FEMINIST PHILOSOPHICAL THOUGHT IN COLONIAL INDIA

Archana Malik-Goure

Abstract: Savitribai Phule, Pandita Ramabai, Tarabai Shinde, Dr Anandibai Joshi,

and Ramabai Ranade, the greatest women produced by modern India & one of the
greatest Indians in all history, the one who lay the foundation for a movement for
women’s liberation in India. Their goal was freedom from Indian tradition, freedom
from religious practices and rituals. Despite coming from diver’s diverse social
backgrounds they talk about individual development. They wanted to introduce
practical philosophy of human being. In their philosophy they are talking about
individual growth, care and humanism as virtue, they emphasis on self-reliance
and wants to interpret Indian tradition in their own way. They fought against
the tradition and fought for human rights, rights of education and rights of human
development. They took a very revolutionary stand in their life in the history of India.
Like Pandita Ramabai rejected Hinduism on gendered ground. She rejected
traditional practice forced by so called traditions. On the other hand Savitribai was
the teacher who educates all females and all underprivileged peoples of India. The
truly liberating moments for Indian women happened in and through the life of
Savitribai, who chose to walk tall, in step with her husband ahead of her time by
centuries. The historic disadvantages of caste and gender filed to keep her down
in the nineteenth century. In her writings she constantly emphasizes the
importance of education and physical work for knowledge and prosperity. She felt
that women must receive an education as they were in no way inferior to men;
they were not the slaves of men. This paper is an attempt to discuss Savitribai Phule
as feminist philosopher in colonial India. She raised the problem of women’s
oppression and her thoughts on resolving women’s domination through their
own efforts and autonomy makes her join the company of other nineteenth
century male feminist Philosophers. In this small work I would like to focus on
feminist philosophical aspect of her thought through her writings with special
reference to Kavya Phule, moral values given by Savitribai will compare with
Aristotle’s moral theory/virtue ethics and will conclude with remark on
contemporary relevance of her philosophy of feminism.

These fragrant flowers I offer thee. Strung in a garland of rhymes…

Each poetic blossom is full of glee. Their fragrance brings peace sublime. Advice
that is amusing. Easy to understand and charming ….
Simple moral education Knowledge that appeals to emotion….
----Savitribai Phule (Kavya Phule)

Savitribai Phule (3rd January 1831-10th March 1897) was a social reformer of
nineteenth century India (Maharashtra), capable teacher, leader, thinker, writer, and


Dr. ARCHANA MALIK-GOURE, Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, University
of Mumbai. Email: archmalik@gmail.com.

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26 ARCHANA MALIK-GOURE

committed companion to her husband. Savitribai Phule is credited with being the first
native teacher of girls in Maharashtra. She also happens to be the first modern,
radical, Marathi poet. For her work for women education many people called her as
Jananajyoti (Flame of education) and Krantijyoti (Flame of Revolution). Savitribai’s
poems reflect the anger of the newly- emerging Indian woman who wanted to be
treated as a human being and not just an object of male lust. Savitribai Phule, along
with her husband Jyotiba Phule, played an important role in improving women’s
rights in India during the British rule. Phule pioneered the campaign for women’s
education, starting the first school for girls at Pune in 1848. Savitribai was the first
biographer of Jyotiba Phule. She was probably one of the first published women
in modern India, and was able to develop her own voice and agency at a time when
women of all classes were still treated as less than human, with title to hope for, except
to be married as children themselves, bear more children, and live a life of servitude to
their husbands. This paper introduced Savitribai Phule as first feminist philosopher
and teacher in colonial India and discusses the relation between women’s education
and a humane, society based on equality by taking Savitribai’s radical philosophy
with special reference to her collection of poems “Kavya Phule” as its point of
departure. It argues that her perspective and her literature are still relevant in a world
where education has not reached the girl child across caste and class barriers at a
mass level. This paper begins by examining the relation between ethical values,
education and women’s lives. It proceeds to explore Savitribai’s philosophical
arguments in this context and concludes by saying that she is a first Indian feminist
philosopher in colonial India and arguing for her contemporary relevance.

