"Respectful tribute to the great revolutionary, social reformer Mahatma Jyotirao Phule on his death anniversary. His struggle for the rights and privileges of the Bahujans will continue to guide us," said Rahul Gandhi.

Describing Mahatma Phule as "the pioneer of Indian women's education", Nationalist Congress Party (SP) President Sharad Pawar said: "The great social reformer gave Maharashtra a progressive thought and strived for the eradication of untouchability and caste system through his social work."

Remembering Mahatma Phule, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant recalled his teachings and said that "man should have only one religion, to speak the Truth and spread Enlightenment" like the iconic leader who set the stage for progressive ideas, educating women and resolving the problems of women, farmers and Bahujans in society.

Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi President Prakash Ambedkar said: "Mahatma Phule started the early struggle for liberating Bahujans from Brahminical slavery and we are living in freedom today because of the spark of awareness which he ignited."

"Now the same tendencies are preparing to enslave us again. They must be vigorously resisted. If we want to preserve the freedom of future generations, we must not stray from the path shown by Phule," urged Ambedkar.

Other prominent leaders who saluted Mahatma Phule included NCP (SP) Working President Supriya Sule, state party President Jayant R. Patil, SS (UBT)'s Kishore Tiwari, several past and present ministers, MPs, MLAs and the commoners.

Mahatma Phule (April 11, 1827-November 28, 1890), a revered social reformist and anti-caste crusader, fought against the scourge of untouchability, along with his equally legendary wife, Savitribai J. Phule, the pioneer of women's education in the country.

In September 1873, the Phule couple founded the Satyashodhak Samaja, and much earlier, they started India's first school for women in Pune (1848), with Savtribai and her close friend Fatima Sheikh – the sister of their landlord – and now credited as India's first women and Muslim woman teacher, respectively.

Last year, the Pune Municipal Corporation razed the old Bhidewada residence (where the first girl's school was started by the Phules), and now a grand memorial will come up there at a cost of around Rs 100 crore.

In 2018, the Maharashtra government recommended the Centre to confer posthumously the country's highest civilian honour Bharat Ratna on the Phule couple, besides similar demands by various political parties and commoners.

Courtesy Media Group: IANS