Religious Dissent and Social Protest | Maharashtra State PSC (MPSC): Preparation - MPSC (Maharastra) PDF Download

 Page 1


INTRODUCTION :
The Western Learning, propaganda of the Christian missionaries
and rationalism had made the educated Indians look at their religion
and society as others see it especially in comparison with ideas of the
Western people on religion and social structure in India.  Like their
Bengali counterparts and English educated people of Maharashtra
began to express dissent against idolatry and protest against caste-
system.  They started a movement of reform based on monotheism and
humanism.
The educated men who advocated change were afraid to call
themselves ‘reformers’.  That word meant a person who broke the caste
regulations, drank liquor, ate meat and live a free life.  Dadoba Pandurang
and his friends therefore had to work with caution and in secrecy.  We
shall first review the work of Dadoba Pandurang.
Page 2


INTRODUCTION :
The Western Learning, propaganda of the Christian missionaries
and rationalism had made the educated Indians look at their religion
and society as others see it especially in comparison with ideas of the
Western people on religion and social structure in India.  Like their
Bengali counterparts and English educated people of Maharashtra
began to express dissent against idolatry and protest against caste-
system.  They started a movement of reform based on monotheism and
humanism.
The educated men who advocated change were afraid to call
themselves ‘reformers’.  That word meant a person who broke the caste
regulations, drank liquor, ate meat and live a free life.  Dadoba Pandurang
and his friends therefore had to work with caution and in secrecy.  We
shall first review the work of Dadoba Pandurang.
DADOBA PANDURANG TARKHADKAR (1814-1882):
Dadoba Pandurang was associated with Bal Shastri Jambhekar
when they studied together and lived at Bapu Chhatre’s house. He
outlived Bal Shastri by thirty-six years.  He acted as a link between the
reformers of the early forties and was also associated with reformers of
the eighties.  He was very much influenced by Raja Ram Mohan Roy
and other leaders of the Brahmo Samaj.  The movement that he started
had however an origin and growth of its own.
Like Bal Shastri he was essentially an educator. His grammar book
acquired great popularity in Maharashtra. He was, Principal of Gujarati
School at Surat, then a part of  Bombay Presidency . There he was joined
by Dayaram Manchharam, one of the teachers of that school in
promoting social reforms.
They founded the Association of Religion of Mankind (Manava-
Dharmasabha) in 1844. In his book ‘Dharma Vivechana  published in
1843 he had expressed his ideas about God and religion.  The
Association which was founded in 1844 practically borrowed its contents
and formulated them as the tenets of the Association of the Religion of
Mankind. The Association represented a universalism in religion and
social life. This new religion was given a broad base of rationalism.
This Association could hardly survive after the departure of Dadoba
from Surat in 1846. What was of importance was not the founding of a
new religion based on rationalism (which has self-contradictory terms)
but Dadoba’s interest to reform the social life of his times by an appeal
to rationalism. Jamshedkar had already attempted to remove some
absurd features and superstitious beliefs under the name of religion.
Dadoba went one step ahead and wanted a rethinking on this very
sensitive and vital subject of common interest.
It would be clear that the traditional Hinduism could hardly suffer
the slightest modification either in respect of performance of worship or
in the structure of the society, the conception of one religion for all was
beyond any practical programme in Maharashtra. This led to a founding
of a new association, the  Paramhansa Sabha in 1850. (The details of
this would be discussed in the next lesson).
Dadoba’s rationalism makes a special contribution to the thought
of the western educated gentry in Bombay and the cities in Maharashtra.
His campaigns against sorcerers. and enchanters suggested that he
considered it a duty of the  educated people to clear the cobwebs of
superstitions from the minds of the mass of people. The foundation of
the Paramhansa Sabha  showed the way for others to follow.  It was not
religion that was the chief concern of the sabha but the rational attitude
that was provoked in the public mind against unscientific ideas was its
chief objective.
Page 3


INTRODUCTION :
The Western Learning, propaganda of the Christian missionaries
and rationalism had made the educated Indians look at their religion
and society as others see it especially in comparison with ideas of the
Western people on religion and social structure in India.  Like their
Bengali counterparts and English educated people of Maharashtra
began to express dissent against idolatry and protest against caste-
system.  They started a movement of reform based on monotheism and
humanism.
The educated men who advocated change were afraid to call
themselves ‘reformers’.  That word meant a person who broke the caste
regulations, drank liquor, ate meat and live a free life.  Dadoba Pandurang
and his friends therefore had to work with caution and in secrecy.  We
shall first review the work of Dadoba Pandurang.
