Public Life and Politics in Poona This Chapter Will Attempt to Examine the Contribution of Chitpavans to the Activity in The

152 Chapter - V Public Life and Politics in Poona This chapter will attempt to examine the contribution of Chitpavans to the activity in the public domain that began in the 1840s in the city, as also the political activity that emerged around the 1870s. When the British took over Poona in the 1820s it was a fairly backward city. There was no proper sanitation and apart from the areas planned under the Peshwai there was no control over building activity. Poona’s modernization, both infrastructural and intellectual, took place almost entirely under the British. As far as the infrastructural developments were concerned, motorable roads were built in 1832; the first telegraph came to Poona in 1854, the first post office in 1855 and the railways sometime after the mutiny.' The government carried out all these improvements. Poona’s intellectual development is directly related to the introduction of western education and the teaching of English. The Pathshala at Vishrambagwada was in existence from 1821 but it was only when Major Candy became the Principal that English began to be taught. The first pupils were G. H. Deshmukh, S. B. Govande, Sonyabapu Mande, D. N. Nagarkar, V. M. Bhide and Kushaba Limaye, all of whom became men of repute mostly in government service as well as active in Poona’s public life. The educated class in Poona was extremely active in setting up a number of institutions that devoted themselves to a particular field of knowledge or area of activity. These institutions all had the common objective of educating and modernizing the people of the city. When we speak in terms of public activity we are referring to the activities of the residents of Poona that were specifically aimed at the intellectual, social, political and economic development of the people, not only of the city but also of the region and the 1I country at large. This is a period of developing national consciousness when an intelligentsia slowly began to emerge. This intelligentsia began to think in terms of the modernization of the political system. The need for the transformation of the social institutions was also realized but it was understandably a much slower and more complicated process. The development of the economy was an issue that was directly dependent on the form and nature of the process of political development. Govande, V. B., Trimurti Darshan Athava Sadashivrao Govande yanche Charitra, Poona 1953. Pg. 93. 153 Life in a community and the structure and form it achieves has a direct bearing on the nature of political activity that emerges; this is the basic remise of the chapter. That the Chitpavans constituted the educated elite and thereby^he intelligentsia has already been established. The intellectual development that was taking place was doing so in conjunction with this Chitpavan educated elite, while the landed elite, the Sardars and Rajas were the patrons The first evidence of public activity can be seen in a list of donors to the Elphinstone Professorship Fund, published in the Bombay Courier of 20.10.1827.' The ^ fund was collected on Elphinstone's retirement. The donors were - I) Athawale 2) V. G. Apte 3) Bhau Maharaj 4) Trimbak Pant Bhatt 5) J. S. Bhide 6) G. M. Chandrachud 7) P. Anna Dhamdere 8) M. R. Dhamdere 9) J. N. Deshpande 10) H. Bhau Deshmukh II) Ravji Godbole 12) Bhaskarrao Godbole 13) Govindrao Karandikar 14) Tatya Muzumdar 15) B. K. Mehendale 16) Banyaba Bapu Mehendale 17) L. S. Natu 18) Shivrao Nagarkar 19) G. P. Oak 20) Ramrao Purandare. 21) M. N. Purandare 22) Raoji Pendse 23) Dajiba Panse 24) BabaPhadke 25) P. K. Rahatekar 26) Shamjipant Ranade 27) Vishwasrao Daji Raste 28) Gopalrao Raste 29) Madhavrao Sahasrabuddhe 29) Moropant Sahasrabuddhe 31) Trimbakrao Bhau Rajmachikar 32) M. R. Thosar. As can be seen from the information above public life in Pune in this early stage was largely dominated by the aristocracy of the Peshwai and government servants. Of the above list only 8 names are not Chitpavan, these eight are however all Brahmins. This 'Govande, V. B., Trimurti Darshan Athava Sadashivrao Govande yanche Charitra, Poona 1953. Pg. 19. 