Dissertation Content:

The Role of Mulk Raj Anand's Untouchable in Advocating Social Change:

A Study of Caste Reform and Human Dignity.

Chapter 1: Introduction

 1.1 Background of the Study

o Brief overview of the Indian caste system and the historical context of
"untouchability."
o Introduction to Mulk Raj Anand as a pioneer of Indo-Anglian literature and a
writer of social realism.
 1.2 The Novel Untouchable
o Context of its publication (1935) and its immediate impact.
o Brief plot summary and introduction to the protagonist, Bakha.
 1.3 Problem Statement
o Defining the core issue: The pervasive social inertia regarding caste-based
discrimination and the role of literature in challenging it.
 1.4 Research Questions
o How does Anand use literary techniques to expose the dehumanizing effects
of untouchability?
o In what ways does the novel critique traditional Hindu society and its
oppressive structures?
o What are the proposed/implied solutions for social change offered in the novel
(e.g., Gandhian reform, Western technology, etc.)?
o How does the narrative assert the concept of human dignity for the
marginalized?
 1.5 Objectives of the Study
o To analyze the social and psychological oppression faced by the untouchable
community.
o To evaluate Anand's narrative as a tool for social consciousness and reform.
o To explore the thematic elements of caste, colonialism, and identity in the text.
 1.6 Scope and Methodology
o Focus primarily on the text of Untouchable.
o Methodology: Close reading, socio-historical analysis, and critical theory
(e.g., Marxist/Subaltern studies).

Chapter 2: Review of Literature and Theoretical Framework

 2.1 Critical Reception of Mulk Raj Anand and Untouchable

o Reviewing major critical studies on Anand's social realism.
o Analysis of key scholarly opinions on the novel's depiction of untouchability.
 2.2 Theoretical Framework: Social Realism and Literature as Advocacy
o Defining Social Realism and its application to Anand's work.
o The concept of Didactic Literature and its capacity for social reform.
o Introducing the lens of Subaltern Studies (if applicable) to analyze the
voiceless.
 2.3 Historical Context of Caste Reform Movements
 o Brief overview of the efforts by figures like Mahatma Gandhi and B.R.
Ambedkar regarding caste reform in the early 20th century.
o Placing the novel within the context of these competing ideologies.

Chapter 3: The Dehumanization of Untouchability

 3.1 The Psychology of Oppression: Bakha's Inner Conflict

o Analysis of Bakha's desire for cleanliness, self-respect, and his conflict
between his assigned identity and his individual aspirations.
o The concept of internalized oppression and shame.
 3.2 Spatial Segregation and Social Exclusion
o The symbolic significance of the segregated basti (colony).
o Analysis of the incidents of the "touch" and the resulting physical and verbal
abuse (e.g., the temple incident, the market incident).
 3.3 Institutionalized Exploitation
o The nexus between the priest, the merchant, and the colonial administration in
perpetuating the system.
o The role of traditional Hindu laws and customs in justifying the practice.

Chapter 4: Advocating Social Change: Themes of Reform and Resistance

 4.1 The Quest for Human Dignity

o Analyzing moments where Bakha asserts his individuality and human worth
(e.g., his pride in his uniform, his moments of introspection).
o The thematic representation of basic human needs: food, shelter, and respect.
 4.2 Competing Solutions for Caste Reform
o The Gandhian Approach (Harijan Movement): Evaluation of the character
and philosophy of Colonel Hutchinson and the emphasis on moral
transformation and gradual reform.
o The Technological/Western Solution: Analysis of the flushing toilet as a
symbol of practical, infrastructural change and Western modernity.
o The Radical/Ambedkarite Approach (Implied): Examination of the poet's
speech at the end and the call for self-assertion and revolutionary change (the
potential for an organized movement).
 4.3 Narrative as a Tool for Empathy and Consciousness
o Anand's use of a stream of consciousness technique to allow the reader access
to Bakha's inner life, thus breaking down the barrier of untouchability for the
reader.

