Movements of a more militant nature against caste started with the founding of Satyashodhak Samaj in 1873 by Jyotirao Phooley of Poona, a man of Mali Caste.The main purpose of this Samaj was to assert the worth of man irrespective of caste. Through his writings and practices he led a revolt against the tyranny of the caste system and the hegemony of the Brahmins. He appealed to the non-Brahmin caste not to engage any Brahmin priest to conduct their marriage ritual. He tried to reduce the enormous ritual system into a simple procedure. He perceive the necessity of educating the lower-caste people. He could translate his vision into practice when he opened a primary school for the so called untouchables in Poona ( the very centre of orthodoxy as early as in 1851). Phooley's was not just a revolt against caste off the domination of the Brahmins. In his writings, he demanded representation for all classes of the Hindus in all the local bodies, services and the institutions. Phooley's struggles marked the beginning of the non-Brahmin movement which is also known as "backward classes movement
