Gopalrao Bajirao Deshmukh alias Abasaheb Khedkar (14 January 1901 – 25 May 1969), also known as Abasaheb Khedkar was a social activist and a farmers' leader in India. He was the Minister of Rural Development in the first cabinet ministry of

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

and the first President of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee.

Biography

He was born at Khed in

Amravati Amravati (/Marathi phonology, əmᵊɾɑʋᵊt̪iː/) is a city in Maharashtra located in the Vidarbha region. It is the ninth largest city in Maharashtra, India & second largest city in the Vidarbha region in terms of population. It is the ...

district of

Vidarbha Vidarbha (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, �id̪əɾbʱə is a geographical region in the west Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Forming the eastern part of the state, it comprises Amravati Division, Amrav ...

on 14 January 1901. In 1917, after his matriculation Abasaheb studied Homeopathy from Kolkata. In 1920, when he was studying at

Victoria Technical School he came across

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

non co-operation movement. He established Shivaji Boarding in 1923 which later became Shivaji Education Society.

Political career

Abasaheb Khedkar was a protagonist of Samyukta Maharashtra and opposed to formation of separate Vidarbha. He wanted all Marathi speaking areas of India to be united under one state of Maharashtra, in the larger interest of

Marathi people The Marathi people (; Marathi language, Marathi: , ''Marāṭhī lōk'') or Marathis (Marathi: मराठी, ''Marāṭhī'') are an Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are native to Maharashtra in western India. They ...

. He was one of the signatories of the informal agreement reached in 1953 by Marathi speaking politicians from different regions of Marathi speaking areas on the composition, and organization of the future Maharashtra state. The agreement is popularly known as the Nagpur Pact. He was the first president of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee. He refused to take the position of

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...

and preferred to take up the Rural Development portfolio. He was instrumental in implementing Panchayat raj in Maharashtra in the form of Zilla parishads (Equivalent to County or District Councils) in 1962.

Akola Loksabha

Khedkar was elected as Member of Parliament From Akola Lok Sabha constituency twice and served in the Lok sabha from 1951 to 1960. He resigned from the Lok sabha in 1960 to enter into government of the newly formed state of Maharashtra.

Akot Vidhansabha

Khedkar was elected from Akot constituency in 1962 to the first legislative assembly of the newly formed state of Maharashtra. He was re-elected from the same constituency in the 1967 elections.

Death and legacy

* Dr. Abasaheb Khedkar died in 1969 at

. * Shri Shivaji Arts and Commerce Mahavidyalaya at Telhara district Akola was renamed in his memory to Dr Gopalrao Khedkar Mahavidyalaya Gadegaon (Telhara). * A Special cover of the Indian Postal Stamp was issued by the then President Of India, Mrs Pratibha Patil in 2013 at Amravati. Early in Mrs. Patil's career, Abasaheb had been her political mentor. His son was Late Vasantrao Gopalrao Khedkar Retd. IAS and daughter Late Nalini Vasant Deshmukh.

References

External links

About Amravati District

Shri Shivaji Education Society, Amravati

First MPCC President
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khedkar, Gopalrao 1969 deaths 1900s births People from Amravati district Nehru administration India MPs 1952–1957 India MPs 1957–1962 Maharashtra MLAs 1962–1967 Maharashtra MLAs 1967–1972 Indian homeopaths Lok Sabha members from Maharashtra Marathi politicians Indian National Congress politicians from Maharashtra Presidents of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee