Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade Biography | Justice Ranade Full Information

Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade is known to the people of Maharashtra in various capacities as a great thinker, political leader, ardent supporter of constitutional politics, and social activist. He is credited with creating a new vitality in the public life of Maharashtra in the latter half of the nineteenth century. He also played an important role in national-level politics.

Name - Mahadev Govind Ranade

Title - Justice

Birth - January 18, 1842

Birthplace - Niphad, Nashik district

Father - Govind Ranade

Wife - Ramabai Ranade

Death - January 16, 1901

Wife Ramabai Ranade

Ramabai Mahadev Ranade Biography - Click Here

Introduction to Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade

Mahadev Govind Ranade was born on January 18, 1842 in Niphad, a village in Nashik district. He received his primary education in Kolhapur. Later, he enrolled in Elphinstone High School in Mumbai. After passing the matriculation examination at the age of sixteen, Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade enrolled in Elphinstone College, Mumbai. In 1862, he passed the B. A. examination in the first class. Then in 1864, he obtained the M. A. degree with history as a subject. He also secured the first class in this examination. In 1866, he passed the law examination. Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade was elected as the 'first Indian Fellow' of the University of Mumbai. After that, he worked as the steward of the Maharaja of Akkalkot and the Diwan of the Kolhapur State for a few days. In 1868, he was appointed as a professor of English and history at Elphinstone College, Mumbai. Later, the Bombay government appointed him as a District Judge in 1871. In 1885, the Governor of Bombay, Lord Ray, appointed Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Bombay Province. He was appointed as a judge of the Bombay High Court in 1893.

Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade spent most of his life in government service. However, even while in government service, he was associated with many public institutions. Justice Ranade was known as a representative of the intellectuals of the Hindu people. He was a major participant in the establishment of many public institutions in Maharashtra. He was closely associated with various institutions such as Prarthana Samaj, Sarvajivan Sabha, Bharatiya Samaj Parishad, etc. Ranade is also mentioned as one of the founders of the Indian National Congress, which was formed in Bombay in 1885. He was recognized as a prominent leader of that organization in the early period of the Indian National Congress.

Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade's Political Thoughts

Like Raja Rammohan Roy and Dadabhai Naoroji, Ranade also believed that the establishment of British rule in India was a part of God's plan. He believed that British rule was a divine blessing to India. The British laid the foundation of a new education system in India; they brought many new and modern concepts to India; it was the British who introduced modern knowledge and science to the Indian people. He said that due to this contribution of British rule, the winds of modernity began to blow in Indian society and a new era of enlightenment began in India.

Ranade believed in the justice and honesty of the British rulers. The British have provided ample opportunities for self-development to the Indian people. They will definitely try to provide justice to the Indians in the future. He believed that the Indian people would benefit from the rule of British rule.

Foundation of Constitutional Politics in India

Justice Ranade worked to lay the foundation of progressive constitutional politics in India. The basis of his constitutional politics was his faith in the justice and honesty of the British rulers. The Indian people could achieve their progress only by staying in the British Empire. For that, we should try to convey our basic problems to the rulers through constitutional and constitutional means. He felt that the British rulers would definitely take note of our just demands. Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade was influenced by liberalism, but he advocated the constitutional and constitutional way.

Foundation of Hindi Economics

Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade is also credited with laying the foundation of Hindi economics and the movement for Hindi industrial progress. He added economic ideas to Hindi politics; he gave a scientific and practical form to the idea of Swadeshi and tried to propagate and spread Swadeshi with the help of public figures.

Ranade gave a basic analysis of the problem of poverty in India and presented insightful thoughts on the causes of poverty and the solutions to eliminate it. He explained that the huge population dependent on agriculture in India, the additional stress placed on agriculture due to this, agriculture dependent on the vagaries of nature, the decline of indigenous industries, the lack of capital required to invest in agriculture and new industries, the huge growth in population, and the lack of entrepreneurship among Indians were the main reasons for India's economic distress and poverty here. He asserted that the state itself should take the initiative to promote the Indian economy and give it the right direction.

Ranade's thoughts on social reform

Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade has a very important place in the public life of Maharashtra. He has done a great job in the field of social reform. Ranade led the second generation of top Englishmen in the social reform movement. His important work in this regard is that he set up a definite philosophy of social reform and gave the social reform movement an organized and prestigious form by writing articles, giving lectures, discussions and establishing various institutions.

It is necessary to raise the dignity of man

Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade had said that trying to raise the dignity of man is the beginning of social reform. However, that should also be the ultimate goal of this movement. The ultimate goal of our work is to make man complete by reviving human power. Due to the defects like narrow-mindedness, casteism, inferiority complex, indifference towards worldly life, society has deteriorated to a large extent. Then, only by removing these defects with effort can we bring about the progress of our society.

Integrated thinking of social life

Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade taught Maharashtra an important idea regarding social reform, which is that politics, economics, religion and social work are different aspects of society that are very much related to each other. None of these aspects can be considered separately or can be developed separately from the other aspects; therefore, social life should be considered integratedly. It is completely impossible to separate politics from social reform. If the political or economic progress of the society is to be brought about, social reform cannot be ignored.

Pure intellectualism

However, it cannot be said that Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade's thoughts on social reform were based on pure intellectualism. Instead of intellectualism, feelings of mercy, justice, philanthropy, etc. were predominant in them. Old traditions also had a great influence on his mind. He was also proud of India's ancient history. Social reform can be brought about by reviving the good traditions of Hinduism; because the defects that have entered Hinduism or the undesirable practices that have arisen are of later times. He was of the opinion that they have no basis in any religious scriptures. That is why he always gave favorable scriptures as a basis for his ideas about reforms.

Foundation of Institutional Life

Another important achievement of Ranade in the field of social reform is that he laid the foundation of institutional life in Maharashtra. The credit for the excellent integration of the institutional life of Maharashtra is given to Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade. Keeping the goal of social reform in mind, he established many social institutions with the help of his colleagues. Through these institutions, he worked for a long time to enlighten the general public and create a conducive environment for the work of social reform. Some of these important institutions are as follows-

Prarthana Samaj

On March 31, 1867, Dr. Atmaram Pandurang, Justice Ranade, Dr. Bhandarkar, Vaman Abaji Modak etc. took the initiative and established the ‘Prarthana Samaj’ in Mumbai. This society was initially known as ‘Ekeshwar Upasak Mandali’.

The main principles of this society were as follows-

• God is one; He is formless and He is the creator of this universe.

• Truth, morality and devotion are the ways of worshipping God.

• God can be worshipped through prayer; but prayer does not yield material results. Prayer is to be done only for spiritual advancement.

• Idol worship is the wrong way to worship God.

• All human beings are children of one God; therefore, all should come together in brotherhood; etc.

Although the followers of Prarthana Samaj criticized the defects in Hinduism, they did not agree to separate themselves from Hinduism. They had established Prarthana Samaj with the aim of trying to remove its defects while remaining within Hinduism.

Public Assembly

The Public Assembly was established on April 2, 1870 in Pune. However, it gained real importance only after Justice Ranade became associated with this organization, i.e. from 1871. Ranade, with the help of his uncle, gave the Public Assembly the form of a political organization and through it carried out many works of public interest.

Indian Social Council

Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade took the initiative to establish the ‘Indian Social Council’ with the aim of giving priority to social issues and paving the way for social reform. The Social Council was first held in the third session of the Indian National Congress in 1887. It was organized in the pavilion of the Congress session itself. Its leader had proposed that the Congress should focus on social issues along with political issues. For the first few years, social councils were held in the pavilion of the Congress session itself; but during the Pune session of the Congress in 1895, some groups strongly opposed holding social councils in the Congress pavilion. From that time on, social councils started being organized separately. Ranade played an important role in organizing social councils.

Associated with many organizations

Apart from this, Ranade participated in the establishment of many organizations such as the Elocution Society, Native General Library, Female High School, Vasant Lecture Series, etc. He was also involved in the establishment of the ‘Industrial Association of Western India’. Industrial conferences were held on behalf of this organization to promote the industrial development of India.

Support for the Age of Consent Bill

Ranade openly supported many social reforms. He was a supporter of widow marriage. He was a prominent member of the ‘Widow Marriage Promotion Board’ formed in Bombay in 1865. He also supported the Age of Consent Bill.

Justice Ranade was also a great scholar of history. He wrote the book ‘Rise of the Maratha Power’, which proved his analytical view of history.

Death – 16 January 1901 in Bombay.