Vitthal Ramji Shinde

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Vitthal Ramji Shinde
Born	Vitthal Ramji Shinde 23 April 1873 Jamkhandi State, British Raj
Died	2 January 1944
Citizenship	Indian
Education	Fergusson College (BA)
Occupation(s)	Writer, Researcher
Known for	Social Reformer, Missionary

Vitthal Ramji Shinde (23 April 1873 – 2 January 1944) was a social reformer, researcher, writer, and advocate for anti-untouchability activism and religious unity in the Bombay Presidency, British India (present-day Maharashtra, India). He is remembered for his activism against untouchability and his efforts to promote religious unity. Shinde was a part of the liberal movement, among other thinkers and reformers during the pre-independence era.^[1] His work focused on advocating for the rights and education of Dalit.^[2][3][4]

Vitthal Ramji Shinde was born on 23 April 1873, in the princely state of Jamkhandi, now in Karnataka, India.^[5] He came from a Marathi-speaking family originating from the Maratha community. His early childhood was influenced by a liberal family environment, where friends and acquaintances came from diverse religious and caste backgrounds. He was raised with the belief that religion required personal and emotional engagement in the service of God, extending beyond faith and rituals.

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

In 1898, he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from Fergusson College in Pune, British India and completed the first year of law studies. He then moved to Mumbai (formerly Bombay) to prepare for the LL.B examination but abandoned this course. That same year, he joined the Prarthana Samaj and found inspiration in figures such as G.B. Kotkar, Shivrampant Gokhale, Justice Mahadev Govind 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 provided financial assistance for his travels abroad.

After returning from England in 1903, he dedicated his life to religious and social reforms^[6] and continued his missionary work for the Prarthana Samaj, primarily devoted 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. In 1910, he founded the Murali Pratibandhak Sabha, and in 1912 organised an "Asprushyata Nivaran Parishad". In 1922, the mission's Ahilya Ashram 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 convened all the Indian untouchability removal conferences, some of which were held under the presidency of Mahatma Gandhi and Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad. In 1919, he gave evidence before the Southborough Franchise Committee, asking for special representation for the untouchable castes. In 1923, he resigned as the executive of the Depressed Classes Mission because some of the members of the untouchable castes wanted their own leaders to manage the Mission's affairs. His work and association with the Mission continued, even though he was disappointed by what he saw as the separatist attitude of the leaders of the untouchables, especially under the leadership of B.R. Ambedkar. Like Mahatma Gandhi, he sought unity between the untouchables and the Hindu caste and feared that British rule would take advantage of divisions within Indian society and exploit them for its own benefits.^[7]

In 1930, he participated in the Civil Disobedience movement of Mahatma Gandhi and was imprisoned for six months of hard labour in the Yerwada Central Jail 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 those of Dayananda Saraswati. In his writings, he opposed the caste system, idol worship, and inequities against women and depressed classes, as well as meaningless rituals, the dominance of hereditary priesthood, and the requirement of a priest to mediate between God and his devotees.

Vitthal Ramji Shinde died on 2 January 1944.^[8]

Shinde founded the Depressed Classes Mission to provide education to Dalits and work against untouchability at the national level.^[9][2] The aims of this mission were:

1. 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.

• Dr. G.M. Pawar, English translation by Sudhakar Marathe "The life and work of Maharshi Vitthal Ramji Shinde", Sahitya Academi 2013, ISBN 978-81-260-4064-3
• Gore, M.S.; Vitthal Ramji Shinde, An Assessment of his Contribution (book in English language), (1989), Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Bombay, India.
• Pawar, G.M.; Maharshi Vitthal Ramji Shinde, Jeevan wa Karya (book in Marathi language), (2004), Mumbai (Bombay), India. ISBN 81-88284-37-8.
• Katare.maharashtra history (2013) edition