Obviously, it cannot be Dr. S Radhakrishnan. In my humble opinion, it has to be Savitribai Phule. Savitribai Phule’s commitment to educating girls, including girls from marginalised backgrounds, was revolutionary. Her unwavering dedication to breaking the barriers of caste and gender, along with her tireless efforts to provide education to those who were denied it, make her a true icon of education and social reform. It is important to mention that Phule existed almost a century before Radhakrishnan!
Savitribai Phule’s extraordinary contributions as India’s first female teacher and her relentless efforts in fighting caste-based discrimination make her an ideal choice to honour on Teacher’s Day. Phule is considered the pioneer of India’s feminist movement and women’s education in India. She, along with her husband Jyotiba Phule, started the first modern day school for girls in 1848 in Pune – at a time when girls were not allowed to go to school.
Hence, teacher’s day to be celebrated on 3rd January i.e. Savitribai Phule’s birthday instead of on 5th September. A better birthday to commemorate and honour the true spirit and significance of a teacher does not exist. This school, in Bhide Wada, which has so far in shambles, is only now, in 2023, being considered to be deemed as a heritage site and redeveloped as a national monument!
Teacher’s day should be about teachers who go against the grain, who fight injustice, who crush hierarchies and who make education the tool of liberation. It cannot be about teachers who are plagiarists, who steal from their own students and further regressive views.
It is time, I believe, for people to really question the oppressive systems of this country that we live under, to ask what true education is, to differentiate between an education that empowers and an education that teaches you to bow down to authority. It is time to honour the eternal legacy of Phule – an educator and social reformer par excellence.
About the Author
Dr. K. Raja Gopal Reddy is a seasoned internationally qualified Insurance professional. What you are reading here, may not answer all the questions we have, but has the absolute power of asking unsettling questions which increase the interest in the strange world, and show the contradictory wonders lying just below the surface of the commonest things of life. Look at this disturbing but beautiful thought of Friedrich Nietzsche “God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him”.
Dr. Reddy can be reached at: raja66gopal@gmail.com