DADOBA PANDURANG TARKHADKAR (1814-1882):
Dadoba Pandurang was associated with Bal Shastri Jambhekar
when they studied together and lived at Bapu Chhatre’s house. He
outlived Bal Shastri by thirty-six years.  He acted as a link between the
reformers of the early forties and was also associated with reformers of
the eighties.  He was very much influenced by Raja Ram Mohan Roy
and other leaders of the Brahmo Samaj.  The movement that he started
had however an origin and growth of its own.
Like Bal Shastri he was essentially an educator. His grammar book
acquired great popularity in Maharashtra. He was, Principal of Gujarati
School at Surat, then a part of  Bombay Presidency . There he was joined
by Dayaram Manchharam, one of the teachers of that school in
promoting social reforms.
They founded the Association of Religion of Mankind (Manava-
Dharmasabha) in 1844. In his book ‘Dharma Vivechana  published in
1843 he had expressed his ideas about God and religion.  The
Association which was founded in 1844 practically borrowed its contents
and formulated them as the tenets of the Association of the Religion of
Mankind. The Association represented a universalism in religion and
social life. This new religion was given a broad base of rationalism.
This Association could hardly survive after the departure of Dadoba
from Surat in 1846. What was of importance was not the founding of a
new religion based on rationalism (which has self-contradictory terms)
but Dadoba’s interest to reform the social life of his times by an appeal
to rationalism. Jamshedkar had already attempted to remove some
absurd features and superstitious beliefs under the name of religion.
Dadoba went one step ahead and wanted a rethinking on this very
sensitive and vital subject of common interest.
It would be clear that the traditional Hinduism could hardly suffer
the slightest modification either in respect of performance of worship or
in the structure of the society, the conception of one religion for all was
beyond any practical programme in Maharashtra. This led to a founding
of a new association, the  Paramhansa Sabha in 1850. (The details of
this would be discussed in the next lesson).
Dadoba’s rationalism makes a special contribution to the thought
of the western educated gentry in Bombay and the cities in Maharashtra.
His campaigns against sorcerers. and enchanters suggested that he
considered it a duty of the  educated people to clear the cobwebs of
superstitions from the minds of the mass of people. The foundation of
the Paramhansa Sabha  showed the way for others to follow.  It was not
religion that was the chief concern of the sabha but the rational attitude
that was provoked in the public mind against unscientific ideas was its
chief objective.
There were quite a number of educational people entertaining
ideas to reform Hinduism and save the society by eradication of all sorts
of defilement. Among  those who held identical views on religious and
social matters were Dadoba’s younger brother Dr. Atmaram Pandurang
Tarkhadkar, Ram Balkrishna Jaykar, Moroba Vinoba, Tukaram Tatya,
Balubhau Shintre, Sakharam Shastri, Laxmanshastri Halve, Bhikoba
Laxman and Sakharam Laxman Chavan were prominent. They regarded
these two features of Hinduism as highly objectionable.
The Paramahansa Sabha
The principles of social equality that is equality between man and
man and man and woman might have been accepted in the abstract
forum but those principles were not recognized in the Indian Society.
The British rule and Western learning rational thoughts on social matters
tempered with humanist outlook.
In Maharashtra, the nineteenth century witnessed the development
of social and religious societies and movements all driven by the motive
to reform the society and religion.
The Paramahansa Sabha, the Prarthana Samaj, the Arya Samaj
and the Theosophical Society appeared on the scene.
In 1836, Acharya Balshastri Jambhekar launched his first Anglo
Marathi weekly the ‘Bombay Darpan” with the purpose of spreading
Progressive and Scientific Western ideas among its readers. He had
in view the ‘Samachar Darpan’ of Raja Ram Mohan Roy. He wanted to
undertake’ similar reforms in Maharashtra. Being a leading professor
of Mathematics in Bombay’s famous Elphinstone College, and a social
progressive, he pointed out how within a few decades of British
administration of Bengal, the Bengalis were discerning their blind beliefs
and  marching on the path of reason and progress. He emphasised that
they could become progressive like the Bengalis. They discarded
superstitions, blind faith, and orthodoxy, and embraced the path of
modernity.  From 1830 until his untimely death in 1846, Jambhekar used
his pen and paper for educating the people of Maharashtra and his
efforts bore fruit in Bombay.
