ganeshprasad varni was the founder of satya shodhak samaj.
who was the founder of satya shodhak samaj?
ganeshprasad varni
the city was an important centre of social and religious reform movements, as well as the nationalist movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. notable civil-societies founded or active in the city during the 19th century include the poona sarvajanik sabha, the prarthana samaj, the arya mahila samaj, and the satya shodhak samaj. the sarvajanik sabha took an active part in relief efforts during the famine of 1875–76. the sabha is considered the forerunner of the indian national congress, established in 1885. two of the most prominent personalities of indian nationalism in the late 19th and early 20th century, gopal krishna gokhale and bal gangadhar tilak, who were on opposite sides of the political spectrum, called pune their home. the city was also a centre of social reform led by mahatma jyotirao phule, justice ranade, feminist tarabai shinde, dhondo keshav karve, vitthal ramji shinde, and pandita ramabai. most of the early social reform and nationalist leaders of stature in pune were from the brahmin caste, who belonged to the congress party or its affiliated groups. the non-brahmins in the city started organizing in the early 1920s, under the leadership of keshavrao jedhe and baburao javalkar. both belonged to the non-brahmin party. capturing the ganpati and shivaji festivals from brahmin domination were their early goals. they combined nationalism with anti-casteism as the party's aim. later on in the 1930s, jedhe merged the non-brahmin party with the congress party, and transformed the party from an upper-caste dominated body to a more broadly based, but also maratha-dominated party in pune and other parts of maharashtra.
history of pune
karmaveer bhaurao patil was born in a jain farmer family at kumbhoj in kolhapur district. bhaurao's father was a clerk in the revenue department for east india company. bhaurao was one of the first few jains known to have passed 8th class of secondary school. during childhood, bhaurao was heavily influenced by chhatrapati shahu, the ruler of kolhapur state, who provided a facility to bhaurao to stay in the palace of kolhapur with maharaj and study. shahu was promoter of social equality and education of people belonging to backward castes. eventually, his father sent him to kolhapur for further education, where he got in contact with satya shodhak movement and found other sources of inspiration, mahatma phule and maharshi vitthal ramji shinde. bhaurao garnered political interest and decided to express his role in the fight for indian freedom struggle by working in other beneficial fields like public education. while he worked for companies such as ogale glass works, kirloskars and coopers, he participated in activities of satya shodhak samaj. he had realized by then that the only remedy for the social evils of those times was the education of the masses. in 1919, he started a hostel where children from lower castes and poor families could stay and get an education, while working to pay the expenses. this was the foundation of what later became rayat shikshan sansthan.
bhaurao patil