Savitribai Phule, The Pioneer of Indian Social and Educational Revolution: A Reappraisal
Dr Ramjilal, Social Scientist, Former Principal, Dyal Singh College, Karnal (Haryana)
Mail. id. drramjilal947@gmail.com
Mob.8168810760
(Samaj Weekly)- Savitribai Phule (3 January 1831 – 10 March 1897) was the first woman teacher, headmistress, Adi poet of the Marathi language, woman social reformer, scholar, egalitarian thinker, philanthropist, pioneer of women’s empowerment, and a great liberator. As an educationist, and social reformer her most important role was in women’s education and empowerment She is an icon of women, Dalits and oppressed classes. The main objective of Savitribai Phule was to establish a society that would be free from ignorance, bigotry, girl foeticide, infanticide, illiteracy, child marriage, hair cutting (Mudan Sanskar ) of widows, poverty and hunger, where women and deprived classes could live a humane, dignified, bondage free, independent and fearless life. Savitri bai Phule was born on 3 January 1831 in Naigaon(At present Sitara District – Maharashtra), 50 km from Pune, in a gardener’s( Mali) caste family of Khandoji Naiveshe (Father) and mother Lakshmibai (Mother) Mali caste (Now Saini caste) is considered to be the original resident of Maharashtra. Some scholars also advocate that Savitribai Phule belonged to the Mahar caste this is the reason that today Mali (Saini caste) and Mahar caste (especially Chamar caste in North India) – both consider that Savitribai Phule belonged to their respective castes. Jyotiba Phule is reveredly addressed as ‘Father of the Nation’ and Savitribai Phule as ‘Mother of the Nation’ by the Mali (Saini) caste. We firmly believe that no matter which caste a person is born in, he/she is engaged as a social reformer not only for his/her caste but for the entire society. Every social reformer is above parochial loyalties – caste, creed, colour, gender, religion, region, etc. Savitribai Phule is no exception.
Early Marriage and Education
Savitribai was wedded to Jyotirao Phule in 1841 at the teenage of about 10 years. Jyotirao Phule was 11 years old at that time. According to the prevailing custom, it was a teenage child marriage, although later she opposed child marriage all her life. Savitribai Phule was completely illiterate at the time of marriage. At that time, educating girls was considered a sin. This was the main reason for the backwardness of women. Jyotiba Phule started educating her at home. She learned reading writing and counting at home and thereafter after Jyotiba Phule’s friends – Sukhram Yashwant Rai Paranjape and Keshav Shivram Bhawalkar also taught her. She was admitted to the Normal School (Pune) and successfully qualified third year and fourth-year class examinations. Thereafter she completed her teacher training at the American Missionary School (Ahmednagar) It was indeed her glorious achievement in the then-contemporary society where educating girls was a sin.
After completing her education, due to the encouragement of Jyotiba Phule, Savitribai Phule and Jyotiba Phule’s cousin sister Sagunabai started teaching girls at their home. This was a surprising step in the then society which later proved to be a milestone. The literal meaning of the word Phule is ‘flower’.But it was the thorny path for the Phules. In their chosen path, there were ‘fewer flowers and more thorns’. They were opposed and criticised at home and in their community for by the retrogressive elements and had to face excommunication. The Phules were thrown out of their parental house by Jyotiba Phule’s father, who was suffering from a conservative narrow mentality. The Phules became homeless. They had to take shelter in the house of their Muslim friend Usman Sheikh.
A Unique Example of Hindu-Muslim Harmony
Savitribai Phule has done incomparable work by rising above the sentiments of caste, religion and region and educating women of different religions and castes. If Savitribai Phule, belonging to the Hindu religion, is considered the first female teacher of India, then her colleague Begum Fatima Sheikh, Usman Sheikh’s cousin sister is respected as the first Muslim female teacher of India. But due to religious fundamentalism, it is not known to only common persons but also most of our leaders, and teachers do not know that Begum Fatima Sheikh was the first Muslim woman teacher. If Jyotirao Phule’s friend Usman Sheikh had not given shelter to the Phules in his house after being expelled from their house by Jyotiba’s father, ‘their path would have been more thorny’. With the help of Usman Sheikh and his cousin’s sister Begum Fatima Sheikh, the school was started from their house.
