On 3rd January , 1831, a great lady, endowed with a holy soul was born at Naigaon of present Maharashtra who is still in the heart of millions of Indians because of his noble and great deeds albeit her activities irritated those days some men in that area. She is none other than Savitribai Phule, who is considered as one of the pioneers of the feminist movement in India by spreading women education. She started the first school for girls in the country in 1848 at Bhide Wada, Pune. During her activities albeit many men in the society could not tolerate in those days but her husband Mahatma Jyotirao Phule, was one of the pillars supporting her journey. Because of his support, she was moving alone which in Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore’s poem, we find “Jodi Tor Dak Shune Keu Na Ase Tobe Ekla Cholo Re (If no one responds to your call, then go your own way alone)”. Savitribai set up India’s first women’s school consisting of different castes at Bhidewada, Pune and became the first woman teacher in the country. Thus the concept ‘inclusive growth’ can be observed from her activities. It is pertinent to mention that in her lifetime she initiated to set up 18 such schools in the region. Because of her activities, many mainly upper caste people who opposed Dalits education were annoyed. To dampen her spirit, they even threw cow dung and mud at her while she was going to the school. Also, her immense contribution was recorded for abolition of slavery and discrimination on the grounds of caste and race. She is regarded as the mother of Indian feminism. Mahatma Jyotirao Phule presented Savitribai Phule and his own work in an interview given to the Christian missionary periodical, Dnyanodaya, on 15September 1853, saying, “It did occur to me that the improvement that comes about in a child due to the mother is very important and good. So those who are concerned with the happiness and welfare of this country should definitely pay attention to the condition of women and make every effort to impart knowledge to them if they want the country to progress. With this thought, I started the school for girls first. But my caste brethren did not like that I was educating girls and my own father threw us out of the house. Nobody was ready to give space for the school nor did we have money to build it. People were not willing to send their children to school but Lahuji Ragh Raut Mang and Ranba Mahar convinced their caste brethren about the benefits of getting educated”.
Savitribai Phule was not scared of her death. She and her adopted son,
Yashwant, started a clinic to treat those affected by the worldwide Pandemic of
the Bubonic Plague when it occurred around Nalasopara in 1897. She came to know
that the son of Pandurang Babaji Gaekwad had contracted the Plague in the Mahar
settlement outside of Mundhwa. She immediately rushed there and carried him on
her back to the hospital. In the process, Savitribai Phule caught the Plague
and died on the night of 10th March 1897.
On the occasion of her birthday, I
extend my respectful Pronam to her.
The following websites were consulted while writing
the article:
1) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savitribai_Phule
3) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ekla_Chalo_Re
4) https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/Pune-university-to-be-renamed-after-Savitribai-Phule
