1 week Ago
1 2 Pune: BJP Lok Sabha MP Udayanraje Bhosale on Friday stoked a controversy after he claimed that it was Satara ruler Pratapsingh Bhosale senior from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj 's lineage, who had set up India's first school for girls at his palace and Jyotiba Phule later emulated his idea. Social reformers Jyotiba Phule and his wife Savitribai are considered pioneers in opening the education sector for women in the country. According to historical data, the couple had in 1848 established the first such school in Pune's Bhide Wada.
Bhosale, a descendant of Shivaji Maharaj, was in Pune where he visited Phule Wada to pay tribute to Jyotiba Phule on his birth anniversary. Later, interacting with the media, he said Mahatma Phule was a social reformer who spread Shivaji Maharaj's thoughts of communal harmony. He was an economist and visionary figure who spent the entire wealth he accumulated to reform society, Bhosale said.
However, the Satara MP said, "It was Pratapsinh Bhosale senior who had started the first school for girls at his palace in Satara. It was the same palace where Babasaheb Ambedkar took his initial education. Later, Mahatma Phule emulated Pratapsinh Bhosale.
" His remark received sharp reactions from the opposition and OBC organisations. Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal said, "While there is enough evidence to show that Mahatma Phule and Savitribai had started the first school for Dalits and women, such a statement from the descendant of Shivaji Maharaj is very unfortunate. Udayanraje Bhosale and Shivendraraje Bhosale are supporting those who have insulted Shivaji Maharaj and Sambhaji Maharaj.
" OBC activist Mangesh Sasane, who carried out an agitation against Manoj Jarange's demand of Maratha reservation, said it seems Bhosale is trying to rewrite history by discrediting Mahatma Phule for pioneering women's education . VBA protest over movie release Members of Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), led by Prakash Ambedkar, staged a protest in Pune's Phule Wada on Friday, condemning the postponment of release of Hindi movie ‘Phule', which is based on the life of social reformers Jyotiba and Savitribai Phule . "Even after 150 years of Mahatma Phule's contribution to society, some section is still not ready to accept him.
They are not able to digest the fact that the Phule couple is being respected not only in Maharashtra but across the country," Ambedkar, grandson of Babasaheb Ambedkar, said. Replying to a question that censor board suggested some cuts following opposition from some groups, Ambedkar said, "The movie has been made based on the literature approved and published by state govt. Therefore, censor board should not oppose any of the scenes.
If the board continues to suggest cuts, we will protest outside the residences of their members.".
