Life Sketch of Savitribai Phule

 

Savitribai Jyotirao Phule (3 January 1831 – 10 March 1897) was an Indian social reformer and poet. Along with her husband, Jyotirao Phule, she played an important role in improving women's rights in India during British rule. The couple founded the first women's school at Bhide Wada in Pune in 1848.She also worked to abolish discrimination and unfair treatment of people based on caste and gender. 

Savitribai Phule was born in 1831 in Naigaon, Maharashtra. Her family were farmers.At the age of nine, she was married to twelve-year-old Jyotirao Phule in 1840.Savitribai and Jyotirao had no children of their own. However, the couple adopted Yashavantrao, who was the son of a widowed Brahmin.

 Savitribai worked as both an educational reformer and social reformer, especially for women. During the 19th century, arranged marriages before the age of maturity was the norm in the Hindu society of Maharashtra. Since mortality rates were high, many young girls often became widows even before attaining maturity. Due to social and cultural practices of the times, widow remarriage was out of question and therefore prospects for the young widows were poor. The 1881 Kolhapur gazetteer records that widows at that time used to shave their heads, and wear simple red saris and had to lead a very austere life with little joy.Savitribai and Jyotirao were moved by the plight of these girls. They organized a strike against the barbers to persuade them to stop shaving the heads of widows. 

Also, these helpless women, with no way to refuse this treatment, were easy prey for rape, often by male members of the extended family. Widows who became pregnant would resort to suicide or killing the newborn for fear of being ostracized by the society.Once, Jyotirao stopped a pregnant lady from committing suicide, promising her to give her child his name after it was born. Savitribai accepted the lady in her house and helped her deliver the child. Savitribai and Jyotirao later adopted this child and named him Yashavantrao. He grew up to become a doctor. Savitribai and her husband established a center for caring for pregnant rape victims and delivering their children. The care center was called "Balhatya Pratibandhak Griha ". Savitri ran the home and considered all the children born in the home her own. 

Moved by the treatment of the untouchables, who were refused drinking water meant for the upper caste, the Phule couple opened the well in their own house in 1868 for these communities . "Tiffany Wayne has described Phule as "one of the first-generation modern Indian feminists, and an important contributor to world feminism in general, as she was both addressing and challenging not simply the question of gender in isolation but also issues related to caste and casteist patriarchy." 

Savitribai Phule and her adopted son, Yashwant, opened a clinic to treat those affected by the worldwide Third Pandemic of the bubonic plague when it appeared in the area around Pune in 1897. The clinic was established at Sasane Mala, Hadapsar, near Pune, but out of the city in an area free of infection. Savitribai personally took patients to the clinic where her son treated them. While caring for the patients, she contracted the disease herself. She died from it on 10 March 1897 while serving a plague patient. 

1831

Savitribai Jyotirao Phule was born on January 3, 1831 at Naigaon, about 50 km from Pune. She was the eldest daughter of mother Lakshmi and father Khandoji Neveshe Patil. 

1840

As was the practice then, at the age of nine, she was married to twelve-year-old Jyotirao Phule in 1840. Savitribai and Jyotirao had no children of their own but they adopted Yashavantrao, a son born to a widowed Brahmin. 

1841

Shortly after the marriage to Jyotiba Phule, education of Savitribai Phule started. Impressed by her thirst for learning, Savitribai's husband, Jyotirao Phule, taught her to read and write. Becoming fond of teaching, Savitribai trained at Ms Farar's Institution in Ahmednagar. 

1846

Passed third and fourth year examination from a normal school.  

1847

Savitribai Phule along with Sagunabai started school in Maharwada on 1st may 1847, initially 8-9 girls were enrolled but within year strength reached to 40-45.  

1848

Country’s first school for girls was started at Bhide Wada in Pune. On 1st Jan. 1848, India’s first school for girls was started at Bhide Wada in Pune by Mahatma Jotiba Phule and Savitribai Phule. The present condition of that first school for girls is miserable because of the lack of interest from subsequent governments in preserving the Dalit-Bahujan heritage. [caption id="attachment_9055" align="aligncenter" width="459"] The condition of Bhide Wada where first lady teacher of the nation Savitribai Phule taught along with Fatima Begum! Thanks to Brahmin-Bania run governments.[/caption]   

1848

India's first school was started at Bhide Wada in Pune by Phule couple, Savitribai Phule became not only the first woman teacher but Savitribai was nominated as India's first lady headmistress in 1st Jan 1848.  

1849

Life of Savitribai Phule as a teacher in the school at the time when upper caste orthodox people used to look down wasn’t easy and many times they used to pelt stones and throw dung on her. The young couple faced severe opposition from almost all sections. Savitribai was subject to intense harassment every day as she walked to the school. Stones, mud and dirt were flung at her as she passed but Savitribai Phule faced everything courageously.  

1849

Savitribai Phule and Jotiba Phule's work of educating downtrodden and girls infuriated many Brahmins of that time and because of the fears of attacks from orthodox Brahmins, Jyotiba Phule's father was afraid. In 1849, both Savitribai Phule and Jotiba Phule were thrown out of their home. 

1849

After being thrown out of their home, Savitribai Phule and Jotiba Phule started school for adults at Usman Sheikh’s Wada in Pune for educating Shudra and Ati-Shudra community. Savitribai taught at this school along with the first Muslim woman teacher of India, Fatima Sheikh.  

