Swami Vivekanand

Swami Vivekanand

Swami Vivekanand is the most influential philosopher and authority on Hinduism from modern times. His original name was Narendra Datta. He was born on January 12, 1863 in the city of Calcutta (now Kolkata). He belonged to an educated family. His father Vishwanath Datta used to practice law in Calcutta High Court. He was an attorney. Swami Vivekanand’s grandfather knew Sanskrit and Persian languages and had become monk.

Since the childhood young Narendra was inclined towards the spirituality and ascetics. He studied from Presidency College in Calcutta. He was a genius and possessed great intellect and photographic memory. He was a fast reader and could remember the contents of the book read by him to details. His contemporaries had accepted the fact that he was an extraordinary person.

He was interested in variety of subjects like history, philosophy, religion, art, etc. He was very much interested in studying the Hindu scriptures in depth.

Swami Vivekanand accepted Ramkrishna Paramahansa as his Guru. Ramkrishna Paramahansa was born on February 18, 1836 in Kamarpukur, Bengal in a Brahmin family. He was a mystic. It means that he used to go in trance while meditating and literally experience the God. He was a priest at the Dakshineswar Kali Temple in Calcutta. He believed in and followed different traditions in Hinduism such as Advaita Vedanta, Shaktism, etc. He also believed that all religions are different parts going towards the same goal. Young Narendra Datta met Ramkrishna Paramahansa in 1881 and subsequently became his disciple.

Swami Vivekanand decided to follow the Brahmacharya Dharma throughout his life and became a monk. He extensively travelled throughout India. He was a well-known authority on Hinduism. Swami Vivekanand is considered as the one who introduced essence of Hinduism to the Western World during the Parliament of World’s Religions held in the city of Chicago, United States of America in 1893. He addressed the gathering as his Brothers and Sisters. By doing so he gave the Hindu message of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ meaning the whole world is my family. He became immensely popular religious figure in United States after his speech and invited at many places in America and Europe for giving the lectures. Thus, Swami Vivekanand brought Hinduism to the world stage in real sense of the term.

Swami Vivekanand also can be considered as the one who brought Hindu principles belonging to different schools and traditions together. But, one has to accept that he was profoundly influenced by Advaita Vedanta and teachings of Ramkrishna Paramahansa. He is also considered as the one who promoted Neo-Vedanta or Hindu Modernism. He  practiced the Yoga and meditated ardently. He was the one who immensely popularised the southern most tip of Indian peninsula i.e. Kanyakumari by meditating on the Rock situated at the confluence of Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea. This Rock is famous as Swami Vivekanand Rock.

In 1897 the Ramakrishna Mission was established in the memory of Ramkrishna Paramahansa. The Headquarters of the Ramakrishna Mission are located at Belur Math located in Belur on western bank of river Hooghly in Howrah district of Bengal.

Apart from spreading the Hindu philosophy of Vedanta the Ramkrishna Mission also believes in the social work. Since its inception this organisation is committed to the social work related to education, heath services, helping the rural population, promoting the welfare of the tribal people and promoting spiritual teachings, especially among the youth of India. Hence, the Ramkrishna Mission has established many hospitals, schools and Colleges since the beginning. The volunteers of Ramakrishna Mission used to help the people affected by natural calamities like floods, epidemics, earthquakes, etc.

Swami Vivekanand was against caste system and believed in the upliftment of women. He was the firm believer in the concept of service to people is service to God.

This great Hindu Monk and messenger of universal human values died on July 4, 1802 at the age of thirty nine. He died while he was meditating. It shows that he was totally devoted towards the pure way of life and meditation.

 

 

Swami Dayanand Saraswati

Swami Dayanand Saraswati

Swami Dayanand Saraswati was one of the greatest philosophers, ascetics, scholars of Hinduism and social reformer witnessed by India in nineteenth century.

He was born on 12 February 1824 in Tankara town of erstwhile Morvi Princely State in Kathiyawad region of present day Gujarat. He was a Brahmin by birth. His original name was Mool Shankar. His father’s name was Karshanji Lalji Trivedi and his mother’s name was Yashodabai. His family was the worshipper of Lord Shiva.

One incident on the night of Shivratri changed the future course of life of young Mool Shankar. On the night of Shivratri Mool Shankar decided to remain awake during night in order to worship Lord Shiva. But, he saw that one mouse was going up and down on the idol of Lord Shiva and was also eating the Prasada or offerings kept for Lord Shiva. This incident made young Mool Shankar to think that there is no God in the idol, otherwise it would have stopped the mouse. Henceforth, Swami Dayanand Saraswati dis not believe in Idol Worship. According to him God is present everywhere and is in different forms.