Chapter 5: Conclusion

 5.1 Summary of Findings

o Recap of how the novel successfully portrays the dehumanization of
untouchability.
 o Summary of the various reformist strands analyzed in the text.
o The novel's overall contribution to the discourse on caste and human rights.
 5.2 Re-evaluating Anand's Success in Advocating Change
o Discussion on the effectiveness and limitations of the novel's ending
(ambiguity vs. resolution).
o The lasting legacy of Untouchable in literature and social movements.
 5.3 Suggestions for Further Research

Bibliography

 Primary Source (Mulk Raj Anand's Untouchable and related works).

 Secondary Sources (Critical books, journal articles, and historical documents).

Appendix (Optional)

 Timeline of the Indian Caste Reform Movement.

 Glossary of relevant Indian terms (e.g., basti, Harijan).

The Exclusions of Postcolonial Theory and Mulk Raj Ariani's Untouchable" : A Case Study

ARUN P. MUKHERJEE

 While the field the "postcolonial theory" defines and studies is indeed large and spread over
five continents of the globe, I have chosen to limit my investigation of its theoretical
underpinnings and the practices they generate with regard to India's textual productions.
 Queen Victoria's proclamation of 1858 gives us an indication of the ideology of preservation,
known as the policy of benign neglect, that was followed in India's case :
Firmly relying ourselves on the truth of Christianity and acknowl edging with gratitude the
solace of religion, we disclaim alike the right and the desire to impose our convictions on any
of our sub jects. ... We do strictly charge and enjoin all those who may be in authority under
us that they abstain from all interference with the religious belief or worship of any of our
subjects on pain of our highest displeasure, (qtd. in Moorhouse 124)
 Indian historians have shown how this policy of non-interfer ence on the part of the British
government actually led to an ossification of Indian society. In the name of non-interference,
the British government refused to address demands for legislation to put an end to
untouchability, child marriage, and dowry, and to promote women's rights, property reform,
and so on. Also in the name of non-interference, a patchwork of educational systems was
deliberately maintained which, many historians suggest, exacer bated divisions along caste,
religion, and class lines.
 Mulk Raj Anand's Untouchable, published in 1935, is one of the canonical texts of Indo-
Anglian literature. It has been re printed several times and has been translated into about
twenty languages.
 Anand himself has suggested that his purpose in writing it was to arouse "Karuna or
compassion for one's fellow beings" ( 1979, 7 ), which, once aroused, would lead to social
change. The critics have generally concurred with this belief in the efficacy of sympathy for
the downtrodden in bringing about social change and Anand is credited with having found "a
voice for millions of inarticulate suffering human beings" (Niven 15).
 However, as readers, we must examine and remain aware of the difference between "a
voice for" and "a voice of." We must take account of the fact that Untouchable represents
the untouchables as they appear to the gaze of an upper class, upper caste kshatriya Hindu,
albeit a Marxist. This caste and class distance between the writer and the people he
represents results in the erasure in the novel of the voice of the untouchable community as
a dissonant discourse in the Indian social fabric. This absence is then substi tuted by the
voices of the nationalist bourgeoisie "speaking for" the untouchables. These displacements
and substitutions in the text are "the political unconscious" of the text which we must bring
to the surface if we really wish to hear the voice of the untouchables themselves.
 E. M. Forster's comment in the "Preface" of the novel is a good antidote against such unitary
constructions of the colonial subject: "Untouchable could only have been written by an
Indian and by an Indian who observed from the outside. No European, however
