Mahatma Jyotiba Phule and His Major Social Reforms | 28 Nov 2025

Source: News on AIR

Why in News? 

Mahatma Jyotiba Phule’s death anniversary was observed on 28th November, honouring his legacy as a pioneering social reformer who championed education as the catalyst for enduring social transformation.

How did Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Contribute to India’s Social Reform Movement?

• About Jyotiba Phule: A 19th-century social activist, thinker, and writer who dedicated his life to challenging the caste system and empowering the downtrodden, including SCs, STs, OBCs, Shudras, and women. 
  • Phule's perspective transformed after reading Thomas Paine's "Rights of Man," which inspired his lifelong commitment to social justice and equality. 
• Prominent Contributions: 
  • Anti-Caste Movement: Phule founded the Satyashodhak Samaj (Society of Truth Seekers) in 1873 to combat caste-based discrimination, and challenge Brahminical dominance.  
    • The organization spread its message through mediums like the newspaper Deenbandhu and folk dramas. 
  • Educational Revolution: In 1848, Phule and his wife Savitribai Phule pioneered women's education by establishing India's first school for girls at Tatyasaheb Bhide's residence in Pune.  
    • Savitribai became India's first female teacher. They also started night schools in 1855 for workers, farmers, and women. 
  • Literary Contributions: Phule articulated his revolutionary ideas through influential works: 
    • Tritiya Ratna: A conversation between a Kunbi (lower caste) woman, a Brahman, and a commentator, exposing the cunningness of the Brahman. 
    • Gulamgiri: Comparing caste oppression to slavery. 
    • Shetkaryacha Asud: Exposing peasant exploitation. 
    • Sarvajanik Satya Dharma: Promoting rational religious thought. 
    • Chhatrapati Shivaji Raje  Bosale Yanche Powada: Reinterpreted Shivaji as a non-Brahmin leader. 
  • Progressive Ideologies: He championed women’s rights, particularly widow remarriage, and established shelters for widows and orphans, while critiquing the 1857 Revolt as an upper-caste power struggle.  
    • He organized a strike of barbers convincing them to refuse to shave the heads of widowed women (a humiliating upper-caste tradition). 
    • He also supported British rule for its potential to dismantle traditional hierarchies and advocated economic empowerment alongside social reform. 
    • Jyotirao Phule championed Pandita Ramabai's conversion to Christianity in his work, Satsar. 
• Legacy: He was bestowed the title of Mahatma in 1888 by social activist Vithalrao Krishnaji Vandekar for his extraordinary contributions, inspiring future leaders like Dr BR Ambedkar and laying the foundation for anti-caste movements in India.