Presents

Social Leaders of India

ICLES’ M.J. COLLEGEF.Y.BMM

THE SOCIAL LEADERS OF INDIA

S. M. Joshi Gadge Maharaj

S. M. JOSHI

One of the most eminent leaders of the Social ist movement in India, an endearing personality, with most unassuming simplicity and transparent sincerity, a veteran freedom fi ghter, a doyen of the India social ist movement, a fearless crusader for social justice and fi ghter against economic inequality, an eminent trade union leader and a nationalist.

Par excellence, Shri Shridhar Mahadev or S.M., as he was popularly known among his colleagues, fr iends and admirers. He was born in a lower middle class Brahmin family at Junnar in Pune Distr ict, on 12th November, 1904.

PROFILE

Shreedhar Mahadev Joshi (Marathi:  श्री�धर महा�दे व जो शी�), also known as S.M. Joshi.

He was an Indian Freedom Fighter, Member of Parl iament, and leader of Sanyukta Maharashtra Samiti .  A well-known social worker, Chairman of the Praja Social ist Party (PSP) and a founder member of the Janata Party.

He always excel led in his academic years both at school and col lege. A bri l l iant student of New English School, Pune, he displayed outstanding oratory ski l l in contests while at the Fergusson Col lege, Pune, and the University of Bombay. He did B.A.LL.B. He was married to Shrimati Tarabai Pendse, on August 19, 1939, and had two sons.

INTRODUCTION

EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION.

During his childhood, SM lived in the ancestral village Golap in Ratnagiri district. Young Joshi pursued his primary education at Junnar itself. However, two years prior to completion of his primary education, his father died, leaving behind the family in distress.

Facing both personal tragedy and poverty with great courage and fortitude, SM continued his studies with the help of free studentship and scholarships. His mother who was a devout Hindu lady imbibed in young Shridhars mind, the dine ideals of life and a sense of self-respect.

The self pride in him obviously led him to think, even while as a student of the humiliation suff ered by the motherland at the hands of colonial rulers. It was during this time that the freedom struggle was reaching its crescendo.

Naturally, SM was profoundly infl uenced by the feeling of patriotism and craves for freedom from foreign yoke engulfi ng the country.

S. M. Joshi was highly motivated to move into politics after participating in the Gujarat festivals and Tilak processions.

He entered the Indian independence movement in 1924 while stil l studying at college. Joshi was jailed for one year in 1930 for his involvement in the Civil Disobedience Movement.

His notable contributions to the social movement includes the formation of the Congress Socialist Party in 1934, the Rashtra Seva Dal, and his dynamic role in the revolutionary campaign launched by Jayaprakash Narayan.

WORK

He played a key role in the success of the Congress Convention. A member of the All-India Congress Socialist Party, he was known even to his opponents, as a staunch ally of his party.

His other notable social works includes his

participation in the Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti's drive for an unlingual state, setting up worker unions, and working for the cause of Dalits in Maharashtra. He became a State Assembly member in 1957, and secured a Lok Sabha seat in 1967.

He was a Journalist, Social Worker and a Life Insurance Agent.

WORK

He contributed many articles of high literary excellence to the "Kiloskar".

He even was a trustee with Maharashtra Arogya Mandal, Poona, Antar Bharati Trust and Rashtra Seva Dal; a Managing Trustee with Sadhana Trust and a Chairman with Janawani Ltd.

He died on 1st April, 1989.

WORK

Oormi - A Collection of Essays and Sketches.

S.M. Joshi: Vyakti, Vaani Ani Lekhni(Marathi) - A Collection of Articles.

Socialist’s Quest for Right Path.

Corruption in India: Ramifications and Remedies.

Mee S.M.(Marathi) - Autobiology.

Yadoan ki Jugali - An Autobiography in Hindi.

BOOKS PUBLISHED

S. M. JOSHI

GADGE MAHARAJ

Debuji Zhingraji Janorkar (February 23, 1876 – December 20, 1956) popularly known as Sant Gadge Maharaj or Gadge Baba.