1850

Savitribai Phule is also said to have inspired a young student to ask for a library for the school at an award ceremony instead of gifts for herself. She inspired the young girls to take up painting, writing, and other activities. An essay written by a young girl, Mukta Salve, at that time became the face of Dalit literature and Dalit Feminism. Parent-teacher meeting was conducted at regular intervals to aware the parents about the importance of education and to encourage their children to attend the schools regularly. 

1850

You might wonder the Right to Education Act, midday meal schemes are a modern-day concept but Savitribai Phule and Jotiba Phule set the stage for it almost 170 years back by giving stipends to children to reduce the dropout rate in schools. They took initiatives to reduce malnutrition in children by taking care of the health of each and every child in school.   

1851

By 1851, Savitribai Phule along with her husband was running three schools with around 150 female students. For her, education was not simply alphabetical learning, but rather, an evolution of the mind itself. Her innovative methods of teaching slowly attracted the common people, as the number of girls increased.  

1852

On 16th Nov. 1852, Phule family was honoured by the British government for their works in the field of education and Savtribai was declared as the best teacher.  

1852

Savitribai Phule started Mahila Seva Mandal in 1852, which worked for raising women’s consciousness about their human rights, the dignity of life and other social issues. She went on to organise a successful barbers strike in Mumbai and Pune against the prevailing practice of shaving of widows’ heads.  

1853

On 28 January 1853, the first-ever infanticide prohibition home of India was started by Savitribai Phule. Due to the Brahminical Social Order, those were the days when women irrespective of their caste and class were very much oppressed in all fields of life. There were many patriarchal and Brahminical traditions, values and rituals which were against women. There were a large number of widows in the Pune City and the nearby villages during days. Adolescents and young girls happened to more among in the widows. These widows were boycotted publicly and with the meagre financial support, they were clandestine subjects to sexual exploitation. They happened to be pregnant due to lack of contraceptives or other measures. So they had to be victimised for the reason for which they had not been responsible. Women had to lose their life due to unhealthy ways of abortion. Many newborns were been killed after delivery by widows to avoid social ostracism. Many times they had to leave their home. On 28 January 1853, Savitribai started a shelter for such women – Infanticide Prohibition Home – the first of its kind in India. In this Infanticide Prohibition Home, widows could give birth to their children and leave them there. Sixty-six women gave birth to their children in that shelter up to 1873.This was a great historical work that Savitribai did at that time – in the dark ages.  

1854

Savitribai Phule wrote many poems against discrimination and advised people to get educated. Savitribai Phule was the first Shudra women, in fact, the first Indian woman whose poems got noticed in the British empire. Savitribai Phule was the mother of modern poetry stressing the necessity of English and education through her poems. “Kavya Phule”- the first collection of poems was published in 1854. Read a few of her poems from “Kavyaphule” from here. 

1855

In 1855, a night school for agriculturist and labourers was started by Phule couple. There were many downtrodden people who had no option to go to regular schools but could themselves available only at night so to cater their needs Phule couple started the night school. 

1855

Savitribai Phule edited and published Jyotirao Phule’s Speeches on 25 December 1856. It contains four speeches by Jyotirao Phule. 

1863

Phule couple started orphanage home for the pregnant widows in 1863 so that they can give birth to their children and live without the fear of society.   

1868

At a time when even the shadow of untouchables was considered impure when the people were unwilling to offer water to thirsty untouchables, Savitribai Phule and Mahatma Jotiba Phule opened the well in their house for the use of untouchables. It was a challenge thrown at the Brahmins to change their mindset towards untouchables (But unfortunately, the sick mindset of so-called upper castes have not changed even after almost 200 years, Dalit (untouchables) still strive for water rights).  

1873

When Jotiba Phule established the Satya Shodhak Samaj, Savitribai became the head of the women’s section which included ninety female members. Moreover, she worked tirelessly as a school teacher for girls. After Jotiba Phule's death, she was the chairperson of Satya Shodhak Samaj and carried his work ahead. Savitribai Phule acted as a Chairperson of Satya Shodhak Samaj Conference at Saswad in 1893. Its purpose was to liberate the Shudra and Untouchable castes from exploitation and oppression. 

1874

In 1874, Phule couple adopted the son of Kashibai, a Brahmin widow. When Infanticide Prohibition Home started by Savitribai Phule working as a hospital, Savitribai did not remain as one who served to widows but she went further in this regard. She adopted a child from a Brahmin widow (Kashibai) and thereby gave a message to the progressive people of the society. This adopted child was named Yashwant Rao, who later became a doctor. 

1876

During the 1876 to 1898 famines, Savitribai Phule worked courageously with her husband and suggested many new ways to overcome the difficult time. They started distributing free food at many locations. Phule couple started 52 free food hostels in Maharashtra. 

1877

In July 1889, when Jyotiba Phule suffered a stroke and right side of the body was paralyzed, Savitribai nursed him night and day hence he managed to recover and write again. 

1897

During the draught in 1897, Savitribai Phule forced British government, that was ignoring the well-being of people, to start relief work 

1897

Savitribai and her adopted son, Yashwant, opened a clinic to treat those affected by the bubonic plague when it appeared in the area around Nallasopara in 1897. Savitribai Phule personally took patients to the clinic where her son served them. While caring for the patients, she contracted the disease herself. She died from it on 10 March 1897 while serving a plague patient.  

1983

Pune City Corporation built a memorial in the memory of Savitribai Phule in 1983. 

1998

A century after her death, on 10 March 1998, a stamp was released by India Post in honour of Savitribai Phule. 

2015

In 2015, the University of Pune was renamed as Savitribai Phule Pune University in her honour. 

2017

On 3 January 2017, the search engine Google marked the 186th birth anniversary of Savitribai Phule with a Google doodle.