A Forgotten Liberator by Braj Ranjan BaMani

Image: Siddhesh from the case of the Phules it is evident that the Dalit political discourse of the 19th century abandoned the false dichotomies of the private and the public. Their approach to education is a striking reminder and challenge to the upper-caste hegemony prevalent within 21st century modern India. Both Jyotiba and Savitribai were pioneers of inclusivity and diversity that we envisage in the education system of contemporary India. Today marks the 190th birth anniversary of Savitribai Phule and a salutation to her relentless struggle for women’s emancipation in India. Farrar’s Institution in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra.

She obtained her higher education and received training as a teacher for Ms. It was Jyotirao Phule who taught her how to read and write.

Savitrimai’s education started after her marriage. She was married to Jyotirao Phule at the age of nine and then on, the couple together, as well as individually, emerged as leading voices of the Dalit movement of the 19th century. Known for her influential anti-caste literature and contribution towards women’s education, Savitribai Phule’s political activism reveals that the Dalit’s struggle for education, equality, freedom and power is intimately connected with the politics of radically remaking Dalit women as historical agents and transgressive subjects of social reform.īorn on January 3rd, 1831 in the Naigaon village of Satara in Maharashtra, Savitribai Phule was a prominent figure in the social reform movements of Maharashtra. One such firebrand intellectual and pioneer was Savitribai Phule(1831-1897). Phule, Ambedkar and the larger Dalit community urged women to again every possible education to develop self-esteem, self-confidence, determinacy and daring in order to channel their agency effectively towards cleansing the community as well as striking at the roots of caste and gender oppression. The Phule-Ambedkarite Movement for Dalit rights largely conceived of a struggle and upliftment of the Bahujan community that predominantly involved women’s education and emancipation.

A Forgotten Liberator by Braj Ranjan BaMani