Phule and Gandhi on Education: A Comparative Analysis of Their Social Ideologies

Abstract

India, along with its civilizational heritage, also has a lot of social problems such as caste and gender discriminations. Various movements, both religious and social (like Buddhism, Jainism or Bhakti), tried to eradicate these in ancient and medieval India, but they continued to exist even in colonial India. However, it was only during the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries that sustained efforts were made to address these issues against the backdrop of colonial modernity and the national narrative. Jyotirao Phule and Gandhi were two of those who tried to deconstruct and analyze caste and gender discriminations. They had their visions of a free, egalitarian Indian society. Although both agreed on the need of transforming society, yet there were divergences in their approaches towards these issues. While Phule concentrated his efforts on the betterment of status of women in Maharashtra only, Gandhi visualized women from a national perspective. Modernity, urbanization and education are thought to be the instruments that would cut across both social and gender barriers and usher in an egalitarian society. However, Jyotirao Phule and M.K. Gandhi thought differently about the role of education and level of empowerment of women in the society. The article aims to bring out several such convergences and divergences in the philosophies of these leaders and tries to situate them in the historical and social contexts. This article will also discuss the efforts of the two reformers in ameliorating the conditions of women.