User:JayawantGokhale/sandbox

Introduction:
Anant Ramachandra Gokhale (14th February 1907-25th June 1978)

In the Twentieth century India, many great personalities walked in multifaceted fields of Indian society. Many amongst them served the nation in different capacities through various occupations. Some of them contributed immensely in the field of education all over India. Gokhale was amongst such personalities who worked all his life for women education and welfare.

Early Life:
Anant Ramachandra Gokhale alias A.R.Gokhale and also popularly known as Nanasaheb was born in Ichalkaranji, then a small state (now in Kolhapur District) of Maharashtra in a Chitpavan Brahmin family. His parents Ramachandra Vishnu Gokhale, himself a Sanskrit scholar and Mathurabai played an important role in ensuring higher education for their son. Anant Ramachandra Gokhale spent his early life in Belgaum, Karnataka. He finished his high school education from Benon Smith High School Belgaum run by the missionaries. After matriculation, he studied in Willingdon College, Sangli and graduated from Rajaram College Kolhapur in the year 1927. He also did his M.A. in English and Sanskrit from Deccan College Pune and B.T. from Tilak College of Education, Pune.

Anant Ramachandra Gokhale started his life as school teacher in American Missionary School, Vengurla where he came across Dr. Robert F. Goheen an American academic who was known for his selfless service and simple living with high thinking. His son Robert F. Goheen went on to become president of Princeton University and United States Ambassador to India. Gokhale also worked with New English High school Satara.

A.R.Gokhale was associated Servants of India Society formed by Namdar Gopal Krishna Gokhale and was also involved in the activities of Bharat Sevak Samaj founded by India’s first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. He was also a member of Maharashtra Samajik Parishad.

Servants Society of India:
Anant Ramachandra Gokhale’ s life took a new turn in nineteen thirties when he was influenced by the preachings of great scholar of mathematics and leader Namdar Gopal Krishna Gokhale and joined Servants Society of India which was founded by him in Pune. The Servants society of India was running an English Daily ‘The Hitvada’ since 1911. With his flair for journalism and great command over English, Marathi and Sanskrit, Mr. Anant Ramachandra Gokhale went on deputation to Delhi in early 1930s as a special correspondent for ‘The Hitvada’ and covered the proceedings of Central Legislative Assembly ( Now known as ‘Loksabha’). He had a great opportunity to closely observe and meet leaders like Pandit Motilal Nehru, Barrister Mohammad Ali Jinnah who then represented Indian National Congress, Vithalbhai Patel who was Co-Founder of Swaraj Party, Barrister M.R.Jayakar of Pune who was a founder of Pune Vidyapeeth and several other leaders. Thus his life was enriched by a spell of journalism.

Plight of Indian Women before Independence and initiation of their education:
In the beginning of 20th century, many reformers were concerned with the plight of women who were illiterate and lacked in economic freedom. They were totally under the thumbs of men who ruled over their lives. There was also a big class of child widows with no status in the society and had to live a life of ‘Alawan’. Maharshi Dhondo Keshav Karve was compassionate with the cause of these widows and founded school solely for such destitute women in Pune known as Hingne Stree Shikshan Sanstha which grew up to become Shri Nathibai Thakarasi University for women ( SNDT Women University in Pune) .Thus the tradition of women’s emancipation from slavery flourished in Maharashtra.

Ramchandra Ranade was a founder of Pune Sevasadan Society in Pune in 1909. Ramabai Ranade was the wife of Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade of Bombay High Court in late 19th Century. Justice Ranade died on 16th January 1901.Ramabai overcame her grief soon and began to address her attention to social injustices and social problems. She founded Sevasadan for poor and destitute child widows and these women soon became self-reliant and independent. Her contemporary, Pandita Ramabai was also a fountainhead of women’s liberation.

The work of Sevasadan was appreciated by the leaders of the society in early 20th Century. The women in the Central Province and Berar, now part of Maharashtra were also suffering on account of ignorance and financial dependence on their husbands and their families. Large number of women lost their husbands early in married life at a very young age leaving them to their fate. The eminent persons in Nagpur, then capital of C.P.& Berar ,viz Bhawani Shankar Niyogi who later became Chief Justice of Nagpur High Court, Justice W.R. Puranik of Nagpur High Court and Colonel Sir K.V.Kukade and their friends were impressed by the work of Pune Sevasadan Society and Nagpur branch of Pune Sevasadan came into existence on 2nd January 1927 with Mr. G.B. Garud alias Babasaheb Garud as Nagpur Sevasadan’s first Superintendent. He served there till 1936.

