Dalit should Fight against the Mental Slavery: Mahatam Phule

 In view of the above Phule’s main concern was to literate the such people from the mental slavery. So Phule started education to the peasantry and low castes people. So Phule opened schools for girls peasants and low caste people not only he opened education centres to the girls, peasants and low caste people he appealed to the Govt. that the education policy of the Govt. is not reaching to the masses. All the benefits of the Govt. Education policy acruted by only upper castes people. These upper caste people not only benefited with education and they are trying to suppressing the choices of the mass. Once the masses were thrown into the den of ignorance it became possible for the Brahman’s to spread superstitions and blind faith among them. The introduction of the caste system meant perpetual degradation of the people. The ignorance of the people facilitated the exploitation of the masses by the Brahmans in the capacity of priests as also in various other capacities. Phule observed that even under the British rule the Brahmans continued to exploit the Shudras because of their rituals monopoly and education.

So Phule consistently exposed the caused of education in order to revolutionize; the out look of the masses against economic and social slavery. He did not believe in the possibility of change of heart on the part of the Brahmans who were the beneficiaries of the existing set-up. His views regarding education must be appreciated in this background. Phule’s ideas on education was exposed in Brahmans. Phule was dissatisfied with the educational policies of the British Government as follows:

a)     Weighed heavily in favour of Brahmans at the cast of the masses.
b)     Education was highly theoretical having no relevance to the practical life.
c)     Was not suitable to the masses and their rural environment.
d)     Lacked of trained teachers and training facilities.
e)     Defective scholarship system
f)     Hindered the recruitment of non-Brahman teachers
g)     Prescribed text-books which was full of falsehood.

The above contents of the education policy of the Government resulted in the neglect of the education of Shudras).

The increasing expenditure of the Government on education did not increase the number of the educated Shudras. Because a large portion of amount was spent on higher education not on primary education. He felt that concentrating on higher education in the cities gave a scope to the education of higher castes or Brahmans. This idea of the Government in patronizing “this virtual high class education” appeared, to Phule to be prepared scholars who would in time vend learning without money and without price. He further wrote that the Government feels that if we can inspire the love of knowledge in the mind of superior classes, the result will be higher standard of moral in the case of individuals, a large amount of affection for the British Government and an incomparable desire to spread among their own countrymen, the intellectual blessings which they had received. This has reference to the ‘downward filtration they’ which dominated the educational policy of the Government despite the clear cut directives to the Government of India to assume direct responsibility for the education of the masses throught the ‘Wood’s Despatch’ of 1854. Commenting on this Philosophy underlying the educational policy of the Government Phule wrote in Memorial address to the educational Commission “we have never heard of a philosophy more benevolent and more utopian. It is proposed by men who witness wondrous changes brought about in the west purely by agency of popular knowledge to redress the defect of hundred millions of India by giving superior education to superior classes and to them alone”. He requested to British to cite a “single example of the truth of their theory from the instance, which have already fallen in the scope of their experience”. They have educated many children of wealthy men and have promoted their worldly prospects.

He felt that the ‘British Government was mistaken in thinking that through education the Brahmans will come to senses and will be civilized and then stop cheating their Shudra brethren. Phule admitted that the Brahman had tradition of education and learning but felt that they also had tradition of restricting the learning to themselves and concealing it from others. So he had no illusion that these Brahmans would never impart education to the masses. He was convinced that the Brahmans would draw all the material benefits from it and continue to exploit the illiterate masses. He laments that the British should help in breaking the Brahman monopoly of education and public service. He amend that we can not find a single educated person from Mahar, Mang, and Chamber (Chamar) caste - not to speak Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts.

He felt the Government Policy unjust on economic grounds also. The greater portion of the revenues of the Indian Empire came from agriculture. More ever it does not come from the surplus profits but from the capital, nor from luxuries but from the poorest necessities. It is the product of ‘sin’ and ‘tears’ Hence it was a great violence of justice to neglect the education of the masses and spend disproportionately on the higher education or the education of the higher caste. He agreed with Sir George Campbell, the then Lieutenant Governor of Bengal, that this policy of giving priority to the education of the higher castes was “highly mischievous and pernicious to the interest of the Government” also. Hence, he suggested the Government to “look a little less after higher education and more towards the education of the masses”.

Phule attacked the Government system of scholarship’s as it gave undue encouragement to those only who already have acquired a taste for education to the detriment of the masses. He suggested an alternative system reserving certain number of scholarships to such classes amongst whom education has made no Progress.The prevalent principle of competition in forwarding scholarships, he felt, tended to obstruct spread of education among other classes. Phule was also critical of the nature of education, the courses, the syllabi of higher education from the point of view of its utility in practical life except in public services. It is because of this he says, that all those educated seeks Government jobs. This increase unemployment. This is the situation when education is limited to a small class. What will be the situation if the education is made universal and brought within the reach of all a the number of unemployed will still increase. So he suggested that suitable changes in the course of studies be made so as to make the education capable of preparing students for independent careers. He expected education to liberate the minds of the children from superstitions and dogma. But the text-books contained material which forstered it. Phule reminded the Government of its duty to see that nothing wrong was taught.

As a measure for making higher education accessible to the masses he recommended the introduction of the system of private studies. According to him this had two merits firstly it will defuse knowledge widely particularly among those of the rural areas who cannot afford to study at colleges, secondly it will not cause any additional burden to the public purse on account of higher education. He was dissatisfied with the condition of primary education in the country. The reasons for his dissatisfaction were:

a)     Existing indigenous pattern of school was defective;
b)     Number of Government and aided schools was very inadequate;
c)     The courses were defective;
d)     Almost all the teachers were Brahmans; and
e)     They were neither learned in the sense not adequately trained.