sympathetic, could have created the character of Bakha, because he would not have known
enough about his troubles. And no untouchable could have written the book, be cause he
would have been involved in indignation and self-pity. Mr. Anand .. ., a Kshatriya, . .. has just
the right mixture of insight and detachment." According to Forster, Anand's best
qualification to author the novel was the fact that he could "understand a tragedy which he
did not share" ( io-i i ).
 Even a cursory comparison of Anand's Untouchable with texts written by the untouchable
contemporaries of Anand makes it quite apparent that "no untouchable could have written
the book" that Anand has written.
 The novel does not only render Bakha mute, it even appropriates his subjectivity to suit the
dominant discourse. Thus the narrator informs us that Bakha has heard that "Gandhi was
fasting for the sake of the bhangis and chamars" ( 158-59 ). However, according to
Ambedkar, the "fast was not for the benefit of the Untouchables. It was against them and
was the worst form of coercion against a helpless people to give up the constitutional
safeguards . .. and agree to live on the mercy of the Hindus. It was a vile and wicked act"
(270-71). A reader familiar with the views of the untouchable leadership can only find a
bitter irony in the novel's presentation of the Congress party's version as the truth. Such a
reader would also wonder why the solutions provided by dissidents like Ambedkar are
written out of a text which purports to be sympathetic to the untouchables. He and his
followers at this time were dramatizing their protest by public acts of defiance such as
burning of the sacred Hindu text, Manusmriti, mass scale conver sions to Christianity, Islam,
and Sikhism, publicized drawings and drinkings of water from caste wells and tanks, and
persistent petitioning to the government for admission of their children to publicly funded
educational institutions (Ambedkar 275). One wonders why Bakha could not have heard of
these doings of his fellow caste members if he did manage to hear so much about Gandhi.
 Unveiling Caste Oppression: An Analysis of Mulk Raj Anand's 'Untouchable' and the Quest
for Social Justice
Rajendra Prasad Roy
 Anand admired Gandhi's principles of self-help and opposition to Western consumerism. He
was inspired by a story in "Young India" about a sweeper boy named Uka. This led Anand to
seek out Gandhi and eventually live with him at the Sabarmati Ashram. During his time
there, Anand closely observed Gandhi's compassion for the Harijans, the lowest caste in
society. He was particularly moved by Gandhi's genuine care for them. Anand's novel
"Untouchable" was influenced by this experience, with Gandhi.
 They are all deprived of the basic human rights and condemned to live in polluted and
contaminated surroundings. The Untouchables are the victim of the orthodox and fanatic
belief existing in our society set by the caste Hindu to govern their lives.
 In the morning, Sohini, Bakha's sister, goes to the well with a pitcher to get water. She waits
for someone from the higher caste to fill her pitcher since she's not allowed to use the well
directly due to her outcast status. When Pandit Kalinath chooses Sohini over Gulabo, the
washerman's wife, to fill the pitcher, Gulabo becomes angry and insults Sohini, calling her
names like "bitch" and "prostitute." Gulabo is skilled in manipulating the higher castes, while
Sohini remains humble and modest, enduring the hardships with a smile despite her
exceptional beauty, which leads to jealousy among other untouchable women.
 Pandit Kalinath is depicted as morally weak, indulging in excessive eating and showing a
lustful nature. He blames his overeating for stomach issues, oblivious to the starvation faced
by many untouchables. His life revolves around reciting sacred verses, but he's also driven by
sexual desires. Sohini's beauty captivates him while she waits in line at the well, stirring his
lustful desires, despite his outward appearance of piety.

