Vitthal Ramji Shinde

Vitthal Ramji Shinde (23 April 1873 – 2 January 1944) was a revered social reformer, researcher, writer, and proponent of anti-untouchability activism and religious unity in Maharashtra, India. He played a prominent role among liberal thinkers and reformists before India gained independence. Shinde is recognized for his tireless efforts in fighting against the practice of ‘untouchability’ and advocating for support and education for ‘untouchables,’ including Dalits.

Early life
He was born on April 23, 1873. in the princely state of Jamkhandi in Karnataka, India. He hailed from a Marathi-speaking family of Maratha origin. His early childhood was shaped by a liberal family environment, where friends and acquaintances came from diverse religious and caste backgrounds. He was raised with the belief that religion extended beyond blind faith and empty rituals; it meant engaging personally and emotionally in the service of God.

His spiritual awakening began through his reading of Sant Tukaram, Sant Eknath, and Sant Ramdas from Maharashtra. Simultaneously, his intellectual growth was influenced by the writings of several thinkers, including Hari Narayan Apte, Principal Gopal Ganesh Agarkar, John Stuart Mill, Herbert Spencer, Max Müller, Chief Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade, and Sir R. G. Bhandarkar.

Education
In 1898, he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from Fergusson College in Pune, India. He had also completed the first year of law studies and relocated to Mumbai (formerly Bombay) to prepare for the LL.B. examination. However, he abandoned this course to pursue other callings in his life. During the same year, he joined the Prarthana Samaj, where he found inspiration from notable figures such as G.B. Kotkar, Shivrampant Gokhale, Justice Mahadev Govinda Ranade, Sir Ramakrishna Gopal Bhandarkar, and K.B. Marathe. Becoming a missionary for the Prarthana Samaj, he was later selected to study comparative religion at Manchester College, Oxford, in 1901. Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III of Baroda, a progressive and reformist ruler, provided financial assistance for his travels abroad.

Adult life
After returning from England in 1903, he devoted his life to religious and social reforms. He continued his missionary work for the Prarthana Samaj. His efforts were devoted mainly to the removal of untouchability in India. In 1905 he established a night school for the children of untouchables in Pune, and in 1906 he established the Depressed Classes Mission in (Bombay). Also in 1910 he founded Murali Pratibandhak Sabha, and in 1912 organised an "Asprushata Niwaran Parishad". In 1922, the mission's Ahalyashram building was completed in Pune. In 1917 he succeeded in getting the Indian National Congress to pass a resolution condemning the practice of untouchability.

From 1918 to 1920, he went on to convening all the India untouchability removal conferences. Some of these conferences were convened under the president-ship of Mahatma Gandhi and Maharaja Sahyajirao Gaekwad. In 1919 he gave evidence before the Southborough Franchise Committee, asking for the special representation for the untouchable castes. In 1923 he resigned as the executive of the Depressed Classes Mission since some of the members of the untouchable castes wanted its own leaders to manage the mission's affairs. His work and association with the Mission continued even though he was disappointed by the separatist attitude of the leaders of the untouchables, especially under the leadership of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. Like Mahatma Gandhi, he wanted unity amongst the untouchables and the Hindu caste, and feared that the British rule would take advantage of such divisions within Indian society and exploit them for their own benefit. In 1930 he participated in the Civil Disobedience movement of Mahatma Gandhi and was imprisoned for six months of hard labor, in the Yerawda Central Jail (prison) near Pune.

In 1933 his book Bhartiya Asprushyatecha Prashna ("India’s untouchability question") was published. His thoughts and examination of the Hindu religion and social culture were similar to Dayananda Saraswati. In his writings, he opposed the caste system, idol worship, and inequities against women and depressed classes. He opposed meaningless rituals, the dominance of hereditary priesthood, and the requirement of a priest to mediate between God and his devotees.

Maharshi Vitthal Ramji Shinde died on 2 January 1944.

Depressed Class Mission
Shinde was a prominent campaigner on behalf of the Dalit movement in India who established the Depressed Classes Mission of India to provide education to the Dalits. He laid the foundation of Depressed Class Mission on 18 October 1906 in order to work against untouchability on the national level. Aims of this mission were:
 * 1) To try to get rid of untouchability.
 * 2) To provide educational facilities to the untouchables.
 * 3) To start schools, hostels, and hospitals for the untouchables.
 * 4) To solve their social problems.