A visionary who profoundly termed knowledge as the third eye & educated the oppressed against all odds. A trailblazer who pioneered...

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin paid tribute to 19th-century social reformer Mahatma Jyotirao Phule on his birth anniversary, hailing him as a visionary who championed education as the liberating 'third eye' of oppressed people. Stalin commemorated Phule's courageous efforts, along with his wife Savitribai Phule, in establishing schools for girls and untouchable castes in defiance of orthodoxic opposition. He noted that Phule's pioneering work laid the intellectual groundwork for subsequent anti-caste and self-respect movements across India.

Stalin highlighted Phule's radical innovation of Satyashodhak marriages, which conducted weddings without priestly intermediaries or orthodox rituals. This practice directly anticipated the Self-Respect Marriages later institutionalized by Thanthai Periyar and given legal recognition in Tamil Nadu by former Chief Minister C.N. Annadurai. Stalin remarked that the shared philosophical lineage between Maharashtra's Satyashodhak Samaj and the Dravidian Movement demonstrates the profound unity of India's anti-caste reform traditions.

The Chief Minister asserted that the flame lit by Phule continues to illuminate the path for modern social justice struggles. He reaffirmed his government's resolve to carry forward Phule's vision through universal education, gender equality, and affirmative action policies.