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An educationist and a leading social reformer, Savitribai Phule played eminent role in the fields of Women Empowerment and Upliftment of the downtrodden.  Savitribai, a philanthropist, is revered as the first female educator of contemporary India. Besides being a prolific writer in Marathi, she gave new heights to poetry. Savitribai emerged as the face of modern Indian feminism and also sets an example for all women who desire to take a stand for the cause of righteousness.

At the time when rigid societal traditions were acclaimed as the symbols of being civilized; when there prevailed absence of social awareness, devils of untouchability, casteism, sati, child marriage & appraisal of widowhood, Savitribai Phule appeared as the Pole Star of this cloudy society in order to show them the way ahead. Hari Narike has written - “In the social and educational history of India, Mahatma Jyotirao Phule and his wife Savitribai Phule stand out as an extraordinary couple, they were engaged in a passionate struggle to build a movement for equality between men and women and for social justice”.

This study aims to bring into notice the contribution of Savitribai Phule in fields of education, women empowerment, lower caste upliftment, and literary initiatives; and give her the right place in the pages of history and literary works.

1. Mani, B. R., Sardar, P. (2008). A Forgotten Liberator: The Life and Struggle of Savitribai Phule. Mountain Peak, Delhi.

This is a marvellous source of Savitribai's poems, and the letters that she wrote to her husband. It gives an insight into the struggles that she faced within family and outside. This work shows that how the Phule coupled stood the test of time and fought for the downtrodden people. this gives vivid details on her life.

2. Pandey, R. (2019). Locating Savitribai Phule’s Feminism in the Trajectory of Global Feminist Thought. 

This article studies Savitribai as an epitome of feminist thought and how her efforts fit into different waves of global feminist movement. while discussing the viewpoints of various scholars w.r.t feminism, Renu Pandey depicts that Savitribai stood as a flagbearer of gender justice.

3. Malik-Goure, A. (2016). Feminist Philosophical Thought in Colonial India.

This paper studies Savitribai and her feminism as a whole, particularly in her literary and poetic writings. considering her as a mother of social revolution, Goure has given various excerpts of Kavyaphule in her article that proved to of immense help.

4. Educational Contribution of Savitribai Phule in 21st Century India by  A.C Das and Amit Das

As the name says, this piece of writing particularly focusses on the educational developments heralded by Savitribai along with her husband and colleagues. how she suffered and tolerated insults to educate women and widows is praiseworthy. It further talks of the value her ideas hold in present times. Das relates her steps towards educational development to schemes undertaken by contemporary government and the government of India at present.

Similarly, various texts and articles have been reviewed while writing this article.

I. History has been constantly witnessing the rise and fall of empires. In similar pattern, each one’s life faces the heydays and ultimately the doomsday. However, the thing that remained constant through the ages was the depredation of women and despoilation of her identity. Savitribai Phule’s life was no exception to it. From entering into child marriage at the age of nine, to facing constant abuses for initiating revolutionary changes in society, she has faced it all, with an undauntable stature. Savitribai, was the one “who chose to walk tall, in step with her husband, ahead of her time by centuries” (Malik-Goure, 2016, p. 580).

Savitribai developed an urge of reading at an early stage, but going by the contemporary setup, she was blamed of committing sin double-handedly i.e., firstly, it was a sin for lower caste people to even think of getting educated in the times when learning was an upper caste privilege; secondly, it was beyond social acceptance that even a woman has the right to study. But she was fortunate enough to get the support of her husband Jyotirao Phule, who gave her initial lessons at home, going against the family diktat. Later, she upskilled herself in an Ahmednagar institution run by Miss Cynthia Farrar & also at Normal school in Pune. On facing continuous opposition from the malign elements of society, soon the Phule family ostracized the couple.

The foundation of maiden girl’s school in Pune was laid by Savitribai at Bhide Wada (1848). Unmoved by the opponents, she dared to admit all the nine students of her initial batch from the community that suffered maximum due to casteism i.e. the Shudras. By, 1852 three girl’s school were founded by her along with the efforts of her husband, and Fatima Sheikh. On 16^th November of the same year, she was rewarded by British government as the best teacher, taking into consideration her cumbersome efforts.

She considered knowledge to be of greatest value vis-à-vis any materialistic element because matters do pass away, but the knowledge stays forever. She wrote in Kavyaphule-

“Your prime duty is to gain knowledge

Then comes games and recreation

In the spare time lend a hand with the housework

But first and foremost, go to school” (Dhara, n.d., p. 70).

