02/07/2020
Tribute to Rajarshi Shahu Chhatrapati of Kolhapur, a reformer ahead of his time on his birth anniversary (26th June 2020)
Summary on book, Rajarshi Shahu Chhatrapati-Social Revolutionary King written by Dr. Jaysingrao Pawar. This book will make you aware about the inspiring journey of a person who was not born in king family and how he used the power for upliftment of society under British rule.
Shau Maharaj always believed in act of doing instead of only saying. He opened the door of education to all including education of Vedas which earlier were restricted to Brahmins only in his province. He raised voice against wrong rituals and beliefs which were forced on people by religions. He constructed schools and Hostels to pave the path of education to people of different castes, earlier these schools and hostels were as per community to give confidence to every community about safety and security. After some years this differentiation was also removed to curb cast system. He made different committees to find sincere and hardworking students from different communities and enrolled them in schools and colleges at free of cost, even he sent some students in other countries for higher education by paying scholarships. Apart from education he always encouraged talents from different field. He used to invite people of different communities for lunch and social programs to remove Caste discrimination. He was the first king who declared reservation in all fields and made sure to make eligible that person to perform that job. He had a special concern for Nomadic Tribe people and other backward communities who used to change their homes frequently. These people were labeled as thief. Shahu Maharaj took efforts to know the reality and gave them place in village, and employed some people. Maharaj was under the obligation Britihers so he tactfully get things done by keeping everyone happy .Such acts of Shahu Maharaj was not welcomed my some Brahmins so they used all means to criticize Shau maharaj. Even many efforts were made to kill him but all went in vain. Shau Maharaj was also had support of some Brahmins in social reforming. He encouraged Inter caste marriage to eradicate cast system and in that effort his sister married to other caste person. At many occasions Lokmanya Tilak and his team opposed and critised Shau Maharaj for not supporting freedom movement and favoring Britishers. But case was not that first he wanted to free people from vicious circle of cast system which was created by Brahmins to rule people. He was very much aware that without help of Brithers it would not be possible as they were also against wrong rituals and beliefs. Even Britishers enjoyed Divide and Rule policy. Shau Maharaj brought revolution in all fields like Education, Agriculture, Garments, Perfumes, Trade and Music, Adventures Sports and many more. He had knowledge of all fields and he made sure his province would excel in all fields.There are many things about raja which made him truly Social Revolutionary King.
I have pointed out some of the important points from the book for more details do read book:
• Shahu Chhatrapati had courage and was inspired by Mahatma Jotiba Phule and instigated by a particularly nasty incidence of personal humiliation, Shahu Chhatrapati took this revolutionary step in 1902 because he was truly committed to the emancipation of the backward classes,"
• The 1902 notification says: “His Highness is pleased to direct that from the date of this order 50% of the vacancies that may occur shall be fixed by recruits from among the backward classes. In all offices in which the proportion of officers of the backward classes is at present less than 50% the next appointment shall be given to a member of those classes." Article 46 of the Constitution reads: “The State shall promote, with special care, the education and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people, and, in particular of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and shall protect them from social injustice and all forms of social exploitation."
• It is important to recall the social and administrative context that led Shahu Chhatrapati to issue such a radical statute.When he ascended the throne in 1894, Brahmins held 67 of the 71 posts (94.37%) in the administrative department of the princely state. In the ruler’s private administration, Brahmins held 46 of the 53 posts (87.79%). The remaining posts in both departments were occupied by non-Brahmins like British officers, Anglo-Indians, Parsis, and Prabhus (upper-caste Hindus). “This was what Shahu Chhatrapati called the Brahmin bureaucracy. He discovered the irony that though this was a Maratha princely state, there were hardly any Maratha (non-Brahmin backward classes, including the Marathas, OBCs, untouchables, Muslims, Jains, and Lingayats) in the administration,"
• “Lokmanya Tilak, in his editorials in the Kesari newspaper, called this notification an undiplomatic and immature step and wondered if Shahu Chhatrapati had lost his mind. If this is what Tilak felt, one can imagine the reaction of other Brahmins,
• Shahu Chhatrapati began his famous programme to set up hostels exclusively dedicated to particular castes and communities.
• In 1917, he promulgated an Act making primary education free and mandatory for every child in Kolhapur state.
• Shahu Chhatrapati had helped build 420 schools which admitted more than 22,000 students. When he took over the reins of the state, the Rajaram High School and College had only 7.6 % students from the non-Brahmin castes. By 1922, this figure was 37.7%. In the general administration, the percentage of employees from non-Brahmin castes went up from 5.63% to 62.11% in 1922. The backward classes accounted for 71.71% of the staff in the private administration, up from a mere 13.21% in 1894.
