. Anti-Caste Movements (a) Jyotiba Phule Jyotiba Govindrao Phule was born in in Maharashtra. He opened the first school for “untouchables” in in Poona. He launched the Satyashodak Samaj (Truth- Seekers Society) to stir the non-Brahman masses to self-respect.
Phule opposed child marriage and supported widow remarriage. Jyotiba and his wife Savitriba Phule devoted their lives for the upliftment of the depressed classes and women. Jyotiba opened orphanages and homes for widows. His work, Gulamgiri (Slavery) is an important text that summarized many of his radical ideas.
Jyotiba Phule and Savitriba Phule (b) Narayana Guru Born to poor parents in Kerala, Narayana Guru ( – ) evolved as a poet and scholar Annie Besant in Malayalam, Tamil and Sanskrit. Disturbed by the terrible caste tyranny, that the lower caste people suffered, he dedicated his whole life for the betterment of the oppressed. He set up the Sri Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam, an organization to work for the upliftment of the “depressed classes”. He established a grand temple at Aruvipuram and dedicated it to all.
Thinkers and writers, such as Kumaran Asan and Dr. Palpu were influenced by his ideas and carried forward the movement. (c) Ayyankali Ayyankali was born in at Venganoor in Thiruvananthapuram then in the princely state of Travancore. The discrimination he faced as a child turned him into a leader of an anti-caste movement and who later fought for basic rights including access to public spaces and entry to schools.
Inspired by Sree Narayana Guru, Ayyankali founded the Sadhu Jana Paripalana Sangam (Association for the Protection of the Poor) in .