HISTORY
The school
“Mohan Lal Sah Bal Vidya Mandir” has a very rich history, culture and heritage. The foundation stone of the school, then “Birla Balika Vidya Mandir” was laid in the year
1959 by Bharat Ratna Dr. Rajendra Prasad who was the then President of India. Those were the days when free India was a young nation and patriotism was flowing in the blood of every Indian. The medium of instruction was then obviously “HINDI”. Birla Balika Vidya Mandir was the girls wing of Birla Vidya Mandir the renowned boys school of Nainital. It also used to cater to boys till Class V. With the passage of time, around 1970, the Board of Governors of the Birla Education Trust decided to wind up the girls wing.
Uttarakhand Shiksha Bharati Society
It was then that some educationists and social workers of Nainital got together and founded a society the
“Uttarakhand Shiksha Bharati Society”
to run the school and save it from an untimely and premature demise. Prominent among the people who started the society were :
-
Late Shri Sukhdev Pande
Padma Shree
- Late Shri Ghananand Pande
Padma Vibushan
- Late Shri Shyam Lal Verma
Ex M.L.A.
- Late Shri Chandra Lal Sah
Educationist & Social Worker
- Late Shri Manohar Lal Sah
Chairman, Municipal Board, Nainital
- Late Shri Madan Lal Sah
Founder & Chairman, Kurmanchal Nagar Sahkari Bank
With the withdrawal of the Birlas the school was called “Balika Vidya Mandir”. In the year 1978, the Governing Body of the “Uttarakhand Shiksha Bharati Society” took the decision to name the school in the sacred memory of Late Shri Mohan Lal Sah Ji the prominent and veteran freedom fighter from the hills. The school was thus renamed as “Mohan Lal Sah Balika Vidya Mandir”.
India was integrating with the world economy. English had become the language of Business. To build careers in both the Private and Public Sector command over the English language had become a necessity. Uttarakhand Shiksha Bharati Society recognising this need started in 1981 an English medium wing. This was co-educational i.e. both for boys and girls till Class V. The English medium wing grew slowly and steadily and became a full fledged school “Mohan Lal Sah Bal Vidya Mandir” as we know it today.
From the mid nineties the school stopped taking boys and became a school dedicated to the welfare of only Girls. The school got itself affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), New Delhi and the first batch appeared for Class X, in the year 1997. In 1999 the first batch appeared for the Class XII, CBSE Board examination. The school also boasts of excellent residential facilities for Girls.
Today Uttarakhand Shiksha Bharati Society manages two schools the other being the “Mohan Lal Sah Balika Vidya Mandir, Inter College, Nainital” a school from Class VI to Class XII with the medium of instruction being Hindi and which is affiliated to the Uttarakhand Board
Members of the Managing Committee
|
1. |
Sri N.C.Sah |
Chairman.
|
|
2. |
Smt. Amita Sah |
Vice Chairperson. |
|
3. |
Sri Devi Lal Sah |
Treasurer |
|
4. |
Sri Vinay Sah |
Secretary |
|
5. |
Prof.Beena Sah |
Member.
|
|
6. |
Smt.Geeta Pande |
Member.
|
|
7. |
Prof. B.C.L.Sah |
Member.
|
|
8. |
Sri Anup Sah |
Member. |
|
9. |
Sri M.C.Pande |
Member. |
|
10. |
Sri Bharat Lal Sah |
Member.
|
|
11. |
Km.Deepa Sah |
Member |
|
12. |
Dr.H.C.Pande |
Member.
