Jyotiba Phule
Born: 11 April, 1827
Place of Birth: Satara, Maharashtra
Parents: Govindrao Phule (father) and Chimnabai (mother)
Spouse: Savitri Phule
Children: Yashwantrao Phule (adopted son)
Education: Scottish Mission's High School, Pune;
Associations: Satyashodhak Samaj
Ideology: Liberal; Egalitarian; Socialism
Religious Beliefs: Hinduism
Publications: Tritiya Ratna (1855); Powada: Chatrapati Shivajiraje Bhosle Yancha (1869); Shetkarayacha Aasud (1881)
Passed Away: 28 November, 1890
Memorial: Phule Wada, Pune, Maharashtra
Jyotirao ‘Jyotiba’ Govindrao Phule was a prominent social reformer
and thinker of the nineteenth century India. He led the movement against
the prevailing caste-restrictions in India. He revolted against the
domination of the Brahmins and struggled for the rights of peasants and
other low-caste people. Mahatma Jyotiba Phule was also a pioneer for
women education in India and fought for education of girls throughout
his life. He is believed to be the first Hindu to start an orphanage for
the unfortunate children.+
Childhood & Early Life
Jyotirao Govindrao Phule was born in Satara district of Maharastra in
1827. His father, Govindrao was a vegetable-vendor at Poona. Jyotirao's
family belonged to 'mali' caste and their original title was ‘Gorhay’.
Malis were considered as an inferior caste by the Brahmins and were
shunned socially. Jyotirao's father and uncles served as florists, so
the family came to be known as `Phule'. Jyotirao's mother passed away
when he was just nine months old.
Jyotirao was an intelligent boy but due to the poor financial
condition at home, he had to stop his studies at an early age. He
started helping his father by working on the family's farm. Recognising
the talent of the child prodigy, a neighbour persuaded his father to
send him to school. In 1841, Jyotirao got admission in the Scottish
Mission's High School, Poona, and completed his education in 1847.
There, he met Sadashiv Ballal Govande, a Brahmin, who remained his close
friend throughout his life. At the age of just thirteen years, Jyotirao
was married to Savitribai.
Social Movements
In 1848, an incident sparked off Jyotiba’s quest against the social
injustice of caste discrimination and incited a social revolution in the
Indian society. Jyotirao was invited to attend the wedding of one of
his friends who belonged to an upper cast Brahmin family. But at the
wedding the relatives of the bridegroom insulted and abused Jyotiba when
they came to know about his origins. Jyotirao left the ceremony and
made up his mind to challenge the prevailing caste-system and social
restrictions. He made it his life’s work to hammer away tirelessly at
the helms of social majoritarian domination and aimed at emancipation of
all human beings that were subjected to this social deprivation.
After reading Thomas Paine's famous book 'The Rights of Man',
Jyotirao was greatly influenced by his ideas. He believed that
enlightenment of the women and lower caste people was the only solution
to combat the social evils.
Efforts Towards Women Education
Jyotiba’s quest for providing women and girls with right to education
was supported by his wife Savitribai Phule. One of the few literate
women of the time, Savitribai was taught to read and write by her
husband Jyotirao.
In 1851, Jyotiba established a girls' school and asked his wife to
teach the girls in the school. Later, he opened two more schools for the
girls and an indigenous school for the lower castes, especially for the
Mahars and Mangs.
Jyotiba realised the pathetic conditions of widows and established an
ashram for young widows and eventually became advocate of the idea of
Widow Remarriage.
Around his time, society was a patriarchal and the position of women
was especially abysmal. Female infanticide was a common occurrence and
so was child marriage, with children sometimes being married to men much
older. These women often became widows before they even hit puberty and
were left without any family support. Jyotiba was pained by their
plight and established an orphanage in 1854 to shelter these unfortunate
souls from perishing at the society’s cruel hands.
Efforts Towards Elimination of Caste Discrimination
Jyotirao attacked the orthodox Brahmins and other upper castes and
termed them as "hypocrites". He campaigned against the authoritarianism
of the upper caste people and urged the "peasants" and "proletariat" to
defy the restrictions imposed upon them.
