Activist claims he invented story of ‘first Muslim teacher Fatima Sheikh’
In a series of tweets, Mandal claimed that Sheikh was a “fictional character” who had been propped up by him in the past.
Dilip Mandal, author, activist, and media advisor in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, stoked a controversy on Thursday when he claimed that Fatima Sheikh, widely celebrated as India’s first Muslim school teacher, and who was a colleague of Savitribai Phule, never existed.
In a series of tweets, Mandal claimed that Sheikh was a “fictional character” who had been propped up by him in the past. “Fatima Sheikh is more of a modern folklore or myth—a figure constructed without historical or textual evidence,” he posted on X.
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Fatima Sheikh, as described in various writings, was believed to be a close associate of Savitribai Phule. She was believed to have helped Jotiba and Savitribai establish India’s first school for girls in Pune and was regarded as the first Muslim woman teacher in India. The school at Bhide wada in central Pune was set up by the Phule family on January 1, 1848, and later came to be regarded as a pioneering institution for the education of girls.
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On January 9,2022, Google honoured Sheikh’s life with a doodle on her 191st birth anniversary which put her pioneering work in national spotlight. In his tweets Mandal however asserted that even the image attributed to Fatima Sheikh was fabricated.
Mandal, known in the past for his sharp critiques of Hindutva politics has changed his track in recent months. In August 2024, he was appointed media advisor in the I&B ministry. On Thursday, he explained his ideological shift thus: “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.”
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He also claimed that prior to 2022, there were no references to Fatima Sheikh in Google searches—no articles, no books, and no mentions. “She came into the social media narrative and just vanished,” Mandal added, admitting he had abandoned the story.
Despite Mandal’s claims, there is a historical reference to ‘Fatima’. In ‘Savitribai Phule – Samagra Vangmay’, edited by researcher MG Mali and published in 1988 by the Maharashtra Rajya Sahitya Ani Sanskruti Mandal, a state government body, is a letter written by Savitribai Phule to her husband, Jyotirao Phule which makes a mention of Fatima.
While recovering from an illness at her village of Naigaon in Satara district, Savitribai in a letter on October 20, 1856 wrote: “I will return to Pune immediately once I recover fully. Don’t worry. Fatima must have been burdened, but she will not complain.”
Although the letter does not mention Fatima’s surname, it indicates her involvement in the Phules’ work.
Shraddha Kumbhojkar, Professor and Head of the History Department at Savitribai Phule Pune University, said: “Based on the available references, it is clear that a person named Fatima did exist. During my interactions with late author Hari Narke and MG Mali, I sought more information but found limited material. The evidence suggests Fatima was part of the Phules’ lives and worked with them closely. What remains unclear is her exact role.” Narke, as cited by Kumbhojkar, was a prominent academic, social activist, and writer who was an expert on the works of Mahatma Phule.
Jyotirao Phule’s article, published in the periodical ‘Dnyanoday’ in September 1853, discusses the school and its activities, including writing and reading lessons, but makes no mention of Fatima. The article notes that five girls, mostly from upper-caste families, attended the school.
Nitin Pawar, convener of the Bhide Wada Smarak Samiti, pointed out that during the early 19th century, documentation by Bahujans and Muslims was rare due to the lack of a tradition of writing. “This lack of documentation resulted in many aspects of the Phules’ lives and their collaborators remaining unrecorded,” he said.
Regarding Mandal’s claims, Pawar added, “Mandal is not a historian and has changed his stance on various issues multiple times in the past.”
In 2019 Mandal had written a piece for ‘The Print’ which was taken down on Thursday, in which he questioned why history had forgotten the contributions of Fatima Sheikh. On Thursday he remained mysteriously elusive about why he had ‘propped up’ Sheikh. “Do not ask me why I did that. Waqt waqt ki baat hai (it depends on the times) an idol had to be created, and I did that.”