Influence of Contemporary Circumstances
Contemporary circumstances have a deep impact on every common man, litterateur, writer, poet and philosopher. Savitribai Phule was no exception. It is generally propagated that during Muslim rule, polygamous families became prevalent in India under the influence of the Muslim religion. Following the practice of Muslim rulers, Hindu rulers also started having more than one wife. But it is not based on historical facts. From the study of history, it is known that in the later Vedic period, the practice of midwifery was prevalent in the less affluent class and polygamy was prevalent in the affluent class. The highly educated class, i.e., the sages also had polygamous families. For example, Rishika Maitreyi was a famous woman of the later Vedic period and was one of the wives of Yagnyavalkya/. Aitareya Brahmana also describes ‘polygamy’ for men and ‘monogamy’ for women. It is further written that ‘one husband’ is sufficient for a woman.
(https://samajweekly.com/dr-bhimrao-ambedkars-vision-towards-women-empowerment/)
It is mentioned in many verses of Shatapatha Brahmana that the desire to have a son was very strong. According to The Atharvaveda, a girl’s embryo can be changed into a boy’s embryo. It is clear that the ancient Indian society was suffering from a ‘Son Stroke’ and even at that time the girl child was ‘unwanted’. This is a big contradiction and continues in the present century. The status of women declined drastically in the medieval era. It was indeed pitiful and condemnable as women no longer had the property right. The major traditions imposed on women during this period included the development of practices like Jauhar and Sati which from a human point of view, were extremely cruel, horrifying and scary. Apart from these, there were other cruel practices like the purdah system, child marriage, Devdasi system. Due to these irrational practices, women’s lives remained limited only to the four walls of the house. As a result, feticide and girl murder, sexual harassment against women, domestic violence and femicide increased. Ultimately “Yatra Naryastu Pujyante Ramante Tatra Devtaah. The principle of “Yatraitaastu Na Pujyante Sarvastatraphalah Kriya” became limited only to the pages of the book. Savitribai Phule wrote in this regard that instead of making women goddesses, they should be given equal rights and respect as men.
(https://samajweekly.com/dr-bhimrao-ambedkars-vision-towards-women-empowerment/)
Even in the 19th century, these practices – purdah system, child marriage, Devdasi system, Sati system, child marriage, , female feticide and murder of girl children, and women, sexual harassment towards women, and domestic violence continued. It was inevitable that these contemporary circumstances would have an impact on the thinking of Savitribai Phule. Her thinking reflects the narrow mentality of the then society and the way she was treated in her in-laws’.
Sources of Thoughts:
Apart from being a social reformer and teacher, Savitribai was also a great poet. Savitribai Phule is known as the first ‘Adi Kavitri’ of the Marathi language. In 1854, the first poetry book written in Marathi in the language of Savitribai Phule, “Kavya Phule” (Flowers of Poetry) was published. She also published ‘Bhavan Kashi Subodh Ratnakar ‘in 1892. Additionally, her poem titled ‘Go, Get Education’ is most inspiring because it gives a message that it is only through the education of women and depressed classes that can break the barriers and chains to get freedom from exploitation, oppression, injustice, and suppression. The poem while highlighting the importance of wisdom states that man is an animal without wisdom. Therefore instead of sitting idle go, and get an education to break the chains. The poem follows as under:
Go, Get Education
“Be self-reliant, be industrious
Work, gather wisdom and riches,
All gets lost without knowledge
We become animals without wisdom,
Sit idle no more, go, get an education
End the misery of the oppressed and forsaken,
You’ve got a golden chance to learn
So learn and break the chains of caste.
Throw away the Brahman’s scriptures fast.”
