SATYA SHODHAK: The Radical Mahatma-1
Mahatma Jyotirao Phule, far from being a mediocre social reformer, was a dauntless revolutionary who brought the renaissance ideals to India. He became the harbinger of a progressive nation by advocating for girls' education which made him an outcast in his orthodox society. Instead of lip serving these novel yet insurgent principles, he dedicated his entire life and intellect in materializing these radical dreams. He was the guiding light who lead the oppressed ,including dalits, women and workers, towards progress. Phule, the thinker, made a break through in Indian polity by questioning the seemingly unimpeachable caste hierarchy which parasitized on Dalit lives. Having been influenced by western enlightenment thoughts, this visionary gleaned parallels between racism and casteism. He was the progenitor of the term 'dalit' which became the ideal expression to render the wretched state in which the untouchables live. Phule was the first ray of hope that flashed in the hearts of every dalit,thus becoming the first potential challenge faced by the irrevocable Caste System.
Jyotirao Govindarao Phule, the son of Govindarao Phule and Chimnabai was born on April 11,1827, into the 'Mali' caste in Maharastra. Hailing from an untouchable community, he was destined to face the similar plight which was encountered by his brethren. The religious elite inferiorized and looked down upon the untouchables with contempt because of their lower birth. The Phules were well-known flower vendors who were even employed by the ruling Peshwa Bajirao-II. This privilege disposed them towards taking on the surname 'Phule' by abandoning 'Gorhay.' From 1834-1838, he acquired traditional Marathi education from a local School. Young Phule proved to be an exceptional prodigy at school excelling in arithmetic, reading and writing. In a country where Caste reigned as The Monarch, Dalits were denied education beyond the Primary School. Therefore, Jyotirao's academic life came to a temporary halt with his Primary Education. Subsequently, he accompanied his father in their family vocation. The incandescent flame of zeal which shone within Phule never grew dim. A benign samaritan discerned this spark and compelled his father to let him resume his education. In 1840, Savitribai made inroads into his life and the immature man and wife gave their life a head start. In 1841, Phule was admitted to the Scottish Mission School and triumphantly completed his education in 1847.
Thomas Paine's well-acclaimed book Rights of Man(1791) had a profound impact on Phule's cogitation. This revolutionary philosophical work enlightened Phule regarding the inevitability of revolution in a despotic society. Paine contended that the nemesis of a society,where the ruler denies fundamental rights to his citizens, is rebellion. Though this book was written in the backdrop of French Revolution attacking the premises of Edmund Burke, who in his Reflections on the Revolution in France(1790) voiced his absolute dissidence towards The French Revolution, Phule gleaned its pertinence in Indian Society. Burke posits that French Revolution, in reality was a rude revolt against a legitimate King and deemed it to be a diversion and perversion from France's grand heritage. Burke exhorted people not to get immensely stupefied by the "grand spectacle" presented by the revolutionaries. In his standpoint reform rather than revolution was the primacy of French Society.
In contrast to Burke's assertion, Paine viewed the traditional institutions like Church and Monarchy as oppressive forces which were potent enough to delimit the liberty of the lower and working classes of Europe. This scenario is perfectly ad rem in the Indian context. The class struggle in France is virtually selfsame as the Caste struggle in India. According to Paine no citizen should be denied liberty, security and right to property. Any breach in the aforementioned Philosophy should be met with vehement rebellion. He also argued that the rules enforced by the government should be democratic. He opined that political liberty would ensure economic stability. The emancipatory narratives of French Revolution never failed to embolden Indian anti-caste activists like Ambedkar. Phule also felt immensely illuminated by the progressive notions of Paine and awaited to implement these in eradicating Caste System.
The incident which awakened the social reformer in Phule took place in 1848,while he was attending the wedding of one of his friends. At the venue, the kinsfolk of the upper caste groom insulted Phule owing to his disadvantaged caste position. This public humiliation which was a breach on his self respect set phule on the warpath and he resolved to eradicate the entire caste system which was the root cause of this injustice. His tenacity to reform the society resulted in many movements and reformist narratives which posed a threat to the Brahminical Hegemony. Dalits have always believed in the liberating and empowering potential of education and Phule was the one who envisioned that this fundamental right can actually emancipate women. Since "Reform should begin at home" Phule ventured to educate his beloved wife and the duo took the bull by the horns by establishing a school for girls in Pune. The upper caste met this revolutionary move with vehement protest and the unyielding Phule was banished from the town.