Sevasadan Education Society:
Mr. Anant Ramchnadra Gokhale’s life turned a new corner to devote 40 years of life to women’s education in 1936. Pune Sevasadan was looking for a young graduate couple in those days and had plans to take Nagpur Sevasadan forward. Mr.Gokhale and his wife Mrs. Sushilatai Gokhale, both of whom were English, Marathi and Sanskrit scholars and orators was an apt couple to take over the reins and nurture Nagpur Sevasadan. Thus Mr. A.R.Gokhale became the superintendent of Sevasadan at an young age of 29. He was an excellent teacher of English in high school for 9th,10th and 11th standard. Though he was the Superintendent of the school and was devoted to other aspects like school administration, fund raising for construction of buildings, he enjoyed teaching English to girl students.

From the day one, Mr. Gokhale took an interest in the administration and laying foundation of fledging Sevasadan into a big tree. Nagpur Sevasadan had begun its journey in a rented bungalow in Dhantoli. He always wanted Sevasadan to move into a large premises and was in real sense a creator of converting this dream into reality for the benefit of destitute women and girls.He was continuously talking to the then Central Province and Berar Government and secured a plot for the school from them in the year 1939. Then Sevasadan shifted to its new building in 1940.Mr. Gokhale’s work did not stop only at the creation of one building, but he was toiling hard for the betterment of women education and erected buildings for a High School, Pre-Primary Teachers Training College , Women’s Hostel etc.to bring Nagpur Sevasadan to its current status.

In those days, women in India were dependent on their families for survival because they were uneducated. The ‘bal vidhwas’ (child widows) had no choice to remarry and had to work for well to do families with a meagre income and no future. They were exploited by the society as they were poor and uneducated. Their condition was pitiable, so it was necessary to make them educated and self-supportive. Nagpur Sevasadan gave them shelter in its women’s hostel. Gokhale started many schemes in the society for their welfare. He brought in the concept of Earn and Learn for these women so they could live their lives with respect in the society. The women who could not afford education and had no place to stay were accommodated in the women’s hostel allowing them to work for the school and paid for the work done by them and also take up education and attend classes in the school or in the training colleges of Sevasadan.

Gokhale was a well known figure in Nagpur as a Social Worker and education. During those days, the girl students hailing from Nizam State appeared for S.S.C examination of Nagpur Board and used to come to Nagpur for examinations in the summer. The poor girls had no accommodations for short period of 2 months. Shri Gokhale ensured the girl students were allowed to stay in Sevasadan Hostel and helping them in hour of need. Similarly girls from refugee families who migrated from Pakistan were supported by him for taking up SSC Board’s exam in Nagpur making facilities available for those students in the premises of Nagpur Sevasadan. For him, he preached what he taught ensuring equality amongst all his students irrespective of cast, creed and religion.

During the 1950s, there were no trained teachers for Balak Mandirs (Childern School). So Mr. and Mrs. Gokhale started a Pre-Primary Teachers Training College for women and Mrs. Gokhale as its Principal helped the institute to bring out qualified teachers in the society.

Mr. A.R. Gokhale was a founder President Of Superintendents’ Association (Now Known as Head Master’s Association) in the Forties for safeguarding the interests of the institutions. He was the President again in the early 1970s. Through his tireless efforts, construction of a hall for H.M.Association’s office and meetings came into a reality at Laxmi Nagar, Nagpur.

Mr. A.R. Gokhale breathed Sevasadan all through his life and developed the institute for women’s education and their welfare.

End of an Era:
Mr. A.R. Gokhale believed in the maxim of ‘High Thinking and Simple Living’ and he lived all his life as per his ideals.

He breathed his last in Sevasadan on June 25 ,1978 at the age of 71.He dedicated his life to Sevasadan. His statue stands in the premises of Nagpur Sevasadan. Sevasadan celebrated his birth anniversary in 2002. Such devoted servants of society are rare to find in new set.

Publications by Mr. Anant Ramchandra Gokhale:
1.Biography of C.F.Andrews: He was a missionary who served in India in early 20’s of Twentieth Century and was closely associated with Annie Besant’s Home Rule League. He was an educator and social reformer in India and close friend of Mahatma Gandhi and who was an influential factor in convincing Gandhi to return to India from South Africa.

2.Sadhu Sundar Singh, a Saint from Punjab who was a missionary in early 1920s.