JYOTIBA PHULE

(DRAMA)

INTRO:
Long before Mahatma Gandhi was given the title of Mahatma,
there was another social reformer on whom the title of
Mahatma was bestowed.
Jyotirao ‘Jyotiba’ Govindrao Phule was a prominent social
reformer and thinker of the nineteenth century India. He led the
movement against the prevailing caste-restrictions in India. He
revolted against the domination of the Brahmins and struggled
for the rights of peasants and other low-caste people. Mahatma
Jyotiba Phule was also a pioneer for women education in India
and fought for education of girls throughout his life. He is
believed to be the first Hindu to start an orphanage for the
unfortunate children.

Script:
Scene 1.1 :

Jytoiba Phule to Mr. Mishra-Heartiest congratulations Mr and Mrs

mishra

(Handshake)

Mr. Mishra to Jyotiba Phule- Than--

Kartik to Mr. Mishra - Why have you invited this baseborn to such a
prestigious wedding? This cur deserves to be serving and not
celebrating with us

(Mr. Mishra remains speechless and shocked)

(Jyotiba Phule gives a wise smile and remains silent)

Kartik to Mr. Mishra- This imbecile is smiling. Probably does not even
understand the language we speak!

Kartik to Jyotiba Phule- Tumhe samajh bhi aaya jo hum bole?

Jyotiba Phule to 2nd friend-Sir, I can clearly understand what you say
but I choose to remain silent instead of justifying myself to fools like
you.

Kartik to Jyotiba Phule- How dare you! What right do you have to
speak to me like that, you lower-caste douche!

(Jyotiba Phule smiles and whispers)

Jyotiba Phule to Kartik-Haha, wow! Well, if I am a douche, then why
are you getting affected by my words, why are you bothered with my
comments?

(Kartik gets angry and leaves for a while)

Scene 1.2
Mr. Mishra to Jyotiba Phule- Oh my god! I am so sorry on behalf of
my friend! His behaviour was unacceptable!

Jyotiba Phule to Mr. Mishra-Oh Mr. Mishra, you don’t have to

apologise…It is your friend who did wrong. But it is okay, I face this
discrimination almost every day, I am fine.

Mr. Mishra- Really? I feel so bad for you, hope this world would
change…

(Mr. Mishra does the hand action of prayer)

Mr. Mishra- Anyways, welcome my friend! There is a lot of stuff
here…it would be my pleasure to introduce you to everyone, and
show you around the venue. Let’s first meet others and then get
started with the food.

Jyotiba Phule to Mr. Mishra- Sure! Even I want to get started with
the fun in this wedding!

(Jyotiba Phule smiles, and they leave)

Scene 2:
Jyotiba Phule to Mr. Mishra- Aright, let us meet with your friends!

Mr. Mishra to Jyotiba Phule-Yes, definitely!

(Mr. Mishra takes Jyotiba Phule to one of his friends, Omn)

Omn to Mr. Mishra-Hi Mr. Mishra! Who’s your friend there?

Mr. Mishra to Lakshmi and Omn- Hey! Oh, he is my fellow friend

from our school times.

Omn to Mr. Mishra- Oh hey…, but why is he dressed so simply at

such a lavish wedding…?

Mr. Mishra to Omn- Uh,o-

Jyotiba Phule to Omn and Lakshmi- Hello to both of you! I actually

tend to be simple…, and I don’t believe in the caste system, so attire
doesn’t matter to me, attitude does!

Omn to everyone- Wow! What a bold statement made by a guy who

should be serving us! Well, now I remember who you are! Mishra
keeps talking about you over and over again! I now remember about
your origins, you pesky little son of a gardener! Go and sit on the
floor, you pathetic mali, this chair is only for royals like us! Right Mr.
Mishra?

(Jyotiba Phule is shocked)

Jyotiba Phule to Omn- What! How can you say that t-

Mr. Mishra- uh, yes, I do think his attire is very plain, he looks like a
servant…but anyways, hu-h-hu-h let’s just cut off the conversation
here.

Jyotiba Phule- What! Y-you too Mr. Mishra!

Mr. Mishra- Uh, no Jyotirao…that’s not what I meant.

(Jyotiba Phule is hurt by this, and leaves the wedding as others laugh
at him and make a fool of him (even Kartik joins in, making fun of
him))

Mr. Mishra- Jyotiba…No! Please don’t go! Wait! At least eat the
food…!

(Mr. Mishra is called back by others and has to return (to his guests))

Scene 3
(Jyotiba Phule's friends get to know about this incident)

Bipu: Jyotiba Sahab! We just heard what happened with you at the
wedding...How can they do this?
Jyotiba Phule-Yes, right?
We need to do something about this
Sahab! Why don't we do a mass protest against these Brahmins and
make other people aware of how they treat us!
Jyotiba Phule-Yes! I think it's time to teach them a lesson!!
Savitribai Phule-Yes Jyotirao! I Totally Support you
Scene 3.1
(Supporters go out of Jyotiba's house and start the samaj/protest!)
(Jyotiba Phule now gets some supporters who understand that he
has a correct perspective.)
Supporters:Hume Hamare Rights Chahiye! Hum khudko discriminate
hone nahi denge!Aage badho! Aage badho! Brahmins ko samjhane
ka vakt aa Gaya hai!
(4 ppl will Inact this)
Scene 3.2
Savitribai- Jyotiba, our protest is increasing in numbers! More people
are joining!
Jyotiba Phule-Yes let's expand this
(After some time the protest ends after reaching the whole
village...News about it also goes to other places)
Scene 4
(A few days later)
(Jyotiba gathers his Supporters and some locals to give a speech)
Jyotiba Phule- Hello everyone! I welcome each and every one of you!
Today, I am going to talk about the hypocritical Brahmins! Yes, they
are hypocrites! Let me explain...These orthodox Brahmins show their
dominance and importance to us "lower castes or classes", but can
they do their parents or elders in THEIR caste? No right, then why
treat us different. Every time I go somewhere, I see, there are
younger kids, and even adults younger to me laughing at me and
shaming me! The wedding I went to even had young people, who
gathered together to make fun of me! I think that everyone should
be treated with respect...No matter how wealthy they are or how
high they are in the caste system! No one should be determined or
judged by their caste, but with their personality...I feel that no one
should be discriminated...This caste system is poisoning the minds of
young children! They don't have any manners to talk to elders!
Hence I strongly feel that no one should have a class in the world! I
strongly oppose this and want my rights! I hope you want them too! I
know that you do not want to be seen LOW by the samaj...this wrong
society! I know you shouldn't be treated any less than others just
because you are a Gorhe, Shudra, Nukar or Mali like me... and you
deserve respect right? Hence, I want to eliminate this abysmal caste
system from the society, and I need your help to do that! So peace
spread awareness! So no one would be seen inferior!
(Locals, Supporters and other people clap and are inspired)
(Soon, the people spread the message)
Scene 4.1
(Some hours later)
Savitribai-Wow Jyotiba, that was a great speech!
Jyotirao-Thank you! I appreciate that!
Savitribai- Uhh...Jyotirao, I was wondering, that because I am a
teacher and writer, I should write some articles and maybe publish
some books about this to make this reach even more people, outside
our state!
Jyotirao- Wow! That is a great idea! Brilliant!
(Soon, Savitribai started writing about this topic and there were
many people who gained knowledge and continued to share it with
others)
Narrator
(And so on, this idea spread even more and more people understood
the difference between right and wrong,even some Brahmins
themselves and stopped believing what they were told. Since then,
the society started to reform and Jyotirao Phule was given the title of
Mahatma)

Conclusion:
This incident which sparked off Jyotibas Quest against the social
injustice of caste discrimination and incited a social revolution in the
Indian society became very famous and others also encouraged
Jyotiba to even encourage women empowerment and furthermore
eliminate the caste system.
Before all of this, Jyotirao had read Thomas Paine’s famous book,
"The rights of man", and Jyotirao was greatly influenced by his ideas.
He believed that enlightenment of the women and lower caste
people was the only solution to combat the social evils.

Jyotiba’s quest for providing women and girls with right to

education was supported by his wife Savitribai Phule. One of the
few literate women of the time, Savitribai was taught to read and
write by her husband Jyotirao. 
In 1851, Jyotiba established a girls' school and asked his wife to
teach the girls in the school. Later, he opened two more schools
for the girls and an indigenous school for the lower castes,
especially for the Mahars and Mangs. 
Jyotiba realised the pathetic conditions of widows and established
an ashram for young widows and eventually became advocate of
the idea of Widow Remarriage.
He opened his home to people from all castes and backgrounds.
He was a believer in gender equality and he exemplified his beliefs
by involving his wife in all his social reform activities. He believed
that religious icons like Rama are implemented by the Brahmin as
a means for subjugating the lower caste.
The orthodox Brahmins of the society were furious at the activities
of Jyotirao. They blamed him for vitiating the norms and
regulations of the society. Many accused him of acting on behalf of
the Christian Missionaries. He even received death threats! But
Jyotirao was firm and decided to continue the movement.
Interestingly, Jyotirao was supported by some Brahmin friends
who extended their support to make the movement successful, as
portrayed in the drama.
All of this then lead to the Satyashodhak Samaj which was also
called Society of seekers of truth. He undertook a systematic
reconstruction of existing beliefs and history only to reconstruct
and equality promoting version. Jyotiba Phule suffered a Stroke in
1888 and was rendered paralyzed. On November 28 1890, the
great social reformer Mahatma Jyoti Rao Phule passed away. This
drama act was made by us to honour him and his efforts to change
India. As a matter of fact, he did change the society and played a
crucial part in reforming India.