Context:
Prime Minister paid tributes to Jyotiba Phule on his birth anniversary.
Jyotiba Phule:
- Renowned social reformer, writer, educationalist and champion of social justice.
- Born in – Maharashtra, 1827
- Ideology –
- He believed that the only solution to combat the social evils was the enlightenment of women and members of the lower castes
- Attacked the orthodox Brahmins for perpetuating caste inequalities
- Realised the pathetic conditions of widows and became an advocate of the idea of Widow Remarriage
- He worked for abolishment of untouchability and caste system in Maharashtra.
- Founded Satyashodhak Samaj (‘Truth-seekers’ society’) to attain equal rights for people from lower castes.
- With help of his wife Savitribai Phule, he started 1st school for girls in 1848 in Pune.
- Awarded the title of Mahatma by a Maharashtrian social activist Vithalrao Krishnaji Vandekar.
- Literary works – Tritiya Ratna, Gulamgiri, Shetkaryacha Aasud
- Death - 1890
Source: Times of India
Previous Year Question
Satya Shodhak Samaj organised:
[UPSC Civil Service Exam – 2016 Prelims]
(a) a movement for upliftment of tribals in Bihar
(b) a temple-entry movement in Gujarat
(c) an anti-caste movement in Maharashtra
(d) a peasant movement in Punjab
Answer: (c)
