Baba Amte
Encyclopedia
Murlidhar Devidas Amte, popularly known as Baba Amte (December 26, 1914 – February 9, 2008) was an India
n social worker and social activist known particularly for his work for the rehabilitation and empowerment of poor people suffering from leprosy
.
in Wardha District
of Maharashtra. The family was a wealthy jagirdar
Brahmin
family. His father was also a British official with responsibilities for district administration and revenue collection. Amte had acquired his nickname Baba in his childhood.
He came to be known as Baba not because "he is a saint or any such thing, but because his parents addressed him by that name." (as explained by his wife Sadhanatai)
As the eldest son of a wealthy Brahmin landowner, Murlidhar had an idyllic childhood. By the time he was fourteen, Baba owned his own gun and hunted boar and deer. He developed a special interest in cinema, wrote reviews for the film magazine The Picture Goer and even corresponded with Greta Garbo
and Norma Shearer
. (Norma Shearer would become one of his first foreign donors when he began working with leprosy patients.) When he was old enough to drive, Baba was given a Singer sportscar with cushions covered with panther skin! But even then, Amte did not appreciate the restrictions that prevented him from playing with the 'low-caste' servants' children.
"There is a certain callousness in families like mine." Baba says. "They put up strong barriers so as not to see the misery in the world outside and I rebelled against it."
. He soon got involved in the Indian struggle for freedom from the British Raj
, and started acting as a defense lawyer for leaders of the Indian freedom movement whom the British authorities had imprisoned in the 1942 Quit India movement
. He spent some time at Sevagram
ashram
of Mahatma Gandhi
, and became a follower of Gandhism
for the rest of his life. He practiced various aspects of Gandhism, including yarn spinning using a charkha and wearing khadi
.
Amte founded three ashram
s for treatment and rehabilitation of leprosy
patients, disabled
people, and people from marginalized sections of the society in Maharashtra
, India
.
In 1973, Amte founded the Lok Biradari Prakalp
to work among the Madia Gond
tribal people of Gadchiroli District
.
Amte devoted his life to many other social causes, the most notable among which were generating public awareness of importance of ecological balance, wildlife preservation, and the Narmada Bachao Andolan
.
Son Dr. Prakash Amte
and his wife Dr. Mandakini run a school and a hospital at Hemalkasa village in the underprivileged district of Gadchiroli
in Maharashtra where people belonging to the "Madia Gond" tribe live. After marrying Prakash, Mandakini left her governmental medical job and moved to Hemalkasa to eventually start a hospital, a school, and an orphanage for injured wild animals, including a lion and some leopards. Their two sons, Digant, a doctor, and Aniket, an engineer, have also dedicated their lives to the same causes as their parents. In 2008, Prakash and Mandakini were given the Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership.
Baba Amte's elder son Vikas and his wife Bharati run a hospital at Anandwan
and coordinate operations between Anandwan
and satellite projects.
In those days, leprosy was associated with social stigma and the society disowned people suffering from leprosy. There was also a widespread misbelief that leprosy was contagious. Amte strove to dispel the misbelief and once allowed bacilli from a leprosy patient to be injected into him while participating in an experimental test aimed at proving that leprosy was not contagious.
Today, Anandwan
and Hemalkasa village have one hospital, each. Anandwan
has a university, an orphanage, and schools for the blind and the deaf. Currently, the self-sufficient Anandwan
ashram has over 5,000 residents. The community development project at Anandwan
in Maharashtra is recognized around the world. Besides Anandwan
, Amte later founded "Somnath" and "Ashokwan" ashrams for treating leprosy patients.
http://www.anandwan.in/
His philosophy:
I sought my soul, my soul I could not see;
I sought my God, my God eluded me;
I sought my brother and found all three.
's way of living and taru, and led a spartan life. He wore khadi
clothes made from the looms at Anandwan
. He believed in Gandhi's concept of a self-sufficient village industry that empowers seemingly helpless people, and successfully brought his ideas into practice at Anandwan
.