Introduction

Savitribai Phule was probably first feminist philosopher in colonial India. She was not
a typical passive Indian woman who blindly followed her husband. She is a Mother of
women Education and vision of her philosophy is to give freedom to woman from
so called Indian tradition. She was a courageous woman who stood by her husband
and supported all his radical initiatives. She was a major figure of her time and
a revolutionary in her own right.
Savitribai Phule’s Writings:

 Kavya Phule – (1854) (Poetry’s Blossom) it is a historical document of the time.

She consciously chose the traditional form of writing like abhang, which
called a folk form. Her language is simple and effective. While some of her
poems are basically nature poems, in others she engages with the themes of
education and caste system, exploring people to throw away slavery. No wonder
she is regarded as the pioneer of modern Marathi1 poetry.
 Bahvan Kashi Subodh Ratnakar (1891) (The Ocean of Pure Gems):
Biography of Jyotiba Phule published in 1892. Savitribai’s biography was as much

1
Marathi is a one of the regional languages in India (Maharashtra).

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 FEMINIST PHILOSOPHICAL THOUGHT IN COLONIAL INDIA 27

about the Maratha history as it was about her husband.

 She also edited four of Jyotiba Phule’s speeches on Indian history in 1856.
Savitirbai’s three letters to Jyotiba spread over twenty years is also a precious and
rare piece of literature as women rarely wrote letters in those days, leave alone
to their spouses. She discussed social issues in her letters. Savitribai’s
correspondence is also remarkable because they give us an insight into life and
into women’s experience of the time.

Karz (Debt) her essay on Karz, she condemned the idea of celebrating festivals by
borrowing money and thus being burdened by heavy debts. She realized the poor find
themselves helpless and unable to change the realities of their lives, either accepted
blind faith or got trapped in different ways. She also wrote on addiction, explaining
how it ruined the lives of the addicted and their families: themes that are still relevant
in the 21st century. (Dhara, 2011, 29)
Savitribai’s literature expressed the pain, ambition and feeling of the modern,
liberated Indian woman. While her contemporaries were busy re-constructing the
images of the mythological pativrata (faithful to husband) women such as Sita-Savitri
module, in contrast, she expressed the passion of modern Indian literature. She was
able to develop her own voice and agency at a time when women of all classes were
ruthlessly suppressed and lived a secondary-human being existence. She was actively
supported and constantly encouraged in this endeavor by her husband and mentor
Jyotiba Phule. She was an exemplary role model for the Indian woman during her
lifetime and she is and will be a role model for future woman. M.G. Mali her
biographer rightly noted her as “the mother of modern Marathi poetry”. (Mali, 2008, 56)
A broad analysis of her poems in Kavyaphule (1854) reveals that Savitribai had
many sides and shades to her nature and personality. Poetry is one of way of
expression. Poetry (Kavya) is a piece of writing in which the expression of feelings and
ideas is given intensity by particular attention to diction (sometimes involving rhyme),
rhythm, and imagery. The word poem from Latin poēma, from Greek, variant of
poiēma something composed, created, from poiein to make. Poetry is a way of
expression; it has emotional values but also has cognitive values. Savitribai Phule’s
poems express both kinds of values. In her poems she addresses social issues like
getting an English education, fighting against caste and gender discrimination, and the
problems of untouchability.
The influence of Jyotiba’s thought on Savitribai is quite clear in her
writings. She had internalized Phule’s thought and had the intellectual capacity to
understand its significance in society. She seems to be the first person who had
understood and assessed Phule’s pioneering role in the liberation of the exploited
masses. She categorically states in her last poem “Dialogue at dawn” that Jyotiba is the
new dawn on the untouchables’ horizon. (Dhara, 2012, 11) Her writings were
important both as the strength and product of the social culture of nineteenth
century India. On the opinion of Savitribai Phule a woman has right to become
intellectual and only through education woman can become intellectual. Savitribai
visualized the dream and philosophy of Phule and became dedicated supporter of
his work. In her literature she has repeated the distress, aspirations, and feelings of

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modern, liberated women of India. Her composition also reflects the anger of the new
emerging women of India who want to be treated as human beings and not just as
objects of male-desire.

