution]] in India free from [[Colonialism|colonial influence]] with her. Their discussions introduced Gerda to the ideas of [[Gandhian philosophy|Gandhian self-sustenance]] and the role of education in the [[Indian independence movement]]. Influenced by these ideas, she moved to India in December 1932 and joined Jamia Millia Islamia in January 1933.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Pernau |first=Margrit |date=2023 |title=Education among Indian Muslims. Jamia Millia Islamia's journal Payām-e taʿlīm |journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society |language=en |volume=33 |issue=4 |pages=1127–1143 |doi=10.1017/S1356186322000840 |issn=1356-1863|doi-access=free }}</ref><br />
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== Contributions to Jamia Millia Islamia ==<br />
Philipsborn played a crucial role in shaping the institution's [[Preschool|nursery]] and [[primary school]] sections. She introduced innovative teaching methods that she had learned in Germany and dedicated her life to the development of the institution.<ref name=":2" /><br />
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She was actively involved in the creative and personal development of the students. She initiated "''Piyami Baradari''", an educational society that facilitated children's writings and correspondence across the country. She also launched an international children's journal called "''Payam-i-Talim"'' (Messages of Education), which encouraged creative expression through arts and crafts. She organized regular health check-ups and extracurricular activities for students, while serving as the warden for the children's hostel.<ref name=":1" /><br />
[[File:GP Hostel, Jamia Millia Islamia.jpg|thumb|Hostel in Jamia Millia Islamia named after Philipsborn]]<br />
Philipsborn introduced arts and crafts, such as [[embroidery]] and [[knitting]], to women at Gandhi's ashram in [[Sevagram]]. In addition, she was actively involved in helping women who were traditionally excluded from public roles to participate in educational and community events at Jamia.<ref name=":0" /><br />
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==World War II==<br />
Philipsborn, as a German national in [[British Raj|British India]], was arrested and interned at the [[Purandar Fort|Purandhar camp]] in 1940 under suspicion of being an enemy of the British Empire.<ref>{{Cite web |date=14 January 2023 |title=Jamia's Aapa Jaan: Gerda Philipsborn |url=https://www.thenousnetwork.com/jamias-aapa-jaan-gerda-philipsborn/ |access-date=19 September 2024 |website=Nous Network |language=en}}</ref> There, she maintained her spirit, nursing fellow inmates and organizing events to lift morale. However, her health deteriorated during this period. After her release, she returned to Jamia but struggled with declining health due to a gastric ulcer that later became cancerous.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Jamia Millia: The German woman who dedicated her life to an Indian university |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn020ywgx2yo |access-date=18 September 2024 |website=www.bbc.com |date=16 September 2024 |language=en-GB}}</ref><br />
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==Death and legacy==<br />
Philipsborn died in April 1943 and was buried in the Jamia graveyard. Her contributions to the institution, particularly in the early years, have been under-appreciated and unnoticed in mainstream historical accounts.<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn020ywgx2yo Gerda Philipsborn, the German woman who helped build an Indian university]. BBC, 16 Sep 2024 by Cherylann Mollan.</ref> Though much of her personal life remains undocumented, her impact on Jamia Millia Islamia and the broader Indian educational landscape continues to be acknowledged by scholars and students. Her legacy is remembered at Jamia, where a [[Child care|daycare center]] and a girls' hostel have been named in her honor.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Journal |first=Jamia |date=22 August 2014 |title=Here Lies Gerda Philipsborn, Buried and Forgotten |url=https://jamiajournal.com/2014/08/22/here-lies-gerda-philipsborn-buried-and-forgotten/ |access-date=19 September 2024 |website=Jamia Journal |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=21 June 2009 |title=The Hindu : New Delhi News : "Aapa Jaan" lives on…. |url=http://www.hindu.com/2009/04/23/stories/2009042361190300.htm |access-date=19 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090621140916/http://www.hindu.com/2009/04/23/stories/2009042361190300.htm |archive-date=21 June 2009 }}</ref><br />
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Scholars such as [[Syeda Saiyidain Hameed|Syeda Hameed]] have referred to Philipsborn as an "invisible architect" of Jamia and one of Jamia's "'''''Khatoon-e-Awwa''l'''" (Jamia's number one woman).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hameed |first=Syeda |date=24 June 2021 |title=Contribution of Muslim Women to Educational Institutions: The Case of Khwateen-E-Awwal of Jamia Millia Islamia |url=https://csss-isla.com/memorial-lectures/contribution-of-muslim-women-to-educational-institutions-the-case-of-khwateen-e-awwal-of-jamia-millia-islamia/ |access-date=19 September 2024 |website=Centre for Study of Society and Secularism |language=en}}</ref><br />
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==References==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
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== Further reading ==<br />
*{{cite book |last=Pernau |first= Margrit |title=Jamia's Aapa Jaan : The Many Lifeworlds of Gerda Philipsborn |date=20 August 2024 |publisher=Speaking Tiger|isbn= 978-9354478031}}<br />
*[https://www.dannen.com/lostlove/ A Physicist’s Lost Love: Leo Szilard and Gerda Philipsborn]<br />
*{{cite book |last=Mehdi |first= Sughra |title=Kids' Aapa Jaan |date=18 September 2024 |publisher=Amazon Kindle|url= https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DHHD86NL}}<br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Philipsborn, Gerda}}<br />
[[Category:1895 births]]<br />
[[Category:1943 deaths]]<br />
[[Category:Social reformers]]<br />
[[Category:20th-century German educators]]<br />
[[Category:Jamia Millia Islamia people]]<br />
[[Category:People from Kiel]]</div>AryaInIND