In which language did Jyotirao Phule write ‘Gulamgiri’, published in 1873?

Concept

When a question asks the language in which a historical work was written, distinguish the original composition and publication language from languages used in later translations.

The author’s linguistic region and contemporary publication record help identify the original language, while the work’s later circulation can create confusion.

Application

Jyotirao Phule, a social reformer from Maharashtra, published ‘Gulamgiri’ (‘Slavery’) in 1873. Bibliographic and scholarly records identify Marathi as the work’s original language.

Contrast

• English can be confused with the original language because the work was dedicated to American abolitionists and was later translated into English.

• Hindi is a language in which the work circulates in translation, but a translation language is not necessarily the original language.

• Gujarati is a major western Indian language, but associating Phule’s Maharashtra-based writing with the wider western region leads to this distractor.

Therefore, the required language is Marathi.