I. Jyotiba Phule Father of Indian Social Revolution

Jyotiba Phule was one of the most important creators of modern India. Phule,
one of the “Mahatmas‟ (Great Soul) of India, occupies a unique position among
social reformers of Maharashtra in the nineteenth century. He was first teacher of
oppressed, critic of orthodoxy in the social system after Buddha and a revolutionary.
Dhananjay Keer, his biographer, rightly noted him as “the father of Indian social
revolution.” Women were always at the centre of Phule’s thought and action. His
philosophical thinking on social and political issues was influenced by Christianity
and American thinker Thomas Paine’s ideas of “Rights of Man”. Phule worked
towards the abolition of untouchability and started educational institutions for
untouchables in the second half of the 19th century. When Pandita Ramabai2
converted into Christianity, Phule defended her right to conversion. This had a
gender aspect to him. He does not seem to have been particularly in favor of
conversion as such but he certainly was in favor of any movement against
Brahmanical orthodoxy. That a woman had asserted her right to move away from
Brahmin orthodoxy and tyranny was important for him.
In the philosophy of Phule the place of equality and humanity was the most
important. He, to develop the qualities of justice, through education wanted equality,
freedom and fearlessness. Phule took education for the oppressed and women. It also
essential, that it should create the feeling of unity. He experience that women have not
got the self-dependence due to the lack of education. He was of the opinion that the
development made in society is judged by the extent of education made available to
women in society. He was in favor of giving compulsory education to women. Phule
fought for the rights of women and work for their emancipation.
Phule saw women as the victims of the oppressive, caste-based and rigid
hierarchical social system. He believed that socio-cultural forces artificially construct

2
Pandita Ramabaiwas a High caste Hindu women, was great scholar of Hinduism and also
studied Christianity. She was an eminent Indian social reformer and activist. A well known
scholar and humanist, „ the greatest woman produced by modern India & one of the
greatest Indians in all history --- the one to lay the foundation for a movement for women’s
liberation in India. She was a poet, a scholar, and a champion of improvement in the plight of
Indian women. As a social reformer, she championed the cause of emancipation of Indian
women. A widely traveled lady, she visited most parts of India, and even went to She
married to Bipin Bihari Medhavi, non-Brahmin a Bengali layer. And this created a stir in the
orthodox circle of Hindu society. After a great loss of her husband’s death shortly thereafter,
she found herself unable to play the role traditionally reserved for upper caste Hindu widows,
and converted to Christianity an action which created a scandal even in liberal Calcutta. More
liberal verdicts have also bemoaned her conversion as unnecessary.

