4 – 5 decades ago, the socio economic condition of girls wasn’t good even in the affluent families. They were not better than slaves. They were kept away from any kind of awareness and knowledge. Generally boys were encouraged towards education but girls were deliberately prevented. People were of the opinion that girls don’t deserve liberty. If they get freedom they may get spoiled or may be misled by clever people. Even the parents treated them as unbearable burden and the girls were frequently reminded that their stay in the parents abode was temporary and their fate is actually tied up to their husbands and the families of in laws. In their own house the girls became the victim of favoritism and partiality. This all developed an indelible impression in the minds of the girls that they were useless in the male dominated society.
The miserable condition of girls and women made Dr Saroj Bajaj anxious and perturbed. She became restless and resolved to redefine and reform the stature of girls and women in the society. She knew that education only can empower and elevate the stature of women…
Dr. Saroj Bajaj left no stone unturned to bring awareness in the women’s society. She visited hundreds of villages across the country to propagate the relevance and importance of education. She used all means to convince the orthodox rural families & provided appropriate guidance and financial assistance to get their girls and women educated. This gesture of Dr. Saroj Bajaj has benefitted more than 50,000 girls and women who were living an aimless life in the villages.
The qualities like compassion and empathy found in Dr. Bajaj especially for girls and children, have been inherited from her Naani, who instilled a deep civic sense in her and encouraged her to help the less fortunate
She also derived inspiration from her father in law Sri V.D. Bajaj who was a staunch freedom fighter and one of the founders of AICC, Bhopal.
Dr. Saroj Bajaj strongly believes that women can be empowered only through proper education. She realized that illiteracy is predominantly larger in the lower sections of the society that could not take-up higher education unless free Education and Hostel facilities were provided to them. With an objective to educate these women, she has established many colleges such as Suman junior college for Girls, Mahila Dakshata Samiti & V.D. Bajaj Degree College for Women and Suman Vocational College for Girls, MDS & Bansilal Malani College of Nursing, located at Chandanagar, Hyderabad, for poor & less privileged orphan girls coming from rural background.
These colleges develop, care, nurture and empower the under-privileged women. Education not only makes a difference in their lives but also within their families and communities.
Hostel facilities are set up in the same campus where these Colleges are located. The Hostel was inaugurated by former Prime Minister Sri PV Narasimha Rao garu.
In 2001 Suman Junior College for Girls was inaugurated by Dr. C. Rangarajan, the then Governor of Andhra Pradesh, and former RBI Governor.
Mahila Dakshata Samiti Degree College for Girls was set up in the year 2005 with Bachelors Degree in Computers and Electronics. This Degree College was inaugurated by Sri Sushil Kumar Shinde, the then Governor of A.P.
A Vocational Nursing College was set up in June 2010. The goal of this college is to teach vocational skills to the girls which will enable them in becoming independent financially and self-reliant. This College was inaugurated by Sri E S L Narasimhan, the present Governor of Telangana and Sri K. Rosaiah Garu, the then Chief Minister of Undivided A.P.
In addition to the above, Music, Dance, Yoga and Sports wing were also set up for the multi dimentional development of students.
MDS & Bansilal Malani College of Nursing was set up in the year 2016. This College was inaugurated by Sri Pranab Mukharjee, Hon’ble President of India.
Dr. Bajaj has engrossed herself into the cause of women empowerment by establishing number of institutions. Her initiatives have benefitted thousands of poor girls.
A doctorate in Hindi literature, she was a professor in a college affiliated to Osmania University till 1998, thereafter she resolved to take voluntary retirement in order to devote her services completely to social cause.
She has a passion for writing poetry and has led a team of great Hindi poets for Kavi Sammelans at Detroit, Chicago, Houston & New York. She has written two books on ‘Yashpalji ke Upanyas’ and has published over 140 articles. Her mentionable hobbies are Gardening, Cooking, Painting, Reading Literature, Interacting with women from all walks of life.
She has been associated with numerous Government and non-government organizations in various capacities. She was the President of the all India Marwadi Mahila Sangathan. Under her guidance more than 300 seminars were conducted on various issues related to women all over India. She was the Founder Director of The A.P. Mahesh Co-operative Urban Bank, a premier bank in India. She was also the Chairperson of Aaramghar, home for the disabled and mentally challenged. She was on the Board of Studies for Oriental Languages, Osmania University, Hyderabad, and the list goes on.
She has represented Government of India from Andhra Pradesh in the International Women Conference held at Beijing, China.
She is the founder member and Chairperson of The A.P. Raja Rajeswari Mahila Co-operative Urban Bank, which was started with the sole objective of providing financial assistance to women.
Dr Saroj Bajaj is a sacred soul who has devoted her whole life for the social cause. Beside her dedication to society, she has also proven herself as an excellent home maker. She is married to Sri Vraj Bhushan Bajaj and has three children – Archana Maheshwari, Anurag Bajaj & Parag Bajaj who have been very successful in their respective professions.
In order to take forward her mission to a next level by supporting more students and to expand the current facilities, she seeks a quantum of effort, assistance and participation from the extended community.