⁣⁣Dhondo Keshav Karve popularly known as Maharshi Karve, was a social reformer in India for women’s welfare. He advocated widow remarriage and he himself married a widow. ⁣⁣
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The appellation Maharshi, which the Indian public often assigned to Karve, means “a great sage”.⁣
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He was born on 18 April 1858, at Sheravali, Maharashtra in a lower middle-class Brahmin family. ⁣He studied at Elphinstone College, Mumbai and received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics.⁣⁣
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He started teaching mathematics at Fergusson College in Pune in 1891. During that period he became concerned with breaking down orthodox Hindu opposition to widow remarriage, and he established the Widow Marriage Association in 1893. In the same year, he shocked public opinion by himself marrying a widow; his first wife had died in 1891.⁣⁣
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Continuing with his effort for helping widows, Maharishi Karve even founded an educational institution, Hindu Widows Home, in 1896, in Poona to help widows support themselves, in case they were unable to remarry.⁣⁣
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Inspired by the Women’s University in Tokyo, Japan, he established the first university for women in India in 1916. The university was established in Pune with five students.⁣⁣
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During 1917–1918, he established the Training College for Primary School Teachers and another school for girls called ‘Kanya Shala’.⁣⁣
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In 1920, philanthropist Vithaldas Thackersey donated Rs 15 lakh to the university and renamed it to Shreemati Nathibai Damodar Thackersey (SNDT) Indian Women’s University, which now has three campuses and many affiliated colleges across India.⁣⁣
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He also set up the Samata Sangh or Association for the Promotion of Human Equality in 1944 to promote adult education.⁣⁣
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Karve wrote two autobiographical works: Atmawrutta works (1928) in Marathi, and Looking Back (1936) in English.⁣⁣
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In his honour, Queen’s Road in Mumbai (Bombay) was renamed to Maharshi Karve Road. Karve was a pioneer in promoting widows’ education.⁣⁣
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The Government of India awarded him with the highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna, in 1958, the year of his 100th birthday.⁣⁣