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 FEMINIST PHILOSOPHICAL THOUGHT IN COLONIAL INDIA 29

gender relations, especially by Manusmriti3 and Hindu tradition. As Simone De

Beauvoir observed, “Women are made, they are not born”, Phule also raised the
question, “Why tradition dishonored woman? In ancient India the position of women
does not appear to have been a very happy one. Usually women appear to have been
looked upon as inferior to men. And, at times they were considered to be on the
same level of the śudras, the lowest of the four castes. Their freedom was extremely
restricted. Right in the earliest portions of the canon women is looked upon as
something evil that enticed innocent males into a snare of misery. They are described
as “the greatest temptation,” “the cause of all sinful acts,” “the slough,” “demons”
etc. this mentality regarding women is due to ignorance. Ignorance creates the
problems in society. He shows the importance of education in his thought and
writings. According to Phule ignorance means darkness and education means sun-light.
He realized that for social change education is the effective method and he decided
to open the door of education for women and oppressed caste people. Jyotiba has
worked for the masses and women made them aware of education as a vehicle for
social change. Jyotiba said, “Without knowledge, intelligence was lost, without
intelligence morality was lost and without morality was lost all dynamism! Without
dynamism money was lost and without money the shudras sank. All this misery was
caused by the lack of knowledge.” (Phadke, 1991, 253) For him Education is a tool
to achieve liberation from ignorance, which is the reason of all sufferings.
Jyotiba’s philosophy is synthesis of Indian and western thought. Humanism is the lead
note in Jyotiba’s philosophy and religion. His philosophy is not repetitive but
critical, progressive, revolutionary and formative. One of his writings he said: “Jichya
Hati Padnyachi dori tich sansare sambhali”{Who holds (Mother) string of baby’s
cradle, maintain life of family as well as life society} On his opinion woman educated
means whole family educated because she nurtured whole family. Phule made a sever
attack on tradition which denied genuine rights of women. Phule started a school for
untouchables as early as 1848. He started a school for girls in Pune. Women’s
education was given ample stress in these schools. The main inspiration to raise the
women question in India during this period was from the “First wave feminism”, which
was characterized by the demand that women should enjoy the same legal and
social rights as men. Its expression can be traced in many feminist works. Phule
perceived education as a means for a movement for self-respect and self dependence,
and social peace. He made significant efforts to lead the society on the path of Liberty,
Equality and Fraternity. Phule believed in the strength of women and their role in
the process of social change and social peace. His initiatives have influenced various
spheres of life and transformed the way India today looks at socio-economic policies,
education and affirmative action through socio- economic and legal encouragement.
Jyotiba developed a critique of the interrelationship between women’s question and
patriarchy. He visualized equality and mutual permission as the basis of the man-

3
Manusmriti is a text in the Hindu religion believed to be written by Manu (is an author of
Manusmriti which lays down the Hindu code of conduct and is believed to be composed in
around 1,500 B.C.) which lays down extremely rigorous and discriminatory social norms and
dictates for the untouchables ad for women.

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30 ARCHANA MALIK-GOURE

woman relationship.

II. Savitribai Phule First Female Teacher and Feminist Philosopher

Phule and his wife Savitribai Phule were pioneers of women’s education and
empowerment in India. Savitribai internalized the vision and way of life of Phule,
and was a constant devotee of his work. In the philosophy of Phule the place of
equality and humanity was the most important. She, to develop the qualities of
justice, through education wanted equality, freedom and fearlessness. She also
experiences that women have not got the self-dependence due to the lack of education.
She was of the opinion that the development made in society is judged by the extent
of education made available to women in society. Therefore she gave her absolute
support to her husband who was in favor of giving compulsory education to
women. The influence of Jyotiba’s thought on Savitribai is quite clear in her
writings. She said that

…Let knowledge be your God, pursue it all the way

With determination attain success, don’t let your mind sway
Knowledge is so precious; it is the greatest gift of all
One with a treasury of knowledge, a wise person people do call. (Dhara, 1991, 67)

It was the fact that women in nineteenth century India was leading the life of a
subordinate- human being. She was considered an object of male-longing. In 19th
century education of women & the lower castes, Phule believed, deserved
priority. Hence at home he began educating his wife Savitribai & opened a girl’s
school in August 1848 in Pune. The orthodox opponents of Jyotiba were furious & they
started a vicious campaign against him. He refused to be unnerved by their malicious
propaganda. As no teacher dared to work in a school in which untouchable were
admitted as students, Phule asked his wife Savitribai to teach the girls in his school.
Though, she was previously uneducated, she was encouraged and motivated by Phule
to study. Later on she became the first lady teacher of India in the school started by her
husband. A building was found in Pune to house the school which started in 1848, with
nine students and Savitribai as it headmistress. Phule couple faced severs oppositions
from almost all sections of society. Savitribai was subject to harassment everyday as
she walked to school. Stones, mud and dirt and dung were fling on her as she
passed. She was often abused by groups of men with orthodox beliefs who opposed
education for women. She braved this onslaught for many weeks. Her response was,
God forgive you. I am doing my duty. May God bless you?” But letter fed up with
constant harassment and vicious opposition she almost gave up. But Phule gave her
hope, love and encouragement. She went to school wearing an old sari, and carried an
extra sari with her to change into after she reached the school. Finally, the pressure on
her eased when she was compelled to slap one of her tormentors on the street, after
which she was left alone. Later, a peon was employed to escort her to and from
the school. (Dhara, 2012, 27) Savitri’s courage in withstanding opposition, even
physical discomfort, to achieve her goals made her a true life-partner of Jyotiba Phule.

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As mentioned in previous section Phule was a visionary who understood the value of
education in the empowering of women. He started by sending Savitribai to school and
then training her as a teacher to run schools for girls from oppressed communities.
In her poem Go, Get Education (Ibid, 36-71) she just expresses the importance of
education for women and society and also trying to motivated women in her possible
way. As, she is expressing in one of her composition……

Be self-reliant, be industrious
Work, gather wisdom and riches,
All gets lost without knowledge
We become animal without wisdom,
Sit idle no more, go, get education
End misery of the oppressed and forsaken,
You’ve got a golden chance to learn
So learn and break the chains of caste.
Throw away the Brahman’s scriptures fast.

One of her composition she described the good human being. According to her, “one
who looks after his family with care and responsibility, one who is always industrious
and inquisitive, who has quest for knowledge, one who is worship of freedom, one who
is compassionate towards family, one who is caring, sacrificing and dedicated is
truly a good man”. In Savitribai’s thought, Phule was good human and husband and
he precisely passed the mission of humanism.

To attain self-reliance let us pledge

And accumulate a wealth of knowledge
Without learning, life is an animal existence, a waste
Don’t rest, get an education, make haste
The outcasts can wipe away their woes if they wish
Here’s a golden chance to learn English
Learn English and do away with caste discrimination
Cast away the tiresome tales of the Brahmins to damnation (Ibid, 36-71)

She also tries to explain the reason of sufferings of Indian women and underprivileged
class that is ignorance. She said “Work hard, study well, and do well”. She constantly
underscored the importance of education and physical work for knowledge and
prosperity. She felt that women must receive an education as they were in no way
inferior to men; they were not slaves of men. She said in one of her composition…

Just one enemy do we have today

Let’s thrash him and drive him away
…Ignorance!

She also offered one composition where she is giving the message of social peace
and also provides the possible way for social harmony. Moral teaching is important as

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32 ARCHANA MALIK-GOURE

she said in her poem “Offerings”. 4 Her poem has emotional values like love, care and
sharing, sacrifice etc but it also has cognitive values, which helps to provide peace in
society. Her writings were an independent expression. Her poetic zeal and literary
merits are also beyond any doubt and debate. Her writings demonstrate the influence
of folk songs, Bhakti poetry (devotional poetry) and the Shairi (ballad literature) form.
Though she selected traditional forms of writing, she constantly propagated modern
values such as humanism, liberty, equality, brotherhood and rationalism through her
writings. Her composition Kavya Phule reveals moral teaching where she is offering
ethical values emotional as well as cognitive values listed as follows…

 Love
 Care
 Respect (Father-Mother)
 Worship
 Knowledge
 Freedom
 Equality
 Oneness
 Courage
 Self-reliance
 Opportunity
 Compassion / kindness
 Non-Violence
 Simplicity
 Humanity
 Social Harmony

Here I would like to compare moral philosophy Savitribai with moral philosophy of
Greek philosopher Aristotle. Aristotle has discussed virtue ethics in his literature on
ethics. Virtue ethics as discussed by Aristotle focus on three essential concepts;
they are virtue, moral wisdom and happiness. Aristotle has talked about the
practical virtues of social life, List of virtues given by Aristotle as follows: (Bourke,
2007, 46)

 Courage
 Temperance
 Liberty
 Magnificence
 Magnanimity
 Proper ambition
 Good temper
 Truthfulness

4
“Offerings” is one of her composition which I have quote in the beginning of this work. Kavya
Phule is a compilation of almost 41 poems written by Savitribai Phule.