He left his house in 1846 in search of true knowledge and discover the true essence of Hinduism. He started practicing Yoga and travelled to different places. He got one teacher at Mathura. The name of that teacher was Virajnanda.

After leaving house he became an ascetic. Swami Dayanand Saraswati realised that the authentic knowledge of Hinduism is found in Vedas. Hence, he not only studied Vedas deeply but wanted to revive the Vedic knowledge among common people as well. He gave the slogan of ‘Go Back to the Vedas’. He wrote a book titled ‘Satyartha Prakash’ in order to spread the original teachings of Hinduism.

Swami Dayanand Saraswati established the Arya Samaj in 1875 in Bombay (now Mumbai). The purpose for the formation of Arya Samaj was to promote the true Hinduism, social reforms and ideas of nationalism among the Indians.

Arya Samaj movement became very popular in India. Swami Dayanand Saraswati believed that Indians are needed to be given knowledge about ancient Indian Hindu philosophy at the same time the modern scientific knowledge promoted in Europe should be embraced. Hence, in order to promote the ancient Indian learning he formed the Gurukulas and for promoting the modern education Dayanand Anglo-Vedic Schools were established by taking inspiration from Swami Dayanand Saraswati.

His nationalist views and concept of use of Swadeshi goods influenced and attracted many prominent Indian freedom fighters of the time towards Arya Samaj. Lala Lajpat Rai, one of the important Extremist leaders of Indian National Congress was very much impressed by the teachings of Swami Dayanand Saraswati.

He also started the ‘Shuddhi Movement’ in order to bring back those Hindus who got converted to other faiths. He came down heavily on superstitions.

Swami Dayanand Saraswati criticised and opposed untouchability, caste system and child marriage  among others.

Thus, the work of Swami Dayanand Saraswati helped for the all-round development of Indian society and revival of true essence of Hinduism. He also encouraged the nationalist movement and enthused spirit of Swadeshi among the Indians. He undoubtedly remains the true Swami or Monk who contributed for bringing positive changes in society.

Swami Dayanand Saraswati died on 30 October 1883 near Ajmer.

 

Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar

Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar 

Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar popularly known as Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar is one of the greatest Indians of all times. He is considered as the real liberator of the downtrodden people i. e. Dalits in India. Dalits were and even today are mostly given very inhumanely treatment by the upper caste people. Earlier their touch was considered as polluted and hence they were called as the untouchables. They were forced to live outside the boundaries of the village and not given entry in the village during the morning and evening time. Hence, they had to enter the village in the simmering heat of afternoon. They were not allowed to fetch water from the wells or ponds meant for upper castes. Even, they were not allowed to enter the temple in the village. They were denied the right to education and property. Thus, the socio-economic conditions of the downtrodden or Dalits were hard beyond imagination.

Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar devoted his entire life for the betterment of the downtrodden. He was born on 14 April 1891 in Mhow, a town located in western Madhya Pradesh. According to the experts this town was established by John Malcolm in the year 1818. It was a cantonment during British period. As it was a birth place of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar it has been renamed as Dr. Ambedkar Nagar. Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar himself was born in Dalit family. He belonged to a Mahar caste. This caste is one of the dominant castes from Maharashtra. Mahar caste is one of the major martial castes known for its valour, bravery and fighting skills. This caste was very instrumental in traditional village administration in Maharashtra. His father was Ramji Sakpal and his mother’s name was Bhimabai Sakpal. Ramji Sakpal was Subedar in British army. Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar’s ancestors hailed from Ambawade village in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra. The original surname of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar was Ambawadekar which was changed to Ambedkar by his teacher Krishnaji Keshav Ambedkar. Since his school days he started experiencing the heat of caste system and untouchability. He had to sit separately on his gunny sack in school. He was not allowed to drink water with his own hands. A school peon used to pour water into the hands of young Bhimrao whenever he felt thirsty in school.

His family later on moved to Mumbai where he studied from the Elphinstone High School and Elphinstone College. Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar studied from world renowned educational institutions like Columbia University, United States of America and London School of Economics, United Kingdom. He did MA and Ph.D. in Economics from Columbia University He completed Master of Science (MSc) and Doctor of Science (DSc) degrees from London School of Economics. He became Bar-at-Law from Gray’s Inn in London. He studied from University of Bonn, Germany as well. . He had also earned Doctor of Laws (LLD) and D.Litt. Degrees.

The above description shows that Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar was a very highly qualified and intelligent person. He had completed his studies in United States and United Kingdom in record time. He was born in a caste which was denied the right of education but he went on to study from the most reputed world class educational institutions. He was well versed and possessed immense knowledge about politics, economics, sociology, history, anthropology, philosophy and law and constitution among others. 

