A Flower of Fire: Religion, Caste, and Gender in the Political Poetry of Savitribai Phule (1831-1897)

FAIN: FEL-282143-22

Christian Lee Novetzke
University of Washington (Seattle, WA 98195-1016)

Research and writing leading to a book on the work of Indian poet, educator, and social reformer Savitribai Phule (1831-1897).

Savitribai Phule was born into an impoverished subaltern caste of Shudra (“low caste”) agricultural workers in India in 1831 and she became one of the first Shudra women in India to receive an education. Along with her husband Jotirao Phule, Savitribai Phule opened schools for Dalit (“Untouchable”) and Muslim girls, and for children of all disadvantaged communities. This experience as an activist in education led her to write two books of political poetry in Marathi, each articulating her powerful vision for social justice and her fight against caste patriarchy. Her ideas about religion, caste, gender, and power made her one of the most important critical thinkers in Indian history. However, Savitribai Phule is hardly known outside of India and there is no English monograph devoted to her critical thought. I seek NEH support to complete the first scholarly monograph in English on the critical thought of Savitribai Phule.

Associated Products

“The Bhagavata Tradition in the Political Poetry of Savitribai and Jotirao Phule,” in Bhagavata Traditions in Maharashtra (Article)
Title: “The Bhagavata Tradition in the Political Poetry of Savitribai and Jotirao Phule,” in Bhagavata Traditions in Maharashtra
Author: Novetzke, Christian Lee
Abstract: , edited by Shakuntala Gawde, Ravi Gupta, and Kenneth Valpey, Forthcoming in India in 2023.
Year: 2023
Format: Other
Publisher: ?

“’Mother English’: Savitribai Phule on Caste Patriarchy and the Ideology of the English Vernacular,” in Language Ideologies and the ‘Vernacular’ in South Asian Colonial and Post-colonial Literature(s) and Public Spheres, (Article)
Title: “’Mother English’: Savitribai Phule on Caste Patriarchy and the Ideology of the English Vernacular,” in Language Ideologies and the ‘Vernacular’ in South Asian Colonial and Post-colonial Literature(s) and Public Spheres,
Author: Christian Lee Novetzke
Abstract: “’Mother English’: Savitribai Phule on Caste Patriarchy and the Ideology of the English Vernacular,” in Language Ideologies and the ‘Vernacular’ in South Asian Colonial and Post-colonial Literature(s) and Public Spheres, edited by Nishat Zaidi, Hans Harder, Saroj Mahananda and Jurgen Schaflechner, forthcoming in India in 2023.
Year: 2023
Format: Other
Publisher: Routledge

Savitribai Phule’s Subaltern History (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Savitribai Phule’s Subaltern History
Author: Novetzke
Abstract: A paper on the history concept of Phule presented at an international conference in Delhi around Subaltern Studies
Date: 9/5/2023

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