Savitri Bai Phule UPSC | Why In The News ?
- Recently the 189th birth anniversary of Savitri Bai Phule was celebrated.Â
About Savitri Bhai Phule :Â
- Savitribai Phule was born on 3 January 1831 at Naigaon in Maharashtra’s Satara district.
- She was the eldest daughter of Lakshmi and Khandoji Neveshe Patil.
- At the age of 9, she was married to 13-year-old Jyotirao Phule.
- Jyotirao educated Savitribai at home after their marriage.
- Savitribai Phule died on 10 March 1897.
Contributions :
- Jyotiba, at the age of 21, and Savitri, 17, opened a school for women in 1848.
- It was the country’s first school for women started by Indians.
- She then started teaching girls in Pune’s Maharwada.
- In 1852, Savitribai started the Mahila Seva Mandal to raise awareness about women’s rights.
- She simultaneously campaigned against child marriage, while supporting widow remarriage.
- In 1863, they started a home for the prevention of infanticide in their own house, for the safety of pregnant, exploited Brahman widows and to nurture their children.
- She initiated the first Satyashodhak marriage—a marriage without a dowry, Brahmin priests or Brahminical rituals in 1873.Â
- Her adopted son, Yashwant, too, had a Satyashodhak inter-caste marriage.
In the 1850s, the Phule couple initiated two educational trusts :Â Noor Inayat Khan UPSC
- The Native Female School, PuneÂ
- The Society for Promoting the Education of Mahars
Mangs and Etceteras—which came to have many schools under them.
Books & Literature :
- She published Kavya Phule in 1854
- Â Bavan Kashi Subodh Ratnakar in 1892
Satya Shodhak Samaj (Truth Seekers Society) :Â
- It was founded by Jyotirao Phule in 1873 in Pune.
- Satya shodhak samaj was founded with a purpose to give education to the lower castes, scheduled caste, scheduled tribes and made them aware of the exploiting tradition of society.
Source – Indian ExpressÂ