Amte also used Gandhian principles to fight against corruption, mismanagement, and poor, shortsighted planning in the government. Thus, he used non-violent
means to fight the Indian government in the fight of independence.
In spite of his emulation of social and political work, unlike Gandhi, Amte was an atheist.
for a while to live along the Narmada River
and join Medha Patkar
's Narmada Bachao Andolan
("Save Narmada" Movement), which fought against both unjust displacement of local inhabitants and damage to the environment on account of the construction of the Sardar Sarovar dam on the Narmada river.
condition. In 2007, he was diagnosed with leukemia
.
Amte died in Anandwan
on February 9, 2008. Respecting his wishes, his body was buried instead of being cremated
, the traditional funeral of Hindus.
Upon Amte's death, the 14th Dalai Lama, said, "Amte's demise is a great loss to all of us. I am an admirer of Baba Amte. I vividly remember my visit to his thriving community of handicapped people at Anandwan
in 1990".
Honorary titles
Quotes
"I don't want to be a great leader; I want to be a man who goes around with a little oil can and when he sees a breakdown, offers his help. To me, the man who does that is greater than any holy man in saffron-colored robes. The mechanic with the oilcan: that is my ideal in life." (Self-description given to British journalist Graham Turner)
"I am leaving to live along the Narmada. Narmada will linger on the lips of the nation as a symbol of all struggles against social injustice." (About going to the Narmada valley to support Narmada Bachao Andolan)
"One can live without fingers, but not self-respect."
"I sought my soul, but my soul I could not see, I sought my god, but my god eluded me; And then I sought my sisters and my brothers, and in them I found all three."
"The air is not thin yet, so keep climbing." AG
"भिती असते तिथे प्रीति नसते" (Where there is fear, there is no love)
External links
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...
n social worker and social activist known particularly for his work for the rehabilitation and empowerment of poor people suffering from leprosy
Leprosy
Leprosy or Hansen's disease is a chronic disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis. Named after physician Gerhard Armauer Hansen, leprosy is primarily a granulomatous disease of the peripheral nerves and mucosa of the upper respiratory tract; skin lesions...
.
Early life
Amte was born to Devidas and Laxmibai Amte in the town of HinganghatHinganghat
Hinganghat is a town and a municipal council in Wardha district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Located about twenty-one miles southeast of the city of Wardha, the town is located on the banks of Vena River, a tributary of the Wardha River which joins to the Pranhita River, which ultimately...
in Wardha District
Wardha District
Wardha district is one of the 35 districts in Maharashtra state in western India. This district is a part of Nagpur Division. The city of Wardha is the administrative headquarters of the district. The district had a population of 1,236,736 of which 26.28% were urban as of 2001.-History:The History...
of Maharashtra. The family was a wealthy jagirdar
Zamindar
A Zamindar or zemindar , was an aristocrat, typically hereditary, who held enormous tracts of land and ruled over and taxed the bhikaaris who lived on batavaslam. Over time, they took princely and royal titles such as Maharaja , Raja , Nawab , and Mirza , Chowdhury , among others...
Brahmin
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
family. His father was also a British official with responsibilities for district administration and revenue collection. Amte had acquired his nickname Baba in his childhood.
He came to be known as Baba not because "he is a saint or any such thing, but because his parents addressed him by that name." (as explained by his wife Sadhanatai)
As the eldest son of a wealthy Brahmin landowner, Murlidhar had an idyllic childhood. By the time he was fourteen, Baba owned his own gun and hunted boar and deer. He developed a special interest in cinema, wrote reviews for the film magazine The Picture Goer and even corresponded with Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo , born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson, was a Swedish film actress. Garbo was an international star and icon during Hollywood's silent and classic periods. Many of Garbo's films were sensational hits, and all but three were profitable...
and Norma Shearer
Norma Shearer
Edith Norma Shearer was a Canadian-American actress. Shearer was one of the most popular actresses in North America from the mid-1920s through the 1930s...
. (Norma Shearer would become one of his first foreign donors when he began working with leprosy patients.) When he was old enough to drive, Baba was given a Singer sportscar with cushions covered with panther skin! But even then, Amte did not appreciate the restrictions that prevented him from playing with the 'low-caste' servants' children.
"There is a certain callousness in families like mine." Baba says. "They put up strong barriers so as not to see the misery in the world outside and I rebelled against it."
Dedicated work
Trained in law, Amte developed a successful legal practice at WardhaWardha
Wardha is a city and a municipal council in Wardha district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarters of Wardha district. Wardha gets its name from the Wardha River which flows at the North, West and South boundaries of district. Founded in 1866, the town is now an...
. He soon got involved in the Indian struggle for freedom from the British Raj
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
, and started acting as a defense lawyer for leaders of the Indian freedom movement whom the British authorities had imprisoned in the 1942 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...
. He spent some time at Sevagram
Sevagram
Sevagram is Hindi for "A village for service" and the name of a village in the state of Maharashtra, India. This was the place of Mohandas Gandhi's ashram. Previously it was named as Shegaon: it was Mahatma Gandhi who renamed it to Sevagram....
ashram
Ashram
Traditionally, an ashram is a spiritual hermitage. Additionally, today the term ashram often denotes a locus of Indian cultural activity such as yoga, music study or religious instruction, the moral equivalent of a studio or dojo....
of 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...
, and became a follower of Gandhism
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....
for the rest of his life. He practiced various aspects of Gandhism, including yarn spinning using a charkha and wearing khadi
Khadi
The term khādī or khaddar means cotton. khādī is Indian handspun and hand-woven cloth. The raw materials may be cotton, silk, or wool, which are spun into threads on a spinning wheel called a charkha. It is a versatile fabric, cool in the summer and warm in the winter...
.
Amte founded three ashram
Ashram
Traditionally, an ashram is a spiritual hermitage. Additionally, today the term ashram often denotes a locus of Indian cultural activity such as yoga, music study or religious instruction, the moral equivalent of a studio or dojo....
s for treatment and rehabilitation of leprosy
Leprosy
Leprosy or Hansen's disease is a chronic disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis. Named after physician Gerhard Armauer Hansen, leprosy is primarily a granulomatous disease of the peripheral nerves and mucosa of the upper respiratory tract; skin lesions...
patients, disabled
Disability
A disability may be physical, cognitive, mental, sensory, emotional, developmental or some combination of these.Many people would rather be referred to as a person with a disability instead of handicapped...
people, and people from marginalized sections of the society in Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
, India
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...
.
In 1973, Amte founded the Lok Biradari Prakalp
Lok Biradari Prakalp
Lok Biradari Prakalp is a social project of the Maharogi Sewa Samiti, Warora involving a hospital, a school and an animal orphanage. It was started on 23 December 1973,by the social worker Baba Amte in 1973 for integrated development of Madia Gond...
to work among the Madia Gond
Madia Gond
Madia Gonds or Madia or Maria are one of the endogamous Gond tribes living in Chandrapur District and Gadchiroli District of Maharashtra State, and Bastar division of Chhattisgad State India. They have been granted the status of a Primitive Tribe by the Government of Maharashtra under its...
tribal people of Gadchiroli District
Gadchiroli District
Gadchiroli district is an administrative district in Maharashtra, India. The town of Gadchiroli is the administrative headquarters of the district....
.
Amte devoted his life to many other social causes, the most notable among which were generating public awareness of importance of ecological balance, wildlife preservation, and the Narmada Bachao Andolan
Narmada Bachao Andolan
Narmada Bachao Andolan is social movement consisting of tribal people, adivasis, farmers, environmentalists and human rights activists against the Sardar Sarovar Dam being built across the Narmada river, Gujarat, India....
.
