Lokhitavadi

Early life and times

Gopalrao Hari Deshmukh, Lokhitavadi was born on 18th February 1823 in Pune. Maratha power had ended in 1818. His grandfather was the Deshmukh of Pawas in the Konkan and this title was adopted as the surname. His father Sardar Haripant was in the employment of the last Peshva Bajirao II. Bajirao II , after the battle of 1818 in which the Marathas lost, fled to Burhanpur. Elphinston made a public declaration that all those in the employment of the Peshva must surrender within two months , failing which their properties shall be confiscated. Haripant did not surrender and his properties were confiscated. Later Bajirao relinquished his Peshva ship to Company sarkar and Haripant was appointed by Bajirao as his Vakil at Pune. This was not to last for long. When Gopal was thirteen, his father passed away and the British were pleased to offer Rs600 to the widow and Rs200 each to her two sons, Chintaman the elder and Gopal the younger.

Gopalrao was tall, well built and handsome to look at. He was confident and bold. After school was over he would walk far from school in different directions and discover new areas. As a son of a Sardar, he had received training in rifle shooting. Once when he had gone for a walk to the Sangam, confluence of rivers Mula and Mutha, he witnessed soldiers practising shooting. The soldiers were unable to hit the target. Then the officer shot and he too failed. At this Gopal laughed. The officer was humiliated and retorted ,” it is easy for a kid to laugh”. So the lad took the rifle and shot the target. This amazed the constabulary and even the General heard the feat of this boy. He was produced before the General . The General asked him how did you brahmins lose the war if you are so good at shooting. To this Gopal replied that they lost because there was no unity among the people. This answer at an early age in that era displays his acute understanding of the society then.

Bajirao I , Bajirao Ballal Bhat (1700-1740) was the best general among all thirteen Peshwas. As Prime Minister to Chatrapati Shahu Maharaj he was responsible to convert Maratha kingdom into a Maratha Empire . In his twenty years on battlefield he is said to have never lost a battle even once.

Bajirao II governed from 1795 to 1818 and had to flee after losing the battle in 1818 at Khadkee near Pune, thus ending the Maratha supremacy. He served as the thirteenth and the last Peshwa. He had been installed as a puppet by Maratha generals whose power had grown tremendously. He signed the treaty of Bassein in 1802 with the British who reinstalled him as Peshwa. Bajirao II fought the British in the third and final war in November 1817 . As the British forces were gaining momentum Bajirao II desperately sought help from Scindias and Holkars but they did not come to his help. Marathas lacked unity and the British were clever to exploit this deficiency. He finally surrendered and retired to Bithhoor in return for annual pension and estate. He appointed Sardar Haripant Deshmukh, father of Gopalrao as vakil to manage his affairs at Pune.

Budhvar Peth in olden times

• Pune business street in the nineteenth century
• He came from a Brahmin family and received a traditional education in Sanskrit and other subjects. However, he was deeply influenced by the social and political conditions of his time, which motivated him to work for the betterment of society.
• In his early years, Deshmukh joined the East India Company and served as a munsif in their administration. Working within the colonial bureaucracy gave him firsthand exposure to the injustices and exploitation faced by the Indian population under British rule. This experience played a significant role in shaping his views and his commitment to social reform.
• During his employment with the East India Company, Gopal Hari Deshmukh actively participated in social and educational activities. He became associated with various reformist organizations and used his pen name “Lokhitavadi” to write articles, essays, and historical books on a wide range of social issues. His writings were in Marathi and Gujarathi and were published in newspapers and magazines of the time.
• Lokhitavadi’s writings were marked by a strong critique of social inequalities, caste discrimination, and oppressive practices prevalent in society. He advocated women’s education, women’s rights, social justice, and the upliftment of the marginalized sections of society. His writings played a crucial role in creating awareness and mobilizing public opinion against social injustices.
• Gopal Hari Deshmukh, alias Lokhitavadi, became one of the prominent voices of social reform in Maharashtra during the late 19th century. His contributions helped pave the way for the subsequent social reform movements in the region.

The Rule of Company Sarkar began in 1818 AD under Governor Elphinstone. It was decided by the British administration that English medium schools be started in Pune and and other larger towns. Gopalrao studied Sanskrit and Marathi in vernacular school and clandestinely learned English by himself . It was not considered good to learn English in those days. At the age of 21yrs in 1844 he was enlisted in an English medium school. The Head Master had certified that he was well versed with the language at the time of admission. He completed the school course in three years.

