Vinoba Bhave is well known for the Bhoodan Movement. On 18 April 1951He was a winner at ji Pochampally of Nalgonda,[1] the Bhoodan Movement. He took donated land from landowner Indians and gave it away to the poor and landless, for them to cultivate. Then after 1954, he started to ask for donations of whole villages in a programme he called Gramdan. He got more than 1000 villages by way of donations. Out of these, he obtained 175 donated villages in Tamil Nadu alone. Noted Gandhian and atheist Lavanam was the interpreter of Vinoba Bhave during his land reform movement in Andhra Pradesh and parts of Orissa.[2]
In 1958 Vinoba was the first recipient of the international Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership.[3] He was awarded with the highest civilian award of India. The Bharat Ratna posthumously in 1983.[4]
Social reformer and educator, Dhondo Keshav Karve is widely known for his work related to woman education and remarriage of Hindu widows. He established the Widow Marriage Association (1883), Hindu Widows Home (1896), and started Shreemati Nathibai Damodar Thackersey Women's University in 1916. He was popularly known as Maha-rushi maharshi meaning great sage. The Government of India awarded him its highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna, in 1958, the year of his 100th birthday.[5]
The film "DhayasaParva" by Amol Palekar, based on the life of Karve's son Raghunath, also depicts the Karve family, and their social reformation projects.[6]
He became involved in campaigning and negotiations for India's independence, publishing journals advocating political rights and social freedom for Dalits, and contributing significantly to the establishment of the state of India.[citation needed]
In 1990, the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, was posthumously conferred upon Ambedkar.[10] Ambedkar's legacy includes numerous memorials and depictions in popular culture.[citation needed]
Vinayak Damodar Savarkar
Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was a socialfighter,politician,lawyer,writer,social reformer and formulator.
He advocated dismantling the system of caste in society.Savarkar's social reforms in Ratnagiri were during the period of 1924-1937.In 1931,the Patit Pavan Mandir was established with the financial help from Bhagoji Seth Keer under the leadership of Savarkar which was open to all Hindus and it had trust representation from all castes including those from th ex-untouchable caste. He was first to start the concept of saha-bhojan. On 1 May 1933, Savarkar started a pan hindu cafe for all castes. Savarkar popularised the term Hindutva, denoting the essence of Hindu, which was originally coined by Chandranath Basu in 1892. Savarkar is considered to be the father of Hindu Nationalism in India. His tract, Essentials of Hindutva, better known under the later title Hindutva: Who Is a Hindu?, defined a Hindu as one who regarded India as his fatherland as well as holy land. The three essentials of Hindutva were said to be the common nation (rashtra), common race (jati) and common culture/civilisation (sanskriti).[11]
Jyotiba Phule, an Indian activist, thinker, social reformer, writer and theologist from Maharashtra. He and his wife, Savitribai Phule, were pioneers of women's education in India. His work extended to many fields including education, agriculture, caste system, women and widow upliftment and removal of untouchability. He is most known for his efforts to educate women and the lower castes as well as the masses. After educating his wife, he opened the first school for girls in India in August 1848.[12]
In September 1873, Phule, along with his followers, formed the Satyashodhak Samaj (Society of Seekers of Truth) to attain equal rights for peasants and people from lower castes.
Nanaji Deshmukh
Nanaji Deshmukh established Chitarkoot Gramodya Vishwavidyalaya in Chitrakoot- India's First Rural University and was its Chancellor.[13] Nanaji implemented the philosophy of integral humanism to improve the living standard of more than 150 villages of Bundelkhand.
He was awarded Padma Vibhushan in 1999. India's former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam praised Deshmukh for his "single-minded devotion to the uplift of the people".[14]
Sindhutai Sapkal
Sindhutai Sapkal, affectionately known as the "Mother of Orphans", is an Indian social worker and social activist known particularly for her work in raising orphaned children in India.
She has adopted more than 1800orphans .She was conferred a Doctorate in Literature by the DY Patil Institute of Technology and Research in 2016.
Daughter of a cowherd and abandoned wife of a poor farmer Sindhutai has been through a lot of hardships and even planned to commit suicide until she discovered the goal of her life to devote herself to the orphans.
She was awarded the Nari Shakti Award in 2017 by the President of INDIA which is the highest civilian award for women, Mother Teresa Awards, Ahilyabai Holkar Award, given by the Government of Maharashtra to social workers in the field of woman and child welfare, The National Award for Iconic Mother(first recipient) and many other such national awards from government and organisations. She has been awarded with more than 750 awards worldwide for her work.
She also has multiple operating organisations in Maharashtra.
Baba Amte
Baba Amte was known particularly for his work for the rehabilitation and empowerment of poor people suffering from leprosy.[15] Recipient of various accolades, Amte was conferred Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1985 for public service.[16]
Anna Hazare
Anna Hazare is an Indian social activist who led movements to promote rural development, increase government transparency, and investigate and punish corruption in public life. In addition to organising and encouraging grassroots movements, Hazare frequently conducted hunger strikes to further his causes.[17][18]
Hazare and the youth group decided to take up the issue of alcoholism to drive a process of reform. At a meeting conducted in the temple, the villagers resolved to close down liquor dens and ban alcohol in the village. Since these resolutions were made in the temple, they became, in a sense, religious commitments. Over thirty liquor brewing units voluntarily closed their establishments. Those who did not succumb to social pressure were forced to close their businesses when the youth group smashed their premises. The owners could not complain as their businesses were illegal.[19]
Hazare appealed to the government of Maharashtra to pass a law whereby prohibition would come into force in a village if 25% of the women in the village demanded it. In 2009 the state government amended the Bombay Prohibition Act, 1949 to reflect this.[20]
The social barriers and discrimination that existed due to the caste system in India have been largely eliminated by Ralegan Siddhi villagers. It was Hazare's moral leadership that motivated and inspired the villagers to shun untouchability and caste discrimination. Marriages of Dalits are held as part of community marriage program together with those of other castes. The Dalits have become integrated into the social and economic life of the village. The upper caste villagers built houses for the lower caste Dalits by shramdaan and helped to repay their loans.[21][22][23]
Abhay and Rani Bang
Dr. Abhay Bang and Dr. Rani Bang are social activists, researchers working in the field of community health in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra. They have revolutionized healthcare for the poorest people in India and have overseen a programme that has substantially reduced Infant mortality rates in one of the most poverty-stricken areas in the world. The WHO (World Health Organization) and UNICEF have endorsed their approach to treating newborn babies and the programme is currently being rolled out to parts of Africa.[24] The Bangs founded SEARCH[25] (Society For Education, Action and Research in Community Health) – a non-profit organisation, which is involved in rural health service and research. The Bang couple is the winner of the prestigious Maharashtra Bhushan Award. They have many published articles in The Lancet, one of the world's most prestigious medical journals.[26]
Nirmala Deshpande – joined Vinoba Bhave's Bhoodan movement in 1952. She undertook a 40,000-km journey on foot --padayatra—across India to carry Gandhi's message of Grām Swarāj, she also received the Sitara-i-Imtiaz, one of Pakistan's third highest civilian honours, on 13 August 2009
Narendra Dabholkar – Activist known for his role in Akhil Bharatiya Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti (ABANS)
Vinayak Narahari Bhave, also known as Vinoba Bhave, was an Indian advocate of nonviolence and human rights. Often called Acharya, he is best known for the Bhoodan Movement. He is considered as National Teacher of India and the spiritual successor of Mahatma Gandhi. He was an eminent philosopher. The Gita has been translated into the Marathi language by him with the title Geetai.
Murlidhar Devidas Amte, popularly known as Baba Amte, was an Indian social worker and social activist known particularly for his work for the rehabilitation and empowerment of people suffering from leprosy. He has received numerous awards and prizes including the Padma Vibhushan, the Dr. Ambedkar International Award, the Gandhi Peace Prize, the Ramon Magsaysay Award, the Templeton Prize and the Jamnalal Bajaj Award. He is also known as the modern Gandhi of India.
Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Marathi pronunciation: [ʋinaːjək saːʋəɾkəɾ]; 28 May 1883 – 26 February 1966) was an Indian independence activist, politician, and writer. Savarkar developed the Hindu nationalist political ideology of Hindutva while imprisoned at Ratnagiri in 1922. He was a leading figure in the Hindu Mahasabha. He started using the honorific prefix Veer ("brave") since he wrote his autobiography. Savarkar joined the Hindu Mahasabha and popularized the term Hindutva (Hinduness), to create a collective "Hindu" identity as an essence of Bharat (India). Savarkar was an atheist.
Jyotirao Govindrao Phule was an Indian social activist, businessman, anti-caste social reformer and writer from Maharashtra. His work extended to many fields, including eradication of untouchability and the caste system and for his efforts in educating women and oppressed caste people. He and his wife, Savitribai Phule, were pioneers of women's education in India. Phule started his first school for girls in 1848 in Pune at Tatyasaheb Bhide's residence or Bhidewada. He, along with his followers, formed the Satyashodhak Samaj to attain equal rights for people from lower castes. People from all religions and castes could become a part of this association which worked for the upliftment of the oppressed classes. Phule is regarded as an important figure in the social reform movement in Maharashtra.The honorific Mahātmā, was first applied to him in 1888 at a special program honoring him in Mumbai.
