Vithal Krishnaji Khedkar was an Indian social reformer, one of the founders of the

Prarthana Samaj Prarthana Samaj or "Prayer Society" in Sanskrit, was a movement for religious and social reform in Bombay, India, based on earlier reform movements. Prarthana Samaj was founded by Atmaram Pandurang in 31 March 1867 when Keshub Chandra Sen vi ...

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

, and the author of a book later published as '' The Divine Heritage of the Yadavas'', which was one of the earliest attempts to create a historical narrative for the

Yadav Yadav refers to a grouping of traditionally non-elite, Quote: "The Yadavs were traditionally a low-to-middle-ranking cluster of pastoral-peasant castes that have become a significant political force in Uttar Pradesh (and other northern state ...

caste Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...

of cowherds. His work made the case for a Yadav-

Ahir Ahir or Aheer are a community of traditionally non-elite pastoralists in India, most members of which identify as being of the Indian Yadav community because they consider the two terms to be synonymous. The Ahirs are variously described as a ...

narrative of descent from the god

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...

through royal dynasties. Khedkar's book was revised in 1924 by his son, the surgeon

Raghunath Vithal Khedkar Raghunath Vithal Khedkar (born 1873 in Bombay) was an Indian surgeon. In 1959, he revised, enlarged, and published a historical work written by his father, Vithal Krishnaji Khedkar: '' The Divine Heritage of the Yadavas''. Khedkar studied medici ...

, and published in

Allahabad Allahabad (), officially known as Prayagraj, also known as Ilahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi (Benares). It is the administrat ...

in 1959. Hailing from

Ratnagiri District Ratnagiri District (Marathi pronunciation: �ət̪n̪aːɡiɾiː is a district in the state of Maharashtra, India. The administrative headquarter of the district is located in the town of Ratnagiri. The district is 11.33% urban. The district ...

, and a member of the

Gavli Ahir Gavli or Yadav Gawli is a subcaste of the Yadav community, found in the Indian states of Maharashtra and Madhya pradesh. They are referred as Golla in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka. Yadava, Konar, Manyani Nair, Golla and Ahir Ga ...

Maharashtrian caste, Khedkar was born to a family of military tradition, and became a schoolteacher, later becoming a private secretary to the Maharaja of

Bhavnagar Bhavnagar is a city in the Bhavnagar district of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat, a States of India, state of India. It was founded in 1723 by Gohil Koli, Bhavsinhji Takhtasinhji Gohil (1703–1764). It was the capital of Bhavnagar State, whi ...

. He married the daughter of a ''

sardar Sardar, also spelled as Sardaar/Sirdar ( fa, سردار, , 'commander', literally 'headmaster'), is a title of royalty and nobility that was originally used to denote princes, noblemen, chiefs, kings and other aristocrats. It has also been u ...

'', and she became the chief medical officer at Bhavnagar.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khedkar, Vithal Krishnaji Activists from Maharashtra Indian caste leaders Writers from Maharashtra Prarthana Samaj