Maharaja Sayajirao Gaikwad of Baroda princely state and Chhatrapati Rajarshee Shahu Maharaj of Kolhapur played crucial role in the life of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar. These two Indian rulers sponsored his foreign education. Chhatrapati Rajarshee Shahu Maharaj of Kolhapur declared Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar as the real leader of the Dalits and downtrodden. 

Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar started a newspaper titled Bahishkrit Bharat in 1927. This newspaper was devoted to the cause of upliftment of depressed classes. He had demanded separate electorates for depressed classes during the Round Table Conferences held in London which was also accepted by the British. Mahatma Gandhi was against the separate electorates as he thought it would divide the Hindu community. Hence, Mahatma Gandhi went on fast and Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar had to sign a Poona Pact in 1932.

Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar had organised agitations like entry for untouchables in famous Kalaram Temple in Nashik and Chawdar Tale (pond) Aandoln in Mahad, Raigad. 

He became the member of Governor General’s Executive Council in 1942 and handled the Labour Department successfully.

He was an economist and wrote extensively about economic issues and considered as the driving force behind the formation of Finance Commission of India.

Dr. Ambedkar wanted to give the long due equal legal rights to Indian women, hence, he had drafted the famous Hindu Code Bill. He had written about the water resources of India as well. He wanted that water resources should be used for multi purposes. Hence, supported the Damodar Valley Project. The Central Water Commission was formed in India in 1945 thanks to Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar. 

He became the member of the Constituent Assembly and was appointed as the Chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Indian Constitution. He single-handedly drafted the Constitution, hence, aptly called as the Father or Architect of the Indian Constitution. 

One of the major provisions of the Indian Constitution is the reservations for the weaker sections of the society i.e. Schedule Castes and Scheduled Tribes which has proved to be crucial for their educational and social upliftment.

He became the Law Minister in the first Cabinet of Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. He resigned as the Law Minister mainly on the issue of Hindu Code Bill. 

We have mentioned about Bahishkrit Bharat earlier, apart from it Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar also started and published newspapers like Mooknayak, Janata and Prabuddha Bharat. 

This great liberator of depressed classes died on December 6, 1956 before this he had got  converted to Buddhism on 14 October 1956. He had declared in a meet held at Yeola in 1935 that though he was born as a Hindu but will not die as a Hindu. 

Due to the painstaking efforts made by this great son of India Dalits or depressed classes are able to see the light in their life. The Hindu Code Bill drafted by Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar had to be passed by the Indian Parliament by breaking it into different Acts. This gave rights to the women in the matters related to marriage, succession, guardianship, adoptions and maintenance.

 Lord Dalhousie and Development of

Transport and Communication Facilities

Lord Dalhousie was the Governor General of India from 1848 to 1856. His tenure can be considered as one of the most eventful at the same time controversial. During his tenure as the Governor General of India lots of territories were conquered and annexed it with the British empire. Thus, he expanded the British empire in India. At the same time his tenure was marked with the beginning of Postal and Electric Telegraph services and Railways in India. On the one hand Indian territories were lost to British and on the other hand new age communication and transportation facilities were developed in India. That is why we have said in the beginning that his times as the Governor General of India were both eventful and controversial.

The entire name of Lord Dalhousie was James Andrew Broun Ramsay. He was Marquess and 10^th Earl of Dalhousie. Marquess and Earl were the titles given to the nobility in United Kingdom. Marquess is above the  title or ranking of Earl and  Viscount and below the Duke. Earl is the title above the Viscount and below Marquess.

Lord Dalhousie was Scottish by birth. He was born on 22 April 1812 in Dalhousie Castle located in Midlothian, Scotland. Castle is a huge building having strong fortifications, towers, battlements, etc. According to experts most of the Castles in Europe are built during mediaeval period.

Lord Dalhousie’s father George Ramsay was the 9^th Earl of Dalhousie.

Lord Dalhousie completed his education from Christ Church College affiliated to the University of Oxford. Before coming to India as the Governor General Lord Dalhousie had served as the President of the Board of the Trade in the ministry of Sir Robert Peel, the then Prime Minister of United Kingdom. Sir Robert Peel had served as the Prime Minister from 1834 to 1835 and 1841 to 1846.

As far as conquests of Lord Dalhousie in India are considered they can be mainly classified into two categories. One category is the wherein he fought wars and conquered the territories. In this category comes Punjab, Sikkim and Burma (today’s Myanmar). The second category is the category of those states which were taken over by the application of Doctrine of Lapse and Cancellation of Titles.. He took over the kingdom of Oudh (Awadh) by giving the reason of neglect of governance and indulgence  of Wajid Ali Shah, the then Nawab of Oudh in merry making and luxury.

