List of Marathi social reformers

Noted Gandhian and atheist Lavanam was the interpreter of Vinoba Bhave during his land reform movement in Andhra Pradesh and parts of Orissa.

[6] Dr. B. R. Ambedkar was a reformer, politician, economist, and scholar, Indian jurist, educationist, philosopher, Buddhist activist, thinker, anthropologist and historian.

[citation needed] In 1990, the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, was posthumously conferred upon Ambedkar.

[citation needed] Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was a socialfighter,politician,lawyer,writer,social reformer and formulator.

Savarkar popularised the term Hindutva, denoting the essence of Hindu, which was originally coined by Chandranath Basu in 1892.

His work extended to many fields including education, agriculture, caste system, women and widow upliftment and removal of untouchability.

[12] In September 1873, Phule, along with his followers, formed the Satyashodhak Samaj (Society of Seekers of Truth) to attain equal rights for peasants and people from lower castes.

[16] Anna Hazare is an Indian social activist who led movements to promote rural development, increase government transparency, and investigate and punish corruption in public life.

[17][18] Hazare also contributed to the development and structuring of Ralegan Siddhi, a village in Parner taluka of Ahmednagar district, Maharashtra.

[20] The social barriers and discrimination that existed due to the caste system in India have been largely eliminated by Ralegan Siddhi villagers.

They have revolutionized healthcare for the poorest people in India and have overseen a programme that has substantially reduced Infant mortality rates in one of the most poverty-stricken areas in the world.

The WHO (World Health Organization) and UNICEF have endorsed their approach to treating newborn babies and the programme is currently being rolled out to parts of Africa.

Son of Magsaysay awardee Baba Amte, he and his wife, Dr. Mandakini Amte were awarded the Magsaysay Award for 'Community Leadership'[27] in 2008 for their philanthropic work in the form of the Lok Biradari Prakalp amongst the Madia Gonds in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra and the neighbouring states of Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.