He opened his home to people from all castes and backgrounds. He was a
believer in gender equality and he exemplified his beliefs by involving
his wife in all his social reform activities. He believed that
religious icons like Rama are implemented by the Brahmin as a means for
subjugating the lower caste.
The orthodox Brahmins of the society were furious at the activities
of Jyotirao. They blamed him for vitiating the norms and regulations of
the society. Many accused him of acting on behalf of the Christian
Missionaries. But Jyotirao was firm and decided to continue the
movement. Interestingly, Jyotirao was supported by some Brahmin friends
who extended their support to make the movement successful.
Satya Shodhak Samaj
In 1873, Jyotiba Phule formed the Satya Shodhak Samaj (Society of
Seekers of Truth). He undertook a systematic deconstruction of existing
beliefs and history, only to reconstruct an equality promoting version.
Jyotirao vehemently condemned the Vedas, the ancient holy scriptures of
the Hindus. He traced the history of Brahmanism through several other
ancient texts and held the Brahmins responsible for framing the
exploitative and inhuman laws in order to maintain their social
superiority by suppressing the "shudras" and “atishudras” in the
society. The purpose of the Satya Shodhak Samaj was to decontaminate the
society from caste discrimination and liberate the oppressed
lower-caste people from the stigmas inflicted by the Brahmins. Jyotirao
Phule was the first person to coin the term ‘Dalits’ to apply to all
people considered lower caste and untouchables by the Brahmins.
Membership to the Samaj was open to all irrespective of caste and class.
Some written records suggest that they even welcomed participation of
Jews as members of the Samaj and by 1876 the 'Satya Shodhak Samaj'
boasted of 316 members. In 1868, Jyotirao decided to construct a common
bathing tank outside his house to exhibit his embracing attitude towards
all human beings and wished to dine with everyone, regardless of their
caste.
Death
Jyotiba Phule devoted his entire life for the liberation of
untouchables from the exploitation of Brahmins. Apart from being a
social activist and reformer, he was also a businessman. He was also a
cultivator and contractor for the Municipal Corporation. He served as
Commissioner of the Poona Municipality between 1876 and 1883.
Jyotiba suffered a stroke in 1888 and was rendered paralyzed. On 28
November, 1890, the great social reformer, Mahatma Jyotirao Phule,
passed away.
Legacy
Perhaps the biggest legacy of Mahatma Jyotirao Phule is the thought
behind his perpetual fight against social stigma that are enormously
relevant still. In the nineteenth century, people were used to accepting
these discriminatory practices as social norm that needed to be
enforced without question but Jyotiba sought to change this
discrimination based on caste, class and colour. He was the harbinger of
unheard ideas for social reforms. He started awareness campaigns that
ultimately inspired the likes of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and Mahatma Gandhi,
stalwarts who undertook major initiatives against caste discrimination
later.
Commemoration
A biography of Jyotiba was penned by Dhananjay Keer in 1974 titled,
‘Mahatma Jyotibha Phule: Father of Our Social Revolution’. The Mahatma
Phule Museum in Pune was set-up in honour of the great reformer. The
Government of Maharashtra introduced the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule
Jeevandayeeni Yojana which is a cashless treatment scheme for poor. A
number of statues of the Mahatma have been erected as well as several
street names and educational institutes have been rechristened with his
name – eg. Crawford Market in Mumbai is rechristened as Mahatma Jyotiba
Phule Mandai and the Maharashtra Krishi Vidyapeeth at Rahuri, Maharshtra
was renamed Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth.
Published Works
Jyotiba had penned a number of literary articles and books in his
lifetime and most were based on his ideology of social reforms like the
‘Shetkarayacha Aasud’. He also penned some stories like ‘Tritiya Ratna’,
‘Brahmananche Kasab’, ‘Ishara’. He wrote dramas like ‘Satsar’ Ank 1 and
2, which were enacted under his directives to spread awareness against
social injustice. He also wrote books for the Satyashodhak Samaj that
dealt with history of Brahminism and outlined Puja protocols that the
lower caste people were not allowed to learn.
