Personalities - Mahatma Jyotirao Govindrao Phule & Pandurang Mahadev Bapat 20.11.1977

Mahatma Jyotirao Govindrao Phule (11 April 1827 – 28 November 1890) was an Indian activist, thinker, social reformer, writer and theologist from Maharashtra. He and his wife, Savitribai Phule, were pioneers of women's education in India. His work extended to many fields including education, agriculture, caste system, women and widow upliftment and removal of untouchability. He is most known for his efforts to educate women and the lower castes as well as the masses. He, after educating his wife, opened the first school for girls in India in August 1848.

In September 1873, Jyotirao, along with his followers, formed the Satyashodhak Samaj (Society of Seekers of Truth) to attain equal rights for peasants and the lower caste and his contributions to the field of education. Phule is regarded as an important figure of the Social Reform Movement in Maharashtra.

Pandurang Mahadev Bapat, popularly known as 'Senapati Bapat'- owing to his revolutionarty role in the freedom struggle- was born on November 12, 1880 in Parner (Maharashtra). He had a brilliant academic career and after graduation proceeded to England for studies in Engineering on a scholarship. He campaigned in England for India's independence and these activities led to the Bombay University withdrawing the scholarship. Bapat returned to India in 1908 and went to Calcutta to meet the Maniktola group of revolutionaries in Bengal. Later he went underground for four years to avoid arrest in the Maniktola Bomb case. From 1913 to 1920, Bapat engaged himself in social work. He took an active part in politics and was the sub-editor of Lokmanya Tilak's 'Maratha'. Bapat's life was a saga of struggle and suffering. He led the famous 'Mulshi Satyagraha'. The movement was so revolutionary that it earned him the title 'Senapati'. He spent nearly two decades in prison for his part in the freedom struggle. After independence, Bapat played a significant role in the struggle for Samyukta Maharashtra and took part in the Goa liberation movement. Senapati Bapat was also an erudite scholar. His published works include commentaries on Bhagwat Gita and the Upanishads and translatios from Sri Aurobindo. Bapat died on November 28, 1967.