Dedicated work of family members
In 1946, Amte married Sadhana Ghule. She actively participated in her husband's social work with equal dedication. Their two sons, Dr. Vikas and Dr. Prakash, and two daughters-in-law, Dr. Mandakini and Dr. Bharati, are all doctors. All four have dedicated their lives to social work and causes similar to those of the senior Amte.Son Dr. Prakash Amte
Prakash Amte
Prakash Amte is a medical doctor and social worker from Maharashtra, India. Son of Magsaysay awardee and legend Baba Amte, he and his wife, Dr...
and his wife Dr. Mandakini run a school and a hospital at Hemalkasa village in the underprivileged district of Gadchiroli
Gadchiroli
Gadchiroli is a town and a municipal council in Gadchiroli district in the state of Maharashtra, central India. It is the administrative headquarters of the district.It is very lush in Monsoon season but also prone to flooding....
in Maharashtra where people belonging to the "Madia Gond" tribe live. After marrying Prakash, Mandakini left her governmental medical job and moved to Hemalkasa to eventually start a hospital, a school, and an orphanage for injured wild animals, including a lion and some leopards. Their two sons, Digant, a doctor, and Aniket, an engineer, have also dedicated their lives to the same causes as their parents. In 2008, Prakash and Mandakini were given the Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership.
Baba Amte's elder son Vikas and his wife Bharati run a hospital at Anandwan
Anandwan
Anandwan , literally, Forest of Joy, located near Warora in Chandrapur district in the state of Maharashtra, India, is an ashram, and a community rehabilitation centre for leprosy patients and the disabled from downtrodden sections of society. It was founded in 1948 by noted social activist, Baba...
and coordinate operations between Anandwan
Anandwan
Anandwan , literally, Forest of Joy, located near Warora in Chandrapur district in the state of Maharashtra, India, is an ashram, and a community rehabilitation centre for leprosy patients and the disabled from downtrodden sections of society. It was founded in 1948 by noted social activist, Baba...
and satellite projects.
In those days, leprosy was associated with social stigma and the society disowned people suffering from leprosy. There was also a widespread misbelief that leprosy was contagious. Amte strove to dispel the misbelief and once allowed bacilli from a leprosy patient to be injected into him while participating in an experimental test aimed at proving that leprosy was not contagious.
Today, Anandwan
Anandwan
Anandwan , literally, Forest of Joy, located near Warora in Chandrapur district in the state of Maharashtra, India, is an ashram, and a community rehabilitation centre for leprosy patients and the disabled from downtrodden sections of society. It was founded in 1948 by noted social activist, Baba...
and Hemalkasa village have one hospital, each. Anandwan
Anandwan
Anandwan , literally, Forest of Joy, located near Warora in Chandrapur district in the state of Maharashtra, India, is an ashram, and a community rehabilitation centre for leprosy patients and the disabled from downtrodden sections of society. It was founded in 1948 by noted social activist, Baba...
has a university, an orphanage, and schools for the blind and the deaf. Currently, the self-sufficient Anandwan
Anandwan
Anandwan , literally, Forest of Joy, located near Warora in Chandrapur district in the state of Maharashtra, India, is an ashram, and a community rehabilitation centre for leprosy patients and the disabled from downtrodden sections of society. It was founded in 1948 by noted social activist, Baba...
ashram has over 5,000 residents. The community development project at Anandwan
Anandwan
Anandwan , literally, Forest of Joy, located near Warora in Chandrapur district in the state of Maharashtra, India, is an ashram, and a community rehabilitation centre for leprosy patients and the disabled from downtrodden sections of society. It was founded in 1948 by noted social activist, Baba...
in Maharashtra is recognized around the world. Besides Anandwan
Anandwan
Anandwan , literally, Forest of Joy, located near Warora in Chandrapur district in the state of Maharashtra, India, is an ashram, and a community rehabilitation centre for leprosy patients and the disabled from downtrodden sections of society. It was founded in 1948 by noted social activist, Baba...