Despite strong criticism and opposition from the self-styled
defenders of the Hindi society, Jambhekar tried, with some success, In
arousing young educated Maharashtrians  to free the Hindu society from
the iron-grip of religious and caste leaders. One of the  prominent
persons among the socially conscious young men was Dadoba
Pandurang T arkhadkar (1814-1882).  He was a student of the Elphlnstone
Institution and later a teacher there. A well known Sanskrit scholar, he
was acquainted with Christian teaching and philosophy. His education
Page 4


INTRODUCTION :
The Western Learning, propaganda of the Christian missionaries
and rationalism had made the educated Indians look at their religion
and society as others see it especially in comparison with ideas of the
Western people on religion and social structure in India.  Like their
Bengali counterparts and English educated people of Maharashtra
began to express dissent against idolatry and protest against caste-
system.  They started a movement of reform based on monotheism and
humanism.
The educated men who advocated change were afraid to call
themselves ‘reformers’.  That word meant a person who broke the caste
regulations, drank liquor, ate meat and live a free life.  Dadoba Pandurang
and his friends therefore had to work with caution and in secrecy.  We
shall first review the work of Dadoba Pandurang.
DADOBA PANDURANG TARKHADKAR (1814-1882):
Dadoba Pandurang was associated with Bal Shastri Jambhekar
when they studied together and lived at Bapu Chhatre’s house. He
outlived Bal Shastri by thirty-six years.  He acted as a link between the
reformers of the early forties and was also associated with reformers of
the eighties.  He was very much influenced by Raja Ram Mohan Roy
and other leaders of the Brahmo Samaj.  The movement that he started
had however an origin and growth of its own.
Like Bal Shastri he was essentially an educator. His grammar book
acquired great popularity in Maharashtra. He was, Principal of Gujarati
School at Surat, then a part of  Bombay Presidency . There he was joined
by Dayaram Manchharam, one of the teachers of that school in
promoting social reforms.
They founded the Association of Religion of Mankind (Manava-
Dharmasabha) in 1844. In his book ‘Dharma Vivechana  published in
1843 he had expressed his ideas about God and religion.  The
Association which was founded in 1844 practically borrowed its contents
and formulated them as the tenets of the Association of the Religion of
Mankind. The Association represented a universalism in religion and
social life. This new religion was given a broad base of rationalism.
This Association could hardly survive after the departure of Dadoba
from Surat in 1846. What was of importance was not the founding of a
new religion based on rationalism (which has self-contradictory terms)
but Dadoba’s interest to reform the social life of his times by an appeal
to rationalism. Jamshedkar had already attempted to remove some
absurd features and superstitious beliefs under the name of religion.
Dadoba went one step ahead and wanted a rethinking on this very
sensitive and vital subject of common interest.
It would be clear that the traditional Hinduism could hardly suffer
the slightest modification either in respect of performance of worship or
in the structure of the society, the conception of one religion for all was
beyond any practical programme in Maharashtra. This led to a founding
of a new association, the  Paramhansa Sabha in 1850. (The details of
this would be discussed in the next lesson).
Dadoba’s rationalism makes a special contribution to the thought
of the western educated gentry in Bombay and the cities in Maharashtra.
His campaigns against sorcerers. and enchanters suggested that he
considered it a duty of the  educated people to clear the cobwebs of
superstitions from the minds of the mass of people. The foundation of
the Paramhansa Sabha  showed the way for others to follow.  It was not
religion that was the chief concern of the sabha but the rational attitude
that was provoked in the public mind against unscientific ideas was its
chief objective.
There were quite a number of educational people entertaining
ideas to reform Hinduism and save the society by eradication of all sorts
of defilement. Among  those who held identical views on religious and
social matters were Dadoba’s younger brother Dr. Atmaram Pandurang
Tarkhadkar, Ram Balkrishna Jaykar, Moroba Vinoba, Tukaram Tatya,
Balubhau Shintre, Sakharam Shastri, Laxmanshastri Halve, Bhikoba
Laxman and Sakharam Laxman Chavan were prominent. They regarded
these two features of Hinduism as highly objectionable.
The Paramahansa Sabha
The principles of social equality that is equality between man and
man and man and woman might have been accepted in the abstract
forum but those principles were not recognized in the Indian Society.
The British rule and Western learning rational thoughts on social matters
tempered with humanist outlook.
In Maharashtra, the nineteenth century witnessed the development
of social and religious societies and movements all driven by the motive
to reform the society and religion.
The Paramahansa Sabha, the Prarthana Samaj, the Arya Samaj
and the Theosophical Society appeared on the scene.
