✎ About Dhondo Keshav Karve

Dhondo Keshav Karve was born on April 18, 1858 in Ratnagiri, Indian, is Social Reformer and Educator. Dhondo Keshav Karve was an eminent Indian social reformer and educator who championed the cause of women education and remarriage of Hindu widows. He was popularly called ‘Maharshi’ which means ‘a great sage’. Thinking way ahead of his time, he understood the primary fault plaguing the orthodox Hindu society, namely the undermined position of Indian women. Hence, to enable their upliftment, he established the Widow Marriage Association in 1893 and set a noble example for others by marrying a widow himself, following the death of his first wife. He also established an educational institution called Hindu Widows Home in Pune to help widows become self-sufficient if they failed to remarry. Literacy of women was one of his primary concerns and hence, he established the Shreemati Nathibai Damodar Thackersey Women’s University, the first university for women in India. Later in his life, he also supported additional causes like the establishment of societies for village primary education, and the abolition of caste system and untouchability. On his centenary birthday, he was awarded India’s highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna.
Dhondo Keshav Karve is a member of Social Reformers

💰 Net worth: Under Review

Biography/Timeline

1891

During 1891–1914, Karve taught mathematics at Fergusson College in Pune, Maharashtra.

1928

Karve wrote two autobiographical works: Ātmawrutta (1928) in Marathi, and Looking Back (1936) in English.

1958

In 1958, the Government of India issued stamps commemorating the birth centenary of Dhondo Keshav Karve.

1972

The Marathi play Himalayachi Saavli (The Shadow of the Himalayas) 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.

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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