Jyotirao Phule founded the Satyashodhak Samaj in 1873 in present-day Maharashtra.
The objective of the Samaj - to liberate the Shudras and to prevent their ‘exploitation’ by the upper caste Maratha.
It campaigned against idolatry, denounced the chaturvarnya system (the caste system) and rejected the need for a Brahman priestly class as educational and religious leaders.
Satyashodhak Samaj campaigned for the spread of rational thinking and rejected the need for priests.
Phule was a social activist and thinker, who pioneered women’s education in India, especially in Maharashtra.
He established this Samaj with the ideals of human well-being, happiness, unity, equality, and easy religious principles and rituals.
In 1873, he wrote a book named Gulamgiri, meaning slavery.