Heera Devi Yami: The Courage to Teach in Chains
When the 104-year tyranny of the Rana regime finally collapsed, it left behind stories of unimaginable suffering — and of rare courage. For ordinary Nepalis, those were years lived under fear; for women, it was a lifetime of silence. Education was forbidden, speech was dangerous, and even the act of helping others could lead to imprisonment.
Yet, in that suffocating world, one woman dared to teach.
A Secret Classroom Under Fear
In the early 1940s (B.S. 2004), when every whisper of learning was treated as rebellion, Heera Devi Yami, daughter of businessman Heera Kaji, quietly began gathering children in the neighborhood of Keltole, near the home of scholar Jagat Lal.
Those were times when even the act of reading or writing could be punished with jail. Police informers roamed the streets, and spies (CIDs) would appear unannounced to raid homes suspected of teaching activities. Yet, Heera Devi continued — teaching by candlelight, moving her little “classrooms” from one hidden corner to another whenever danger grew too close.
Her student, Ratnaeswari Shrestha, now an elderly resident of Chakupat, still recalls how “the young and pretty Heera Devi had to cover her face and body to stay safe from the eyes of the Ranas.” Life for girls was perilous — beauty, knowledge, or independence could all become reasons for persecution.
Witness to Revolt and Resistance
While tuberculosis ravaged her body, Heera Devi’s spirit remained unbroken. She traveled to India for treatment, where she witnessed Gandhi’s anti-British movement in Kolkata and Kalimpong. Those protests — “British Hatao Abhiyan” — ignited her political consciousness.
She returned to Nepal convinced that tyranny could be overthrown. She married Dharma Ratna Yami, a fearless revolutionary who was repeatedly jailed for defying Rana rule. Her family disowned her for marrying a political prisoner, and the couple was forced to hide in the mountains of Sankhu.
Even after her husband’s imprisonment, Heera Devi refused to retreat. She began teaching at Buddhi Bikas School, where she earned food grains and vegetables as payment. With that, she fed not just her family, but also imprisoned revolutionaries and their starving wives and children.
A Mother, a Rebel, a Teacher
Heera Devi, who lost her mother at age seven, raised six daughters and one son while carrying the burdens of illness, poverty, and persecution. Despite suffering from heart disease and asthma by her forties, her resolve never faltered.
She often gathered her children and told them:
“If I leave behind property and jewelry, others will take them away. But if I leave behind education and service, no one can steal that. Study as much as you can — and serve society.”
Her legacy was not only political but deeply cultural. She rejected oppressive rituals such as Bel Bibaha and Gufa for her daughters, and Bartaman for her son — choosing to “walk the talk” of reform. Society punished her for it: her daughters faced difficulties finding husbands, even the eldest, Dr. Dharma Devi, despite holding an MBBS degree.
Still, progress began to take root. Dharma Devi eventually married into an enlightened Rajbhandari family, defying caste boundaries that once defined fate.
The Seeds of Freedom
The society Heera Devi dreamed of — one where girls could study freely, where caste did not define destiny — is closer today, but her story reminds us how recent and fragile that progress is.
She and her students — Ratneswari Shrestha and Laxmi Pravha Bajracharya — risked everything for the right to learn. Their courage forms an unseen foundation of Nepal’s modern education and women’s movement.
Heera Devi Yami was more than a teacher — she was a rebel who turned compassion into defiance.
In the shadows of fear, she taught a nation how to be free.