In 1849, in the midst of fervent dissent the Phules were obliged to leave their hometown and take refuge at Jyotirao's friend's place and resumed their mission therein. The gates of the school established by the Phules were open to every girl irrespective of her class, religion or social background. Thus it became one of the first democratic institutions which paved a way for women to break the patriarchal fetters and embrace their 'medusa'ic identity. In 1851, he established another school exclusively for girls and assigned Savitribai to run the institution. The plight of the triply oppressed dalit women pained Phule immensely. Besides being exploited by the Caste and Class hierarchy, dalit women were ordained to endure the discrimination vented against them by Patriarchy. This gender specific trouble impeded their mental and intellectual well being. Their lack of education, empowerment and above all agency made them defenseless and vulnerable. To accentuate their misery, sexual predators went on exploiting the homeless women. Therefore, Phule embarked to shelter these unfortuante souls and inaugurated ashrams for the widows and orphaned girls.
In 1852, Phule was commended by Thomas Candy (Major Candy) ,a British educator and lexicographer, for his unsurpassable accomplishments in the realm of education. Later he became a teacher at a Scottish school and subsequently started Night schools in 1855. In 1856, some of his opposers conspired to harm Phule which fell by the wayside. Phule pioneered widow remarriages which was a taboo in the then moralist society where Sastras and Vedas were the guiding principles. Thus he sowed the seeds of most of the progressive ideas which flourished under the nourishment of Ambedkar and his followers. Phule deemed gender issues and caste issues in the same light. In his standpoint, being inferior in a male dominated society is akin to being disadvantaged in a Brahmin dominated society. The idea which was later advocated by poets like Meena Kandasamy. In 1858, Phule retired from the Management Board.
He was the patron not only of women but also of the equally exploited peasants. The peasantry was brutally mistreated by the landed gentry. So he read them the riot act and exhorted the workers to revolt against the oppressive forces. Having been educated in a missionary school, Phule was very welcoming of western ideas. The influence western thought had on his intellect prompted him to make these radical changes in the society. All of these made the upoer caste accuse him of playing a second fiddle to the Christian Missionaries. Yet a handful of educated brahims agreed to assist him in this restructuring of Indian society.
So much for today...To know more about Phule, Drop in next week...SAYONARA!
(To Be Continued...)
REFERENCES:
Agnihotri, Siddhant."Biography of Jyotiba Phule, social reformer who dedicated his life for Dalit and Women Upliftment." Study IQ Education,14 Jun. 2019,youtu.be/Pa2WJY0RVqg
Dhaage, Mali Rishtey. "Important Events of Mahatma Phule's life." Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, Accessed On 11 Dec. 2021,www.mahatmaphule.net/lifeTimeline.htm
D, Marnette. "Thomas Candy." Wikipedia,Accessed on 11 Dec.2021,en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Candy
DNA Web Team. "Jyotiba Phule Jayanti: History, Significance and facts about Jyotirao Govindarao Phule."DNA India, 10 Apr.2021,www.dnaindia.com/india/report-jyotiba-phule-jayanti-april-18-history-significance-and-facts-about-jyotirao-govindrao-phule-2885788
"Jyotiba Phule Biography." Cultural India, Accessed On 10 Dec.2021,www.culturalindia.net/reformers/jyotiba-phule.html
"Jyotirao Phule." Drishtiias,12 Apr.2021,www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/jyotirao-phule
Naidu, Parisi. "Jyotirao Phule Biography." Country Thoughts, 19 Aug.2020,youtu.be/kOJ7FtsJlTA
Rasnaboy."Jyotiba Phule."Wikipedia,Accessed On 11 Dec.2021,en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jyotirao_Phule
"Reflections on the Revolution in France."Lit Charts,Accessed on 11 Dec,2021,www.litcharts.com/lit/reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france/summary
"Special Story on Mahatma Jyotirao Phule's life." V6 News Telugu,12 Apr.2017,youtu.be/w7-obnliyX8
"The Rights of Man Summary." Super Summary, Accessed On 9 Dec.2021,www.supersummary.com/the-rights-of-man/summary/
"22 Things You Most Likely Didn't Know About Jyotiba Phule." Velivada, Accessed On 11 Dec.2021,velivada.com/2017/04/10/22-things-you-most-likely-didnt-know-about-jotiba-phule/
-Santhwana Thomas
Comments
Post a Comment