Revisiting the Educational and Social Philosophy of Jyotiba Phule: A Critical Inquiry into Equity, Inclusion, and Transformative Pedagogy

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Document Type : Research Paper

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Department of Education, DSN PG College, Unnao (India)

Abstract

This article revisits the educational and social philosophy of 19th century Indian social reformer Jyotiba Phule (1827–1890) to derive key principles for contemporary equity, inclusion, and transformative pedagogy. Phule’s anti-caste position is often acknowledged, but his pedagogical framework has not been adequately taken up in mainstream educational theory. This study adopts a hermeneutic-critical approach to analyze the primary Marathi texts of Phule (translated), namely Gulamgiri (Slavery), Shetkarayacha Aasud (Cultivator’s Whipcord) and his speeches on education. The analysis is framed by secondary sources from postcolonial and critical race theory. Phule’s philosophy anticipates the following key tenets of critical pedagogy: (1) equity as structural intervention (not just access), (2) inclusion as a political act against brahmanical patriarchy, and (3) transformative pedagogy based on the lived experience of the laboring classes. His pioneering work with his wife Savitribai Phule to establish schools for Shudras and Ati-Shudras (1884) offers a blueprint for decolonial, community-based education. This question moves the discussion from Phule as “reformer” to Phule as pedagogue of the oppressed, offering a non-Western genealogy of critical pedagogy, different from but similar to Freire.

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Journal of Philosophical Investigations

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 11 May 2026

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