Treatment of Subaltern Agony in Mulk Raj Anand’s Untouchable

 Concise Oxford English Dictionary explains the term subaltern as, “an officer in the British
army below the rank of captain, especially a second lieutenant (p. 1434).” Some thinkers use
this term for marginalized groups and the lower classes. They explain subaltern is, “a person
rendered without agency by his or her social status (Young, Robert J.C., 2003).”
 Subaltern is a term which is used in post-colonial theory and since 1970’s onwards this term
is regularly used as a reference to colonized people in the South Asiansubcontinent. And
now, this term has become an area of study in history, anthropology, sociology, human
geology, and literature.
 In Untouchable, his humanistic vision and reformist zeal presents subaltern sweeper boy,
Bakha, higher than the upper-caste people. For this social reformist attitude Anand has been
called “the Veritable Dickens of the East.” (Iyenger, p. 130) Anand’s aim in this novel is to get
rid of a low-caste subaltern from the age old rigid Hindu tradition. His humane attitudes
towards subaltern classes present the grim and untouchable realities of Indian social life. He
presents the theme of social realities and the theme of untouchability of 1930’s in
[Link] painful suffering of low-castes and the inhuman attitudes of high-castes
dramatize “a crucial moment of realization when the main character (Bakha) fully
 understands his place in the social order” (Niven, p. 56). He also projects the psychological
and the social condition of subaltern characters like Bakha, Rakha, Sohini, Ram Charan and
Chota who were to clean the human excreta for making a healthy environment of society,
and high-castes called them ‘dirty’ as a [Link] this novel, Anand discloses all the
disguising aspect of Hindu hierarchy of social system and gives the message of humanism
which is necessary for human development as well as for itsbetterment.
 Bakha is a fictional hero, who is the consequence of Anand’s childhood days friendship with
an out-caste boy named Bakha. This friendship inspired Anand to create a lively character
that has soiled hands, sweating face, wears dirty cloths and belongs to subaltern class.
Although Bakha belongs to subaltern class but Anand presented him as the child of modern
India. Bakha is a young boy of eighteen years old and has not surrendered to his fate like his
father Lakha. He is a child of twentieth century and willing to accept modern way of
dressing. “From a Tommy he has secured a pair of old breeches and from a sepoy a pair of
old boots; he would, if he could, like to look the white foreigner and so be in the ‘fashun’.”
(Ayengar, p. 336)
 Bakha’s day begins with the alarming call of his father Lakha for going to work for cleaning
latrines for the upper-caste people. After completing five rounds of cleaning the latrines he
returns home and thinks in melancholy pensive mood how his work like cleaning the
latrines, sweeping the main road and the temple courtyard in the town, makes him inferior
to high-caste. He also does not understand how his Karma (work) separates him from high-
caste and makes him subaltern. He fails to understand how his community people are
considered physically impure and untouchable although they clean and purify society as well
as social environment. They clean the dirt of others but they are not able to clean the mind
and eyes of traditional Hindus as well as high-caste people. They do not like to touch him,
however, the Mohammedans do not mind touching him. Anand clearly expressed Bakha’s
emotions in the novel. Bakha thinks “It is only the Hindus and the outcastes who are not
sweepers. For them I am a sweeper, sweeper-Untouchable! Untouchable! Untouchable!
That’s the world! Untouchable! I am an Untouchable!”(p. 43)
 The novel elaborates the condition of a sweeper’s boy Bakha who had suffered not by his
mistakes but due to his birth in the sweeper caste. Anand condemns the Vedic caste system
in which the upper-caste always exploits and humiliates the lower-caste. Upper-caste
tortures Bakha and treats him worst than animals. In every episode of the novel Bakha
seems to strugglein society for sheer existence. He listens to abuses from society every day.
Sometimes abuses help him to regain his strength and self-respect for completing his work
more efficiently but at the sometimes it gives emotional imbalance to him and provokes the
feeling of protest. He performs his duty honestly and gets only heaps of abuses as the
reward.
 He thinks, “All of them abused, abused, abused. Why are we always abused? [..........]
Because we touch dung. They hate dung. I hate it too.” (p. 43)Some characters in the novel
like Lakha and Havildar Charat Singh abuse Bakha only to correct his mistakes but other
character like Lalla Banarasi Das whom he runs into accidentally in the market not only slaps