In her opinion, an educated woman meant an educated family, because she nurtured whole family. Savitribai cheered up the importance of knowledge and reason in the following way-

“…Let knowledge be your God, pursue it all the way

With determination attain success, don’t let your mind sway

Knowledge is so precious; it is the   greatest gift of all

One with a treasury of knowledge, a wise person people do call.”

In a male dominated society where women were treated like mere chattels; deprived of basic human rights, four walls were considered as the foci of their lives, it was at that moment when Savitribai came to their rescue. She challenged the dominance of one sex over the other. She was farsighted enough to realize Education as the key to woman emancipation. She gave a clarion call-

“Awake, arise, and educate

Smash tradition- liberate!”

She considered Ignorance as the biggest enemy. In one of her compositions, ‘Agyan’ she claimed-

“Just One enemy do we have today

Let’s thrash him and drive him away

The name of this enemy I shall tell

Listen carefully, harkens well

Ignorance!”  (Dhara, n.d., p. 81).

She said, “If inequality in family; How can there be equality in society?”

Every effort of the opponents, in place of dissuading her, rather bolded her aims. Savitribai was dishonored and humiliated on her way to school.  Katke (2019) explains that she was often greeted with cow dung, stones and mud being thrown at her (p. 26). Undeterred by such insults, author Divya Kandukuri says that Savitribai chose to carry an extra saree in her bag while going to school.

Being a pragmatic feminist, she believed that men and women share equal functions in family and society. Her Indian way of Feminist ideology was not only practical in context of India but also shared features of variegated waves of Feminism ongoing globally. Education for her was not just literacy, rather it was a ‘woman’s door to freedom’. Her educational views stand in close concomitance with present view of apt educational set up. She was the glass breaker who sidelined the conventional system and stood for universal education for all. She brought forward the pluralistic view of education and also realized the importance of compulsory primary education. These ideas are reflected even in the fundamental rights and fundamental duties of Indian Constitution.

She even a wrote a poem, ‘Go, Get Education’. Some of its lines are present in Kavyaphule (pp. 36-71) as followed:

“Be self-reliant, be industrious

Work, gather wisdom and riches,

All gets lost without knowledge

We become animal without wisdom,

Sit idle no more, go, get education

End misery of the oppressed and forsaken,

You’ve got a golden chance to learn

So learn and break the chains of caste.”  

In order to attract more students, she made a unique move of writing welcome poems for the newcomers. Lalita Dhara’s edition of Kavyaphule mentions them-

“I am pleased to greet you all today

And welcome you on this very fine day

The parents are all gathered here

Renowned personalities are also there

You honour us by your presence, you do!

With joy and humility we welcome you.

Come dear children, come…” (p. 66).

This husband-wife duo opened up various schools, and a society for promoting education of Mahars and Mangs, during 1850’s. A Native school was also inaugurated in Pune, particularly for females. How important education was considered by the Phule couple could be known from the following assertion of Jyotirao– “Without knowledge, intelligence was lost, without intelligence morality was lost and without morality was lost all dynamism! Without dynamism money was lost and without money the shudras sank. All this misery was caused by the lack of knowledge” (Phadke, n.d., p. 253).

In today’s time we run Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, prefer learner centric & participatory teaching methods, concept of mid-day meals, parents teacher meeting, providing incentives etc., which were taken into cognizance by Savitribai way back in 19^th century. She not only organized regular meet up with parents to explain the value of education, but also provided stipends to check the drop out ratio from schools.

Savitribai’s herculean efforts to carve out space for females and downtrodden ones i.e., for Stree-Shudra-Atishudra in the field of education, also find mention in present times with ‘access, equity and quality’ being the three pillars of the modern education system. Kandukuri claims that her methods of teaching were in fact superior to those followed by the contemporary government. Savitribai was completely against the downward filtration theory of colonial rulers and had a clear bent of mind in favour of universal & mass education.

II. Evils against women existed in the backdrop of religious sanctions & social conventions, so Savitribai’s fight for women, naturally called for a stance against existing social norms. Thus, her work for women emancipation and upliftment of downtrodden went in tandem with each other. She was one amongst the stalwarts of Maharashtra social reform movement, who left no stone unturned for the eradication of untouchability & caste-gender based discrimination. She posed a challenge to upper caste dominance and this made her the leading icon of Dalit, Mang & Mahar community. Phule fought for the ‘right to live with dignity’ way back in mid-19^th century.

Carving out her own niche betwixt the inner and outer circles of patriarchy & colonialism, her efforts were none less than a revolutionary. Education for her was the sunlight for the hitherto darkness accustomed downtrodden strata. Considering the involvement of lower class in other physical works, she opened a night school for them. Savitribai, with the support of her husband also opened a well in their house for the so-called untouchable ones whose shadow was even considered as impure and devilish in those times.

