Satyashodhak Samaj
Satyashodhak Samaj is a social reform society established by Jyotirao Phule in Pune, India, on 24 September 1873. Its purpose was to liberate the Shudra and Untouchable castes from exploitation and oppression.[1][2]
Through his writings and activities, Jyotirao Phule condemned caste hierarchy and the privileged status of the Brahmin castes in it. He condemned the inequality in the religious books, orthodox nature of religion, exploitation of masses by the means of it, blind and misleading rituals, and hypocrisy in the prevalent Hindu religion. Phule established Satyashodhak Samaj with the ideals of human well-being, happiness, unity, equality, and easy religious principles and rituals.[1] A Pune-based newspaper, Deenbandhu, provided the voice for the views of the Samaj.[3]
The movement was kept alive after Phule's death by the Maratha ruler of Kolhapur princely state, Shahu Maharaj, at the beginning of the 20th century. Later followers of the Samaj during that century included educationalist Bhaurao Patil and Maratha leaders such as Keshavrao Jedhe, Nana Patil, Khanderao Bagal and Madhavrao Bagal..
References
- 1 2 "Life & Work of Mahatma Jotirao Pule". University of Pune. Archived from the original on 2009-03-11..
- ↑ "GKToday".
- ↑ Charlesworth, Neil (2002). Peasants and Imperial Rule: Agriculture and Agrarian Society in the Bombay Presidency 1850-1935 (Revised ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 277. ISBN 978-0-52152-640-1.
Further reading
- O'Hanlon, Rosalind (1985). Caste, conflict, and ideology : Mahatma Jotirao Phule and low caste protest in nineteenth-century western India (1. publ. ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 220–251. ISBN 0521266157.