Dada Dharmadhikari
Encyclopedia
Shankar Trimbak Dharmadhikari (June 18, 1899 – December 1, 1985), better known throughout the world as Acharya Dada Dharmadhikari was an Indian freedom fighter, and a leader of social reform movements in India
. He was one of the strongest adherents of Mahatma Gandhi's principles
.
, Dada's family was known for its learning and scholarship as also for the study of Vedanta. His father Shri T. D. Dharmadhikari was a district and sessions judge, highly-regarded for his integrity and professional acumen.
Dada studied at the Indore
Christian College and later at Morris College in Nagpur
. But left his studies half way to join the freedom struggle
under Mahatma Gandhi
. He however spent a year in studying Vedantic works of Adi Shankaracharya.
He married his wife, Damayantibai, early in life and she was his companion in the Quit India movement
and in jail too. She was his partner in his work, and shared his beliefs and lifestyle.
Dada's life-long passions were human relationship, enlightenment of youth, women and total transformation of society. He lectured every section of society in Gandhian concepts of truth, love, nonviolence, trusteeship. Jaya Prakash Narayan saw him as the most outstanding commentator, crusader of his vision of revolution.
, Marathi
, English
, Gujarati
and Bengali
. He was awarded Gandhi Award of the Rashtra Bhasha Prachar Samiti for his valuable contribution to Hindi Literature
. He refused to accept honorary directorate.
A staunch Gandhian, dedicated to the cause of humanity and Indian nationalism
, Dada Dharmaadhikari had engaged himself in studying, thinking and propagating the Gandhian thoughts with the relevance to the existing universal problems. From early days in his public life, he had close relations with Vinoba Bhave
. Dada participated in Vinoba Bhave's Sarvodaya
movement. He was closely associated with Jaya Prakash Narayan, a revolutionary, versatile writer and a powerful orator. He was universally acknowledged as one of the best interpreters of Gandhian philosophy
.
, Kishorilalbhai Mashruwala, Jamnalal Bajaj
and J. Krishnamurthy
. Dada imbibed the vision, thinking, principles, conduct from all these personalities. He had a razor sharp intellect, discretion, with bhakti
of Gandhian wisdom, insights and revolutionary spirit.
Dada was a highly respected social philosopher and free thinker
, and unlike others, was also active in public life. Dada sent a message to the young pioneer of freedom movement Guru Radha Kishan
when he came to know about the courage shown by him during an independence rally in Indore
. He was a visionary who can foresee and encourage the talent in an individual and inspiring each one to think independently and rationally.
He also had a rare ability to communicate his patently unorthodox ideas in an easy and simple style laced with a subtle sense of humor.
His thoughts on status of women were revolutionary. He was particularly pained to see they do not enjoy equal status and regarded not only as second class citizens but also as second class human beings. He wanted women and young men to participate in total revolution, so as to bring about a revolution in all walks of life. He believed that youth has a revolutionary mind and the future of this country and the world depends on their active participation.
Dada's son Chandrashekhar Shankar Dharmadhikari
served as the Acting Chief Justice
of the Bombay High Court
, a prominent jurist
and educationalist.
Dada Dharmadhikari had four sons and one daughter. Their names were Usha Dharmadhikari (Tamaskar), Pradyumna Dharmadhikari, Yashwant Dharmadhikari, Chandrashekar Dharmadhiari and Bacchu Dharmadhikari. Of all his children, only Chandrashekar Dharmadhikari is now alive and is staying at Mumbai.
His grandson, Late Shri Priyadarshan Dharmadhikari, a noted lawyer was initially practising in the MP High Court later went on to become the Minister in the State of MP. He died on 2 July, 1999 at Jabalpur. Other grandsons, Justice Bhushan Dharmadhikari and Justice Satyaranjan Dharmadhikari are presently sitting judges of the Bombay High Court. Another grandson Ashutosh Dharmadhikari is a noted civil and constitutional lawyer practicing before the Nagpur Bench of the High Court of Bombay. Amongst his great grandsons, Akshay Dharmadhikari and Shreyas Dharmadhikari, who are presently practising at the High Court of MP at Jabalpur, whereas Deoul Pathak and Charuhas Dharmadhikari currently practice before the Bench of Bombay High Court at Nagpur.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. He was one of the strongest adherents of Mahatma Gandhi's principles
Gandhism
Gandhism is the collection of inspirations, principles, beliefs and philosophy of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , who was a major political and spiritual leader of India and the Indian Independence Movement....
.
Early life
Born on June 18, 1899 at Multapi, district Baitul, Madhya PradeshMadhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....
