Mahatma Jyotirao and Savitribai Phule

Context

Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari has recently received flak for his remarks on the social reformist couple Jyotirao and Savitribai Phule. 

• In a video said to have been taken during the inauguration of Savitribai Phule’s statue at the Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU), the Governor can be seen purportedly commenting on the child marriage of the activists.

Important facts about the duo

Mahatma Jyotirao and Savitribai Phule stand out as an extraordinary couple in the social and educational history of India. They spearheaded path-breaking work towards female education and empowerment, and towards ending caste- and gender-based discrimination.

Savitribai Phule

• Phule was born on January 3, 1831 in Maharashtra, and is remembered for her vital role in championing women rights in India.
• Savitribai, together with her husband Jyotirao Phule, founded one of India's first girls' schools in Pune, at Bhide Wada, in 1848.
  • In Bhida Wada school established by Savitribai Phule, she hired Fatima Begum Sheikh, who was the sister of Jyotiba’s friend Usman Sheikh. 
    • Fatima became the first Muslim woman teacher in the country.

• Apart from that, Savitribai Phule also broke the shackles of patriarchy by becoming the first Indian woman to become a teacher at a time when girls were not allowed to attend schools. 

  • She is also regarded as the first female teacher of India.

• Savitribai Phule later established three schools for girls in Pune by the end of 1851, with her husband.
• Phule later opened a women's shelter called the Home for the Prevention of Infanticide where widows could deliver their children and leave them for adoption if they wanted.
• She was against the child marriage and strongly opposed the Sati tradition. Phule also set up a shelter home for widows.
• Savitribai also used her voice to raise awareness regarding widow remarriage.
• She died on March 10, 1897 after contracting a disease while trying to save a 10-year-old boy.

Jyotirao Govindrao Phule

• Jyotirao Govindrao Phule was an Indian writer, social activist, thinker and anti-caste social reformer from Maharashtra. 
• He was born on April 11, 1827.
• He is known to work towards the eradication of untouchability and the caste system and for his efforts in educating women. 
• He and his wife, Savitribai Phule, were pioneers of women's education in India. 
• He, along with his followers, formed the Satyashodhak Samaj (Society of Truth Seekers) to attain equal rights for people from exploited castes. 
• Phule is regarded as an important figure in the social reform movement in Maharashtra. 
• He was bestowed with the honorific Mahatma title by Maharashtrian social activist Vithalrao Krishnaji Vandekar in 1888.
• Jyotiba Phule died in November 1890 in Pune.