In 1836, Acharya Balshastri Jambhekar launched his first Anglo
Marathi weekly the ‘Bombay Darpan” with the purpose of spreading
Progressive and Scientific Western ideas among its readers. He had
in view the ‘Samachar Darpan’ of Raja Ram Mohan Roy. He wanted to
undertake’ similar reforms in Maharashtra. Being a leading professor
of Mathematics in Bombay’s famous Elphinstone College, and a social
progressive, he pointed out how within a few decades of British
administration of Bengal, the Bengalis were discerning their blind beliefs
and  marching on the path of reason and progress. He emphasised that
they could become progressive like the Bengalis. They discarded
superstitions, blind faith, and orthodoxy, and embraced the path of
modernity.  From 1830 until his untimely death in 1846, Jambhekar used
his pen and paper for educating the people of Maharashtra and his
efforts bore fruit in Bombay.
Despite strong criticism and opposition from the self-styled
defenders of the Hindi society, Jambhekar tried, with some success, In
arousing young educated Maharashtrians  to free the Hindu society from
the iron-grip of religious and caste leaders. One of the  prominent
persons among the socially conscious young men was Dadoba
Pandurang T arkhadkar (1814-1882).  He was a student of the Elphlnstone
Institution and later a teacher there. A well known Sanskrit scholar, he
was acquainted with Christian teaching and philosophy. His education
and reading had convinced him of the need of demolition of caste system
which he regarded as an obstacle to all social reform. He gathered round
him a number of his students and established in 1850 a sacred society
called the ‘Paramahansa Mandali’ dedicated to overthrow the caste
system and its attendant evils.  According to Reverend Baba Padamji,
apart from opposing the caste system Paramahansa Mandal or Sabha
stood for the following - widow remarriage, prohibition of idol worship,
toleration of other faiths and religions, and promotion of equality and
fraternity.  Although Dadoba Pandurang was its founder-member he did
not personally attend its meeting.  Nevertheless, as Massalos remarks,
“Dadoba’s enthusiasm was contagious”. The Society, espousing the
ideals of equality and fraternity, soon spread among several educated
persons.
Acting strictly in secret, members of the Sabha or Mandal sought
in their closed door gathering  to change social and outdated  practices,
specially to bring about “the abolition of caste, the introduction of widow
remarriage, and the renunciation of idolatery”’. The proceedings of the
Mandal began and closed with hymns or prayers in Marathi, most of
which had been composed by Dadoba Pandurang. According to
S.D.Javdekar, ‘‘ these early social reformers, like political revolutionaries,
were compelled to conduct their activities in secret because they were
apprehensive of persecution by social conservatives and caste
leaders’’.  It is, important to note that among the members of the Sabha,
there were Christians and Muslims and it had branches outside the city
of Bombay. Some anti-social elements had also penetrated into this
secret society, perhaps to discredit it.
The Paramahansa Sabha, under the circumstances, could do little
more than conduct initiations and discussions. Nonetheless to quote
Christine Dobbin, “it furnished a refuge for those who found a wide gulf
between their liberal Western education and the society in which they
lived”.  By 1860, membership of the Sabha in the City of Bombay and
the mofusiI had reached 500. It had established branches in Poona.
Ahmednagar and elsewhere, the Poona branch being the most radical
and atheistic in character. However, when its activities were exposed to
the public in the fifties and sixties. its leaders were criticised and ridiculed
for the impracticability of their ideas and lampooned for their views.
Consequently, several of its members chose to remain away from the
Sabha.  In the absence of morally courageous leadership, the Sabha
collapsed and disbanded itself. Thereafter, the Bombay reformers
eschewed further criticism of Hindu traditions and practices in general
Page 5


INTRODUCTION :
The Western Learning, propaganda of the Christian missionaries
and rationalism had made the educated Indians look at their religion
and society as others see it especially in comparison with ideas of the
Western people on religion and social structure in India.  Like their
Bengali counterparts and English educated people of Maharashtra
began to express dissent against idolatry and protest against caste-
system.  They started a movement of reform based on monotheism and
humanism.
The educated men who advocated change were afraid to call
themselves ‘reformers’.  That word meant a person who broke the caste
regulations, drank liquor, ate meat and live a free life.  Dadoba Pandurang
and his friends therefore had to work with caution and in secrecy.  We
shall first review the work of Dadoba Pandurang.