, Dada's family was known for its learning and scholarship as also for the study of Vedanta. His father Shri T. D. Dharmadhikari was a district and sessions judge, highly-regarded for his integrity and professional acumen.
Dada studied at the Indore
Indore
Indore is one of the major city in India, the largest city and commercial center of the state of Madhya Pradesh in central India. Indore is located 190 km west of the state capital Bhopal. According to the 2011 Indian census, Indore city has a population of 1,960,631...
Christian College and later at Morris College in Nagpur
Nagpur
Nāgpur is a city and winter capital of the state of Maharashtra, the largest city in central India and third largest city in Maharashtra after Mumbai and Pune...
. But left his studies half way to join the freedom struggle
Indian independence movement
The term Indian independence movement encompasses a wide area of political organisations, philosophies, and movements which had the common aim of ending first British East India Company rule, and then British imperial authority, in parts of South Asia...
under Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...
. He however spent a year in studying Vedantic works of Adi Shankaracharya.
He married his wife, Damayantibai, early in life and she was his companion in the Quit India movement
Quit India Movement
The Quit India Movement , or the August Movement was a civil disobedience movement launched in India in August 1942 in response to Mohandas Gandhi's call for immediate independence. Gandhi hoped to bring the British government to the negotiating table...
and in jail too. She was his partner in his work, and shared his beliefs and lifestyle.
Dada's life-long passions were human relationship, enlightenment of youth, women and total transformation of society. He lectured every section of society in Gandhian concepts of truth, love, nonviolence, trusteeship. Jaya Prakash Narayan saw him as the most outstanding commentator, crusader of his vision of revolution.
In the Freedom struggle and social work
He took part in every moment launched by Gandhi and the Congress. He was imprisoned in 1930, 1932 and 1942. A thinker, philosopher and very good orator and writer. He was well-versed in HindiHindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
, Marathi
Marathi language
Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
, English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Gujarati
Gujarati language
Gujarati is an Indo-Aryan language, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. It is derived from a language called Old Gujarati which is the ancestor language of the modern Gujarati and Rajasthani languages...
and Bengali
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
. He was awarded Gandhi Award of the Rashtra Bhasha Prachar Samiti for his valuable contribution to Hindi Literature
Hindi literature
Hindi literature , is broadly divided into four prominent forms or styles, being Bhakti ; Shringar ; Veer-Gatha ; and Adhunik...
. He refused to accept honorary directorate.
A staunch Gandhian, dedicated to the cause of humanity and Indian nationalism
Indian nationalism
Indian nationalism refers to the many underlying forces that molded the Indian independence movement, and strongly continue to influence the politics of India, as well as being the heart of many contrasting ideologies that have caused ethnic and religious conflict in Indian society...
, Dada Dharmaadhikari had engaged himself in studying, thinking and propagating the Gandhian thoughts with the relevance to the existing universal problems. From early days in his public life, he had close relations with Vinoba Bhave
Vinoba Bhave
Vinoba Bhave , born Vinayak Narahari Bhave often called Acharya , was an Indian advocate of nonviolence and human rights. He is best known for the Bhoodan Andolan...
. Dada participated in Vinoba Bhave's Sarvodaya
Sarvodaya
Sarvodaya is a term meaning 'universal uplift' or 'progress of all'. The term was first coined by Mahatma Gandhi as the title of his 1908 translation of John Ruskin's tract on political economy, Unto This Last, and Gandhi came to use the term for the ideal of his own political philosophy...
movement. He was closely associated with Jaya Prakash Narayan, a revolutionary, versatile writer and a powerful orator. He was universally acknowledged as one of the best interpreters of Gandhian philosophy
Gandhism
Gandhism is the collection of inspirations, principles, beliefs and philosophy of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , who was a major political and spiritual leader of India and the Indian Independence Movement....
.
Philosophy
Dada always reiterated that the great persons who influenced him in life included Mahatma Gandhi, Vinoba BhaveVinoba Bhave
Vinoba Bhave , born Vinayak Narahari Bhave often called Acharya , was an Indian advocate of nonviolence and human rights. He is best known for the Bhoodan Andolan...
, Kishorilalbhai Mashruwala, Jamnalal Bajaj
Jamnalal Bajaj
Jamnalal Bajaj was an Indian industrialist, a philanthropist, and Indian independence fighter. He was also a close associate and follower of Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi is known to have adopted him as his son. Several institutions in India bears his name, including the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of...
and J. Krishnamurthy
Jiddu Krishnamurti
Jiddu Krishnamurti or J. Krishnamurti or , was a renowned writer and speaker on philosophical and spiritual subjects. His subject matter included: psychological revolution, the nature of the mind, meditation, human relationships, and bringing about positive change in society...