We have mentioned about Doctrine of Lapse in above paragraph. It would be better to throw more light on it. According to the Doctrine of Lapse those Indian rulers who had entered into alliances and treaties with the British East India Company and did not have natural heir to succeed to their throne had to take permission from British East India Company for adopting son. The British East India Company declined such permission and adoptions were not allowed. The major States or kingdoms captured by the application of Doctrine of Lapse were Satara, Jhansi, Nagpur, Sambalpur, Jaitpur, Baghat and Udaipur.

Lord Dalhousie as mentioned above developed the network of electric telegraph in India during nineteenth century. Due to electric telegraph it became easier to transmit information from one place another with help of wire or radio waves. It was a revolutionary thing during those days. Nowadays we use WhatsApp and Emails for sending messages and writing letters or sending attachments. WhatsApp and Emails along with other social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, X, Snapchat, etc. have become the fastest mode of exchanging information and messages. But in 19^th century electric telegraph was the fastest mode of communication. The Electric Telegraph was introduced in the year 1852 in India.

Modern pan-India  Postal System was introduced in India during the time of Lord Dalhousie. Postal System is used even today in the world including India. People can write letters to their relatives or anybody else including different government and non-government organisations and communicate with them. Later on Postal System was used even for sending money from one place to other through Money Order. At present the Postal Department is under the control of Government of India and it provides lot many services to the people which includes the investment schemes. The pan-India Postal System was started by Lord Dalhousie in the year 1854.

In India the passenger railway service was started in the year 1853 when Lord Dalhousie was the Governor General of India. The first train in India ran between Bombay (now Mumbai) and Thane in Maharashtra. The first official run of the train took place on 16 April 1853. The locomotives which pulled the train were called as Sahib, Sultan and Sindh.

On 15 August 1854 the first train in Bengal Presidency or Eastern India ran between Howrah and Hooghly. On 1 July 1856 the first passenger train ran in Madras Presidency. It ran between Veyasarpandy and Walajah Road. Thus the Western, Eastern and Southern India witnessed the beginnings of passengers trains by the end of tenure of Lord Dalhousie as he returned to Britain in March 1856.

Later on the network of railways was spread into the breadth and length of India. Lord Elgin also played an important role in building and spreading railway services in India. Lord Elgin was the Governor General of India between 21 March 1862 to 20 November 1863.

Lord Dalhousie also developed the Public Works Department and Ganga Canal was built during his times. Even though so many important works were done during the times of Lord Dalhousie still his tenure is considered as one the most controversial one. It was partly due to his policy of annexations and especially the Doctrine of Lapse. His critics say that his conquests and policies were one of the reasons responsible for the Revolt of 1857.

A Hill Station in Himachal Pradesh has been named after him as Dalhousie. One of the progressive works done by him was the drafting of the Widow Remarriage Bill. He could not pass it as he was called back but Lord Canning who replaced him as the Governor General get it passed and it became the Widow Remarriage Act 1856.

District Collector and Magistrate

 

District Collector and Magistrate

District Collector is an important administrative post in India at district level. The District Collector also acts as the District Magistrate. The post of the District Collector is held by a senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) Officer. During British rule IAS Officers were called as Indian Civil Service (ICS) Officers.

According to historians the credit for creating the post and office of the District Collector goes to Warren Hastings. He served as the first Governor of Bengal Presidency from 20 October 1773 to 8 February 1785. Hastings created the office of the District Collector in 1772. Later on the Collector came to be called as Diwan and also Amil. But again since 1787 the nomenclature District Collector came to be used.

District Collector was the most powerful and influential government officer during British rule . Even today this post remains most coveted among the civil or government servants and wields lots of power and prestige.

Important functions or responsibilities of the District Collector were to look after the overall administration of the district, to collect the land revenue from the entire district and most importantly to maintain the law and order in the district. As maintaining law and order is one of the crucial jobs of the District Collector even Superintendent of Police have to report to the Collector whenever called by him or her.

Being at the helm of the revenue administration at the district level the matters like registration of land, alterations in the land, adding new names and cancellation of old names from the land documents, hearing and settling the land related disputes, etc. were and still looked after by the District Collector. Even during the natural calamities like famines and disasters like floods, earthquakes, landslides, etc. the District Collector’s office plays vital role in organising rescue operations and giving relief and also the rehabilitation of the affected people.

As mentioned above the District Collector was also the District Magistrate. In this capacity he looked after the law and order and also supervised the police. In the capacity of District Magistrate he used to look after the judicial matters and organised hearing of the cases. Of course, most of these cases used to be related to land matters.