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 FEMINIST PHILOSOPHICAL THOUGHT IN COLONIAL INDIA 33

 Wittiness
 Friendliness
 Modesty
 Righteous indignation

In Aristotle’s ethics, where he describes a virtue unknown to us, but which he regarded
as one of the highest. As Aristotle talked about courage, liberty, friendliness and so on
in his literature on ethics Savitribai also accept courage, liberty, friendliness,
modesty, wisdom in her list. If life is to be worth living, he argues, it must surely be
for the sake of something that is an end in itself i.e., desirable for its own sake, is
Happiness. If we study moral values given by Aristotle and Savitribai Phule we can see
similarities. Moral values of human life given by both Savitribai and Aristotle have
only one final goal of life that is social peace, harmony in society. Their moral
philosophy is human centric and their vision of ethical philosophy is humanism.
So we can see Savitribai was also influenced by western ideas of ethics and
morality.

III. Savitribai Phule: Social Reformer

Savitribai not only worked as an educational reformer but also worked as social
reformer, especially for women. She was not only great teacher and philosopher of
India but also true companion and great supporter of her husband Jyotiba Phule who
made this endeavour possible for women and underprivileged class people of India to
get education use the principles like equality and freedom and fight for our own rights
in society. 19th century India was very backward with the Error! Hyperlink reference
not valid taking ugly forms. Untouchability and Sati5system were still in practice, and
the illiteracy was very high. Education was denied to the women, and lower caste
society. They were treated as chattels, providing domestic, economic and sexual labour
in their family surroundings. There was no public role for them in society. They were
not allowed to express their opinion or come together in society. They were not
given any education and had to follow strict decorum in their homes. Child marriages
were a norm and widows were banished from society and had little rights. It was a
male dominated society and women were treated as second class citizens. However,
this period witnessed the rise of social reform movements in India, especially relating
to women emancipation like the abolishment of Sati and the initiate of widows
remarriage. It is obvious that 19th century India was not women's age it is supposed to
be the 'dark age' for them. Phule couple introduced a new image of religion which was

5
Sati is an old, largely defunct custom, among some communities. The ritual of dying at the
funeral pyre of the husband is known as "Sati". According to some of the Hindu scriptures
women dying at the funeral pyre of her husband go straight to heaven so it’s good to practice this
ritual. Initially it was not obligatory for the women but if she practiced such a custom she was
highly respected by the society. Sati was considered to be the better option than living as a
widow as the plight of widows in Hindu society was even worse. (Archana Malik-Goure, Jyotiba
Phule: A Modern Indian Philosopher, p 36)