. Dada imbibed the vision, thinking, principles, conduct from all these personalities. He had a razor sharp intellect, discretion, with bhakti
Bhakti
In Hinduism Bhakti is religious devotion in the form of active involvement of a devotee in worship of the divine.Within monotheistic Hinduism, it is the love felt by the worshipper towards the personal God, a concept expressed in Hindu theology as Svayam Bhagavan.Bhakti can be used of either...
of Gandhian wisdom, insights and revolutionary spirit.
Dada was a highly respected social philosopher and free thinker
Freethought
Freethought is a philosophical viewpoint that holds that opinions should be formed on the basis of science, logic, and reason, and should not be influenced by authority, tradition, or other dogmas...
, and unlike others, was also active in public life. Dada sent a message to the young pioneer of freedom movement Guru Radha Kishan
Guru Radha Kishan
Guru Radha Kishan was born in the year 1925 on Krishna Janmashtami in Bid village of district Harda of Madhya Pradesh in a Brahmin family of farmers. He has to experience the hardships of the life very early as his father was expired while he was a kid...
when he came to know about the courage shown by him during an independence rally in Indore
Indore
Indore is one of the major city in India, the largest city and commercial center of the state of Madhya Pradesh in central India. Indore is located 190 km west of the state capital Bhopal. According to the 2011 Indian census, Indore city has a population of 1,960,631...
. He was a visionary who can foresee and encourage the talent in an individual and inspiring each one to think independently and rationally.
He also had a rare ability to communicate his patently unorthodox ideas in an easy and simple style laced with a subtle sense of humor.
His thoughts on status of women were revolutionary. He was particularly pained to see they do not enjoy equal status and regarded not only as second class citizens but also as second class human beings. He wanted women and young men to participate in total revolution, so as to bring about a revolution in all walks of life. He believed that youth has a revolutionary mind and the future of this country and the world depends on their active participation.
Passing
He died in Sevagram, Wardha on December 1, 1985, one of the most prominent Gandhians and freedom fighters of the generation.Dada's son Chandrashekhar Shankar Dharmadhikari
Chandrashekhar Shankar Dharmadhikari
Chandrashekhar Shankar Dharmadhikari is an Indian independence movement activist, a lawyer, a judge and an author. He was acting chief justice of Bombay High Court. He was awarded Padma Bhushan in 2003. He was born in Raipur in 1927 and studied at Nagpur Universityin Maharashtra. He has...
served as the Acting Chief Justice
Chief Justice
The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...
of the Bombay High Court
Bombay High Court
Bombay High Court at Mumbai, Maharashtra, is the High Court of India with jurisdiction over the states of Maharashtra & Goa, and, the Union Territories of Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli...
, a prominent jurist
Jurist
A jurist or jurisconsult is a professional who studies, develops, applies, or otherwise deals with the law. The term is widely used in American English, but in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth countries it has only historical and specialist usage...
and educationalist.
Dada Dharmadhikari had four sons and one daughter. Their names were Usha Dharmadhikari (Tamaskar), Pradyumna Dharmadhikari, Yashwant Dharmadhikari, Chandrashekar Dharmadhiari and Bacchu Dharmadhikari. Of all his children, only Chandrashekar Dharmadhikari is now alive and is staying at Mumbai.
His grandson, Late Shri Priyadarshan Dharmadhikari, a noted lawyer was initially practising in the MP High Court later went on to become the Minister in the State of MP. He died on 2 July, 1999 at Jabalpur. Other grandsons, Justice Bhushan Dharmadhikari and Justice Satyaranjan Dharmadhikari are presently sitting judges of the Bombay High Court. Another grandson Ashutosh Dharmadhikari is a noted civil and constitutional lawyer practicing before the Nagpur Bench of the High Court of Bombay. Amongst his great grandsons, Akshay Dharmadhikari and Shreyas Dharmadhikari, who are presently practising at the High Court of MP at Jabalpur, whereas Deoul Pathak and Charuhas Dharmadhikari currently practice before the Bench of Bombay High Court at Nagpur.
See also
- http://mkgandhi-sarvodaya.org/dharma/dharmbio.htm
- http://web.archive.org/web/20040627220916/http://www.icssingapore.org/VicePresident_CV.htm
- http://www.geocities.com/advakshay
- GandhismGandhismGandhism is the collection of inspirations, principles, beliefs and philosophy of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , who was a major political and spiritual leader of India and the Indian Independence Movement....
, SarvodayaSarvodayaSarvodaya is a term meaning 'universal uplift' or 'progress of all'. The term was first coined by Mahatma Gandhi as the title of his 1908 translation of John Ruskin's tract on political economy, Unto This Last, and Gandhi came to use the term for the ideal of his own political philosophy...