women’s education in India

JYOTIBA PHULE: ARCHITECT OF SOCIAL EQUALITY IN MODERN INDIA

Jyotiba Phule was a pioneering nineteenth-century social reformer who challenged caste hierarchy, gender discrimination and religious orthodoxy in Indian society. Born into the Mali community, he, along with Savitribai Phule, championed women’s education, opened schools for marginalised children and exposed the injustices of the caste order through influential works like Gulamgiri. In 1873, he founded the Satyashodhak Samaj to organise Shudras and Ati-Shudras, promote rational thought and challenge Brahminical dominance through egalitarian rituals, public education and social activism. His ideas profoundly shaped later movements led by B. R. Ambedkar and continue to influence contemporary struggles for equality, social justice and Bahujan empowerment in India.