|
|
13. |
Sri Lalit Pande |
Member
|
|
14. |
Sri Anupam Sah |
Member
|
|
15. |
Smt.Sunita Sah |
Member
|
| 16. |
Principal-Birla Vidya Mandir,Ntl. |
Member
|
| 17. |
Miss Neeta Vyas |
Principal- member Ex-officio. |
| 18. |
Mrs.Anupama Sah |
Principal- member Ex-officio |
SHRI MOHAN LAL SAH - An introduction and tribute
(31st May 1895 to 30th August 1946)
Shri Mohan Lal Sah Ji was born in Almora on 31st May, 1895 into a prominent and prosperous family. He had his primary education in Almora, his schooling in Bareilly and college in Allahabad. He took his B.A. Degree from the Allahabad University in 1919. He did his M.A. and L.L.B. also from Allahabad University in 1927. For some time he practised as a lawyer in the Allahabad High Court. It was here that he came in touch with leaders of national stature which moulded the course his future was to take. During his student days itself, in Allahabad University, he was an active social worker and took keen interest in the cooperative movement. He excelled in sports and represented the University in Hockey and Lawn Tennis.
Shri Mohan Lal Sah Ji was elected as a Member of the Nainital Municipal Board, for the first time, in 1921. He was a member from 1921 to 1924. Later he was elected as the Senior Vice - Chairman in 1933 and was the first Indian Chairman of the Nainital Municipal Board in 1935-36. He was also a member of the Ranikhet Cantonment Board and was its Vice - Chairman from 1923 to 1927.
He was one of the five founder Directors of the Nainital Bank Limited in 1922. He was listed in the “Who is Who” of India in 1928 as an eminent banker. He also founded the leading banking firm of “Durga Sah Mohan Lal Sah Bankers” in the cities of Ranikhet, Almora and Nainital. He founded the Municipal Library of Nainital and had it named as “Durga Sah Municipal Library” to perpetuate the name of his father Lala Durga Sah.
Shri Mohan Lal Sah Ji was nominated in 1934 as a member, to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council to represent the interest of the Banking Industry. He was appointed a member of the U.P. Banking Enquiry Committee, the U.P. Industrial Finance Committee, the U.P. Rural Debt Enquiry Committee, the U.P. Electricity Enquiry and various other Committees.
In 1937 Shri Mohan Lal Sah Ji was elected from Almora, as a member of the U.P. Legislative Council as an independent candidate defeating his nearest rival, the Congress candidate, by a wide margin. He joined the Indian National Congress in 1939.
In 1940 Shri Mohan Lal Sah Ji was arrested for offering Satyagrah, under Individual Satyagrah Movement, and was awarded one year’s rigorous imprisonment on 12th December 1940. In April 1942, he was again arrested under section 34 of Defence of India Rules for making inflammatory speeches and was tried in Nainital jail. He was defended by the eminent lawyer Dr. Kailash Nath Katju and others. Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru was one of the defence witnesses. In August 1942, the “Quit India” movement was launched and Shri Mohan Lal Sah Ji was detained under Section 129 of Defence of India Rules in Bareilly and Almora Jails. He was released, due to his ill health, from Almora Jail in 1944.
In 1946 Shri Mohan Lal Sah Ji was again elected, this time as the Congress candidate, to the U.P. Legislative Assembly. He was appointed as the Parliamentary Secretary in July 1946. He met his untimely death in Bombay on 30th August of that year, 1946, when he had gone there on work of the Uttar Pradesh Government to negotiate the quota and release of Jute for U.P.
This is what some prominent people had to say of Shri Mohan Lal Sah Ji when tributes were paid to him in the U.P. Legislative Assembly and Council.
QUOTE
Mohan Lal Sah was endowed with a passion for public service a consuming passion which left him no rest and every minute of his time during the thirty years of his public life was dedicated to selfless service of the public. One can seldom find such an indefatigable and zealous worker. The memory of his selfless deeds will always be there to remind us about the disinterested service to humanity and it is a matter of deep sorrow to us that we will no longer be able to benefit by his activities.
Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant
Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh
UNQUOTE
QUOTE
Shri Mohan Lal Sah never did things in a half - hearted manner. I remember having seen him inspite of bad health, which he contracted mostly in jail, trudging on his pony or on foot in the hilly tracts collecting money or organizing the activities of the Congress. Shri Mohan Lal Sah was a genial friend, unselfish and generous to a fault. He would be missed greatly not only by the members of his family, but he will be missed by the larger family of this House of which he was a member.