Savitribai equally suffered with her husband Jyotirao while raising a voice against the irrational notions of purity and pollution based on caste. Satyashodhak Samaj was founded in 1873; that had a motto for every Indian- ‘Liberalize, Equalize and Modernize’. The samaj worked ardently to support the lower castes and popularize the inter caste marriages. Savitribai headed the female branch of the organization and showed it the way ahead post the death of Jyotirao. She personally bore the expenses of first Satyashodhak marriage of her friend, Bajubai Gyanoba Nimbankar’s daughter- Radha.

III. Apart from above mentioned works, Savitribai went a step further to work for widows, & victims of child marriage. As a result of her strong will and determination, Savitribai founded ‘Mahila Seva Mandal’ that worked for women rights. She played a commendable role in attacking the taboos attached to widowhood. Her approach towards them is pure, irrespective of the class or status of the widow i.e., whether the widow belonged to Brahmin or Non- brahmin community was never a matter of concern for her.

In fact, she successfully organized the strike of barbers to raise voice against the shaving off of heads of widows. In 1863, she opened ‘Balhatya Pratibandhak Griha’ i.e., an infanticide prohibition home, where victims of rape & childbearing widows can go through labour, without any fear. Her decision of adopting Yaswant Rao, son of a brahmin widow sent shockwaves through the traditional societal setup and was a clear triumph of her progressive mentality.

Phule couple is credited with the starting of 52 food hostels in Maharashtra. In addition to taking care of nutritional intake of students in class, Savitribai also worked tirelessly to help the victims of famine of 1876 and drought of 1897.Her dauntless spirit to serve the victims of the third bubonic plague was so intense that she continued doing so till her last breath. She along with her doctor-son Yashwantrao, helped to treat the people affected from plague in Nallasopara, Maharashtra. And finally, the woman who served others throughout her life, also passed way while treating the plague patient on March 10^th,1897.

IV. Savitribai Phule left indelible marks in the field of literature as well. She has done praiseworthy efforts in promoting both Marathi and English language. Her writings infused life into the desires of contemporary women, of getting liberated from the shackles of patriarchy. She tirelessly popularized the modern ideas of rationalism and humanism. Concepts of equality and liberty formed the bulwark of her writings. Mali (2008), rightly called her as “the mother of modern Marathi poetry” (p. 56). Although, she supported the cause of popularizing and enriching Marathi, she was equally aware of the need to raise the fluency of English language among the natives. Her thirst to learn English was quenched to a certain extent with the ardent support of Sagunabai, relative of Jyotirao who worked as nanny in British officer’s house and therefore, could conversate in the same. She (Savitribai) wrote-

“The outcasts can wipe away their woes if they wish,

Here’s a golden chance to learn English

Learn English and do away with caste discrimination

Cast away the tiresome tales of the Brahmins to damnation.”

Two remarkable literary creations by her were- Kavya Phule (1851) & Bawan Kashi Subodh Ratnakar (1891). In Kavya Phule, she chose to write in simple and folk style with education, social welfare and caste discrimination as the subjects. It is on account of these poetic studs that she is often called as the ‘pioneer of modern Marathi poetry’. She considers education as a ‘Golden chance’ in Kavya Phule-It is as follows:

“To attain self-reliance let us pledge

And accumulate a wealth of knowledge      

Without learning, life is an animal existence, waste

Don’t rest, get an education, make haste 

She put up the question “should they be called   animals?”

No knowledge,

no learning

No affinity for either

A brain that lies fallow

Should they be called humans?”

Besides, editing Jyotiba’s speeches, she wrote three letters to him. These writings show her literary inclinations and her views on contemporary social issues, both of which were uncommon for a woman of her time. She even wrote an essay on debt with the title ‘Karz’, thereby, condemning the vicious cycle of debt in which lower caste people got trapped. Her love for literature is visible from the fact that how she inspired one of her students to demand the establishment of a library in place of asking for gifts from the government.

She was the inspiration behind a renowned essay by Muktabai(her disciple) on the sorrows of the most ill-treated dalit caste groups of Maharashtra- ‘Mang Maharachya Dukhvisayi’, which is one of the earliest piece of writings authored by a woman, on the oppression of untouchables and their sufferings.

Savitribai Phule is an emblem of an empowered woman. She was woman of strong will who never hesitated to break the stereotypes. The time when a woman’s identity was subjected to social stereostypes; she came out as a saviour for those who were held captives in their own homes. From fighting for her educational rights to lighting the funeral pyre of her husband, she never subdued before the social norms. She was true icon of women’s rights (A. Das & A.C. Das, 2021, p. 1285).