Due to his learning of Sanskrit, Marathi and English, his reading was vast as compared to traditionalists of the times and he could feel the pain of women who were treated unequally. He started writing at the young age of 25 on reforms required in society from 1848 and is the earliest and most prolific writer on social evils in Maharashtra. Fortunately, in the last two decades academedicians have started to recognise his worth and done extensive research on his life and work. The Christian missionaries also helped by educating natives regarding ills in their society with the ulterior motive of converting poor and unpriviledged sections of society to Christianity. The English rulers supported this initiative which led to priests openly appealing to the downtrodden classes to accept Christianity. Many books were being circulated with stories of the early Christian era. It led to people converting en masse. There was opposition from Indian scholars to these conversions and some scholars tried to educate the uneducated classes of the virtues of their religion. However, by 1853 the educated Indians and Parsees too among them were ready to submit a petition to the English Parliament. An organisation by name ” Kalyanunnayak Mandal” was formed by Gopal Hari Deshmukh, who wrote under the pen name “Lokhitavadi” and the petition demanding basic human rights to natives was prepared.

Lokhitavadi had started writing letters exhorting natives to change their customs. He wrote 108 letters over a considerable period of time. These are called “shatpatre”, one hundred letters. In one of these letters he writes that the Indians must change and learn English. Through the knowledge of English, the vast canvass of English literature would open before them. The arrival of the British be considered as a good omen. It will purify our society of the ills presently corrupting our nature. He wrote with great foresight that Indians must learn the working of English Institutions and political methods by which the English society governs itself. In 100-150 years when Indians have aquired this knowledge, we can demand independence and self rule. We can then tell the British that we no longer require you to rule over us and that they should leave the country. n one letter he said that we must learn English to prevent our society from being completely ruined by opposing English and prevent ourselves from becoming their slaves. For twenty years the British exploited the farmers, businessmen and artisans bringing complete economic ruin upon the people but this resulted in Adivasis revolting all over India. Smaller princely states with the help of their subjects organised revolts in many parts of Maharashtra. This continued from 1818 to 1832 and the Adivasi Bhil and Ramoshi tribes were chief among these revolters. They would descend upon the plains to loot and plunder. The British tried to develop friendship with the tribals by giving some youth jobs in the Army . But the revolts continued until the struggle for Independence of 1857 which fired the entire country. But they lacked unity and co ordination. They lost because of superior battle techniques and political moves which kept Indians divided. Those who rose against the British were sent to the gallows in Sawantwadi, Kolhapur, Nanded , Satara and Khandesh. All these incidents clearly prove what Lokhitavadi wrote that Indians must learn the doctrine to rule from the British and master the science of politics. Then it will be easy to bring in self rule. His prophesy in this respect is profound. After the Second World War the world changed, British power had depleted its resourcess and the Indian Army, Navy and Air force was manned by officers and soldiers who were charged with the idea of independence. The British saw in front of them clear ruin if they did not transfer power which they did in a hurry after the Navy Mutiny.

Judicial Career of Lokhitavadi –

Bombay Sudder Dewanee Adawlat certifies on 27th March 1846 that “Goplall Raw Huree Deshmook was found by the examining committee assembled on 18th March 1846 qualified for the situation of “Munsiff” in the Decan and Konkan regions. In 1852 he was appointed First Class Munsiff at Wai in Satara District on a salary of Rs 200 per month.His zeal, industrious nature, application of mind and hard working qualities won him respect of superiors. In the floods of 1847 Wai was devastated. The description of these floods record many villages simply disappearing from sight , animals drowned in the river floods, and many children rescued from the waters. Two colonies in Wai disappeared for ever. He used his official position to bring relief to the suffering people. In 1855, he was appointed to work on the Inam Commission . The Commission was charged with scrutinising Inams granted by the Peshva and afer due verification to continue or discontinue the pension and grants. This work was handled by Gopalrao with scrupulous judication. During the Peshva rule, it was common for the Peshva to orally declare that a village be granted to someone in a happy mood. Although the beneficiary took possession of the village, there was no corresponding written order to that effect. Many influencial persons benefited from this confusion. Due to his judicious review and verification of records, many lost their Inam because they had no records with them to prove their case, nor did the Peshva Daftar had any record of their names. This led to an unjust charge that he was responsible for the forfeiture and dispossession of the persons. Goalrao used to advise those dispossesed to prefer an appeal to seek relief and many inamdars did benefit from his counsel.His impartiality and equity brought laurels from the government. On 1st May 1861 he was chosen to the position of “Covenential Civil Servant” and posted at Ahmedabad as Assistant Judge on a salary of Rs800 per month.