Dr. Sir Sita Ram,
President, U.P. Legislative Council.
UNQUOTE
LOCATION
The state of Uttarakhand also known as Dev Bhoomi is the abode of the Gods. There can be no better place to educate our children than this. In Uttarakhand is the “City of Lakes” now famously known as Nainital. It is said that Nainital is referred to in the Manas Khand of the Skanda Purana as the “Tri-Rishi-Sarovar”, the lake of three sages Arti, Pulastya and Pulaka. Accordingly to the legend these sages, while on their pilgrimage, found no water. They visualised Mansarovar and dug a large hole. This hole converted itself into a lake which is today our Nainital. The name Nainital, however, is attributed to an ancient temple of Goddess Naina Devi which is built on the shore of the lake. Legend has it that when Lord Shiva was roving frantically with the corpse of his first wife, Sati, he happened to drop one of her eyes here. A temple was built to the Goddess “Naina” and the place came to be known as Nainital. “Naini” after the Goddess “Naina” and “tal” meaning “lake”. Nainital was not inhabited until the Englishmen started settling here. The discovery of Nainital is attributed to an Englishman named Barron in the year 1839. He built the first house and named it Pilgrim Lodge. The Englishmen fell in love with this lovely place as the landscape and climate reminded them of home. Soon they built boarding schools so that their children could escape the heat and the dust of the plains and study in comfort. The growth of Nainital had begun and the rest .... is history. In the middle of this picturesque town the school Mohan Lal Sah Bal Vidya Mandir is located.
CAMPUS AND FACILITIES
Amidst Pine, Oak, Deodar and other trees is the lush green compound of Peter’s Field. This has a sprawling complex of almost 3.5 acres and houses the school Mohan Lal Sah Bal Vidya Mandir. At one time, long ago, it has also housed All Saints’ College. It is encircled by a strong and high boundary wall and has three playing fields. Double storeyed buildings provide sufficient number of spacious classrooms. Bunk beds in the hostel encourage closeness, bonhomie and a sense of sharing among the hosteliers. Friendships are forged which last more than a lifetime. A large dining area in which all the boarders can be seated at one time, a large auditorium, a library cum reading room, well equipped laboratories for Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Computers, Geography, Social Sciences etc. provide the ideal setting for learning in a clean, unpolluted and invigorating environment. Two basket ball courts, a badminton court, table tennis, facilities for athletics or to practice YOGA and opportunities to play hockey, cricket, kho-kho and other outdoor sports are provided.
For the convenience of parents and guardians a branch of the Kurmanchal Nagar Sahkari Bank Ltd is also located next to the school premises where fees and other dues can be deposited.
OUR AIMS and WHAT WE OFFER
The school strives to provide the right environment for the all round physical, intellectual and spiritual development of the children. To help, train and guide its impressionable young girls to metamorphose and transform into ladies of strong character with a balanced and independent attitude. The school tries to ensure that the young women who cross its portals are tolerant and instilled with the spirit of service to the society and to the nation. These young women would be able to stand on their own on any social, economic, political or leadership platform while still being rooted to their Indian traditions, culture and heritage.
The school provides a secular and caste less environment in the true spirit of our constitution. The morning assembly has multi - religious prayers and also provides the children an opportunity to learn the skills of public speaking. Participation and involvement in sports, games, dance, drama and debates develop their self confidence, team building, leadership and other soft skills.
The school without compromising on the education that it provides in Humanities, Science and Commerce grooms better human beings.
Each child in the Hostel is well looked after and individual needs are taken care of by the house mother with her assistant. Morning exercises and evening games are compulsory for all hosteliers. The age old adage is indeed true “a healthy body houses a healthy mind”. The hostel provides vegetarian food. Eggs and egg preparations are provided on request.
To the children the school provides safety, security and a “home away from home”. To the guardians the school offers “peace of mind”.
The school provides value based education at affordable costs.