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Education is not what we are taught in schools but the lessons that life teaches us. Keeping this aspect in mind, a man came with his amazing ideas of not only educating the selective mass but educating the ones who have been ignored since ancient times.
Born on 22nd September 1887
A beautiful day began in the far lands of Kumbhoj in the Kolhapur district of Maharashtra. Mr. Patil got up to do his usual chores while Mrs. Patil became busy doing the household chores. Karmaveer sat in his usual place, with his wide eyes trying to observe everything that took place in the house. His innocent eyes twinkled with a shine that held a promise of shining thousands of lives in the future.
As he grew up, Chhatrapati Shahu, the ruler of Kolhapur allowed him to stay at any place in Kolhapur and complete his studies. Being a mass education and social equality promoter, Shahu always inspired Bhaurao to adopt ways through which he too can help others to complete their education. During those days, going to school was a far-fetched dream and in the case of Jains, who were a minority community, studying was too expensive. Even after being a Jain, with the help of Shahu, Karmaveer became one of the first few Jains to complete his secondary education.
When Patil’s father saw his son’s immense enthusiasm in studies, he sent him to Kolhapur for further studies. It was during his stay in Kolhapur that Karma involved himself in Satya Shodhak Movement which was founded by Jyotibha Phule. This movement solely focused on the development of the underprivileged people of society. Further, his frequent contact with people like Mahatma Phule and Maharshi Vitthal Ramji Shinde fueled his desire to do something for society.
As time passed, Bhaurao’s interest increased in the political arena. With the Indian Independence struggle at its peak, he contributed immensely through his participation in fields like public education. He worked for numerous companies like Ogale glassworks, Kirloskars and Coopers during those days to observe how the employees were treated in these firms.
Everywhere that Bhaurao went, social evils like inequality, indiscrimination against the oppressed people of the society were quite prevalent. Upon realising that the only way to eliminate these social evils is mass education, he immediately took up measures to promote a concept called earn and learn. Karma started a hostel where children belonging to lower castes and poor families could stay. They were given job opportunities through which they could also afford their study expenses. This concept was later on transformed into Rayat Shikshan Sansthan.
The story behind this society is more interesting. While Patil was working in the Kirloskar factory at Kolhapur, he acquainted himself with Satyashodhak Samaj and worked with it. One day, when he attended a meeting at Kale, a resolution was passed which stated that to make Satyashodhak Samaj function properly, it is necessary to educate the Bahujan Samaj. Bhaurao then got the idea of establishing a system that was self-sustaining in nature and named it Rayat Shikshan Sanstha, wherein Rayat refers to the ‘masses’ in Marathi. The Sanstha created 38 boarding schools, 578 voluntary schools, 6 training colleges, 108 secondary schools, and 3 colleges.
When Karmaveer started this initiative, he came across Gandhiji. Impressed by his simple khadi attire, he too started wearing similar clothes. When he met Gandhi for the first time, he was smitten with his simple living, high thinking concept. Vowing to live a life inspired by Gandhian principles, he, later on, set up 101 schools in Gandhi’s name.
Devoting his entire life to the promotion of mass education, he was honoured with the title Karamveer or King of Actions. Patil’s works brought him the recognition of the Father of the Indian Social Revolution. Honoured with Padma Bhushan and D.Litt from the University of Pune, the Karmveer Bhaurao Patil Samaj Seva Puraskar awards were also named after him.
Bhaurao continued to inspire lakhs of students to adopt the concept of earn and learn and made sure to provide them with the best educational facilities. Keeping up with a unique motto in life which says- “Education through self-help is our motto”, he made everyone realise that education is not only literacy but a tool that changes the entire society.
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