him but also throws the torrent of abuses, “Dirty dog! Son of a bitch! The offspring of a pig!”
and scolds him, “Do you know you have touched me and defiled me, you cockeyed son of a
bow-legged scorpion! Now I will have to go and take a bath to purify myself. And it was a
new dhoti and shirt I put on this morning!” (P. 38)
The outcastes were not allowed to mount the platform surrounding the well, because
if they were ever to draw the water from it, the Hindus of the three upper castes would
 consider the water polluted. Nor were they allowed access to the nearby brook as their
use of it would contaminate the stream. (p. 14)
 Anand’s purpose was not only to expose the people, but presented their plight which they
face in their day to day lives. “He emphatically states that he creates novels not to expose his
philosophy of humanism, but to portray human beings in their wholeness, with their interior
as well as exterior life” (Sharma, p. 15). He also did not only create a fiction about one person,
but he presented the complete class of those people, who suffered the pain and agony of their
caste system. E.M. Forster the friend and a literary companion of Mulk Raj Anand, wrote, in
the preface of the novel:
“The sweeper is worse off than a slave, for the slave may change his master and his
duties and may even become free, but the sweeper is bound for ever, born into a state
from which he cannot escape and where he is excluded from social intercourse and the
consolation of his religion. Unclean himself he pollutes others when he touches them.
They have to purify themselves and rearrange their plans for the day. Thus he is a
disquieting as well as disgusting object to the orthodox as he walks along the public
roads, and it’s his duty to call out and warn then that he is coming.” (Preface of
Untouchable, p. VII)
 Towards the end of the novel, Bakha goes to listen Mahatma Gandhiji’s speech at the ‘maidan’
near the Bulandshahr railway station. The appearance of Gandhiji in the novel displays
Anand’s admiration for Gandhiji. He was a great disciple of Gandhiji and his humanism
depended on the Gandhian philosophy. As a Gandhian thinker he believed that the problems
of untouchability could be solved by Gandhian way of thinking. Therefore, in the novel when
Bakha listens to Gandhiji, he was impressed by Gandhiji’s lecture on the deliverance from
untouchability. He feels blessed after listening to Gandhiji:
“He knew it applied to him. It’s good that I came! He thought, ‘Is he really going to talk
about the outcaste, about us, about Chota, Ram Charan, my father and me? What will
he say, I wonder? Strange that Sahib of the Mukti (Salvation Army) said that the rich
and the poor, the Brahmins and bhangis, are the same.’” (p. 132)
 Gandhiji’s lecture on untouchables and his will in which he said, “I prayed that, if I should be
born again, I should be so, not as a Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya, Shudra, but as an outcaste,
as an untouchable.”(p. 138), builds the self confidence and energy in Bakha and for a moment
he forgets the incident which happened in the morning. The soothing impression on the mind
of a person whose journey began in the morning stumbling through the stone of caste
hierarchy, Bakha relaxed in the evening when he particularly listened toBapu. And the
introduction of a flush system machine, by the poet, which would be able to clear the dung
without touching it, is another support to Bakha. This machine would be a permanent solution
of untouchability because earlier the problem was based on the work which Bakha and his
class was doing for centuries. Through this episode Anand imagines a secular, co-operative
and egalitarian society which can be helpful to uplift the social condition and position of the
subaltern class. Although, it was the evening when Bakha listened to Gandhiji but it seems the
dawn of Bakha’s life from where he gets a breath of fresh air about his future and after using
this machine he and his caste could breathe the fresh air of dignity and freedom.
 As a great disciple of Gandhiji and influenced by Marx’s ideology, he believes that democratic
outlook will be helpful for subaltern classes to uplift their social condition. Better
opportunities for subalterns can improve their socio-economic status. He also believes that
modernity and scientific approach can eradicate age old traditions, superstitions, religious
taboos, casteism and classism from the society. After using modern and new scientific
equipments no untouchable will wait for the mercy of high castes for water, no untouchable
 will clean human excreta manually and will not carry the human excreta on their heads. Poor
socio economic condition of subaltern class is the main reason for their [Link]
outlook supports them for getting better education as well as job opportunities for improving
their socio economic condition.

