Source: PIB
Context: The Prime Minister has paid tribute to the great social reformer, Mahatma Jyotiba Phule on his birth anniversary
About Jyotiba Phule (1827 to 1890)
| About | Description |
| Ideology | Liberty, Egalitarianism, Socialism. Phule was influenced by Thomas Paine’s book titled The Rights of Man |
| Major Publications | Tritiya Ratna (1855), Powada: Chatrapati Shivajiraje Bhosle Yancha (1869), Gulamgiri (1873), Shetkarayacha Aasud (1881) |
| Related Association | Founder of Satyashodhak Samaj in 1873 with the aim to attain equal social and economic benefits for the lower castes in Maharashtra |
| Municipal Council Member | Served as commissioner to the Poona municipality until 1883 |
| Title of Mahatma | Bestowed with the title of Mahatma in 1888 (by a social activist Vithalrao Krishnaji Vandekar) |
| Social Reformer | An advocate of gender equality, he opened the first school for girls in Pune; established an ashram for young widows, and worked for the abolishment of untouchability and the caste system. He believed that the only solution to combat social evils was the enlightenment of women and members of the lower castes. He along with his wife opened the first indigenously run school for girls in Pune (1848) where they both taught. |
