Mahadev Govind Ranade (18 January 1842-16 January 1901) was an Indian social reformer, scholar, author, and the founding member of the Indian National Congress.
He was also served as a member of Mumbai legislative council and a judge for the Bombay High Court, Maharashtra.
Early Life
Mahadev Govind Ranade was born on 18 January 1842, Maharashtra, India. He studied at the Elphinstone College, Mumbai. In 1862, he competed his B. A. degree from the University of Mumbai. And after four years, he obtained his LLB degree from the Government law college, in 1866.
In 1871, he became a subordinate judge in Pune. His promotion to the Bombay high court was delayed until 1895 because of his political activities.
It was he who also helped to form the Indian National Congress party, in 1885.
In December 1885, Justice Ranade couldn’t become an official delegate to India’s National Congress, but he helped to bring the first 73 delegates to Bombay for an inaugural meeting of what would become India’s most important political organization.
In 1895, While Congress and Social Conference were both in Pune, Tilak protested Ranade and Gokhale’s attempts to hold their Social Conference in the tent for which he had collected funds as “joint secretary” of the Congress.
He became a member of a committee that tallied national and local expenditures and came up with recommendations for stabilizing the economy, in 1897. He got Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire for his work on the committee.
Notable works
Along with his friends Atmaram Pandurang, Bal Mangesh Wagle, and Vaman Abaji Modak, he co-founded Prarthana Samaj to preach Vedic theism. As well, he founded the Poona Sarvajanik Sabha and the Ahmednagar Education Society.
His most famous work was starting the Social Conference movement, which he supported all his life. He was a strong supporter of widow remarriage, female education, and child marriage abolition.
Maharashtra’s oldest girls’ high school was established by Ranade, Vaman Abaji Modak, and historian Dr. R.G. Bhandarkar in 1885.
In 1900, he also wrote books on Indian economics and Maratha history, including Rise of the Maratha Power.
Death
He died on 16 January 1901, in Poona, India.
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