In present scenario yet another crucial role played by the District Collector is to oversee the process of the Elections held in the district. From the preparation of the Voter’s List to the declaration of the Election Results the District Collector remains occupied and sees to it that this entire exercise is conducted in a systematic impartial and smooth manner.

Apart from above mentioned responsibilities the District Collector carries out many more tasks at District level. The immediate superior officer of the Collector is the Divisional Commissioner. The District Collector has to report to the Divisional Commissioner whenever required so.

The other District level officers like the General Surgeon of the Civil Hospital, the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Executive Engineer of the Public Works Department (PWD), etc. were required to report about the activities and developments in their respective departments.

During British period the post of the District Collector was mostly held by the White Europeans. But some Indians like Anundoram Borooah and Brajendranath De went on to become the District Collectors in nineteenth century. They had cleared the Indian Civil Service (ICS) Examination.

 

Most of the functions of the District Collector have been retained in the post independence period.  Even today the District Collector remains the vital officer at district level and is very important in the government machinery in order to implement various government schemes.

University of Bombay (University of Mumbai)

University of Bombay

(University of Mumbai)

University of Mumbai is one of the oldest educational institutions in the country established way back on 18^th July 1857. At the time of its establishment of was called as the University of Bombay. The city of Mumbai was called as Bombay in English language till 1995. In the year 1995 Shiv Sena-BJP alliance government headed by Manohar Joshi, the then Chief Minister of Maharashtra changed the name of Bombay to Mumbai. Since that time Bombay is referred or called as Mumbai. Subsequently, from 04 September 1996 the University of Bombay also came to be known as University of Mumbai.

The University of Bombay was established as per the provisions of Wood’s Dispatch of 1854. Sir Charles Woods was the President of the Board of Control of British East India at that point of time. He had written a letter to Lord Dalhousie, the then Governor General of India. This letter of Sir Charles Woods to Lord Dalhousie became famous as Wood’s Dispatch in history. In this letter or dispatch Sir Charles Woods had given suggestions or recommendations to Lord Dalhousie about the changes and reforms to be brought in the field of education in British India. Some of the important suggestions in Wood’s Dispatch were- Language of instructions in Primary school should be mother tongue or regional language of that area, in secondary school both English and Regional language can be used but at Higher Education level English should be the language of instructions. Among other things it also recommended that the British government of India should give importance to women’s education, should consider education as its one of the important responsibilities. It also asked the British government to promote the Grant-in-Aid system. By Grant-in-Aid system we mean that a private individual or institute can start the school or college and the government would give them grants in monetary forms in order to run the school. The Wood’s Dispatch also asked the British government of India to establish the Universities. Accordingly, on January 18, 1857 University of Calcutta was established, on July 18, 1857 University of Bombay (Mumbai) was established and on September 05, 1857 University of Madras was established.

The University of Mumbai caters to the needs of thousands of students every year and offers academic programmes from different areas such as Arts, Commerce, Science, Law, Engineering, Fine and Performing Arts, etc. The University of Mumbai has given lots of successful graduates who have contributed to towards the nation and society. Some of these alumni are Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade, Justice Kashinath Tryambak Telang, R.. G. Bhandarkar, Dadabhai Naoroji, Sir Pherozshah Mehta, Lokmanya Tilak, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, Mahatma Gandhi, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Jamshedji Tata, Homi J. Bhabha, P. L. Deshpande, Yashwantrao Chavan, Mukesh Ambani, etc.

Some of the Indian Vice Chancellors of University of Mumbai during British rule were as following:

Justice Kashinath Tryambak Telang

Ramkrishna Gopal Bhandarkar

N. G. Chandavarkar

Sir Pherozshah Mehta

R. P. Paranjpye

Earlier the University of Mumbai functioned from the Fort Campus in South Mumbai. Later on a huge campus was developed at Kalina in Santacruz (East) which is known as the Vidyanagari.

One of the most important attractive constructions at the Fort Campus is Rajabai Clock Tower. One of the famous and rich Indian brokers namely Premchand Roychand had given donation for the construction of, hence, it was named after his mother Rajabai.

The University of Mumbai has two libraries one is located at Fort Campus and the other one is at Vidyanagari.

The administration of the University of Mumbai is looked after by the Honourable Vice Chancellor. The Honroubale Vice Chancellor is assisted by the Pro-Vice Chancellor, Registrar, Director of Examination and Evaluation Board, Director of Students Development Department, Director of Department of Lifelong Learning and Extension (DLLE), NSS Coordinator and the team of Deputy and Assistant Registrars. There is also a Clerical Staff, Class IV Staff and Security Staff of the University of Mumbai.