He was a saintly social reformer, a wandering mendicant who held weekly festivals with the help of his disciples across Maharashtra.

His reforms and visions for villages in India is still a source of inspiration for various political parties and non-government organizations…

INTRODUCTION

His original name was Davidas Debuji. Maharaj was born in Shedgaon vil lage in Anjangaon Surji Taluka in Amravati District of Maharashtra to a Dhobi family.

A public teacher, he traveled from one place to another wearing his food pan upturned on his head and carrying his trademark broom.

When he entered a vil lage, he would instantly start cleaning the gutters and roads of the vil lage. He also told the citizens of the vil lage that their congratulations would have to wait until his work was done.

villagers gave him money, babaji use that for progress of physical as well as thinking of society. From this money Maharaj built educational institutions, dharmasalas, hospitals and animal shelters.

LIFE AND CAREER

He conducted his discourses in the form of "Kirtans" (a form of discourse which includes devotional songs by Saints) in which he would emphasize values like service to humanity and compassion. During his kirtans, he would educate people against blind faiths and rituals. He would use Dohas (couplets of a song) by Saint Kabir in his discourses.

He exhorted people to stop animal sacrifi ce as part of religious rituals and campaigned against vices such as alcohol abuse. He tried to embody the values that he preached: hard work, simple living and selfl ess service to the poor. He abandoned his family (wife and 3 children) to pursue this path.

LIFE AND CAREER

The story hereafter of Debuji ’s l i fe who come to be known as Gadge Baba al l through his land-relates to his great wanderings.

First and foremost Gadge Baba was a simple, practical man, who never got himself enmeshed in to metaphysical complexit ies of thought. His teachings were thus, simple for even an uneducated and i l l i terate person to grasp their signifi cance.

There are two phases of his wandering pi lgrimage. The fi rst was sadhana, that is self preparation of education himself. In the second he was the educator, the social reformer, the preacher who preached not from the high pedestal of learning hut by practical demonstrations in self help.

In al l his l i fe-Tukaram, the great Marathi saint was his guiding star, whose abhangas he profusely quoted in his Kirtans. They were often the starting point of his discourses.

LIFE AND CAREER

The name Gadge means an earthen pot and Baba is a nick name for father or a fatherly person.

Gadge Baba always carried a broken pieace of an earthen pot on his head. Which he used as a dish for food and it also served as a skull cap.

This made him quite conspicuous and that is how people came to call him Gadge Baba.

HOW THE NAME GADGE BABA CAME INTO EXISTENCE.

Maharaj died on December 20, 1956 on his way to Amravati, on the banks of river Pedhi near Valgaon.

The Government of India has started a 'Sant Gadgebaba Swachata Abhiyan' in 2000-01 in his honour. This programme awards prizes to vil lagers, who maintain clean vil lages.

He was one of the great social reformers of Maharashtra. He was a saint who understood problems of his people and worked untiringly for upliftment of the poor and needy with focus on hygiene.

Govt Of India has announced National Award For sanitation and water in honour of him.Govt of Maharashtra also runs Sant Gadge Baba Swachta Abhiyan (Cleanliness Scheme).

DEATH AND LEGACY

GADGE MAHARAJ

Seeing and hearing about these two great leaders of our country

the youth of today must take inspiration to carry forward the great work of our leaders and

make India a truly ‘Mahan Desh’

CONCLUSION

We would like to express our special thanks to our teacher Kamala Rajiv mam who gave us the golden opportunity to do this wonderful project on the topic Social Leaders, which also helped us in doing a lot of Research and we came to know about so many new things.

We are really thankful to them.Secondly I would also like to thank my Team Members

and friends who helped me a lot in finishing this project within the limited time.

We are making this project not only for marks but to also increase our knowledge.THANKS AGAIN TO ALL WHO HELPED US.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Priyanka Solat – 61244

Pooja Supanekar-61245

Pooja Surve-61246

Priyanka Thakur-61247

Amit Tupe-61248

Chaman Varma-61249

TEAM MEMBERS