Mahatma Phule: The Unsung Hero

Almost two hundred years ago, there lived a man, Jyotiba Phule whose name when entered into Google, yields a very interesting quote, which I want to share with my readers:  

  "Nationalism cannot progress in India until differences over food and eating habits persist and marital relationships are imposed upon by differences of community."

Ahem! I thought to myself.   Someone had had the gumption to say that outright almost two hundred years ago!  Had he lived today, he would have never made it with the current powers-that-be.  Must have been quite a trail-blazer for his times!  I continued to read further, my curiosity thoroughly provoked.  It turned out I was not far wrong in my thinking; he was indeed a remarkable man, to say the least.

Apparently, the original surname of the family had been Gorhe and they hailed from the village of Katgun, in present day Satara district, Maharashtra.  His ancestors moved to Poona in search of livelihood. They befriended a florist, who taught them his line of work. They became quite proficient at growing and arranging flowers and took on the name of Phule (flower-man) in place of Gorhe. 

One of the Phule siblings, Govindrao, had two sons, of whom Jyotirao was the younger. His wife, Chimnabai, died before Jyotiba turned one. The Mali community did not give much importance to education, which Jyotiba commented upon later as follows: 

Lack of education leads to lack of wisdom,

which leads to lack of morals,

which leads to lack of progress,

which leads to lack of money,

which leads to the oppression of the lower classes

See what state of society one lack of education can cause!

Here was a man, all those years ago, who established a clear connection between lack of money and oppression. 

A Christian convert from the same Mali caste as Phule (there were Christian converts in that day and age too!), recognised his intelligence and persuaded Phule's father to allow Phule to attend the local Scottish Mission High School.So eventually, he got to attend a school that is quite the best of the best even today.  Phule studied until the seventh standard in that school. As was the prevailing practice, he got married at 13, to a Mali girl, Savitribai, who was his father’s choice.

However, the turning point in his life came in 1848, when he attended the wedding of a Brahmin friend.  After having been invited to the wedding, Phule was insulted roundly by his friend's parents for including himself in the baraat or the groom’s party. They told him that knowing fully well he was from a lower caste, he should have stayed away from that part of the ceremony.  This incident left a great mark on Phule and made him sharply aware of the injustice prevalent in the caste system.

In 1848, aged 23, Phule had the opportunity to visit the first girls' school in Ahmednagar, run by Christian missionaries. It was also in 1848 that he read Thomas Paine's book Rights of Man and developed a keen sense of social justice. (I wonder which student having just completed education up to the seventh standard, from any school today, is capable of reading, understanding and assimilating into his life something such as Rights of Man?).  He realised how disadvantaged lower castes and women were in Indian society, and more importantly, how education of these sections was vital to their emancipation.

To this end and in the same year, 1848, Phule first taught reading and writing to his wife, Savitribai, and then the couple started the first indigenously-run school for girls in Pune.  In his book Gulamgiri, he describes how they were ostracised for this by both family and community.  They were given shelter by their friends, Usman and Fatima Sheikh, brother and sister, who opened their doors to them against immense pressure from the local society. They also helped to start the school in their premises.  By 1852, the Phules started three schools for children from untouchable communities. Undeterred by criticism, he supported the cause of widow remarriage and set up a home for pregnant widows to give birth in a safe and secure place in 1863.  An orphanage was set up in an attempt to reduce the rate of infanticide.  Phule stood up against the stigma of social untouchability surrounding the lower castes by opening his house and the use of his water-well to their members. 

Phule held radical views on Aryans.  He believed that the caste system of the Aryans was merely an instrument to ensure the social superiority of the Brahmins.  But it was his views of the British that were really astonishing.  He felt that the British were comparatively enlightened as they did not believe in the caste system.  In his book, Gulamgiri, he has expressed his gratitude to Christian missionaries for making the lower castes realise that they were human too, and deserved basic human rights.  The book was dedicated to Abolitionists in the US and their dedicated efforts to end slavery.  Such were his levels of awareness!

His view of Rama, the hero of the Indian epic Ramayana, would have raised quite a few eyebrows too.  Phule considered him a symbol of oppression (Is it any wonder Phule’s name and his path-breaking achievements are not given the credit they deserve!).  He looked down upon the Vedas as the most fundamental texts of upper-caste Hindus, considering them to be a form of false consciousness. He is credited with introducing the Marathi word, dalit (fallen/broken/crushed), popularised in the 1970s by the Dalit Panthers. 

On 24 September 1873, Phule founded the Satyashodhak Samaj (Society of the Seekers of Truth) with the aim of focussing on the rights of disadvantaged groups such as women, the Dalits and lower castes.  The Satyashodhak Samaj upheld the ideals of human well being and happiness above all.  It highlighted the importance of rational thinking, unity and equality, while speaking up against orthodox religious principles and rituals.  Members included Muslims, Brahmins and government officials, with non-Brahmin castes dominating it.

He was appointed as a member of the municipal council to the Poona Municipality in 1876 and served in this unelected position until 1883.  He passed away in 1890. 

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, the first minister of law of India and the architect of the Indian Constitution, acknowledged Phule as one of his three gurus. 

This was Jyotirao Govindrao Phule (11 April 1827 – 28 November 1890) whose birth anniversary we celebrate today.  A man of outstanding courage, thinker,  reformer, social activist, who blazed an untrodden path against heavy odds.  He lit the way for others who came after him, some of whom were instrumental in building independent India.  He and his wife, Savitribai Phule, were pioneers of women education in India. The couple was among the first native Indians to open a school for girls of India.

Here was indeed, a man among men, a rare man, who measured the progress of his country from the state of its womenfolk.

Image courtesy gyanpandit.com