Dattatreya Balkrishna Kalelkar (1 December 1885 – 21 August 1981), popularly known as Kaka Kalelkar, was an Indian independence activist, social reformer, journalist and an eminent follower of the philosophy and methods of Mahatma Gandhi.

Biography

Kalelkar was born in Satara on 1 December 1885. His family's ancestral village of Kaleli, near Sawantwadi in

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 ...

, gave him his surname Kalelkar. He matriculated in 1903 and completed B.A. in Philosophy from Fergusson College, Pune in 1907. He appeared in the first year examination of LL.B. and joined Ganesh Vidyalaya in Belgaum in 1908. He worked for a while on the editorial staff of a nationalistic Marathi daily named ''Rashtramat'', and then as a teacher at a school named Ganganath Vidyalaya in

Baroda Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is a city situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district. The city is named for its abundance of banyan ...

in 1910. In 1912, the British government forcibly closed down the school because of its nationalistic spirit. He travelled to the Himalayas by foot and later joined

Acharya Kripalani Jivatram Bhagwandas Kripalani (11 November 1888 – 19 March 1982), popularly known as Acharya Kripalani, was an Indian politician, noted particularly for holding the presidency of the Indian National Congress during the transfer of power in ...

on a visit to

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

(

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

) in 1913. He first met

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 ...

in 1915. Influenced by Gandhi, he became member of

Sabarmati Ashram Sabarmati Ashram is located in the Sabarmati suburb of Ahmedabad, Gujarat, adjoining the Ashram Road, on the banks of the River Sabarmati, from the town hall. This was one of the many residences of Mahatma Gandhi who lived at Sabarmati (Gujar ...

. He taught at Rashtriya Shala of Sabarmati Ashram. For some time, he served as the editor of ''Sarwodaya'' periodical which was run from the premises of the Ashram. He was imprisoned several times due to his participation in

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic ...

. With Gandhi's encouragement, he played an active role in establishing Gujarat Vidyapith at

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ), also spelled Amdavad (), is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 ...

, and served as its vice-chancellor from 1928 to 1935. He retired from Gujarat Vidyapith in 1939. Mahatma Gandhi called him ''Savai Gujarati'', a quarter more than a Gujarati. In 1935, Kalelkar became member of ''Rashtabhasha Samiti'', a committee whose objective was to popularize

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

- Hindustani language as the national language of India. He was active with Gandhi Smarak Nidhi from 1948 to his death. He was appointed a member of

Rajya Sabha Rajya Sabha (Council of States) is the upper house of the Parliament of India and functions as the institutional representation of India’s federal units — the states and union territories.https://rajyasabha.nic.in/ It is a key component o ...

from 1952 to 1964 and later appointed a president of Backward Classes Commission in 1953. He presided over

Gujarati Sahitya Parishad Gujarati Sahitya Parishad () is a literary organisation for the promotion of Gujarati literature located in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. It was founded by Ranjitram Mehta with the aim of creating literature appealing to all classes of society and ...

in 1959. He established Gandhi Vidyapith, Vedchhi in 1967 and served as its vice chancellor. He died on 21 August 1981.

Selected works

Kalelkar wrote several books, including voluminous travelogues, in Gujarati,

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...

, and

. The following is a partial list of Kalelkar's books: * Quintessence of Gandhian Thought (English) * Profiles in Inspiration (English) * Stray Glimpses of Bapu (English) * Mahatma Gandhi's Gospel of Swadeshi (English) * Mahatma Gandhi Ka Swadeshi Dharma (Hindi) * Rashtriya Shiksha Ka Adarsha (Hindi) * Smaran Yatra (Marathi) * Uttarekadil Bhinti (Marathi) (also translated into English as ''Even behind the Bars'') * Hindalgyacha Prasad (Marathi) * Lok-Mata (Marathi) * Latanche Tandav (Marathi) * Himalayatil Pravas (Marathi) * Himalayano Pravas (Gujarati) * Jeevan-Vyavastha (Gujarati) * Purva Africaman (Gujarati) * Jivavano Anand (Gujarati) * Jivata Tehvaro (Gujarati) * Mara Sansmarano (Gujarati) * Ugamano Desh (Gujarati) * Otterati Divaro (Gujarati) (also translated into English as ''Even behind the Bars'') * Brahmadeshano Pravas (Gujarati) * Rakhadvano Anand (Gujarati) * Multi-Part Kaka Kalelkar Granthawali ** Part 5: Atmacharitra ** Part 6: Charitra Kirtan ** Part 7: Geeta darshan ** Part 8: Dharma ** Part 9: Sahitya ** Part 10: Diary ** Part 11: Patra **Sahijan ka ped

Recognition

Kalelkar received a

Sahitya Akademi Award The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the ...

in 1965 for his ''Jeevan-Vyavastha'', a collection of essays in Gujarati. He was honored with Sahitya Akademi Fellowship in 1971 for his literary achievements. The Government of India conferred on him

Padma Vibhushan The Padma Vibhushan ( , lit. "Lotus Grandeur") is the second-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "exceptional and distinguished service". All persons w ...

(India's second-highest civilian award after the

Bharat Ratna The Bharat Ratna (; ) is the highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conferred in recognition of "exceptional service/performance of the highest order", without distin ...

) in 1964. It also issued a commemorative stamp in his honor in 1985.

Biography

Selected works

Recognition

References

Further reading