UPHOLDING HUMAN DIGNITY: A LITERATURE REVIEW

 Human dignity is the inherent value that every individual possesses equally by virtue of being
a human being, independent of one’s abilities, characteristics, or actions.
 Respect for human dignity is acknowledgement of that inherent value by individuals,
institutions, and society.

Human Dignity: Interfacing Ambedkar and Gandhi

Written By : Valerian Rodrigues

Caste and the Problem of Social Reform in Indian Equality Law

 Although scholars continue to debate the precise origins of the caste system, there is general
agreement among historians and anthropologists that it has existed in India for as long as two
thousand years.12 The ancient Hindu scriptures, the Veda, describe a strict social hierarchy
that bears some resemblance to the modem Indian caste system. 13 According to the Veda,
the universe is organized into a strict classification scheme and a set of hierarchical
relationships that are reflected in the organization of society.14 The relationship between the
caste system and the structure of the universe provided a deep religious justification for the
stratification of society according to caste, and its compartmentalization into sovereign
communities with the power to govern their own affairs.'

Views of Mahatma Gandhi on Caste, Untouchability and Hinduism: Their validation and criticism

Volumn 44 Issued 3 October

 It is quite clear that Mahatma Gandhi was more vocal against the practice of untouchability
than against caste.
 He was not ready to accept that the inhumane practice of untouchability could have its
sanction in Hinduism.
 [Mahatma Gandhi on Caste and Untouchability ] Mahatma Gandhi used the term ‘Harijan’
(man of God) to address the untouchables since he felt that the terms used to refer to them
were derogatory.8 He was quite vocal against the practice of untouchability and denounced
it in unequivocal terms. He felt that the presence of untouchability in Hinduism was harmful
to its survival, as can be gathered from his own words Untouchability is the greatest blot on
Hinduism. Mahatma Gandhi was more active in his quest for political freedom, but that
doesn’t mean he was not concerned with untouchability. In fact, for him, ‘swaraj’ did not
mean only political freedom from the British yoke but also freedom of all kinds, and that
included better treatment of untouchables. He believed “So long as the Hindus willfully regard
 untouchability as part of their religion, so long as the mass of Hindus consider it a sin to touch
a section of their brethren, swaraj is impossible of attainment”. Mahatma Gandhi felt that
swaraj is impossible as long as we ill treat the weak and meek persons with impunity.11 He
was of the opinion that we are taken aback at the plight of Indians in South Africa at the hands
of the British, but we are doing the same to the untouchables in our own home country. We
have no right to ask for swaraj from British on grounds of inequality when we are doing the
same to our own brethren.12 Even though Mahatma Gandhi opposed untouchability, he did
not fully oppose the caste system. He adopted quite different stand on the caste system and
measures to improve the lot of untouchables compared to B.R Ambedkar.
 Caste reform from within and change in the mindset of Savarna (caste) Hindus
“Untouchability is not the product of caste system but of the distinction of high and low that
has crept into Hinduism and is corroding it”.13 Since Gandhi did not consider untouchability
as part of the caste system, he openly supported the four-fold divisions of society into four
varnas (any of the four Hindu castes). For him, caste system was a division of labour, but
presently Varna dharma (duty according to ones caste) was not in its original essence. Hence
he felt that if we cannot revive the original caste system, it is a calamity.14 While castes were
many, varnas have always been four in number. He viewed the caste system or Varna dharma
as the division of society into different occupational groups to maintain order. Each varna had
a duty to perform, not superior rights and status to belittle others. The task of a scavenger
was no less than that of a Brahmin. Both are doing certain things for their livelihood. 15 To
him, varnas were not a vertical section but a horizontal plane on which all stand equally. There
should be no question of superiority and inferiority attached to one’s varna.16Gandhi stood
for the dignity of labour and the removal of the stigma attached to a particular work.17 For
him, there was no high or low work, but everyone was doing their work mainly for livelihood.
Hence he did not find any problems with the caste system. He only desired to reform this caste
system by removing the untouchability and changing the attitude of caste or savarna Hindus
towards untouchables and their work. He wanted to make the caste Hindus realize that even
though the untouchables may be involved in cleaning work, which renders them dirty for the
time being, they cease to be untouchables after a bath and cleansing.18 Just as we revere our
mother when she does sanitary service when we are infants, so are bhangis (scavengers) who
do sanitary service to us.19 Considering them untouchable was a sin, according to Gandhi.
 Though Gandhi wanted to abolish untouchability, he did not want the immediate result by
forcing a change through legislation, fast or Satyagraha. He believed that religious reform
should be that of persuasion and not of legislation.25 Even when some untouchables expected
him to start a fast for his campaign against untouchability he rejected the idea saying he would
not do fast to appeal to anyone, but that should come in accordance with truth alone.
 Gute khini lom