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34 ARCHANA MALIK-GOURE

known as universal religion. Phule’s theological thought was summarized by his

colleague and follower, Dr. Vishram Ghole: “Phule taught the people to think of
religion in terms of what is right and wrong and above all in terms of cause and
effect. He placed before them an account of current customs and beliefs in terms of
their validity. He attacked idol-worship and made the cause for monotheism.”
(Deshpande, 2002, 225) Phule’s social thoughts are based on humanism. Phule founded
the Satyashodhak Samaj (Society of Truth Seekers) as a socio-spiritual movement on
September 24, 1871. It is based on the values like equality, Justice and tranquility. He
spread value based system through his work and thought. His philosophy was human
centric. Jyotiba Phule wanted lower castes to exploit the opportunity and get rid of the
tyranny of Brahmins. Savitribai headed SatyashodhakSamaj after Mahatma Phule’s
death, and broke new ground in socio-cultural creativity. Moto of Satyashodhak Samaj
was to Liberalize, Equalize and Modernalize not only member of society but every
people of India. Savitribai headed the women’s unity of the Satyashodhak Samaj.
The objective of the society was “to give freedom to shudras and ati-shudras
(Untouchable peoples) from the tyranny of the Brahmanical scriptures and tradition,
teach them their human rights and liberate them from mental and religious slavery.
In the draught of 1896, Savitribai worked ceaselessly, and brought pressure on the
government to undertake relief measures. In1897, an epidemic of plague swept Pune.
Savitribai once again engaged personally in the relief effort. Unfortunately, she
caught the disease and died on 10th March, 1897.
Hari Narake wrote in Mahatma Phule Gaurav Granth, “More than Jotirao, his
wife deserves praise. No matter how much we praise her, it would not be enough.
How can one describe her stature? She cooperated with her husband completely and
along with him, faced all the trials and tribulations that came their way. It is
difficult to find such a sacrificing woman even among the highly educated women
from upper castes. The couple spent their entire lifetime working for people.” Braj
Ranjan Mani also writes, “Savitribai Phule struggled and suffered with her
revolutionary husband in an equal measure, but remains obscured due to casteist and
sexist negligence. Apart from her identity as Jotirao Phule’s wife, she is little known
even in academia. Modern India’s first woman teacher, a radical exponent of mass
and female education, a champion of women’s liberation, a pioneer of engaged
poetry, a courageous mass leader who took on the forces of caste and patriarchy
certainly had her independent identity and contribution. It is indeed a measure of
the ruthlessness of elite- controlled knowledge-production that a figure as important
as Savitribai Phule fails to find any mention in the history of modern India. Her life
and struggle deserve to be appreciated by a wider spectrum, and made known to non-
Marathi people as well.” (BaMani, 2008, 28)

Conclusion

Teaching philosophy of feminism to post graduate students in the class room is really a
good experience. Indian Society does not take women seriously, as intellectuals. We
teach feminist philosophers in our curriculum and it’s really interesting to discuss in
class which I feel very important and practical issue of human life should be discussed.

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 FEMINIST PHILOSOPHICAL THOUGHT IN COLONIAL INDIA 35

There is scope in class-room discussion to share others experience including our own
experience as a woman, as a member of society. Because the issue of women is not
just something metaphysical, it is practical thing and everybody has their own
experience of life. Not necessary as an individual but as a member of the society. I
realized that during discursion present generation and also privileged class of the
society are not aware about problems related to women in 19th century India. This
discussion is really important on feminism because we have to bring women into
discipline of philosophy. Feminist philosophers like Savitribai Phule have different
philosophy of life; they have different summum bonum, highest goal in their
philosophy. Her goal of life was freedom from Indian tradition, freedom from
religious tyranny and rituals. Savitribai Phule wanted to introduce practical philosophy
of human being, individual growth from education; other unethical things she was
rejecting like so called Indian tradition. In her philosophy she was talking about
individual growth, love, care and humanism as virtue, her emphasis on self-reliance
and wants to interpret Indian tradition in her own way. They fought against the
tradition and fought for human rights, rights of education and rights of human
development. She took an extremely innovative stand in her whole life. By studding
feminist thinkers in the Contemporary Indian philosophy curriculum, future generation
can learn the relevance of a gender sensitive approach to treating women as
equals. This is enshrined in the constitution of Indian. The Constitution of India gave
women equal rights with men from the beginning. Unfortunately, women in this
country are mostly unaware of their rights because of illiteracy and the oppressive
tradition in some parts of India. Gender discrimination still persists in India and lot
more needs to be done in the field of women’s education in India.
I would like to conclude with that, the development of any nation depends upon
the educational growth. Nation forms its skeleton through equal contribution of
both men and women educational status. The constitution of India and the legal
codes bestowed upon women the privileged of equal rights with men. The same
facilities of education and the same opportunities of profession and employment are
available for women. In the modern age, hierarchy between men and women has
been explicitly questioned with rise of women’s liberation movements all over the
world. As a result, women are quite confident of their ability to achieve their
goals in this life. Today we find that women have proved to be quite otherwise and
are holding highest positions in every field of life. I thanks to all feminist
philosopher who introduced philosophy of education and philosophy of humanism.

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