Dalit, tribal women in Delhi commemorate Savitribai Phule, reiterate education and dignity

By A Representative 

A series of community-based events marking the Jayanti of Savitribai Phule were organised across working-class and marginalised neighbourhoods of Delhi in December 2025 and early January 2026 by the Dalit Adivasi Shakti Adhikar Manch (DASAM) and its women’s collective, Mahila Kaamkaji Manch (MKM). The commemorations sought to move beyond symbolic observance and instead create spaces for dialogue, reflection and collective resistance, foregrounding education as a question of rights, dignity and social transformation.

Savitribai Phule, widely recognised as India’s first woman teacher and a pioneering social reformer, was remembered for her role in challenging caste oppression, patriarchy and social exclusion through education. Organisers highlighted that at a time when educating girls and oppressed communities was considered an act of defiance, Phule’s work asserted education as a fundamental right rather than an act of charity, and as a pathway to liberation.

The programme began on December 21 in Khichdipur and continued across several slum clusters and informal settlements in the capital. These neighbourhoods, while facing chronic issues such as displacement, inadequate civic services and structural exclusion, were described by organisers as sites of collective strength and grassroots organising. One of the key gatherings was held on December 28 at Naraina Pahari in New Delhi, where Dalit and tribal women from different generations came together to reflect on Savitribai Phule’s life, her struggles and her enduring relevance to their own lived experiences.

During the interactions, women spoke about how Phule’s courage resonated with their daily efforts to educate their children, particularly daughters, despite poverty, discrimination and systemic barriers. Young girls shared that learning about her life strengthened their belief that education could challenge injustice and affirm self-respect and dignity. Participants also spoke at length about the harsh conditions they confront, including the absence of adequate housing and sanitation, limited access to quality education, high school dropout rates, severe financial constraints that force families to prioritise survival over schooling, demands for bribes in employment, acute water shortages, lack of toilets affecting women’s safety, unsafe working conditions without job or social security, and extremely low wages.

Women further highlighted how extreme weather conditions exacerbate their struggles, with inadequate housing making summers unbearable and winters harsh. Frequent illnesses among children, including dengue, malaria, seasonal fevers and respiratory infections, were cited as an additional burden on families already struggling to survive. The organisers noted that through these events they interacted with thousands of Dalit and tribal women employed as domestic workers, sanitation workers, sweepers, cooks, construction workers and other informal sector labourers, who face multiple and intersecting forms of marginalisation based on gender, caste and class.

A significant aspect of the commemorations was the public honouring of women and girls from these communities, which organisers said was a deliberate attempt to affirm girls’ education, self-worth and collective responsibility. The gesture challenged entrenched social attitudes that view daughters as a burden, instead recognising them as bearers of hope and social change. The series of events concluded on January 4, 2026, at Kusum Pur Pahari, where the occasion was marked with the participation of women, children and youth from the Dalit settlement.

According to DASAM, the commemorations were intended not only to remember Savitribai Phule but to actively carry forward her legacy by strengthening collective organising and ensuring that the voices of working-class women are heard. The organisers said the gatherings reaffirmed the vision of education as a tool for liberation and as a means to challenge caste, gender and class oppression.