Overview
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed Phule as a pioneer who transformed society through service and education, stressing her commitment to equality, justice and compassion.
- Union Home Minister Amit Shah called her the inspiration of nation‑building and noted her role in establishing the country’s first girls’ school.
- Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath and Delhi CM Rekha Gupta praised her as a symbol of women’s empowerment and cited her fight against untouchability and gender discrimination.
- In Andhra Pradesh, leaders unveiled a statue at Sri Padmavati Mahila Viswa Vidyalaya and held commemorations at Vikrama Simhapuri University, while a BC committee staged a dharna urging action on women’s welfare promises and a caste census.
- Savitribai Phule, born in 1831, opened the first Indian‑run girls’ school in Pune in 1848 with Jyotirao Phule, expanded access with allies including Fatima Begum Sheikh, campaigned against child marriage and widow oppression, and died in 1897 while aiding a child during the plague.