The University of Mumbai comes under the Department of Higher Education, Government of Maharashtra.

The academic achievements and success of the University of Mumbai has been duly recognised by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) when it awarded A++ Grade to University of Mumbai in the month of August 2021.

As mentioned above the University of Mumbai caters to the educational needs of several thousand students every year. Without any doubt the University of Mumbai is one of the best and quality education institutions in India and the world.

Prabodhankar Thackeray

Prabodhankar Thackeray

Keshav Siyaram Thackeray popularly known as Prabodhankar Thackeray was born on 17 September 1885. He was the father of Balasaheb Thackeray, the founder of Shiv Sena. Keshav Sitaram Thackeray alias Prabodhankar Thackeray was born in Panvel, a place in present day Raigad district located adjacent to Navi Mumbai in Maharashtra.

Prabodhankar Thackeray was born in Chandraseniya Kayasth (CKP) family. CKP is historically one of the forward castes in Maharashtra. They had served in the administration of Maratha Swarajya on military and civil posts. Many CKPs even had served in the Courts of Gaikwads of Baroda and Bhosales of Nagpur. We come across certain incidents in history wherein we can see the rivalry between the CKPs and Brahmins. The CKPs preferred to call themselves as the descendants of Kshatriyas and consider that their ancestor was King Chandrasen who ruled over Ujjain and Ayodhya during ancient times. The CKPs historically are well educated like Brahmins and could wear the janeu or sacred thread and read the Vedas.

It is said that ancestors of Prabodhankar Thackeray had worked as the Governor of the Dhodap fort in Nashik.

Prabodhankar Thackeray was a well educated person. Even though he belonged to an upper caste like CKP he did not believe in Caste System and opposed untouchability. He was also against an evil custom of child marriage and dowry. He wanted people should develop scientific temperament, hence, was against the superstitions. Due to these views of his Prabodhankar Thackeray is aptly called as the social reformer.

Prabodhankar Thackeray believed in creating awareness among the people about the need of bringing social reforms and social change through his writings. He started a journal titled ‘Prabodhan’. He was a prolific writer. Some of his prominent books are- ‘Pratapsingh Chhatrapati Ani Rango Bapuji’, ‘Bhikshushahiche Band’, ‘Dagalbaaj Shivaji’ among others. He wrote his autobiography titled ‘Maazi Jeevan Gatha’.

As mentioned above he fought against dowry system vehemently. Prabodhankar Thackeray played crucial role in Samyukta Maharashtra Movement which resulted into the creation of state of Maharashtra with Bombay (Mumbai) as its capital.

The soil of Maharashtra is blessed with many great sons historically who have contributed to different areas, especially the social reforms. Since ancient times Maharashtra was ruled by great dynasties like Satavahanas, Vakatakas, Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas, Shilharas and Yadavas. Mediaeval period witnessed the rise of the great Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and his Bhosale family. In fact, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj challenged the Adilshahi, Nizamshashi, Qutbashahi and Mughals and established the Maratha Swarajya. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s activities were nothing but a fabulous display of one’s love for motherland and self-respect. The Maratha Swarajya reached its zenith during the rule of the Peshwas. During freedom struggle against British rule also Maharashtra was on forefront.

Maharashtra has a tradition of Saint Poets. During mediaeval times Saint Namdeo, Saint Dnyaneshwar, Saint Eknath, Saint Chokhamela, Saint Janabai, Saint Kanhopatra, Saint Gora Kumbhar, Saint Tukaram, etc. gave the message of equality, love and humanity through their life and immortal writings.

Many social reformers like Balshastri Jambhekar, Lokhitwadi, Mahatma Phule, Savitribai Phule, Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade, Gopal Ganesh Agarkar, Chhatrapati Rajarshee Shahu Maharaj, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, etc. were from Maharashtra. Prabodhankar Thackeray also belongs to this distinguished legacy of social reform movement of Maharashtra. History will always remember him for his immense contribution towards social reforms and creation of society on the principle of equality. And nobody would forget his role in the creation of modern state of Maharashtra with Bombay (Mumbai) as its capital. Prabodhankar Thackeray died on 20 November 1973 in Mumbai.

 

 

Bombay High Court

 Bombay High Court

The process of the establishment of modern day judiciary in India started during British rule. The British conquest of India began from Bengal. In the year 1857 the Battle of Plassey was fought between the British forces led by Robert Clive and army of Bengal commanded by Mir Jafar, the Commander of Siraj-u-Daula, the then Nawab of Bengal. Due to the treachery of Mir Jafar it was possible for British to register victory in this Battle of Plassey. After the Battle of Plassey Mir Jafar was appointed as the Nawab of Bengal who was controlled by British. In 1760 he was replaced and Mir Qasim was appointed as the Nawab. He too was replaced which resulted into the Battle of Buxar in 1764. Finally after the Regulating Act of 1773 Bengal went under the direct control of British East India Company.