Jyotiba Phule: The Radical Reformer and the Crusader against Caste, Untouchability and Gender
Discrimination

Jyotiba Phule who is also known as the Martin Luther King of India, revolted against the
prevalent caste restrictions in India and strongly criticised the domination of the Brahmins
over the lower castes and fought for the rights of peasants and backward communities. In
1888 Marathi social activist Vithalrao Krishnaji Vandekar bestowed him with the honourary
title ‘Mahatma’ and since then he is also known as ‘Mahatma JyotibaPhule’. In order to secure
equal rights for the people belonging to the exploited classes of India, he and his followers
established the Satya Shodhak Samaj (Society of Truth Seekers). The membership of the Samaj
was open to all irrespective of caste, class, religion and gender. Even Muslims and Jews were
its members at the initial stage. The Samaj was dedicated towards the removal of socio-
economic backwardness of Dalits and the upliftment of the oppressed classes. Chhatrapati
Shahu, the Maratha ruler of Kolhapur state was a strong supporter of the Samaj (Chakraborty
& Pandey, 2014, p.16).
Phule’s great contribution and social activism included many fields like agriculture, eradication
of untouchability and the caste system, women and widow upliftment, education of women
and Dalits, and the welfare of the downtrodden people. He is believed to be the first Hindu to
start an orphanage for the unfortunate poor and orphan children (Mehta, 1996, p.105).
Satya Shodhak Samaj The humiliation meted to him at the occasion of a Brahmin friend’s
wedding was the turning point of his life. His participation in the marriage procession was not
liked by his friend’s parents and he was rebuked for this due to his lower caste background.
They reminded him of his lower caste status and accordingly insulted him for not having the
sense to keep away from that ceremony which was banned for lower castes to attend. Phule
was profoundly hurt by this ‘injustice of the caste system’. Deeply impacted by this incident,
he started working for the emancipation of the lower castes. In 1873, JyotibaPhule formed
the Satya ShodhakSamaj (Society of Seekers of Truth or Truth-Seeking Society). It must be
mentioned here that Phule’s three Brahmin friends, Vinayak Bapuji Bhandarkar, Vinayak
Bapuji Dengle and Sitaram Sakharam Datar helped Jyotirao and his colleagues to establish the
Satya Shodhak Samaj. The Satya Shodhak Samaj worked for the emancipation of down-
trodden people with an aim to protect them from superstition, exploitation, and atrocities of
the priestly classes and other orthodox practitioners of the Indian Society (Keer, 2005, p.89).
Mahatma JyotibaPhule was the champion of women’s emancipation and education in India
and battled for education of girls throughout his life. Mahatma JyotibaPhule was the
champion of women’s emancipation and education in India and battled for education of girls
throughout his life. His great contribution was prominent in the field of education, agriculture,
caste system, women and widow upliftment and removal of untouchability. He was very
popular for his efforts to educate women and people belonging to the poor and backward
classes. The couple dedicated their entire life for the upliftment of down-trodden,
untouchables and for the equal rights for all men and women.
Through Thomas Paine’s book, Rights of Man, Jyotirao developed a sense of social justice.
Letter to people of US by Theodore Parker also made an influential imprint on his mind. His
realisation was that women and lower castes were the disadvantaged and excluded groups in
the Indian society and he also felt that education was the most fundamental tool for their
emancipation this led him to agitate for free and compulsory education for all and thereby he
is today remembered as a pioneer of Right to Education in India. Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, the first
Law Minister of Indian Republic and the undisputed architect of Constitution of India was
deeply inspired by the work, approach and life of Jyotirao Phule (Chaudhary, 2020, p.5).
Although India’s national constitution of 1950 sought to abolish caste discrimination and the
practice of untouchability, the caste system remains deeply entrenched in Hindu culture and
is still widespread throughout India, especially in rural India. Article 17 of the Indian
