And they became LEGENDS...

Savitribai Phule

Savitribai Phule, the first female teacher in India's first girls' school, is a pioneer. She fought against the dominant caste system and worked to promote marginalization. She demands dignity for all women, for which she and her husband Jyotirao Phule have fought for it all their lives. The principles of humanity, equality, freedom, and justice are of paramount importance to her. In an era when women were only objects, she ignited the spark that led to equality in education-which was impossible before. She strongly opposed the discriminatory boundaries imposed on women, which led to their oppression. Her emphasis on the secular education of Indian social emancipation is a sign of her essential personality. By understanding her better and understanding her struggles and hardships, we will explore a life that changes the face of education in India and enlightens humankind in its true nature. Savitribai Jyotirao Phule was born on January 3, 1831, in Nagang, about 50 kilometers from Pune. She is the eldest daughter of mother Lakshmi and father Khandoji Neveshe Patil. In 1840, at the age of 10, she married Jyotirao, 13 years old. After their marriage, Savitribai and Chotiba lived in a Dalit working-class district in Pune. Jyotirao educates his wife at home and trains her to be a teacher. Jyotirao's friends Sakharam Yeshwant Paranjpe and Keshav Shivram Bhavalkar (Joshi) have assumed the responsibility for continuing education in Savitribai. Savitribai also received teacher training at Ms. Farar College in Ahmed Nagar and Ms. Mitchell Normal School in Pune. Savitribai later became India's first female teacher and headmaster. Her struggle and story marked the beginning of modern Indian women's public life in India. This extraordinary couple fought a passionate struggle to establish a gender equality movement and oppose the caste system. They devoted their lives to spreading education and knowledge. They opened the country's first girls' school and "local library." In 1863, they opened the "Infanticide Prevention Home" in their house to ensure the safety of pregnant and exploited widows. They also established Satyashodhak Samaj (Association for Seeking the Truth) and practiced marriages without dowry or public expenses. They oppose child marriage and support the remarriage of widows. They did not have their children, but adopted the child of a Brahmin widow, educated him, and arranged a cross-caste marriage for him. Savitribai and Jotiba launched a revolutionary social education campaign for the Sudra and Ashura women in the country. After opening a school and training Savitribai Phule in 1848, Jotiba opened a school for the Mahal and Mungers. But within six months, his father kicked them out of the house, and schoolwork suddenly stopped. Govande came to Pune and took Savitribai to Ahmednagar. After she returned, Keshav Shivram Bhavalkar assumed the responsibility of educating her. Jyotirao and Savitribai focus on providing vocational and practical education for girls and boys to think independently. They believe that an industrial department should be attached to the school so that children can learn useful handicrafts and manage their lives comfortably and independently. They insist that "education should enable people to choose between right and wrong, true and false in life." They worked hard to create a space where boys and girls could bloom their creativity. Their success is reflected that young girls like to learn under their guidance, so much that their parents complain about their dedication to learning. The students who live in the dormitories run by Jyotirao and Savitribai have the following opinions about her. Laxman Karadi Jaaya from Mumbai said: "I have never seen a kind and caring woman like Savitribai. She has given us more than my mother. Love." Another student, Mahadu Sahadu Waghole, wrote: "Savitribai is very generous, and her heart is full of kindness. She will be very sympathetic to the poor and those in need. She will continue to give food; she will provide meals for everyone. If she sees the tattered clothes on poor women, she will give them sarees from her home. As a result, their expenses have increased. Tatya (Jyotirao) sometimes said to her, "A person shouldn't spend so much money. . "In response, she would smile and ask, "What shall we bring after death?" "After that, Tatya will sit quietly for a while because he didn't answer this question. They love each other very much." Savitribai's struggle was full of many difficulties, but despite this, she continued her work calmly. Men will deliberately wait in the street and make obscene remarks. They sometimes throw stones, cow dung, or dirt. Savitribai would carry two saris when she was in school, and when she arrived at school, she would replace the dirty saris. On the way back, she was dirty again, but she did not give up. The guard appointed for her at the time wrote in her memoirs what she would say to those people: "When I perform the sacred task of teaching my sisters, the stones or cow dung you throw are like flowers to me. God bless you!" In July 1887, when Jyotirao was paralyzed on the right side due to a heart attack, Savitribai took care of him day and night, so he managed to recover and rewrite. At the same time, their financial crisis reached its peak. A political saint and kind mother, Paramanan worked hard to provide them with financial help. Paramanand wrote a letter to Sayajirao Gaekwad, King of Vadodara, documenting the couple's historical work, and said to Savitribai: "His wife is more commendable than Jyotirao. No matter how much we praise her, it's not enough. Why? Describe her figure? She cooperates fully with her husband and faces all the trials and tribulations together with him. Even among highly educated women of high caste, finding such a sacrificed woman isn't easy. The couple spent their entire lives. Working for people." Savitribai was present when Jyotirao died. Without the municipality's permission, he could not cover his body with salt to bury him as he hoped. He was burned on the pyre, and it was Savitribai who stepped forward bravely, holding a clay pot (should be carried by the deceased's successor). She led Joe Tilau's last journey and sent his body into the flames. In Indian history, this is probably the first funeral for a woman. She also erected a "Tulsi Vrindavan" with ashes where Jyotirao wanted to be buried. After Jyotirao's death, Savitribai led the Satyashodhak movement until the end. She was the chairman of the Satyashodhak Conference held in Saswad, Pune, in 1893. The last few years The threat of the plague came in 1897. In Pune, hundreds of people die every day. The government tried to control the epidemic under the leadership of officer Rand. Savitribai and Yeshwant set up a hospital together to take care of patients. She picked up patients herself and took them to the hospital for treatment. Although she knew that the disease was contagious, she served them until the plague took her life. When she learned that the son of Pandurang Babaji Gaekwad in Mahar village outside Mundhwa village had the plague, she rushed to the hospital immediately, carrying the sick child back to the hospital. She contracted the disease in the process and died at 9 pm on March 10, 1897. What we must remember Savitribai and Mahatma Jyotirao Phule fought for the rights of women, farmers, Dalits, and backward castes. Both of them bravely faced abuse by reactionary and caste-dominant forces. They disregarded the significant violations of Manuwadi and the Brahmin troops and continued to fight for gender equality and oppose the caste system. Savitribai has been fighting the totalitarianism of the caste system and other social evils until the last moment of her life. She is a powerful voice for gender equality. It is precise because of her strength and vitality that when certain classes of society are regarded as untouchables, she provides shelter and care for them at home. She challenged the Brahman hegemony and broke their dominance through a protracted and heroic struggle for women's rights and marginalized people. She overcame daily harassment and oppression and survived, daring to learn and teach other women. By deleting her life story from our history books, the mainstream discourse of nationalism, our memory, our academia, and the country have caused great harm to her contribution and struggle to promote the neglected. Her struggles against the caste system, Brahmanism, patriarchy and discrimination, and exclusion of untouchables have been completely wiped out, proving our country's brutality and the stain on the knowledge production system dominated by the upper caste Brahmin India. Her writing and valuable contributions Savitribai Phule's poems and other writings inspire many people and maintain a pioneering position in the struggle against the Indian caste system. She compiled some precious articles. Kavyaphule- Poems, 1854 Jyotirao's speech, edited by Savitribai Phule, December 25, 1856 Letter from Savitribai to Jyotirao Matoshree Savitribai's speech, 1892 Bavankashi Subodh Ratnakar, 1892 These works are assembled in the 194-page "Complete Works of Savitribai Pule" edited by Dr. M. G. Mali. The volume was introduced by the famous thinker and philosopher Dr. Surendra Barlinge. "Kavyaphule" was published in 1854 and was the first poetry anthology of Savitribai. It has 41 poems on nature, social issues, educational poems, and historical poems. "Speech by Jyotirao" is a book edited by Savitribai and transcribed by Charles Joshi. This book was published in 1856 and contained four speeches by Jyotirao. "Savitribai's Letters to Jyotirao" has three letters from Otur and Naigaon. "Matoshree Savitribai's Speech" contains Savitribai's speeches on various topics such as business, education, good behavior, addiction, and loans. They were edited by Shastri Naro Babaji Mahadhat Pansare Patil and published in 1892 by Vatsal Publishing House in Vadodara. "Bavankashi Subodh Ratnakar" is a collection of poems about Indian history, including prose works by Jyotirao. It has 52 music. This poem was written after Jyotirao's death in 1891 and was published as a book in 1892. Savitribai's support, cooperation, and company to Jyotirao throughout his life are extraordinary. The ideal of equality and peaceful coexistence between men and women transcends the limitations of time and space. Their work in the fields of education, social justice, the elimination of castes, and the elimination of priestly power not only illuminates the past but also illuminates the present. Even in this day and age, this is an unparalleled contribution. This legacy of Savitribai will continuously enrich our lives.