Ganesh Srikrishna Khaparde (also known as Dadasaheb Khaparde) (27 August 1854 – 1 July 1938) was an Indian lawyer, scholar, political activist and a noted devotee of

Shirdi Sai Baba Sai Baba of Shirdi (c. 1838? - died 15 October 1918), also known as Shirdi Sai Baba, was an Indian spiritual master and fakir, considered to be a saint, revered by both Hindu and Muslim devotees during and after his lifetime. According to a ...

and saint

Gajanan Maharaj Gajanan Maharaj was an Indian Hindu guru, saint and mystic. His origins remain uncertain. He first appeared at Shegaon, a village in Buldhana district, Maharashtra as a young man at age of 30 probably during 23 February 1878. He attained ''San ...

. Born in a

Deshastha Brahmin Deshastha Brahmin is a Hindu Brahmin subcaste mainly from the Indian state of Maharashtra and northern area of the state of Karnataka. Other than these states, according to authors K. S. Singh, Gregory Naik and Pran Nath Chopra, Deshastha Br ...

family at Ingroli in

Berar Berar may refer to: *Vidarbha, the eastern region of Maharashtra Province, India, historically known as Berar *Berar Sultanate (1490–1596), one of the Deccan sultanates *Berar Subah (1596–1724), a Subah of the Mughal Empire *Berar Province (1724 ...

, Khaparde studied

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

and

English Literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

before beginning law. He graduated with an LLB in 1884, which led him to Government service. He served as a Munsiff and an assistant commissioner at Berar between 1885 and 1890. Closely associated with

Bal Gangadhar Tilak Bal Gangadhar Tilak (; born Keshav Gangadhar Tilak (pronunciation: eʃəʋ ɡəŋɡaːd̪ʱəɾ ʈiɭək; 23 July 1856 – 1 August 1920), endeared as Lokmanya (IAST: ''Lokmānya''), was an Indian nationalist, teacher, and an independence a ...

, he took a keen interest in politics and in 1890 resigned from service to begin his own law practice at

Amravati Amravati (pronunciation (help·info)) is the second largest city in the Vidarbha region and ninth largest city in Maharashtra, India. It is administrative headquarters of Amravati district and Amravati division which includes Akola, Buldha ...

. Khaparde was the chairman of the reception committee at the Amravati

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

in 1897. He attended, along with Tilak, the Shivaji Festival of the Congress at

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

in 1906. He was at this time associated with the "extremist" camp within the Congress, led by

Lal Bal Pal Lal Bal Pal (Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, and Bipin Chandra Pal) were a triumvirate of assertive nationalists in British India in the early 20th century, from 1906 to 1918. They advocated the Swadeshi movement involving the boycott of a ...

trio of

Lala Lajpat Rai Lala Lajpat Rai (28 January 1865 - 17 November 1928) was an Indian author, freedom fighter, and politician. He played a vital role in the Indian Independence movement. He was popularly known as Punjab Kesari. He was one of the three members of ...

and

Bipin Chandra Pal Bipin Chandra Pal ( bn, বিপিন চন্দ্র পাল ; 7 November 1858 – 20 May 1932) was an Indian nationalist, writer, orator, social reformer and Indian independence movement freedom fighter. He was one third of the “L ...

. A close ally and one of the most trusted lieutenants of Tilak, Khaparde's strong and singular personal influence in the Central Provinces earned him the epitaph of "the Nawab of Berar". Between 1908 and 1910, Khaparde travelled to England to conduct Tilak's appeal to the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

. Intelligence reports indicate that along with Bipin Chandra Pal, he was at this time associated with the

India House India House was a student residence that existed between 1905 and 1910 at Cromwell Avenue in Highgate, North London. With the patronage of lawyer Shyamji Krishna Varma, it was opened to promote nationalist views among Indian students in Britai ...

. Later, Khaparde was a founding member of Tilak's Indian Home Rule League in 1916, and was a member of the Congress's deputation to the

Viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning "k ...

on constitutional reforms, with

Vasukaka Joshi Vasudev Ganesh Joshi ( 28 April 1856 - 12 January 1944), popularly known as Vasukaka Joshi, was an Indian Freedom Fighter. Joshi was the owner of ''Chitrashala'' press after Vishnushastri Krushnashastri Chiplunkar. During the freedom strugg ...

. Between May 1919 and January 1920, Khaparde was in England again as a delegate of the Home Rule League's deputation to the Joint Parliamentary committee. During his stay of seven months he made speeches in England. He became popular by way of his wit, humour and mannerism and hence some news-paper described him as ''

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

''. Following the inauguration of

Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms The Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms or more briefly known as the Mont–Ford Reforms, were introduced by the colonial government to introduce self-governing institutions gradually in British India. The reforms take their name from Edwin Montagu, th ...

, he was selected a member of the

Imperial Legislative Council The Imperial Legislative Council (ILC) was the legislature of the British Raj from 1861 to 1947. It was established under the Charter Act of 1853 by providing for the addition of 6 additional members to the Governor General Council for legislativ ...

. However, in 1920, Khaparde left the Congress anticipating Gandhi's

Non-cooperation movement The Non-cooperation movement was a political campaign launched on 4 September 1920, by Mahatma Gandhi to have Indians revoke their cooperation from the British government, with the aim of persuading them to grant self-governance.

. Between 1920 and 1925, Khaparde elected a member of the

Central Legislative Assembly The Central Legislative Assembly was the lower house of the Imperial Legislative Council, the legislature of British India. It was created by the Government of India Act 1919, implementing the Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms. It was also sometime ...

. As noted in Shree

Gajanan Vijay Gajanan Vijay ( Marathi: गजानन विजय) is a spiritual book written in Marathi language by Saint Shree Dasganu. It outlines the events in the life of Saint Gajanan Maharaj. It contains 21 chapters and thousands of verses. Many de ...

, he was devotee of

Shegaon Shegaon is a city and municipal council in the Buldhana district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Shegaon has become a pilgrimage centre due to the influence of Shri Sant Gajanan Maharaj, who is considered a saint by Hindus. Transportation ...

. Many reference texts of his are available in the epic. G.S. Khaparde was also a noted devotee of

. His first interaction with Sri Sai Baba was in December 1910 when he sought refuge at

Shirdi Shirdi (; also known as Sainagar) is a city in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is located in the Rahata taluka of Ahmednagar District. It is accessible via the Ahmednagar–Malegaon State Highway No.10, approximately from Ahmednagar and ...

escaping the incarceration and purge of political dissidents in India at the time. Between 1910 and 1918, his ''Shirdi diary'' recording visits to Sai Baba shed much light on Baba's life, his routine, and his work. G.S. Khaparde died on 1 July 1938. He was survived by his son

Balkrishna Ganesh Khaparde Balkrishna Ganesh Khaparde (1882–1968) was a leader of the Swaraj Party from Amravati, India. He was a lawyer by profession like his father Ganesh Shrikrishna Khaparde who was a close ally of Bal Gangadhar Tilak. He belonged to ‘Tilak ...

, also a lawyer and leader.

References

External links

*. *. *. *. *. *. {{DEFAULTSORT:Khaparde, G. S. Indian independence activists from Maharashtra India House 1854 births 1938 deaths People from Amravati Members of the Imperial Legislative Council of India Sai Baba of Shirdi History of Vidarbha