Author Dilip Mandal says the so called first Muslim woman teacher of India was a creation of his imagination. Fatima never existed. A fictional sketch was created.
The anti-Hindutva forces had glorified the fictional Fatima Sheikh
Mumbai: Former managing editor of India Today Hindi Magazine, and author of several books on media and sociology, Dilip Mandal, admitted on Thursday that Fatima Sheikh, who is considered to be the first Muslim woman teacher of India, is a mythical character and that it was he who created the character.
In a sensational post titled ‘Confession’ on the microblogging site X, Mandal wrote – “I had created a myth or a fabricated character and named her Fatima Sheikh. Please forgive me. The truth is that “Fatima Sheikh” never existed; she is not a historical figure. Not a real person. It is my mistake that, during a particular phase, I created this name out of nothing—essentially from thin air. I did that knowingly.”
A wikipedia page created in 2022 describes Fatima Sheikh as “the sister of Mian Usman Sheikh, in whose house Jyotirao and Savitribai Phule took up residence.” And goes on to describe her as “One of the first Muslim women teachers of modern India, she started educating Bahujan children in Phules’ school. Jyotirao and Savitribai Phule along with Fatima Sheikh took charge of spreading education among the downtrodden communities. Fatima Sheikh met Savitribai Phule while both were enrolled at a teacher training institution run by Cynthia Farrar, an American missionary.[4] She taught at all five schools that the Phules went on to establish and she taught children of all religions and castes. Sheikh took part in the founding of two schools in Mumbai (Then Bombay) in 1851.”
The Google also had made a doodle on Fatima Sheikh in 2022. However, Mandal. In his post has wronged this all.
“You will not find a single entry in a Google search earlier. No article, no book, no mention. Nothing. Interest in her vanished in 2022 when I abandoned the story of Fatima Sheikh. She came in social media narrative and just vanished,” Mandal wrote in his post on X.
However, Mandal hasn’t offered any reason for creating such a fictitious figure.
“Do not ask why I did it. It was a matter of time and circumstance. A figure needed to be constructed for a purpose, and so I crafted one. Thousands of people can attest to this—most of them heard this name from me for the first time. I know the art of creating narratives, of building images. I have mastered this craft, so it was not difficult for me,” he wrote in his post on X.
He added that, “A fictional sketch was created because there were no old photographs. I spun many stories about her. And thus, Fatima Sheikh came into being. The story spread. Those who needed this narrative for political and ideological purposes amplified it.”
Incidentally, several of the scholars on Phule, always doubted existence of Fatima Sheikh and had even sounded their concern. Referring to that Mandal wrote, “The complete writings of Jyotiba Phule and Savitribai Phule have been published, and nowhere is the name Fatima Sheikh mentioned as someone who taught alongside them. Even Babasaheb Ambedkar never referred to such a name. No biographer of Mahatma Phule or Savitribai Phule has mentioned Fatima Sheikh. No Muslim scholar referenced this name until 15 years ago. British documents that discuss the educational efforts of the Phule couple make no mention of Fatima Sheikh either. She is nowhere to be found—absolutely nowhere.”
He also advises not to refer to his old writings as the evidences for existence of Fatima Sheikh. “As evidence, please refrain from digging up my old tweets, Facebook posts, articles, or videos. I have mentioned Fatima Sheikh’s name the most. I admit to this. But she never existed,” Mandal wrote on X.
Mandal, known to be a vocal critic of Hindutva, was appointed as Media Advisor by the Narendra Modi government after the Lok Sabha elections in June 2024.
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