Wardha is a city and a municipal council in Wardha district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The administrative headquarter of Wardha district is situated here. Wardha gets its name from Wardha River which flows on the northern, western and southern boundaries of the district. Founded in 1866, the town is now an important centre for cotton trade. Wardha was an important part of the Gandhian era.
The Chitpavan Brahmin or the Konkanastha Brahmin is a Hindu Maharashtrian Brahmin community inhabiting Konkan, the coastal region of the state of Maharashtra. Initially working as messengers and spies in the late seventeenth century, the community came into prominence during the 18th century when the heirs of Peshwa from the Bhat family of Balaji Vishwanath became the de facto rulers of the Maratha empire. Until the 18th century, the Chitpavans were held in low esteem by the Deshastha, the older established Brahmin community of Karnataka-Maharashtra region.
Tarabai Shinde (1850–1910) was a feminist activist who protested patriarchy and caste in 19th century India. She is known for her published work, Stri Purush Tulana, originally published in Marathi in 1882. The pamphlet is a critique of caste and patriarchy, and is often considered the first modern Indian feminist text. It was very controversial for its time in challenging the Hindu religious scriptures themselves as a source of women's oppression, a view that continues to be controversial and debated today. She was a member of Satyashodhak Samaj.
Savitribai Phule was one of the first female teachers in India, a social reformer, and poet. Along with her husband, Jyotiba Phule in Maharashtra, she played a vital role in improving women's rights in India. She is considered to be the pioneer of India's feminist movement. She strived to abolish discrimination and unfair treatment of people based on caste and gender. She and her husband were pioneers of women's education in India. They started their first school for girls in 1848 in Pune at Tatyasaheb Bhide's residence or Bhidewada.
Notable social reformers in India included
Chandikadas Amritrao Deshmukh BR, better known as Nanaji Deshmukh, was a social reformer and politician from India. He worked in the fields of education, health, and rural self-reliance. He was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award in 2019 by the Government of India. He was a leader of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh and also a member of the Rajya Sabha.
Gail Omvedt was an American-born Indian sociologist and human rights activist. She was a prolific writer and published numerous books on the anti-caste movement, Dalit politics, and women's struggles in India. Omvedt was involved in Dalit and anti-caste movements, environmental, farmers' and women's movements, especially with rural women.
Arun Krushnaji Kamble was an Indian Marathi language writer, professor, Politician, and Dalit activist. Arun Kamble, President and one of the founding members of Dalit Panthers of India, worked as a Head of Marathi department at University of Mumbai. He was the National General Secretary of Janata Dal. He took many major decisions in favour of Dalit, Backward Class and Minorities.
Baburao Ramji Bagul (1930–2008) was a Marathi writer from Maharashtra, India; a pioneer of modern literature in Marathi and an important figure in the Indian short story during the late 20th century, when it experienced a radical departure from the past, with the advent of Dalit writers such as him.
Dr. Janardan Madhavrao Waghmare is an Indian politician and educationist. He has served as a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra. He was also the President of the Latur Municipal Council.
Hari Narke was an Indian scholar, author, and orator. He was a professor and the head of Chair of Mahatma Jotirao Phule at the University of Pune.
Sare Jahan se Accha is a pencil sketch mural in Ahmednagar city in Maharashtra, India. It was created in the year 1997. The sketch was drawn by Pramod Kamble, who is a painter and sculptor. He created it as a tribute to the nation on the occasion of 50 years of independence. It was painted on the specially-prepared wall of Mahavir Art Gallery in Ahmednagar. Kamble has portrayed Bharat Mata and 500 great people born out of Indian culture. It is said to be the world's biggest pencil sketch. This is the only fixed asset in India which was made as a part of India's 50th Independence day celebration.
Somnath Waghmare is an Indian documentary filmmaker based in the state of Maharashtra. His most prominent and most recent film, Battle of Bhima Koregaon, was critically received and screened in India and abroad. Till now, all his films have been documentary films and they have dealt with various social issues like the persecution of women and Dalit assertion in Maharashtra. He made his directorial debut with the short documentary feature I Am Not a Witch (2017). His upcoming films are Chaityabhoomi and Gail and Bharat.
Shantabai Dhanaji Dani (1919–2001) was an Indian Dalit writer, politician, and social worker. She wrote primarily in the Marathi language.
References
↑ The Un-Gandhian Gandhi: The Life and Afterlife of Mahatma - By Claude Markovits
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