DADOBA PANDURANG TARKHADKAR (1814-1882):
Dadoba Pandurang was associated with Bal Shastri Jambhekar
when they studied together and lived at Bapu Chhatre’s house. He
outlived Bal Shastri by thirty-six years.  He acted as a link between the
reformers of the early forties and was also associated with reformers of
the eighties.  He was very much influenced by Raja Ram Mohan Roy
and other leaders of the Brahmo Samaj.  The movement that he started
had however an origin and growth of its own.
Like Bal Shastri he was essentially an educator. His grammar book
acquired great popularity in Maharashtra. He was, Principal of Gujarati
School at Surat, then a part of  Bombay Presidency . There he was joined
by Dayaram Manchharam, one of the teachers of that school in
promoting social reforms.
They founded the Association of Religion of Mankind (Manava-
Dharmasabha) in 1844. In his book ‘Dharma Vivechana  published in
1843 he had expressed his ideas about God and religion.  The
Association which was founded in 1844 practically borrowed its contents
and formulated them as the tenets of the Association of the Religion of
Mankind. The Association represented a universalism in religion and
social life. This new religion was given a broad base of rationalism.
This Association could hardly survive after the departure of Dadoba
from Surat in 1846. What was of importance was not the founding of a
new religion based on rationalism (which has self-contradictory terms)
but Dadoba’s interest to reform the social life of his times by an appeal
to rationalism. Jamshedkar had already attempted to remove some
absurd features and superstitious beliefs under the name of religion.
Dadoba went one step ahead and wanted a rethinking on this very
sensitive and vital subject of common interest.
It would be clear that the traditional Hinduism could hardly suffer
the slightest modification either in respect of performance of worship or
in the structure of the society, the conception of one religion for all was
beyond any practical programme in Maharashtra. This led to a founding
of a new association, the  Paramhansa Sabha in 1850. (The details of
this would be discussed in the next lesson).
Dadoba’s rationalism makes a special contribution to the thought
of the western educated gentry in Bombay and the cities in Maharashtra.
His campaigns against sorcerers. and enchanters suggested that he
considered it a duty of the  educated people to clear the cobwebs of
superstitions from the minds of the mass of people. The foundation of
the Paramhansa Sabha  showed the way for others to follow.  It was not
religion that was the chief concern of the sabha but the rational attitude
that was provoked in the public mind against unscientific ideas was its
chief objective.
There were quite a number of educational people entertaining
ideas to reform Hinduism and save the society by eradication of all sorts
of defilement. Among  those who held identical views on religious and
social matters were Dadoba’s younger brother Dr. Atmaram Pandurang
Tarkhadkar, Ram Balkrishna Jaykar, Moroba Vinoba, Tukaram Tatya,
Balubhau Shintre, Sakharam Shastri, Laxmanshastri Halve, Bhikoba
Laxman and Sakharam Laxman Chavan were prominent. They regarded
these two features of Hinduism as highly objectionable.
The Paramahansa Sabha
The principles of social equality that is equality between man and
man and man and woman might have been accepted in the abstract
forum but those principles were not recognized in the Indian Society.
The British rule and Western learning rational thoughts on social matters
tempered with humanist outlook.
In Maharashtra, the nineteenth century witnessed the development
of social and religious societies and movements all driven by the motive
to reform the society and religion.
The Paramahansa Sabha, the Prarthana Samaj, the Arya Samaj
and the Theosophical Society appeared on the scene.
In 1836, Acharya Balshastri Jambhekar launched his first Anglo
Marathi weekly the ‘Bombay Darpan” with the purpose of spreading
Progressive and Scientific Western ideas among its readers. He had
in view the ‘Samachar Darpan’ of Raja Ram Mohan Roy. He wanted to
undertake’ similar reforms in Maharashtra. Being a leading professor
of Mathematics in Bombay’s famous Elphinstone College, and a social
progressive, he pointed out how within a few decades of British
administration of Bengal, the Bengalis were discerning their blind beliefs
and  marching on the path of reason and progress. He emphasised that
they could become progressive like the Bengalis. They discarded
superstitions, blind faith, and orthodoxy, and embraced the path of
modernity.  From 1830 until his untimely death in 1846, Jambhekar used
his pen and paper for educating the people of Maharashtra and his
efforts bore fruit in Bombay.