, Amte later founded "Somnath" and "Ashokwan" ashrams for treating leprosy patients.
http://www.anandwan.in/
His philosophy:
I sought my soul, my soul I could not see;
I sought my God, my God eluded me;
I sought my brother and found all three.
Gandhism
Amte followed GandhiMahatma 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...
's way of living and taru, and led a spartan life. He wore khadi
Khadi
The term khādī or khaddar means cotton. khādī is Indian handspun and hand-woven cloth. The raw materials may be cotton, silk, or wool, which are spun into threads on a spinning wheel called a charkha. It is a versatile fabric, cool in the summer and warm in the winter...
clothes made from the looms at Anandwan
Anandwan
Anandwan , literally, Forest of Joy, located near Warora in Chandrapur district in the state of Maharashtra, India, is an ashram, and a community rehabilitation centre for leprosy patients and the disabled from downtrodden sections of society. It was founded in 1948 by noted social activist, Baba...
. He believed in Gandhi's concept of a self-sufficient village industry that empowers seemingly helpless people, and successfully brought his ideas into practice at Anandwan
Anandwan
Anandwan , literally, Forest of Joy, located near Warora in Chandrapur district in the state of Maharashtra, India, is an ashram, and a community rehabilitation centre for leprosy patients and the disabled from downtrodden sections of society. It was founded in 1948 by noted social activist, Baba...
.
Amte also used Gandhian principles to fight against corruption, mismanagement, and poor, shortsighted planning in the government. Thus, he used non-violent
Nonviolence
Nonviolence has two meanings. It can refer, first, to a general philosophy of abstention from violence because of moral or religious principle It can refer to the behaviour of people using nonviolent action Nonviolence has two (closely related) meanings. (1) It can refer, first, to a general...
means to fight the Indian government in the fight of independence.
In spite of his emulation of social and political work, unlike Gandhi, Amte was an atheist.
Narmada Bachao Andolan
In 1990, Amte left AnandwanAnandwan
Anandwan , literally, Forest of Joy, located near Warora in Chandrapur district in the state of Maharashtra, India, is an ashram, and a community rehabilitation centre for leprosy patients and the disabled from downtrodden sections of society. It was founded in 1948 by noted social activist, Baba...
for a while to live along the Narmada River
Narmada River
The Narmada , also called Rewa is a river in central India and the fifth largest river in the Indian subcontinent. It is the third largest river that completely flows within India after Ganges and Godavari...
and join Medha Patkar
Medha Patkar
Medha Patkar is an Indian social activist. She is known for her role in Narmada Bachao Andolan. She has also filed a public interest petition in the Bombay high court against Lavasa along with other members of National Alliance of People's Movements , including Anna Hazare.-Personal life:Medha...
's Narmada Bachao Andolan
Narmada Bachao Andolan
Narmada Bachao Andolan is social movement consisting of tribal people, adivasis, farmers, environmentalists and human rights activists against the Sardar Sarovar Dam being built across the Narmada river, Gujarat, India....
("Save Narmada" Movement), which fought against both unjust displacement of local inhabitants and damage to the environment on account of the construction of the Sardar Sarovar dam on the Narmada river.
Death
Amte was not physically well during his later years. He was confined to the bed due to a severe spondylosisSpondylosis
Spondylosis is a term referring to degenerative osteoarthritis of the joints between the centra of the spinal vertebrae and/or neural foraminae. If this condition occurs in the zygapophysial joints, it can be considered facet syndrome...
condition. In 2007, he was diagnosed with leukemia
Leukemia
Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
.
Amte died in Anandwan
Anandwan
Anandwan , literally, Forest of Joy, located near Warora in Chandrapur district in the state of Maharashtra, India, is an ashram, and a community rehabilitation centre for leprosy patients and the disabled from downtrodden sections of society. It was founded in 1948 by noted social activist, Baba...
on February 9, 2008. Respecting his wishes, his body was buried instead of being cremated
Cremation
Cremation is the process of reducing bodies to basic chemical compounds such as gasses and bone fragments. This is accomplished through high-temperature burning, vaporization and oxidation....