154 was the tone that was set for public life in the city. A number of public institutions came to be established by the leading lights of society in Poona. Most of this activity centered in and around old Poona or the Peshwas Poona. A survey of nine such institutions related to different areas of activity has been made in this chapter. The Pune Nagar Vachan Mandir The Poona Native Library was one of the earliest modem public institutions to be established in the city. The concept although well established in 19**’ Century Europe was a novelty in India. The exact date of its establishment is dependent on a single source of information, that is the Shatapatre of‘Lokahitavadi’, Gopal Hari Deshmukh. In one of his letters he discusses the establishment of the Library and related issues and places the date at 7**’ February 1848. The Library was established mainly due to the interest taken by the Judge appointed in Poona, Mr. Henry Brown. He seems to have pursued the matter with a great deal of interest. The name of G. H. Deshmukh also crops up in this context, who was professionally associated with Mr. Brown when he was the Agent for Sardars, having been appointed to that department. Although it is not a proven fact there is a high possibility that the suggestion for such a scheme may have originated from G. H. Deshmukh himself.’ He was certainly a public spirited man and wrote with considerable feeling on the subject of a Public Library in his Shatpatre. He talks about the need for encouraging the pursuit of knowledge not for materialist gain but for the sake of knowledge itself, to encourage the people of Poona to read and improve their minds. Another important aspect highlighted by Lokahitavadi is the need to understand the structure and nature of organization of various aspects of life under indigenous rule and how the situation has changed under the British. Yet another point highlighted by him is the need for his countrymen to end their intellectual isolation and acquaint themselves with what is happening outside India with a view to improving their own conditions.^ Thus in an indirect fashion he has provided us with a statement of objectives of the persons trying to set up the Library and the effects on society they were hopeful of. ^Ibid,Pg' Dikshit M. 12. S., Pune Nagar Vachan Mandir, Deedshe Varshancha Itihas, Poona, 1998, Pg 13. 155 The library was established largely due to the efforts of government officials like Mr. Henry Brown, the governor of Bombay Presidency Sir George Russell Clarke and Secretary to the Governor Captain French. The library was provided with premises in the historic Budhwar Wada, which were later increased as the members and number of books began to grow. Those associated with the library as members of its managing committee at inception were Krishna Shastri Chiplunkar, Prof. Keropant Chhatre, Gopal Hari Deshmukh, Vishnu Moreshwar Bhide, Vishnu Parashuram Ranade, Sonya Bapu Mande and Daji Nilkantha Nagarkar as secretary. Donations came from the Rajahs of Gwalior, Sangli, Bhor, Bhavnagar, The Prince of Wales and the Governor General Lord Lytton. On the night of 13'*’ May 1879 two historic sites the Budhwar Wada and Vishrambaug Wada caught fire. The Budhwar Wada was completely destroyed while Vishrambagwada suffered heavy damage. The ‘Poona Native General Library’ housed in the Budhwarwada was completely destroyed. The fires were acts of arson due to which the library lost heavily. All that remained was 6 books, one file and the 60 books later returned by members. The library was given space in the Nagarkar Wada, which also housed the Poona Sarvajanik Sabha. By 1882 the library had acquired land to build new premises. The funds for this were raised through donations from private donors and members and a hefty donation from the government. The building was thus completed by 1889 and was inaugurated by Lord Reay the Governor of Bombay Presidency. Thereafter the Poona Municipality provided funds for buying books and even made available an annual grant to the library. This association with the Municipality continues to date. The library was registered as per the Registration of Societies Act of 1860 in 1933, which is strange indeed since it is one of Poona’s oldest institutions but the problem lay in the paucity of members, which was a basic requirement. Prior to this in 1921 the library was rechristened as the ‘Poona City General Library’ or the ‘Pune Nagar Vachan Mandir.’ When going over the history of the library it has to be acknowledged that it was exclusively a Brahmin affair. The donors were mainly native rulers to which a few government officials and men of commerce may be added on in later years. A survey of the presidents. Vice Presidents, Chairmen, Vice Chairmen, members of the executive committee will corroborate this fact. In fact one finds an over whelming predominance of 156 western educated Chitpavans in the administration and running of the library till 1940 as illustrated by the facts below. Presidents M.G.Ranade 1891-1901 Sir R. G. Bhandarkar 1901-1925 D. B. K. R. Godbole 1925-1937 Mr. N. C. Kelkar 1937-1938 Prof S. N. Chaphekar 1938-1940 Vice Presidents Sir R. G. Bhandarkar 1891 -1901 R. Bah. V. B. Kanitkar 1901-1904 R Bah. K. B. Marathe 1904-1907 R Bah. G. V. Joshi 1907-1908 R Bah. S. V. Patwardhan 1909-1916. D. Bah. K. R. Godbole 1917-1925 Mr.

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