Context

• On Savitribai Phule’s 194th birth anniversary, Hon’ble Prime Minister paid tribute to India’s first woman teacher.

Who was Savitribai Phule?

• A Dalit woman from the Mali community, Savitribai was born on January 3, 1831, in Maharashtra’s Naigaon village.
• Married off at the age of 10, her husband Jyotirao Phule is said to have educated her at home.
• Later, Jyotirao admitted Savitribai to a teachers’ training institution in Pune.
• Throughout their life, the couple supported each other and in doing so, broke many social barriers.
• At a time when it was considered unacceptable for women to even attain education, the couple went on to open a school for girls in Bhidewada, Pune, in 1848. This became the country’s first girls’ school.
• The Phules opened more such schools for girls, Shudras and Ati-Shudras (the backward castes and Dalits, respectively) in Pune, leading to discontent among Indian nationalists like Bal Gangadhar Tilak.
• They opposed the setting up of schools for girls and non-Brahmins, citing a “loss of nationality”, and believing not following the caste rules would mean a loss of nationality itself.
• The opposition to the couple was so hostile that eventually Jyotirao’s father Govindrao was forced to kick them out of his house.
• Savitribai herself faced great animosity from the upper castes, including instances of physical violence.
  When serving as the headmistress of the first school in Bhide Wada, upper-caste men often pelted stones and threw mud and cow dung on her.
• It is said that Savitribai would have to carry two saris when she went to school.
• She would change out of the soiled sari once she reached the school, which would again be soiled on her way back.

Phule’s role as a social reformer, beyond education

• Along with Jyotirao, Savitribai started the Balhatya Pratibandhak Griha (‘Home for the Prevention of Infanticide’) for pregnant widows facing discrimination.
• Savitribai Phule also advocated inter-caste marriages, widow remarriage, and eradication of child marriage, sati and dowry systems, among other social issues.
• The Phules also adopted Yashwantrao, the child of a widow, whom they educated to become a doctor.
• In 1873, the Phules set up the Satyashodhak Samaj (‘Truth-seekers’ society’), a platform open to all, irrespective of their caste, religion or class hierarchies, with the sole aim of bringing social equity.
• As an extension, they started ‘Satyashodhak Marriage’ – a rejection of Brahmanical rituals where the marrying couple takes a pledge to promote education and equality.
• The couple also set up ‘Balyata Pratibandak Gruha’, a childcare centre for the protection of pregnant widows and rape victims.
  • Urging women to break free of caste barriers, Savitribai encouraged them to sit together at her meetings.
• At her husband’s funeral procession on November 28, 1890, Savitribai again defied convention and carried the titve (earthen pot).
• Walking ahead of the procession, Savitribai was the one who consigned his body to the flames, a ritual which is still predominantly carried out by men.
• Setting an extraordinary example of living a life of compassion, service and courage, Savitribai became involved in relief work during the 1896 famine in Maharashtra and the 1897 Bubonic plague.
  • She herself contracted the disease while taking a sick child to the hospital, and breathed her last on March 10, 1897.

Savitribai’s literary works

• Savitribai Phule published her first collection of poems, called Kavya Phule (‘Poetry’s Blossoms’), at the age of 23 in 1854.
• She published Bavan Kashi Subodh Ratnakar (‘The Ocean of Pure Gems’), in 1892.
• Besides these works, Matushri Savitribai Phlenchi Bhashane va Gaani (S’avitribai Phule’s speeches and songs’), and her letters to her husband have also been published.

Source: IE

Visit Abhiyan PEDIA (One of the Most Followed / Recommended) for UPSC Revisions: Click Here

IAS Abhiyan is now on Telegram: Click on the Below link to Join our Channels to stay Updated 

IAS Abhiyan Official: Click Here to Join

For UPSC Mains Value Edition (Facts, Quotes, Best Practices, Case Studies): Click Here to Join