Introduction and Early Life

  • Jyotiba Phule was born on 11th April, 1827. He is recognised as a pioneering social reformer, philosopher, and writer.
  • His birth anniversary is observed yearly on the 11th of April.
  • He moulded his life’s work to challenge the Brahmanical orthodoxy, advocating for the rights of Dalits and women, thus laying the foundation for India’s movements for social justice. 

 

Key Contributions and Reforms

  • His contributions spanned education, society, economy, religion, farming, and rationalist thought.
  • He opened India's first girls' school in 1848 with his wife Savitribai and began night schools for workers, farmers, and women in Pune in 1855.
  • Phule was a vocal critique of caste oppression and Brahminical figures. He was a supporter of the British in their efforts to uplift oppressed groups and women.
  • He founded the Satyashodhak Samaj in 1873 to tackle caste hierarchies.
  • Through the Deenbandhu newspaper, he strengthened the messages of the Satyashodhak Samaj.
  • He viewed the 1857 Revolt as an upper-caste effort for the restoration of Brahmin rule.
  • His economic reforms concentrated on advocating compulsory education for lower castes and economic upliftment as a means to dismantle caste hierarchies.

 

Publications and Philosophical Stances

  • Jyotiba Phule was also an author and his major publications included Tritiya Ratna (1855), Powada: Chatrapati Shivajiraje Bhosle Yancha (1869), Gulamgiri (1873), Shetkarayacha Aasud (1881).
  • He also focused on religious freedom, defending the right to conversion for Pandita Ramabai through his work Satsar (The Essence of Truth).
  • Similarly, in Shetkaryanche Asud (Farmer’s Whip), he critiqued the exploitation of Shudra peasantry by British and Brahmin bureaucratic alliances.
  • He advocated for a just and equitable society where God is seen as a loving and rational creator through his work Sarvajanik Satya Dharma Pustak. 

 

Acknowledgements and Influence

  • He drew much inspiration from Thomas Paine's The Rights of Man, firmly believing in the potential of education for women and lower castes as key to ending social evils.
  • Recognising Phule's tremendous contributions to society, Maharashtrian activist Vithalrao Krishnaji Vandekar bestowed upon him the title of Mahatma on 11th May, 1888.