A Study On Jotiba Phule’s Social Reform Thought

In the 19th century,India was in an era of conflicting western culture and local traditional culture,the vigorous development of social reform trends and the awakening of Indian national consciousness.Social reforms that have focused on caste equality and gender equality have had a profound impact on modern India,Jotiba Phule was an important representative of the social reform movement and anti-caste discrimination movement in India.The dual mission of colonial rule,the activities of western missionaries,the historical and cultural traditions of Maharashtra,and the personal experience of Jotiba Phule are all important factors for him to put forward clear reform propositions,devote himself to the social reform movement and play an active role.Jotiba Phule’s propositions and activities for social reform mainly focus on the construction of“non-Brahmin”values,social equality,universal primary compulsory education,lower caste reservation system and agricultural development.His social reform thought has a strong criticism,the reform proposition has an obvious religious nature,the reform goal has a free and equal modernity,and has a strong dependence on the colonial regime.Through further research,we can explore the laws and characteristics of the social reform movement in India in the 19th century,and then deepen the understanding of the later emerging anti-colonial national movement:The social reform movement accelerated the transformation of India from traditional society to modern society,providing the soil for the awakening of national consciousness;The later national independence movement absorbed the results of social reform thought and practice,and led the colonial India towards independence.Jotiba Phule’s social reform thought can be analyzed from two aspects of progress and limitation.On the one hand,promoting the social liberation of India,promoting the development of modern Indian education and promoting the formation of nationalism in India are all the progressive nature of His social reform thought.His social reform thoughts and activities are w₁₀orthy of affirmation for promoting the modernization process of Indian society.On the other hand,due to the time,class,and cognitive limitations,His social reform thought was deeply influenced by the“Sanskritization”ideological trend,with a religious color,and it was attached to the colonial regime.In general,Jotiba Phule’s social reform thought is the positive feedback of traditional Indian society facing the impact of western industrial civilization,which follows the development trend of The Times.The objective evaluation of the social reform thought helps us to have a more comprehensive grasp of the history of modern Indian social reform movement,and summarize the laws and characteristics of modern Indian social reform movement,and provide useful reference for the development of modernization of third world countries and other regions.