Thread by @IntriguedSpeaks

Satyashodhak Samaj (Truth-seekers' Society) was a social reform society founded by Jyotiba Phule in Pune.
It was a lighting flame of the non-Brahmin movement in Western India. It espoused a mission of education and increased social rights

#ThanksPhuleAmbedkar

and political access for underprivileged groups, focused especially on women, peasants, and Dalits.
The Samaj argues that priestly dominance is not an inherent trait; rather, the varnas were manufactured in a strategic move meant to establish and protect priestly social standing.

The Samaj insisted that, in order to reclaim their social standing, low caste groups should oppose priests as middleman between men and god in religious rituals and ceremonies.
The Samaj also advocated for social changes that went against prevalent traditions,

including less expensive weddings, inter-caste marriages, the end of child marriage, and the right of the widow to remarry.
The Samaj's original commitment to education and charitable activities was combined with the espousal of this anti-brahman rhetoric as the organization

spread across Maharashtra.
Phule thought that the Samaj could uplift disadvantaged communities through collective action and organized movement, and the first step to doing so was educating low caste individuals about the misdeeds of the Brahmans.
#ThanksPhuleAmbedkar