However, the pages of history and literature fail to give her the place she deserves. Barring a few exceptions, she is rarely mentioned in history of educational development in particular and that of Modern India in general. Braj Ranjan Mani & Pamela Sardar in their book, ‘A Forgotten Liberator: the Life and Struggle of Savitribai Phule’, mention that Savitribai Phule despite struggling equally with Jyotirao, remained esoteric due to elements of castiesm and misogyny. It is beyond doubt that her struggles should be applauded by a wider spectrum, inclusive of non-marathi people as well.  

A dedicated exponent of lower caste & women education, a crusader of female liberation & Dalit upliftment, an enthralling poet, a bravo mass leader who openly criticized caste and patriarchy, surely stands out of the crowd. She made many contributions, apart from being an ideal life partner of Mahatama Jyotirao Phule. It is because of elitist approach to writing that such an important figure remains obscure in context of praising her individuality.

A woman of optimistic viewpoint, she shall always remain a ray of hope for those who dare to choose the cause of righteousness. She once said-

 “We shall overcome and success will be ours in the future.

  The future belongs to us.”

Prof. Hari Narake says that no amount of praise is suffice for the great stature of Savitribai. Savitribai besides being an advocate of gender justice, also stands as an ideal for every Indian woman.

Every woman of India should realise the hidden element of Savitribai within themselves and gather courage to fight back hard, whenever the Frankenstein of gender discrimination raises its head again. Savitribai is an ideal for every such person, particularly for women who have an urge to take a stand for their rights. Many ideals appraised by the constitution of India like Right to live with dignity, freedom of expression, fight against discrimination & untouchability, right to education etc could all be surmised into a single persona of the Krantijyoti Vidyajyoti Mother Savitribai Phule.

1. Smita, B., et al. ‘Savitribai Phule’s Contribution to Women Empowerment’. International E-Journal for Educational Research & Interdisciplinary Studies, vol. 5, no. 4, 2016, pp. 1–5.

2. Biswas, S., and D. Bhattacharyya. ‘Role of Savitribai Jyotirao Phule in the Perspective of Indian Women Education’. Journal of Uttarakhand Academy of Administration Nainital, JUAAN, 2022, pp. 26–33.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/364330033_Role_of_Savitribai_Jyotirao_Phule_in_the_Perspective_of_Indian_Women_Education

3. Das, A., and A. C. Das. ‘Educational Contribution of Savitribai Phule in 21st Century India’. International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD), vol. 5, no. 4, 2021, pp. 1281–1286.

www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd42547.pdf

4. Dhara, Lalitha. ‘Phule’s and Woman’s Question’. Dr. Ambedkar College of Commerce and Economics, 2011.

5. Kandukuri, D. ‘The Life and Times of Savitribai Phule’. Mint, 2019.

https://lifestyle.livemint.com/news/talking-point/the-life-and-times-of-savitribai-phule-111642592582316.html

6. Katke, S. M. ‘Savitribai Phule Contribution towards Indian Social Elements - A Study’. Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research, vol. 6, no. 11, 2019, pp. 25–32.

https://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1907P04.pdf 

7. Mali, M. G. Savitribai Phule-Samagra Vangamaya. Maharashtra Rajya Sahitya Sanskriti Mandal. 2008.

8. Malik-Goure, Archana. ‘Feminist Philosophical Thought in Colonial India’. IRA-International Journal of Management & Social Sciences (ISSN 2455-2267), vol. 4, no. 3, Institute of Research Advances, Oct. 2016, p. 579.

9.  Mani, B. R., and P. Sardar. A Forgotten Liberator: The Life and Struggle of Savitribai Phule. 2008.

10. Narake, H., et al. Sadhane Prakashan Samiti, Govternment of Maharashtra. 1993.

11. Pandey, Renu. ‘Locating Savitribai Phule’s Feminism in the Trajectory of Global Feminist Thought’. The Indian Historical Review, vol. 46, no. 1, SAGE Publications, June 2019, pp. 86–105.

https://doi.org/10.1177/0376983619856480 

12. Phadke, Y. D. Mahatma Phule Samagra Vangmaya. Maharashtra Rajya Sahitya and Sanskruti Mandal. 1991.

13. Rao, A. Gender and Caste: Issues in Contemporary Indian Feminism. Zed Books Ltd, 2005.

14. Rege, S. ‘Savitribai Phule Second Memorial Lecture’. National Council of Educational Research and Training. ISBN, vol. 978–8, 2009, pp. 17450–17931.

15. Wolf, T., and S. Andrade. ‘Savitribai and India’s Conversation on Education’. Oikos Worldviews Journal, vol. 8, no. 2, 2008.

https://www.roundtableindia.co.in/savitribai-and-indias-conversation-on-education/