(Savitribai Phule, Kavya Phule, 1854)
The common belief in society is that the wife has a hand in every man’s success. But the success of Savitribai Phule has been due to the continuous and dedicated support of her husband Mahatma Jyotiba Phule. Mahatma Jyotiba Phule was her ‘protector, guru and supporter’.This is the reason why Savitribai Phule considered her husband as the ‘incarnation of truth’, ‘Lord’ and ‘God’ as is evident from the correspondence. The collection of letters written by Savitribai Phule to Jyotiba Phule has been published.(Braj Ranjan Mani and Pamela. Sardar (Ed.), A Forgotten Liberator, The Life and Struggle of Savitrabai Phule”). Of these, three letters (first on 18 October 1856, second on 28 August 1868 and third letter on 20 April 1877) are very important. These are not love letters but rather reflect her love for humanity, social conditions and her experiences. This is a description of the monopoly and privilege of Brahmanism, oppression, exploitation, her illness, Begum Fatima Shaikh, her brother’s behaviour and other issues. Apart from these, these letters also describe the evils prevalent in the then society like untouchability, and education for girls and Dalits. The social mentality against Dalits and girls, the plight and tragedy of the people due to famine and plague, exploitation of the people by moneylenders, the plight of farmers, social taboo etc. have been highlighted. She has written a letter to her ‘Lord’- Jyotirao Phule ( (18 October 1856), referring to the conversation between her and her brother. She inked what her brother said:
“You and your husband have rightly been excommunicated because both of you serve the untouchables (Mahars and Mangs). The untouchables are fallen people and by helping them you are bringing a bad name to our family. That is why, I tell you to behave according to the customs of our caste and obey the dictates of the Brahmans’’
She further wrote:
‘Though my brother is a good soul he is extremely narrow-minded and so he did not hesitate to bitterly criticize and reproach us…Brother, your mind is narrow, and the Brahmans’ teaching has made it worse. Animals like goats and cows are not untouchable for you, you lovingly touch them. You catch poisonous snakes on the day of the snake festival and feed them milk. But you consider Mahars and Mangs, who are as human as you and I, untouchables. Can you give me any reason for this? When the Brahmans perform their religious duties in their holy clothes, they consider you also impure and untouchable, they are afraid that your touch will pollute them. They don’t treat you differently than the Mahars.”
After hearing from his sister he asked her, “Why do you teach those Mahars and Mangs? People abuse you because you teach the untouchables. I cannot bear it when people abuse you and create trouble for you for doing that. I cannot tolerate such insults.” I told him what the (teaching of) English had been doing for the people. I said, “The lack of learning is nothing but gross bestiality. It is through the acquisition of knowledge that (he) loses his lower status and achieves the higher one. My husband is a god-like man. He is beyond comparison in this world, nobody can equal him. He thinks the Untouchables must learn and attain freedom. He confronts the Brahmans and fights with them to ensure Teaching and Learning for the Untouchables because he believes that they are human beings like others and they should live as dignified humans. For this, they must be educated. I also teach them for the same reason. What is wrong with that? Yes, we both teach girls, women, Mangs and Mahars. The Brahmans are upset because they believe this will create problems for them. That is why they oppose us and chant the mantra that it is against our religion. They revile and castigate us and poison the minds of even good people like you.”
Why is She called the First Woman Teacher?
From ancient times to the present century, there have been innumerable ups and downs in the social, educational, economic and political aspects of the life of Indian women. According to ancient Indian texts, women had equal rights as men. According to Vedic culture, the daughter had equal rights to property as the son. Women also had educational rights to live a self-reliant and respectable life and there was a system of co-education. According to the famous scholar Altekar, women were educationally strong due to receiving higher education. His intellectual and educational status was very high. According to him, the hymns of Rigveda were authored by 378 Rishis (sages) and 29 Mahila Rishis (female scholars).The Rigveda is the most important text of ancient India. It deals with social, educational, spiritual and intellectual issues of contemporary society. In the Rig Vedic period, women had the status of sages. Female sages were called Rishikas (sages or poets).
Female sages were allowed to openly participate in debates with male sages on a variety of subjects—cultural, academic, and educational. Among these sage women, the names of Vishvara, Lopamudra, Apala, Urvashi, Ghosha, Sulabha, Lilavati, Maitreyi, Shashwati, Kashana, Gargi, Sikta, Vak are worth considering in detail. Maitreyi used to participate in debates on philosophical topics with her husband Yajnavalkya; Gargi also engaged in philosophical debates with the sages and Lilavati was a famous mathematician. These women were called ‘Brahmavadis’ because they had attained the highest level of intellectual and spiritual knowledge. Historian Altekar says that it is quite clear that there was no practice of child marriage in the Vedic society. In short, in the Vedic era, women were educated and Brahmavadinis. As a result, these women came into the ranks of sages, preachers, philosophers, poets and ascetics. Her respect in society was equal to that of male saints because she was highly educated and intellectual. Although it is known from the history of ancient Indian culture that even before Savitribai Phule, women used to be teachers. It is a question that despite these historical elements why Savitri Bai Phule is called the first woman teacher? In this context, we will have to go into the background of Savitribai Phule.
Family Marriage and Education
Savitri Bai Phule got married at the age of 9. She was completely illiterate at that time. At that time it was considered wrong to educate girls and this was the main reason for the backwardness of women. Jyotiba Phule started educating himself at home along with his wife Savitribai Phule and his sister Sagunabai. After receiving a primary education at home, after receiving education from Jyotiba Phule’s friends – Sukhram Yashwant Rai Paranjape and Keshav Shivram Bhawalkar, Savitribai Phule took teacher training from American Missionary School (Ahmednagar) and Pune’s Normal School (Pune)
There are fewer flowers and more thorns on the path
After completing her education, due to the encouragement of Jyotiba Phule, Savitribai Phule and Jyotiba Phule’s cousin Sagunabai started teaching girls in Pune. Although this was a surprising step in the then society, it later proved to be a milestone. Although the literal meaning of the word Phule is ‘flower’, in the path of the Phule couple there were ‘fewer flowers and more thorns’. At that time educating girls was considered a ‘sin’. This is the reason why both of them were thrown out by Jyotiba Phule’s father, who was suffering from a conservative narrow mindset. The Phule couple became homeless. They had to take shelter in the house of their Muslim friend Usman Sheikh. If Jyotirao Phule’s friend Usman Sheikh had not given shelter to the Phule couple in his house after being expelled from the house by their father, their ‘path would have been more thorny’. With the help of Usman Sheikh and his sister Fatima Sheikh, the school was started from their own house.
There were several restrictions on women in the then society. At that time, educating girls was considered a sin and a curse. In such an environment, the Phule couple established a girls’ school in Bhide Wada (Pune) 175 years ago on 3 January 1848 (the birthday of Savitri Bai). Only 9 girl students had been admitted to it. Due to the dilapidated condition of this building, it has been closed for the last 16 years. The Maharashtra government should renovate this school building and declare it a national heritage.
Savitribai Phule, with the help of Jyotiba Phule and Fatima Begum Shaikh, opened five schools for girls in Pune. The curriculum of these schools was different from the schools taught at home by Brahmins. The curriculum of these schools included mathematics, science and social studies rather than the Vedas and Shastras (Brahmin texts). History experts believe that the education and teaching methods in these schools are much better than traditional schools
Inter-caste and Inter-religious Harmony
Savitribai Phule couple established the first Dalit school and the first farmer school. Savitribai knew Devanagari, English and Modi scripts. She taught mathematics, Marathi, Sanskrit, geography and history to girls in schools and has contributed by writing works in Hindi. In the schools established by Savitribai, education was given to Brahman girls, widows as well as girls of Mang, Mahar Kurmi, Maratha, Teli, Tamboli, Brahmin, Hindu, Muslim and Jain religions. This is the reason why Savitribai Phule is considered the first woman teacher. In short, we can say that the education given in Savitribai Phule’s schools was a symbol of inter-caste and inter-religious harmony.
