Today marks the 186th birth anniversary of Savitribai Phule. A leading social reformer, Phule was widely regarded as an educationalist, and poet from Maharashtra.
She was also known as the founder of India’s first girls’ school along with her husband Jyotirao Phule.
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Lesser know facts:
- Phule was born in 1831 in Naigaon, Satara into a farming family. She later married Jyotirao Phule at a very small age.
- When Jyotirao Phule started the girls school in Pune in 1848, Savitribai was its first teacher. Together with her husband, she taught children from different castes and opened a total of 18 schools. The couple also opened a care centre called ‘Balhatya Pratibandhak Griha’.
- She fought casteism, patriarchy and actively voiced opinions against child marriage, Sati, untouchability and other social evils prevalent in the society.
- She passed away on 10th March 1897 while serving a plague patient.
Legacy:
- In 2015, the University of Pune was renamed as Savitribai Phule Pune University in her honour.
- On 10 March 1998 a stamp was released by India Post in honour of Phule.
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