![]() He was the person who actually initiated the concept of widow remarriage and was ably supported and encouraged by his wife Savitribai Phule. The couple worked towards setting up second school for girls in India in the year 1848 where he was also forced to leave his home. He was the person who started the process of widow remarriage and also established a home for widows belonging to the upper class in 1854, and also home for newly born infants to prevent female infanticide. Phule also tried to get rid of the scar of social untouchability that was surrounding the upper caste people. He did set up the Satya Shodhak Samaj (Society of Seekers of Truth) on September 24, 1873, a group whose main aim was to liberate the social Shudra and Untouchables castes from exploitation and oppression. He was also a member of the Pune municipality from 1876 to 1882. Jyotirao Phule's Connection with Women Activists Some of the well-known and first modern contemporary feminists were very close to Phule which included his wife Savitribai Phule, Pandita Ramabai, a Brahmin woman. The latter was one of the prominent names in that period - she was an advocate for the rights and welfare for the women in modern India; Tarabai Shinde, the non-Brahmin author of a fiery tract on gender inequality which was largely ignored at the time but has recently become well-known; and Muktabai, a fourteen-year-old pupil in Phule's school, whose essay on the social oppression of the Mang and Mahar castes is also now famous. He started "Shiv Jayanti"(Birth day of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj) first time in India. He also played an active role towards discovery of the "Samadhi" of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj on Raigad Fort which had disappeared in creepers and climbers. He wrote "Shivajicha Powada" an epic poem. This article is a stub. You can enrich by adding more information to it. Send your Write Up to content@indianetzone.com |