Despite strong criticism and opposition from the self-styled
defenders of the Hindi society, Jambhekar tried, with some success, In
arousing young educated Maharashtrians  to free the Hindu society from
the iron-grip of religious and caste leaders. One of the  prominent
persons among the socially conscious young men was Dadoba
Pandurang T arkhadkar (1814-1882).  He was a student of the Elphlnstone
Institution and later a teacher there. A well known Sanskrit scholar, he
was acquainted with Christian teaching and philosophy. His education
and reading had convinced him of the need of demolition of caste system
which he regarded as an obstacle to all social reform. He gathered round
him a number of his students and established in 1850 a sacred society
called the ‘Paramahansa Mandali’ dedicated to overthrow the caste
system and its attendant evils.  According to Reverend Baba Padamji,
apart from opposing the caste system Paramahansa Mandal or Sabha
stood for the following - widow remarriage, prohibition of idol worship,
toleration of other faiths and religions, and promotion of equality and
fraternity.  Although Dadoba Pandurang was its founder-member he did
not personally attend its meeting.  Nevertheless, as Massalos remarks,
“Dadoba’s enthusiasm was contagious”. The Society, espousing the
ideals of equality and fraternity, soon spread among several educated
persons.
Acting strictly in secret, members of the Sabha or Mandal sought
in their closed door gathering  to change social and outdated  practices,
specially to bring about “the abolition of caste, the introduction of widow
remarriage, and the renunciation of idolatery”’. The proceedings of the
Mandal began and closed with hymns or prayers in Marathi, most of
which had been composed by Dadoba Pandurang. According to
S.D.Javdekar, ‘‘ these early social reformers, like political revolutionaries,
were compelled to conduct their activities in secret because they were
apprehensive of persecution by social conservatives and caste
leaders’’.  It is, important to note that among the members of the Sabha,
there were Christians and Muslims and it had branches outside the city
of Bombay. Some anti-social elements had also penetrated into this
secret society, perhaps to discredit it.
The Paramahansa Sabha, under the circumstances, could do little
more than conduct initiations and discussions. Nonetheless to quote
Christine Dobbin, “it furnished a refuge for those who found a wide gulf
between their liberal Western education and the society in which they
lived”.  By 1860, membership of the Sabha in the City of Bombay and
the mofusiI had reached 500. It had established branches in Poona.
Ahmednagar and elsewhere, the Poona branch being the most radical
and atheistic in character. However, when its activities were exposed to
the public in the fifties and sixties. its leaders were criticised and ridiculed
for the impracticability of their ideas and lampooned for their views.
Consequently, several of its members chose to remain away from the
Sabha.  In the absence of morally courageous leadership, the Sabha
collapsed and disbanded itself. Thereafter, the Bombay reformers
eschewed further criticism of Hindu traditions and practices in general
instead; they favoured concentrated attack on a specific evil. The cause
exposed by them, thereafter, was widow remarriage.
After the disappearance of the Paramahansa Sabha, a period of
soul searching ensued. Some reformers, particularly those belonging
to Lokhitawadi’s “Satyashodak” or “Seekers after Truth” increasingly
identified themselves with Christianity.  In doing so, they moved out of
the mainstream of the period. The remainder, consciously and
deliberately , began to search for an alternative system that could combine
“the European scientific outlook with that of their own society”. A few of
second generations graduates and have a wider appeal outside their
elite circle. This search led to the establishment in 1867, according to
N.R.Phatak, to the establishment of the Prarthana Samaj or “Prayer
Meeting”.
LOKHITWADI(1823-1892)-GOPALHARI DEAHMUKH
(1823-1892) :
Bal Shastri Jambhekar had planted the seed of liberalism in
Bombay and it was spreading its influence gradually in the centers in
education elsewhere. Another great man who shares his faith in the
effectiveness of education to dispel the mist of superstition and ignorance
among  people, was Gopal Hari Deshmukh better known as‘ Lokhitwadi’
i.e. (Champion of the good of the people.)
Jambhekar had to use his journals for propagating his views. He
had to start a weekly and a monthly for that. Deshmukh was fortunate to
use Bhau Mahajan’s ‘Prabhakar’ for that work of social transformation.
He also wrote in two other journals, ‘Induprakash’ and ‘Vritavaibhav’. He
was a gifted writer and wrote with conviction. His passionate appeal  to
the emotions of the people was more forceful than the cogency of his
arguments. He handled the same topics as other reformers of his time
were projecting before the educated classes. He attacked ignorance
and superstitions. He ridiculed the irrational behaviour of the priestly
class.  He condemned the brutal practices. He was usually carried by
emotions in treating the customs and institutions in Maharashtra as
devoid of any significance. His vehemence in criticising the high class
Hindus at times led him to admire the Europeans. His volatile mind was