Phule was thoroughly dissatisfied with the pattern of indigenous schools which were of two types Sanskrit schools and Prakrit schools. The Arya Bhats’ did not allow the boys of Shudras cultivators to be admitted into Sanskrit schools. They admitted a few of the them in Prakrit schools. There were 1049 schools with an enrolment of 27,694. The schools existed in cities and some large villages. The boys are generally taught the multiplication table, tijf heart, little modi reading and writing and reciting a few religious Slokas. The teachers were not competents as their knowledge hardly went beyond reading and writing Marathi. They were not trained either in the art of teaching so they are incapable of effecting any improvement. Phule depleted that the number of Government Primary Schools was very inadequate and that all the teachers in these schools were Brahmans (Ibid). Their attainment in education and learning was low and only a few of them had any training. They were not suitable to teach the boys of the cultivators. They lacked honesty, and commitment for the spread of education. The maintained an aloofness and a distance from the pupils owing to their religious prejudice. They opposed any chance in the content of education particularly efforts to make the courses more practical as that would make them unfit as teachers.

Phule makes a number of useful suggestions for the improvement of the school education in the rural areas as well as in the towns and cities which shows tremendous insight and deep understanding of the problem of school education in India. His suggestion in this connection include such items as revising the courses in the training colleges and starting an adequate number of the same reforming the methods of selection of the trainees, higher and attractive salaries to the teacher in order to attract men of talent to this profession revising the courses of studies in the primary schools adding to it elementary knowledge of agriculture and lessons in moral duties and sanitation and some useful arts; attaching model forms to the schools etc. He also suggested to make primary education compulsory upto a certain age limit”. His suggestions of making primary education compulsory was in consonance -with-his concern fof the diffusion of knowledge among the masses. But he felt that making education compulsory alone would not help. The appalling Ignorance, superstitions and poverty of the toiling masses would come in the way of the education of the poor. He therefore; suggested reservations in scholarships, awarding of degrees to them at comparatively lower standards of attainment, appointing them as Paths after passing VI standard and appointment in various offices like Mamlatdars on priority basis etc”.

In pre-British period the Brahmanical dominance in Maharashtra had no parallel in the rest of India. Education was virtually the monopoly of Brahmans. Sanskrit Pathashalas were meant exclusively for the Brahmans and were supported by the Peshwas through liberal grants. In Poona alone there were 164 ‘Pathashalas’ where the religious texts of Hinduism were taught through the medium of Sanskrit. Education in these Sanskrit Pathasalas was free. But education in the Prakrit schools on the contrary was not free and the students had to pay fees for their education which was generally beyond the capacity of the common people. The cultivators, therefore did not sent their children to schools and as a result ‘Literacy in the rural areas was confined to the Kulakamis’ the Voshis’ and the Vanis’. The Government concentrated more on the promotion of higher education and spent large sums on it. In 1882 there were 6 colleges in the Bombay Presidency with an over all enrolment of 305 students, out of these 305, the Brahmans were 241, Vanis 51 and Kshatriyas 13, the average percentage of the Brahman students in the Bombay colleges in the 19th century was 43 and that of Parsis 23, Gujarati and trading class 7, Goaness Christians 6, and no other single community averaged as much as 3 percent.

The lower education particularly the primary education was neglected. The number of Varnacular schools in the year 1876-77, for instance, in the whole of the Presidency was 4008 with an enrolment of 210, 370 pupils, most of these schools were in the town or big villages. For instance, in the city of Ahnnednagar along there were 36 schools. These schools were attended by the childrens of Brahmans and the wealthier class. But they were very rarely frequented by the children of the cultivators or the other labouring classes of the people. Among the reasons listed by Robert Shortede for this were the high rate of fees in these schools and the overwhelming number of Brahman teachers among whom “there is a inclination not to communicate knowledge to any, but those of their own caste. The Brahman teachers were careful to foster the prejudices of the people by persuading them that had no concern with reading and writing and reminding that their children are required to tend the cattle in the fields instead of being sent to schools. As a result, the Brahmans maintained the monopoly of subordinate services in Government departments. Robert Shortrede made a pertinent comment. The exertion of European Officers can not be expected effectively to check a buses which have been practised from time immemorial and for which opportunities can never be wanting while the great body of the people are ignorant of almost every thing conducive to their welfare particularly being unable to read and write they are unable to understand their own affairs in relation to Government towards them and thus become an easy prey to their designing countrymen in public situations. Against this background Phule was quite justified in his criticism of the Government education policy and the suggestions made by him were generally valid and important.

Mr. W.S. APTE, Supervisor of New English School, in his witness before Hunter Commission, demanded that the responsibility of Primary and Middle school education be left with the private agencies Phule did not agree with this view. He feared this would mean passing of education under Brahman control which will affect the advance of education among the lower castes. In this regard Mr. Kunte’s remarks justified this fear and further Mr. Kunte submitted before the Hunter Commission that the demand for the admission of Mahar into the schools was not voiced by the Mahars themselves and that it was contrary to the practice and impracticable. It was a movement created by emotional British Officers and impractical native reformers. Such statements by the eminent Brahman educationists justified the fear expressed by Phule that Brahman did not want to each Shudras and that they would never honestly perform the duty when entrusted with the responsibility of education.

Mention should be made of Phule’s criticism of syllabi and curriculum. He suggested that the courses in the village schools should be more practical, that agriculture be included in the curriculum and that model farms be attached to each school. This throws light on the insight Phule had with respect to the problem of education. He wanted that education should not be looked upon as an instrument of creating competent clerks and loyal servicemen but should be seen in the wider perspect of varied human activity and should have relevance with the environment. Most of the education is today support this view.