# Vitthal Ramji Shinde

Vitthal Ramji Shinde (23 April 1873 – 2 January 1944) was a social reformer, researcher, writer, and advocate for anti-untouchability activism and religious unity Bombay presidency, British India (present-day Maharashtra, India). He played a role among liberal thinkers and reformers before India gained its independence. Shinde is recognized for his efforts in fighting against 'untouchability' and advocating for the education and upliftment of Dalits.

## Early life

Vitthal Ramji Shinde was born on 23 April 1873 in the princely state of Jamkhandi in what is now Karnataka, India. He hailed from a Marathi-speaking family of Maratha origin. His early childhood was shaped by a liberal family environment, where friends and acquaintances came from diverse religious and caste backgrounds. He was raised with the belief that religion extended beyond blind faith and empty rituals; it required personal and emotional engagement in the service of God.
His spiritual awakening was influenced by the teachings of Sant Tukaram, Sant Eknath, and Sant Ramdas from Maharashtra. His intellectual growth was influenced by the writings of thinkers such as Hari Narayan Apte, Principal Gopal Ganesh Agarkar, John Stuart Mill, Herbert Spencer, Max Müller, Chief Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade, and Sir R. G. Bhandarkar.

## Education

In 1898, he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from Fergusson College in Pune, British India. Also completed the first year of law studies and moved to Mumbai (formerly Bombay) to prepare for the LL.B. examination. He abandoned this course to pursue other callings in his life. That same year, he joined the Prarthana Samaj, and found inspiration in figures such as G.B. Kotkar, Shivrampant Gokhale, Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade, Sir Ramakrishna Gopal Bhandarkar, and K.B. Marathe. Becoming a missionary for the Prarthana Samaj, he was later selected to study comparative religion at Manchester College, Oxford, in 1901. Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III of Baroda, a progressive and reformist ruler, provided financial assistance for his travels abroad.

## Adult life

After returning from England in 1903, he dedicated his life to religious and social reforms. He continued his missionary work for the Prarthana Samaj. His efforts were devoted mainly to the removal of untouchability in India. In 1905, he established a night school for the children of untouchables in Pune, and in 1906, he established the Depressed Classes Mission in (Bombay). In 1910, he founded the Murali Pratibandhak Sabha, and in 1912 organised an "Asprushyata Nivaran Parishad". In 1922, the mission's Ahilya Ashram building was completed in Pune. In 1917 he succeeded in getting the Indian National Congress to pass a resolution condemning the practice of untouchability.
From 1918 to 1920, he went on to convene all the Indian untouchability removal conferences. Some of these conferences were convened under the presidency of Mahatma Gandhi and Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad. In 1919 he gave evidence before the Southborough Franchise Committee, asking for special representation for the untouchable castes. In 1923 he resigned as the executive of the Depressed Classes Mission since some of the members of the untouchable castes wanted their own leaders to manage the Mission's affairs. His work and association with the Mission continued even though he was disappointed by the separatist attitude of the leaders of the untouchables, especially under the leadership of B.R. Ambedkar. Like Mahatma Gandhi, he sought unity between the untouchables and the Hindu caste and feared that British rule would take advantage of such divisions within Indian society and exploit them for its own benefits.
In 1930 he participated in the Civil Disobedience movement of Mahatma Gandhi and was imprisoned for six months of hard labor, in the Yerwada Central Jail near Pune.
In 1933 his book Bhartiya Asprushyatecha Prashna ("India's Untouchability Question") was published. His thoughts and examination of the Hindu religion and social culture were similar to those of Dayananda Saraswati. In his writings, he opposed the caste system, idol worship, and inequities against women and depressed classes. He opposed meaningless rituals, the dominance of hereditary priesthood, and the requirement of a priest to mediate between God and his devotees.
Vitthal Ramji Shinde died on 2 January 1944.

### Depressed Class Mission

Shinde was an advocate for the Dalit movement in India who founded the Depressed Classes Mission of India to provide education to Dalits. He laid the foundation of the Depressed Class Mission on 18 October 1906 in order to work against untouchability at the national level. The aims of this mission were:
* To try to get rid of untouchability.
* To provide educational facilities to the untouchables.
* To start schools, hostels, and hospitals for the untouchables.
* To solve their social problems.