PARALLELS BETWEEN THE REVOLUTIONARY LIBERALISMS OF THOMAS PAINE AND MAHATMA JOTIRAO PHULE
PARALLELS BETWEEN THE REVOLUTIONARY LIBERALISMS OF THOMAS PAINE AND MAHATMA JOTIRAO PHULE

Summary/Abstract: Thomas Paine (1737-1809) and Mahatma Jotirao Phule (1828-1890) were both revolutionary thinkers in their respective times and geographical spaces, concerned about radically altering the unjust foundations on which their respective societies were based. Their thought revolved around creating a just socio-political order that would ensure liberty and safeguard the rights of people. Phule’s contemplation of the degeneration of the Indian society brought him to identify the cause of discrimination. Paine’s ideas in his Rights of Man proved to be an inspiration that enabled Phule to articulate the dissent against the varna-caste hierarchy propagated by the ideology of Brahminism in the modern terminology of rights. Paine reminded the people in the western world of the need for keeping the spirit of revolution alive by being vigilant about rights. Phule’s legacy in India is his scathing attack of the ancient and haloed systems of social organization that actually undermined the rights of people

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