Maharashtra government recommends Bharat Ratna for Mahatma Phule, Savitribai

The Maharashtra government has recommended to the Centre to confer the Bharat Ratna on the renowned 19thcentury social reformers Mahatma Jyotiba Phule and his wife Savitribai Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced on TuesdayHe made the announcement while addressing a conference of Rashtriya OBC Other Backward Castes Mahasangh in Mumbai for conferring the countrys highest civilian award on the Phule couple posthumously over a century after they passed awayIncidentally Fadnavis had made a similar announcement in the state legislature two years ago requesting the Centre to confer the honour to mark Mahatma Phules 125th death anniversaryJyotirao Govindrao Phule later revered as Mahatma Phule was born on April 11 1827 and his wife Savitribai K Patil was born on January 3 1831 both in different villages in Satara districtWhen Jyotirao was 13 he was married to the nineyearold Savitribai hailing from an aristocratic farming familyBorn in a lower caste Mahatma Phule was a thinker social reformer anticaste activist and writer while his wife followed in his footsteps besides being an educationist and a poetess She also worked against the practice of dowryThe couple fought against the caste system untouchability and for reforms in Hindu family life and later founded the Satyashodhak Samaj in 1873 to seek equal rights for people from lower castesThey are credited with launching the first school for girls in Bhidewada Pune in 1848 with Savitribai as its first teacher The duo taught girls irrespective of caste creed or economic backgroundThe first school started with just nine girlswomen as students and later expanded by opening 18 such schools in the state marking a historic milestone in the area of female education which was considered taboo in the then prevalent orthodox Indian societyCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updatesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Except for the change in the headline the story has been provided ASIS AS AVAILABLE without any verification or editing from our side Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever