Maharashtra
Birth Anniversary of Jyotiba Phule
- 12 Apr 2025
- 2 min read
Why in News?
The Prime Minister of India paid tribute to Mahatma Jyotirao Phule on his birth anniversary and praised him as a true servant of humanity.
Key Points
- About Jyotiba Phule:
- He was born on 11th April, 1827, and emerged as a pioneering social reformer who challenged Brahmanical orthodoxy, fought for the rights of Dalits and women, and laid the foundation for India’s social justice movements.
- Social Reforms:
- Phule and his wife Savitribai opened India’s first girls’ school in 1848 and later started night schools (1855) for workers, farmers, and women in Pune.
- Phule opposed caste oppression, criticized Brahminical figures like Chiplunkar and Tilak, and supported the British to uplift the oppressed and women.
- Phule founded Satyashodhak Samaj (1873) to fight caste hierarchy and, in Gulamgiri, compared caste oppression to American slavery.
- "Deenbandhu," a Marathi weekly newspaper, was founded in 1877 and served as a platform for Satyashodhak Samaj
- Viewed it as an upper-caste effort to restore Brahmin rule.
- He advocated compulsory education for lower castes and economic upliftment to dismantle caste hierarchies.
- Major Publications:
- Tritiya Ratna (1855), Powada: Chatrapati Shivajiraje Bhosle Yancha (1869), Gulamgiri (1873), Shetkarayacha Aasud (1881).
- Death: 28th November, 1890. His memorial is built in Phule Wada, Pune, Maharashtra.
