Dhondo Keshav Karve
Dhondo Keshav Karve | |
---|---|
![]() Karve on a 1958 stamp of India | |
Born | |
Died | 9 November 1962 Pune, Maharashtra, India | (aged 104)
Occupation |
|
Spouse(s) | Radhabai and Godubai |
Children | 3, including Raghunath Karve |
Dhondo Keshav Karve (धोंडो केशव कर्वे)(18 April 1858 – 9 November 1962), popularly known as Maharshi Karve (महर्षी कर्वे), was a social reformer in India in the field of women's welfare. He advocated widow remarriage and he himself married a widow. Karve was a pioneer in promoting widows' education. He founded the first women's university in India - SNDT Women's University .[1] The Government of India awarded him with the highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna, in 1958, the year of his 100th birthday.
The appellation Maharshi, which the Indian public often assigned to Karve, means "a great sage".
Early life[edit]
Dhondo Keshav Karve was born on 18 April 1858, at Sheravali, in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra. He belonged to a lower middle-class Chitpavan Brahmin family and his father's name was Keshav Bapunna Karve.[2]
Career as a college professor[edit]
During 1891–1914, Karve taught mathematics at Fergusson College in Pune, Maharashtra.[3][4]
Autobiographical works[edit]
Karve wrote two autobiographical works: Ātmawrutta (1928) in Marathi, and Looking Back (1936) in English.
Depictions in popular culture[edit]
The Marathi play Himalayachi Saavli (हिमालयाची सावली) (literal meaning, "The Shadow of the Himalayas". Contextually it means, under the cover of Himalaya) by Vasant Kanetkar, published in 1972, is loosely based on the life of Karve. The character of Nanasaheb Bhanu is a composite character based on Karve and other Marathi social reformers of the late 19th and early 20th century. The play itself depicts the tension between Bhanu/Karve's public life as a social reformer and his family life due to the social backlash and economic hardships his children and wife had to endure.
The Story of Dr. Karve is a 1958 documentary film directed by Neil Gokhale and Ram Gabale. It was produced by the Government of India's Films Division.[5]
The 2001 film Dhyaas Parva (ध्यास पर्व) by Amol Palekar, based on the life of Karve's son Raghunath, also depicts the Karve family, and their social reformation projects.[6] Taluka Dapoli, a research based initiative, made a documentary on life of Maharshi Dhondo Keshav Karve in 2017.[7]
Awards and honours[edit]
- 1942 – awarded Doctor of Letters (D.Litt.) by Banaras Hindu University
- 1951 – awarded D.Litt. by Pune University
- 1954 – awarded D.Litt. by S.N.D.T. University
- 1955 – awarded Padma Vibhushan by the Government of India[8]
- 1957 – awarded LL.D. by University of Mumbai
- 1958 – awarded Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award of India, by the Government of India[8]
In his honour, Karvenagar in Pune was named after him & Queen's Road in Mumbai (Bombay) was renamed to Maharshi Karve Road.
See also[edit]
- Maharshi Karve Stree Shikshan Samstha
- The new Brahmans; five Maharashtrian families. Essays on D.K. Karve by his son and Irawati Karve[9]
References[edit]
![]() |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dhondo Keshav Karve. |
- ^ Remembering Maharshi Karve, the man who set up India's first university for women India Today. 18 April 2016.
- ^ "Dhondo Keshav Karve – The Great Indian Social Reformer who..." www.beaninspirer.com. 18 April 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
- ^ "Fergusson College Department of Mathematics web page". Archived from the original on 19 June 2006. Retrieved 11 August 2006.
- ^ "Remembering the Selfless Man Who Set up India's First University for Women". 27 October 2017.
- ^ Jag Mohan (1990). Documentary films and Indian Awakening. Publications Division. p. 128. ISBN 978-81-230-2363-2.
- ^ Ahmed, Afsana; Sharma, Smrity (20 August 2001). "Amol Palekar, Actor & Film-Maker on his latest film Dhyaas-Parva's". The Times of India. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
- ^ "Maharshi Dhondo Keshav Karve". www.talukadapoli.com. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
- ^ a b "Padma Awards Directory (1954–2007)" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 April 2009. Retrieved 26 November 2010.
- ^ The New Brahmans; Five Maharashtrian Families, University of California Press, 1963
- Recipients of the Bharat Ratna
- Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in literature & education
- 1858 births
- 1962 deaths
- Hindu revivalists
- Indian centenarians
- Women's education in India
- People from Ratnagiri district
- Indian social reformers
- 19th-century Indian educators
- 20th-century Indian educators
- Activists from Maharashtra
- Educators from Maharashtra
- People from Dapoli