, the traditional funeral of Hindus.
Upon Amte's death, the 14th Dalai Lama, said, "Amte's demise is a great loss to all of us. I am an admirer of Baba Amte. I vividly remember my visit to his thriving community of handicapped people at Anandwan
Anandwan
Anandwan , literally, Forest of Joy, located near Warora in Chandrapur district in the state of Maharashtra, India, is an ashram, and a community rehabilitation centre for leprosy patients and the disabled from downtrodden sections of society. It was founded in 1948 by noted social activist, Baba...
in 1990".
Awards from the Government of India
- Padma Shree, 1971
- Padma VibhushanPadma VibhushanThe Padma Vibhushan is the second highest civilian award in the Republic of India. It consists of a medal and a citation and is awarded by the President of India. It was established on 2 January 1954. It ranks behind the Bharat Ratna and comes before the Padma Bhushan...
, 1986 - Gandhi Peace PrizeGandhi Peace PrizeThe International Gandhi Peace Prize, named after Mahatma Gandhi, is awarded annually by the Government of India.As a tribute to the ideals espoused by Gandhi, the Government of India launched the International Gandhi Peace Prize in 1995 on the occasion of the 125th birth anniversary of Mahatma...
, 1999
Other awards
- Rashtriya Bhushan (Pride of the Nation), 1978: FIE Foundation IchalkaranjiIchalkaranjiIchalkaranji is located at . It has an average elevation of 538 metres .Ichalkaranji , lies in the Pancaganga valley about eighteen miles east of Kolhapur and half a mile north of the river. It is six miles southeast of Hatkanangale railway station...
(INDIA) - Jamnalal Bajaj Award, 1979
- N.D. Diwan Award, 1980: National Society for Equal Opportunities for the 'Handicapped' (NASEOH), Bombay
- Ramshastri Award, 1983: Ramshastri Prabhune Foundation, Maharashtra, India
- Indira Gandhi Memorial Award, 1985: Government of Madhya Pradesh for outstanding social service
- Raja Ram Mohan Roy Award, 1986: Delhi
- Fr. Maschio Platinum Jubilee Award, 1987: Bombay
- G.D. Birla International Award, 1988: For outstanding contribution to humanism
- [Templeton Prize], 1990 [Baba Amte and Charles Birch (Emeritus professor of University of Sydney)were jointly awarded the prize in 1990]
- Mahdeo Balwant Natu Puraskar, 1991, Pune, Maharashtra
- Adivasi Sewak Award, 1991, Government of Maharashtra
- Kusumagraj Puraskar, 1991
- Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Dalit Mitra Award, 1992, Government of Maharashtra
- Shri Nemichand Shrishrimal Award, 1994
- Fr. Tong Memorial Award, 1995, Voluntary Health Association of India
- Kushta Mitra Puraskar, 1995: Vidarbha Maharogi Sewa Mandal, Amravati, Maharashtra
- Bhai Kanhaiya Award, 1997: Sri Guru Harkrishan Education Trust, Bhatinda, Punjab
- Manav Sewa Award, 1997: Young Men's Gandhian Association, Rajkot, Gujarat
- Sarthi Award, 1997, Nagpur, Maharashtra
- Mahatma Gandhi Charitable Trust Award, 1997, Nagpur, Maharashtra
- Gruhini Sakhi Sachiv Puraskar, 1997, Gadima Pratishthan, Maharashtra
- Kumar Gandharva Puraskar, 1998
- Apang Mitra Puraskar, 1998, Helpers of the Handicapped, Kolhapur, Maharashtra
- Bhagwan Mahaveer Award, 1998, Chennai
- Diwaliben Mohanlal Mehta Award, 1998, Mumbai
- Justice K. S. Hegde Award, 1998, Karnataka
- Baya Karve Award, 1998, Pune, Maharashtra
- Savitribai Phule Award, 1998, Government of Maharashtra
- Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry Award, 1988: FICCI, for outstanding achievements in training and placement of disabled persons
- Satpaul Mittal Award, 1998, Nehru Sidhant Kendra Trust, Ludhiana, Punjab
- Adivasi Sevak Puraskar, 1998, Government of Maharashta
- Gandhi Peace PrizeGandhi Peace PrizeThe International Gandhi Peace Prize, named after Mahatma Gandhi, is awarded annually by the Government of India.As a tribute to the ideals espoused by Gandhi, the Government of India launched the International Gandhi Peace Prize in 1995 on the occasion of the 125th birth anniversary of Mahatma...