This step of Savitribai Phule proved to be a light revolution and a milestone. On one hand, Savitribai was continuously humiliated and threatened by narrow-minded, and conservative persons of the community by abusing, throwing cow dung, mud and pelting stones, and on the other hand, on 16 November 1852, the Phule couple was honoured by the British government for this unprecedented work in the field of education. She was accolated as the best women teacher. The atrocities and humiliation could not shackle her faith and determination. She continued her work with the support of her husband, Begam Fatima Sheikh and Sagunabai (Cousin Sister of Jyotiba).In her lifetime she established 18 schools. It can be emphasized that she also established a night school for the peasants and labourers. As an educationist her contribution to the field of education was incredible. Therefore, it is suggested that she should be awarded posthumously the highest award of the land –The Bharata Ratana and her birthday should be celebrated as the Balika Dewas throughout the country. (https://navbharattimes.indiatimes.com/education/gk-update/savitribai-phule-biography-education-and-history/articleshow/86455801.cms).
Social Reformer:
She established a home for the prevention of child murder on 28 January 1853. She organized widow remarriage meetings to generate public awareness. She established the Mahila Seva Mandal in the year 1852. The main objective of the Mandal was to spread awareness among the women regarding their rights dignity, honour and other issues of social welfare. Additionally, She also established an ashram in 1854 for widows, destitute women and women abandoned by their families, A huge building was completed in 1864. The Phule couple set a great example by adopting the son of a widow. In a village, when the Dalits were not allowed to draw water from the public well and social tension arose, the Phule couple dug a separate well for the Dalits. As a social reformer, Savitribai opposed evil practices like child marriage, dowry system, Sati system, female foeticide, untouchability etc. and emphasized widow re-marriage and girl education. While trying to save the life of a plague-infected 10-year-old boy, she succumbed to the pandemic and her life came to an end on 10 March 1897. But the of light revolution lit by her is continuously guiding the women and the oppressed, suppressed and exploited and downtrodden classes.
From an illiterate girl, Savitribai became India’s first female teacher. On the contrary, at present teachers are deviating from the path of social reform. Not only this, many teachers get PhD degrees and MPhil degrees written by others after paying lakhs of rupees. In other words, despite being educated, people are becoming illiterate. This is a great irony. Our universities have become factories of PhD degrees. If we want to make India a real-world leader, then we will have to adopt the principles of Savitribai. The main objective of the teacher is to promote scientific temper. In the present context, through scientific thinking, the future generation has to be prepared against religious hypocrisy, communalism, superstitions and other evils prevalent in society so that an egalitarian and secular society can be established.
In brief, the school of circumstances provides real education to everybody. While doing good work for the welfare of society and walking on the path of truth, one faces many difficulties. However, self-confidence and firm determination are great sources of inspiration to achieve the goal. Savitribai Phule has faced many difficulties in her life from childhood to death including ostracization by family and community. She opposed evil practices but did not give up and continued moving towards her goal. She stood like a rock in all odd circumstances. This is why her name shines like a pole star in the galaxy of the golden history of women. Her ideas and ideals are relevant in the present century also
(Note: Summary of the speech given by me as chief speaker at the function organized by Anti Corruption Foundation of India on the birth anniversary of Savitribai Phule in Karnal on 3 January 2024.)
Read At
>https://samajweekly.com/savitribai-phule-indian-social-and-educational-revolution/weekly >https://samajweekly.com/dr-bhimrao-ambedkars-vision-towards-women-empowerment/)
>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savitribai_Phule
>Savitribai Phule Jayanti 2024: Celebrating India’s first woman teacher https://www.
>https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/education/news/savitribai-phule-jayanti-nation-celebrates-192nd-birth-anniversary-of-countrys-first-female-teacher-know-her-works-and achievements/articleshow/96697239