During the British rule as mentioned above the modern judiciary was introduced in India. Even before the conquest of Bengal some courts were set up by the British but there jurisdiction was limited to their factories. For instance, in 1726 the Mayor’ Courts were set up in the cities of Bombay, Calcutta and Madras. In 1772 Adalats were established in order to oversee the criminal and civil matters. After the enactment of Regulating Act of 1773 the Supreme Court was established at Calcutta. In 1801 the Supreme Court was set up at Madras and in 1823 was formed the Supreme Court at Bombay.

In the year 1862 the Bombay High Court was established at Bombay. In the same year High Courts were formed in Calcutta and Madras as well.

At present the Bombay High Court caters to the judicial needs of the states of Maharashtra, Goa, Dadra and Nagar, Haveli and Diu and Daman. The main building of Bombay High Court is located in South Mumbai adjacent to the building of University of Mumbai. The work on the construction of this building started in 1971 and completed in 1878. The first hearing took place in the year 1879 in this building.

The Bombay High Court has Benches in Aurangabad  Nagpur and Panaji.

Sir Matthew Richard Sausse was the first Chief Justice of Bombay High Court. He served as the Chief Justice from 1862 to 1866. He was born in Carrick-on-Suir town in Tipperary county in southern parts of Ireland. He was born in 1809 and was Roamn Catholic by faith. He had completed his graduation from the Trinity College in Dublin. Dublin is the capital of Ireland.

After independence M. C. Chagla or Mahomedali Curim Chagla an Indian became the Chief Justice of Bombay High Court in the year 1948. M. C. Chagla was born on 30 September 1900 in Bombay city. His family belonged to Isamaili Khoja sect of Islam . He was the student of St. Xavier’s College in South Mumbai and went on to study in Lincoln College, Oxford, United Kingdom. At one point of time he had worked with Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar in Government Law College (GLC) in Mumbai as the Professor of Law. He held many important posts in the government of independent India including that of Cabinet Minister.

Some of the Judges of Bombay High Court who were appointed as the Judges of Supreme Court in recent times are Dhananjay Chandrachud, Bhushan Ramchandra Gavai and Abhay Oak.

Thee present historic building of Bombay High Court and premises is proving to be insufficient and hence, the Bombay High Court might be shifted to Bandra-Kurla Complex in Bandra (East).

 

Mikhail Gorbachev

 Mikhail Gorbachev

Mikhail Gorbachev was the ruler of Soviet Union (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics – USSR) when it got disintegrated in 1991. Thus, he was the last ruler of united Soviet Union.

He was born on 2 March 1931. He completed the Law Degree from the Moscow State University. While studying for law he became the member of Communist Party of Soviet Union. Subsequently he went on to climb the ladder in the Communist Party.

In 1971 he became the member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party. The Central Committee was considered as one of the topmost bodies of the Communist Party of Soviet Union. Later on he also looked after agriculture department. He was appointed as the member of Politburo of the Communist Party in the year 1979. Politburo was the highest level outfit within the Communist Party which made decisions about the policies of the Soviet Union. The Politburo had a ttremendous control over the political system of Soviet Union. After the disintegration of Soviet Union in 1991 the Politburo ceased to exist automatically.

On 11 March 1985 Mikhail Gorbachev became the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Soviet Union. He succeeded Konstantin Chernenko who died on 10 March 1985.

Gorbachev as mentioned above was a highly qualified person and trained in law. He sincerely wanted to rejuvenate the economy of Soviet Union. He had realised that in order to strengthen the Communist regime in Soviet Union it was necessary to bring economic and political reforms. By bringing economic reforms he wanted to achieve the development and economic growth which would have brought positive changes in the overall life of the people of Soviet Union. Out of this thinking the policies of Glasnost and Perestroika originated.

Glasnost meant more political freedom and openness. People and press was given the freedom of expression and even the criticism of the Party and government was tolerated. The political power and control of the Communist Party was brought down as a part of policy of Glasnost. Due to it the amount of criticism of the wrongdoings of Communist rule was so high that the policy of Glasnost boomeranged on the government. It definitely led to the loosening of the grip of Communist Party on overall polity of Soviet Union and played an important role in the collapse of Communist regime and disintegration of Soviet Union.

Perestroika envisaged the economic growth which would make Soviet Union to compete with the developed economies of United States of America, Japan and other such economies. The grip of the Party and government on economy was loosened and even the private enterprise was allowed on certain extent. Unfortunately, the Perestroika did not result into bringing change in the economy which was expected. There were tremendous economic problems and shortage of many consumer goods in Soviet Union.

