Amitabh Bachchan has bought 70,000 square feet of farmland in Daulatpur village in Barabanki (near Lucknow).  He is planning on building an all girls school for higher secondary students.  The school is named after Bachchan’s new daughter-in-law, Aishwarya Rai.

People are wondering why Amitabh Bachchan chose this area for the school, since he has no obvious relation to this place.  He has said that there are no other intentions involved other than providing an educational institution to an area which desperately needs it.  The nearest girls’ school is close to 45 kilometers (28 miles) away. 

Amitabh Bachchan layed the foundation stone on January 27, 2008 and the official name of the school is Shrimati Aishwarya Bachchan Kanya Mahavidyalaya.  People traveled from all over the area to witness the event.  The crowd was overflowing the allotted area and into neighboring fields.  Aishwarya expressed that she has always wanted to build a school for girls, but never wanted to name it after herself.  She said that there were elders in the family who should have the honor, but Bachchan convinced her that it was a gift for their daughter-in-law.

Congratulations to the Bachchan family for creating this wonderful opportunity for the girls of Daulatpur.  Hopefully many more will follow their lead.

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