The enduring relevance of Jyotirao Phule does not lie in ceremonial remembrance but in the clarity with which he understood Indian society. He saw, long before others, that inequality here is structured through the combined force of class exploitation, caste hierarchy and patriarchy. These are not separate problems. They are intertwined systems that sustain each other.

Phule began by attacking the ideological roots of caste. He refused to accept that hierarchy was divinely ordained. Instead, he located it in history, conquest, and the systematic subjugation of the majority by a minority that monopolised knowledge and power. In Gulamgiri, he wrote with striking force: “The condition of the Shudras and Ati-Shudras is not very different from that of slaves in America.” That insight remains disturbingly relevant. Even today, caste determines access to land, education, employment and dignity.........

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