Krantijyot Savitribai Jyotiba Phule

Birth: 3rd Jan 1831 (Naigaon,Tha. Khandala Dist. Satara)
Father's name: Khandoji Nevse.
Mother's name: Laxmibai.
Death: 10th March 1897.


Savitribai was the first female teacher of the India. She was born on 3rd Jan 1831 in Naigaon, dist satara in Maharashtra. She was born on after the thirteen years of British rule in India and end of Peshwa rulein Maharashtra. In that time, it was common to marry a girl at the age of early childhood. Due to this tradition she was get married to Jyotirao Phule at the age of nine. But she stay at her father's home because Jyotirao was studying in a missionary school. After completing Jyotiba's education Savitribai came to lived with him, at the age of 20.


Jyotiba's opinion that every women must be educated.And thats why he started teaching English and Marathi to Savitribai at home. Savitribai became very good in English and Marathi. On 14 Jan 1848, Jyotirao started a school in Pune. This school was opened in a corridor of his friend house. This was the first school which was opened especially for girls for the first time in India. There was only 9 girls belonging to different caste enrolled themselves as students. Savitribai was given the charge of the school and hence, she became the first woman teacher of India.

Its a very difficult experience to leave house in the morning and going to school for Savitribai. The Orthodox society would not prepared for that. People belived that the food, her husbond ate would turn into worms and she would lost him by his untimely death. Apart from all these oppositions she yet continued to teach the girls. Whenever she went out of her house some group of orthodox men would follow and insult her in the disgusting language. They would throw rotten egg, cow dung, tomatoes, stones at her. The ordeal continued for a long time till Savitribai had to slap a person who tried to irritate her. That slap brought to an end of her bad experiences and she continued her job of teaching. Jyotiba and Savitribai managed to open five more schools in the year 1848 itself. She was honoured by the British for her educational work.

During those days marriages were arranged in between young girls and old mens. Men used to die due to old age or some sickness and the girls they had married left widows. Widows were not expected to use cosmatics or to look beautiful. There head were shaved and the society forced them to live there life by simply. Savitribai and Jyotiba were moved by the remarriage of such widows and castigated the barbers. They organized the strick of barbars and conveyt them not to shaved the widows head. This was the first strick of its kind. They also fought againts all forms of social prejudices.

She worked relentlessly for the victims of plague, where she organized camps for poor childrens. It is said that she used to feed two thousand children every day during the epidemic. By a strange irony, she herself was struck by the disease while nursing a sick child and died on 10 March 1897.