Born on April 11, 1827, Jyotirao Phule was a social activist and anti-caste reformer who, along with his wife Savitribai Phule, worked for the uplift of women and children in the marginalised communities, facing ostracisation from the society for encouraging education for all women.
Mahatma Phule is widely respected as a champion of social justice and source of hope for countless people. He was a multifaceted personality who worked tirelessly for social equality, women empowerment and boosting education. Tributes to him on his Jayanti. pic.twitter.com/i7GoMoY7v7
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 11, 2022
The writer from Maharashtra also worked hard to eradicate untouchability and caste oppression. In 1848, he started his first school for girls at Bhide Wada in Pune. Later, he also formed the Satyashodhak Samaj (Society of Truth Seekers) along with his followers to fight for basic rights for people belonging to the lower castes.
Remembering Jyotirao Govindrao Phule on his birth anniversary today. An activist and reformer, Phule dedicated his life towards women’s education & ending caste-based discrimination. #MyGovMorningMusings pic.twitter.com/kvkIJodS0V
— MyGovIndia (@mygovindia) April 11, 2022
People from different religions and castes formed his association, and with years, his work earned him recognition throughout the state of Maharashtra where he is hailed today as an important figure of the social reform movement.
In 1888, he was given the title of ‘Mahatma’ (‘great soul’) by another social activist Vithalrao Krishnaji Vandekar.
Phule was born into a family that belonged to the Mali caste, that grew fruits and vegetables for a living. According to the Brahminical caste hierarchy, they were placed at the bottom of the varna, as ‘Shudras’.
My humble tributes to one of the greatest anti-caste revolutionaries Mahatma #JyotiraoPhule on his birth anniversary.
He was a pioneer not just in educating the oppressed and women, but also in conducting reformist marriages.
Let’s strive together to achieve his vision. pic.twitter.com/42btFQscLr
— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) April 11, 2022
While there was hardly any scope of education when he was growing up, having lost his mother at a very young age, there was believed to have been a man from Mali caste itself, who recognised his skills and intelligence, and requested his father to allow him to attend the local Scottish Mission High School, from where he completed schooling in English in 1847.
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He was married off when he was only 13, and was personally rebuked in 1848, while attending the wedding of a Brahmin friend. With time, he realised the state of women in the society and challenged it by first educating his wife Savitribai, and then starting an indigenously-run school for girls in Pune.
Mahatma #JyotiraoPhule will be remembered for his crusade against the caste system, untouchability, and also for pioneering women’s access to education in India. I pay my humble tributes to #MahatmaPhule on his Jayanti today. #JyotiraoPhuleJayanti pic.twitter.com/u9xMZ1F7Gp
— Jay Galla (@JayGalla) April 11, 2022
The conservative upper-caste society did not approve of it and the couple was routinely attacked for their stance on education and female empowerment. They were then helped by a friend Usman Sheikh and his sister Fatima Sheikh, also pioneers of the same cause, who provided them with shelter, and helped them start a school on the premises.
|What a photograph tells us about Fatima Sheikh
The Phules would witness the horrors of caste, wherein untouchables would be asked to wear a broom on their back while sweeping the road, so as to clean their tracks, widows being made to shave their heads, and untouchable women paraded naked on the street, forced to dance.
Remembering a great philosopher & revolutionary social reformer Mahatma #JyotiraoPhule on his birth anniversary. He devoted his entire life for the liberation of untouchables from the exploitation of Brahminsm & led the movement against the prevailing caste restrictions in India. pic.twitter.com/shCe2lh5qN
— Dayanand Kamble (@dayakamPR) April 10, 2022
This would bolster their will to educate women and make them aware of their rights, and to do away with the caste-based evils. They also fought to stop infanticide and promote widow remarriage. To end the stigma of social untouchability, he opened his house to people of the lower caste and allowed them to use his water-well.
He has some notable published works to his name, too. The social activist died November 28, 1890 at the age of 63.
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