The Craftsman of Maharashtra

The son of Sangli and yesteryear Chief minister of Maharashtra, he was the forerunner of the Congress party in the state when it was facing defeat across the nation.

Craftsman of Maharashtra, Vasantadada Patil Ji; Image Source: Bhaskar

A Satyagrahi and an ardent follower of Subhash Chandra Bose, he was a man of varied political interest and affiliations. A Gandhian in his early days, he gradually shifted to believe in radical methods like looting British trains and smuggling arms and ammunitions from Goa to the nationalist extremists. Vasantdada Patil was a freedom fighter in his young days and even faced a jail sentence of 13 years for his radical activities, for he started to believe that morchas and satyagrahas are of no use if no stringent action is taken to fight back the wrong for a right cause!

Patil, a native and representative of Sangli began his political career during the early days in colonial India. His interaction with Babasaheb Kher, Sardar Patel among others proved a catalyst in shaping his understanding of Indian social and political interactions. The sixth chief minister of the state of Maharashtra, Vasantdada became the mass leader of the Marathi people with a huge fan following.

With independence, Vasantdada started focusing on the issues of farmers and their upliftment in the state. Farmers were reeling under great poverty, dejection, and debt even before the independence of the country. He started an Industrial Society in 1960 to increase irrigation in Sangli and became the chief promoter of the Groundnut Processors Cooperative Society to promote collective local income methods.

The craftsman of his state’s education, Vasantdada initiated the establishment of various higher education institutes like Miraj Medical College and Padmabhushan Vasantdada Patil Institute of Technology in Sangli.

His tenure as a Cabinet Minister of the state began from the year of 1972 to 1976, when he was appointed as the minister of state by the then Chief Minister Vasantrao Naik. Being a member of Lok Sabha in 1980, he also served his native state by putting the limelight on the issues which were overlooked by the government.

Serving as the leader of Maharashtra on three remarkable occasions, Patil made sure that the voice of the Maratha people isn’t suppressed or unheard. After his tenure in Maharashtra, he also served as the Governor of the state of Rajasthan for the years between 1985 to 1987, which was a rather short stint to explore and serve. His ties with the Indian National Congress stayed intact till his last days. His social work and in-depth urge to uplift the population under his governance can hardly match the dedication of any other leader.

A loyalist to the state, party, and country, Vasantdada Patil was a visionary who believed in bringing a change with better access to education, value to the farmers, and political acknowledgment of the people. A recipient of Padma Bhushan in 1967, and due reverence being paid to him by Indian Postal Services in the form of a stamp in 2012. Vasantdada Patil lives in the heart of every Marathi who looks back into the glorious young days of the state.