Constitution clearly mentions that ‘Untouchability’ is abolished and its practice in any form is
forbidden. The enforcement of any disability arising out of ‘Untouchability’ shall be an offence
punishable in accordance with law. However there is a huge difference between theory and
practice. In what has been called India’s ‘hidden apartheid’, entire villages in many Indian
states remain completely segregated by caste.
 Whereas the world has been progressing towards accomplishing the goals of liberty, equality
and fraternity, India has however failed to eradicate untouchability and caste, gender and
descent-based discrimination. The caste problem is not the problem of Dalits only but also the
problem of the entire nation and without the annihilation of caste and the elimination of other
primordial identities, India will not truly progress. Today Dalits have positive identity. Some
Dalits are reaching higher levels in professions, business and politics, some are economically
well off. But some Dalits still suffer from social stigma and reactionary political discrimination.
Discriminations against Dalits typically manifest itself in the private sector with respect to
employments and social mobility. Perhaps the biggest legacy of Mahatma JyotiraoPhule is the
thought behind his perpetual fight against social stigma that are still enormously relevant. In
the nineteenth century, people were used to accepting these discriminatory practices as a
social norm that needed to be enforced without question but Jyotiba sought to change this
discrimination based on caste, class and colour. He was the harbinger of unheard ideas for
social reforms. He started awareness campaigns that ultimately inspired the lives of Mahatma
Gandhi, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, MahadevGovindRanade and Gopal Ganesh Agarkar. These
stalwarts being influenced by Phule’s philosophy undertook major initiatives against caste
discrimination later on.
The most relevant lesson from his life to be understood today is that he was a misfit in the
slave kingdom – a radical, a rebel. He could bring about revolutionary social change because
he refused to be a slave to the Brahminical mind; he could see through the Brahminical lies,
he could seek out the truth, he could reason and thus could shake the very foundation of the
Brahminical social order. Today with the rise of the Hindu brand of nationalism, the right wing
Hindu groups of India are working towards placing a ban on the intellectual ability of people,
their rationality and their thinking. Progressive Universities are criminalised, funds and seats
are cut, nonsensical rituals are introduced, reservation policies are diluted, marginalised
bodies are brutalised, media trials and hate-mongering have resulted in making technocratic
citizens at a mass level. At this very juncture, Mahatma Phule’s legacy demands us to pledge
to teach generations not to submit to the slave system, graded inequalities, but rather
question it, and keep the revolutionary potential alive (Chaudhary, 2020, p.129).

From Phule to the Present: Historicizing Caste Oppression across Economic, Social, and Political
Realms (ssrn)

1. In compared to others, Phule did not receive much recognition from mainstream social
and academic intelligence. Although his value and depth of ideas are recognized in the
present flow time, he still remains less discovered and less discussed than pan-Indian
thinkers such as Gandhi. He was the first pioneer, even prior to Babasaheb Ambedkar, to
call into question the Brahmanical social arrangement on the basis of immense inequality,
irrationality, and particular caste interests.
2. He was impressed by Christian missionaries' nondiscriminatory behavior and open
teachings, which laid the foundation for supporting the British government. In 1848, he
came to be familiar with the work of Thomas Paine titled 'Rights of Man' (1791) and the
American Civil War in 1860, teachings of Mahatma Buddha and Saint Kabir, which helped
 him understand the disadvantageous position of lower castes and women in Indian
society and how education is important to meet salvation.
3. Phule wrote several texts (most notables are Tritiya Ratna in 1855, Gulamgiri in 1873,
Shetkarayacha Aasud in 1881, Ishara in 1885 and Sarvajanik Satya Dharma Pustak in 1889
and 1891) in the vernacular Marathi language to reach out to ordinary people.
4.