The failure of well intentioned policies of Glasnost and Perestroika played crucial role in the collapse of Communist rule and disintegration of Soviet Union.

Apart from the above mentioned domestic problems, one more reason was responsible for Soviet Union becoming history. This factor was that Soviet Union lost control over its Eastern European Communist followers such as East Germany, Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, etc. Not only so, Gorbachev helped the Communist East Germany and Democratic West Germany to get unified again. Thus, in 1990 the East and West Germany got united. In other words the Communist regime in East Germany collapsed and United Germany embraced the Democracy. The unification of Germany in the year 1990 can be considered as the prelude to the collapse of Soviet Union.

The weakened Communist Party and central government emboldened many minorities and provinces such as Georgia, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Lithuania and many more to ask for independence. Political figures like Boris Yeltsin from Russia took advantage of the unstable political conditions in Soviet Union and pushed for more reforms and even for granting independence to the provinces and ethnic groups who wanted so. Ultimately on 25 December 1991 Mikhail Gorbachev resigned from the high profile posts of Soviet Union which was nothing but the end of Soviet Union. This was also the collapse of Communist system in Soviet Union. Provinces like Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan declared their independence and Soviet Union, which had emerged as the Superpower after Second World War and competing with the United States of America became a history. With the end of Soviet Union even the Cold War ended and United States of America remained the only Superpower in the world.

In 1996 Mikhail Gorbachev contested the election for the Presidency of Russia but lost it. Nevertheless he was active in the public life after that as well. He can be considered as an unlucky person and politician whose sincere efforts to strengthen Communist system and Soviet Union resulted into exactly opposite outcome. Mikhail Gorbachev died on 30 August 2022 in Moscow at the age ninety one.

 

Martin Luther King Jr.

 Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the most important Civil Rights Movement leaders in United States of America (USA)  from 20^th century. He fought for the rights of Blacks or African Americans in USA. He was very much inspired from the philosophy and ideology of Mahatma Gandhi. Hence, adhered to the principle of non violence during his fight for the Blacks.

He was born on 15 January 1929 in Atlanta city of Georgia. He came from highly educated family which was associated with the Ebenezer Baptist Church from Atlanta city. He and his family used to live in plush area of the city where Black people used to dwell.

Since his childhood Martin Luther King Jr. experienced the racism. When Martin Luther King Jr. was a child his white friend told him that his parents would not allow him to play with him due to racism and segregation. It is said that he was very much attached to his maternal grandmother, hence, when she died he was shattered.

When he went to Connecticut, a northern state around the age of fifteen he came to know that in northern states of United States there was quite liberal atmosphere as far as racism was concerned. He saw that over there white and black people talk to each other freely and could be seen together on many occasions. Not only so, even they prayed in the  same church. All these things were a taboo in southern states of United States.

He became graduate from Morehouse College in the year 1948. It was one of the important Colleges attended by the Black men from Atlanta. He also studied at Boston University and completed Doctoral study in theology.

In the year 1953 he married Coretta Scott. She was born on 27 April 1927 in Marion city of southern state of Alabama. Martin Luther King Jr. was a good orator. He visited different parts of the United States and gave speeches emphasizing the need to end racism, segregation and giving more civil rights and equal treatment to Black people.

He had visited India in 1959. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the then Prime Minister of India had given a great welcome to Martin Luther King Jr. and his companions during their India visit. He was very much inspired by the concept of struggle in a non violent manner and overall ideology of Mahatma Gandhi. He was also watching the fight of African countries against their White European colonial masters. He participated in the protests against segregation at various places. The meaning of segregation is to have separate facilities for Blacks and Whites and they should not be attending schools, colleges and other public facilities together. Even the Blacks could not buy a house in White localities.

Martin Luther King Jr. was able to get support from Blacks as well as liberal Whites thanks to his peaceful methods like marches, organising meetings and creating awareness and attracting attention of the government authorities through his speeches. He was jailed on quite a few occasions when he was protesting against segregation.

In 1963 he organised a rally at Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. in which thousands of people had participated. Here only he gave his famous speech ‘I have a dream’.

It was mainly due to the efforts made by Martin Luther King Jr. that a comprehensive Civil Rights Act was passed in the year 1964. One of the important features of this law was that it gave powers to the Federal Government to intervene and take action against segregation and discrimination. In the same year Martin Luther King Jr. was given the world famous Nobel Peace Prize for peace.

On 4 April 1968 Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated by a white fanatic in Memphis city of Tennessee State and America lost one of its great sons who believed in humanity and universal principles of equality, freedom and love.