Archive · 16 Aug 2026
Phule Couple, Pioneers of the Education Revolution in India
A long time ago in India, many children were not allowed to go to school.
Some were kept away because they were poor or from certain families, and girls were often not allowed to learn at all.
Jyotirao Phule and his wife Savitribai thought this was very unfair.
They believed that everyone deserves to learn to read and write.
In 1848, they opened a school for girls in a city called Pune.
Many people were angry about this, but Savitribai kept on teaching.
The couple also started a group called Satyashodhak Samaj to fight against unfairness.
They wanted a world where everyone is treated equally and with respect.
Today, the government of Telangana is building big statues of them and celebrating their memory.
Their story shows that helping others and fighting for fairness can change the world.
Mahatma Jyotirao Phule and Savitribai Phule pioneered education as an instrument of social liberation in 19th-century India.
In 1848, the couple opened a historic school for girls at Bhide Wada in Pune despite strong social opposition.
Jyotirao Phule founded the Satyashodhak Samaj in 1873 to fight caste discrimination and wrote the landmark work Gulamgiri.
The Congress-led Telangana government is installing 26-foot statues of the Phule couple in Hyderabad with Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy's support.
Telangana declared January 3, Savitribai Phule's birth anniversary, as Women Teachers' Day and carried out a Backward Classes caste survey.
- Who
- Mahatma Jyotirao Phule and Savitribai Phule, 19th-century Indian social reformers celebrated by the Congress-led Telangana government.
- What
- The couple's legacy of using education to fight caste discrimination and gender inequality is being honored through statues, a Women Teachers' Day and welfare initiatives in Telangana.
- When
- The Phules lived in the 1800s, with Jyotirao born in 1827 and the couple passing away in 1890 and 1897; the current Telangana tributes follow the government assuming office.
- Where
- Maharashtra, where the Phules were born and opened their 1848 Pune school, and Telangana, where statues are being established in Hyderabad.
- Why
- To honor their lifelong fight against social oppression and inequality and to reaffirm Telangana's commitment to social justice, education and equality.
- Jyotirao Phule born
- 1827, Maharashtra
- Girls' school opened
- 1848 at Bhide Wada, Pune
- Satyashodhak Samaj founded
- 1873
- Jyotirao honored as 'Mahatma'
- 1888
- The couple's deaths
- Jyotirao in 1890; Savitribai in 1897 during the Pune plague
- Hyderabad statues
- 26 feet (10-ft pedestal, 16-ft sculpture)
- Women Teachers' Day
- January 3 in Telangana
- Landmark book
- Gulamgiri