Ranade, Agarkar, Karve and the reform movement

In the second half of the nineteenth century, Pune and Bombay were home to some of the most intense debates in India about society and reform. Should widows be allowed to remarry? Should girls be educated — and how far? Was caste compatible with modern citizenship? Should social reform come before political freedom, or after? The people who argued these questions in newspapers, lecture halls and courtrooms shaped modern Maharashtra.

For MPSC, reformers are one of the most reliable sources of Prelims questions — matching reformers with organisations, newspapers and books. This guide covers the key figures beyond Phule, Savitribai, Shahu Maharaj and Ambedkar, who have their own guides.

The early reformers

Bal Shastri Jambhekar (1812–1846)

• Started Darpan (1832), the first Marathi newspaper (published in Marathi and English). 6 January is observed as Patrakar Din (Journalists' Day) in Maharashtra in his memory.
• Also started Digdarshan, a Marathi monthly.
• Supported widow remarriage and scientific education.

Gopal Hari Deshmukh, "Lokhitwadi" (1823–1892)

• Wrote the Shatapatre ("hundred letters") in the weekly Prabhakar, criticising superstition, caste and the position of women, and arguing for reason and education.
• Supported widow remarriage and women's education.

Vishnushastri Pandit

• Led the society for promoting widow remarriage (Punarvivahottejak Mandal) founded in Bombay in the mid-1860s, and wrote in its support.

Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade (1842–1901)

Ranade was a judge, economist and reformer, and one of the most influential figures of his time.

• Prarthana Samaj (founded 1867 in Bombay, with Atmaram Pandurang as a key founder): Ranade became its leading figure. The Samaj promoted monotheistic worship, rejected caste and idolatry, and worked for women's education and widow remarriage.
• Poona Sarvajanik Sabha (1870): a leading political association of the Deccan, in which Ranade was a guiding figure.
• Indian National Social Conference (1887): founded to discuss social reform alongside the Congress.
• Deccan Education Society: Ranade supported educational institutions in Pune.
• Economic writings: Essays on Indian Economics; Rise of the Maratha Power.

Gopal Ganesh Agarkar (1856–1895)

Agarkar was one of the most radical rationalists of his time.

• A co-founder, with Tilak and Vishnushastri Chiplunkar, of the New English School (1880), and — after Chiplunkar's death in 1882 — of the Deccan Education Society (1884) and Fergusson College (1885), of which he later became principal.
• First editor of Kesari (founded 1881).
• He broke with Tilak over the priority of social reform and started Sudharak (1888).
• He argued for reason over tradition, equal rights for women, and an end to child marriage and caste.

The Tilak–Agarkar debate

This debate is a classic Mains theme.

Maharshi Dhondo Keshav Karve (1858–1962)

• Married a widow himself (1893), defying social custom.
• Founded a home for widows at Pune (1896; later at Hingne).
• Founded the Mahila Vidyalaya (1907).
• Founded SNDT Women's University (1916) — India's first women's university.
• Awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1958.

Pandita Ramabai (1858–1922)

• A Sanskrit scholar, given the title "Pandita" and "Saraswati" in Calcutta.
• Founded the Arya Mahila Samaj (1882) in Pune.
• Wrote The High-Caste Hindu Woman (1887), which exposed the condition of widows.
• Founded Sharada Sadan (1889) for widows in Bombay, later moved to Pune.
• Founded the Mukti Mission at Kedgaon near Pune.
• Translated the Bible into Marathi.

Tarabai Shinde

• Wrote Stri Purush Tulana ("A Comparison between Women and Men", 1882), a fierce critique of patriarchy — among the first feminist texts in modern India.
• She was associated with the Satyashodhak circle.

Anandibai Joshi (1865–1887)

• Among the first Indian women to earn a degree in Western medicine (1886, Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania).

Vitthal Ramji Shinde (1873–1944)

• Founded the Depressed Classes Mission (1906) in Bombay for the education and welfare of the untouched castes.
• Associated with the Prarthana Samaj.

Gopal Krishna Gokhale (1866–1915)

• A disciple of Ranade; moderate leader of the Congress.
• Founded the Servants of India Society (1905).
• Gandhi regarded him as his political guru.

Karmaveer Bhaurao Patil (1887–1959)

• Founded the Rayat Shikshan Sanstha (1919) at Kale in Satara district, which grew into one of the largest educational institutions in Asia.
• Pioneered the "earn and learn" scheme so that poor students could study.
• Inspired by Phule and Shahu Maharaj.

Other names worth knowing

A revision table

Questions to practise

Mains-style:

• "The reform movement in Maharashtra was marked by debate as much as consensus." Discuss with reference to Tilak and Agarkar.
• Examine the contribution of women reformers of Maharashtra in the nineteenth century.

Learn the reformers by theme — women, caste, education, rationalism — and the names and dates will fall into place.