, 1999 - Dr. Ambedkar International Award for Social Change, 1999, "in recognition of outstanding work done in pursuing the cause of the exploited and the underprivileged, reconciling differences among conflicting social groups and contributing significantly to social change"
- Maharashtra Bhushan AwardMaharashtra Bhushan AwardThe Maharashtra Bhushan is a highest and prestigious award presented annually by the government of Maharashtra state in India.When the Shivsena- BJP alliance came to power in 1995, it proposed to institute this award.The Mahrashtra Bhushan was first awarded in 1996. It was initially conferred in...
, 2004, Government of Maharastra - Bharathvasa award, 2008
Honorary titles
- D.Litt., Tata Institute of Social SciencesTata Institute of Social SciencesTata Institute of Social Sciences is a social sciences institute based in Deonar, Mumbai, India.-History:TISS was established in 1936, as the Sir Dorabji Tata Graduate School of Social Work, the first school of social work in India. In 1944 the school was renamed to its current name...
, MumbaiMumbaiMumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
, India - D.Litt., 1980: Nagpur University, NagpurNagpurNāgpur 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...
, India - Krishi Ratna, 1981: Hon. Doctorate, PKV Agricultural UniversityDr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi VidyapeethDr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth at Akola, in Maharashtra, India is a well known agricultural university in the Vidarbha region...
, Akola, MaharashtraMaharashtraMaharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
, India - D.Litt., 1985-86: Pune University, PunePunePune , is the eighth largest metropolis in India, the second largest in the state of Maharashtra after Mumbai, and the largest city in the Western Ghats. Once the centre of power of the Maratha Empire, it is situated 560 metres above sea level on the Deccan plateau at the confluence of the Mula ...
, India - Desikottama, 1988: Hon. Doctorate, Visva-Bharati UniversityVisva-Bharati UniversityVisva Bharati University is a Central University for research and teaching in India, located in the twin towns of Santiniketan and Sriniketan in the Indian state of West Bengal. It was founded by Rabindranath Tagore who called it Visva Bharati, which means the communion of the world with India...
, SantiniketanSantiniketanSantiniketan is a small town near Bolpur in the Birbhum district of West Bengal, India, approximately 180 kilometres north of Kolkata . It was made famous by Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore, whose vision became what is now a university town that attracts thousands of visitors each year...
, West BengalWest BengalWest Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
, India
- Gandhi had conferred on Amte the title Abhayasadhak ("A Fearless Aspirant") for his fight against leprosy.
Quotes
"I don't want to be a great leader; I want to be a man who goes around with a little oil can and when he sees a breakdown, offers his help. To me, the man who does that is greater than any holy man in saffron-colored robes. The mechanic with the oilcan: that is my ideal in life." (Self-description given to British journalist Graham Turner)
"I am leaving to live along the Narmada. Narmada will linger on the lips of the nation as a symbol of all struggles against social injustice." (About going to the Narmada valley to support Narmada Bachao Andolan)
"One can live without fingers, but not self-respect."
"I sought my soul, but my soul I could not see, I sought my god, but my god eluded me; And then I sought my sisters and my brothers, and in them I found all three."
"The air is not thin yet, so keep climbing." AG
"भिती असते तिथे प्रीति नसते" (Where there is fear, there is no love)
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