Previous Year Question

Jyotiba Phule was the founder of the Satyashodhak Samaj.

Jyotirao Govindrao Phule founded the Satyashodhak Samaj in 1873. The term ‘Satyashodhak’ means a seeker of truth. The organisation aimed to challenge caste-based inequality and exploitation prevailing in the social order.

Phule particularly emphasised social equality, education and rights of the Shudras and Ati-Shudras. He argued that notions of hereditary superiority or inferiority based on caste should not be accepted.

The Satyashodhak Samaj opposed the monopoly of Brahmin priests in religious and social affairs. The organisation promoted simpler social and religious ceremonies in which the presence of a priest was not compulsory.

Women's education was also a major part of Phule's reform programme. Jyotiba Phule and Savitribai Phule started a school for girls at Pune in 1848. They subsequently continued their efforts to expand education among women and socially disadvantaged communities.

Phule also criticised social problems such as child marriage, the difficult condition of widows and caste discrimination. His social thought was not confined to religious reform but also dealt with the exploitation of peasants and lower social classes.

In his famous work Gulamgiri (1873), he sharply criticised caste-based oppression. Later, in Shetkarayacha Asud, he also addressed the problems of peasants and their economic exploitation.

M. G. Ranade was principally associated with the Prarthana Samaj and other social reform activities. Raja Ram Mohan Roy was associated with the Brahmo Samaj, while Tarabai Shinde was an important woman writer influenced by the Satyashodhak tradition but was not the founder of the Satyashodhak Samaj.