Thakkar Bapa - Birth Centenary 1969

Amritlal Vithaldas Thakkar, popularly known as Thakkar Bapa (29 November 1869 – 20 January 1951) was born at Bhavnagr, Gujarat. "Bapa" in Gujarati means Father in English. He was an Indian social worker who worked for up-liftment of tribal people in Gujarat state in India. He became a member of the Servants of India Society founded by Gopal Krishna Gokhale in 1914. In 1922, he founded the Bhil Seva Mandal. Later, he became the general secretary of the Harijan Sevak Sangh founded by Mahatma Gandhi in 1932 . The Bharatiya Adimjati Sevak Sangh was founded on 24 October 1948 on his initiative.^[3] When Indian constitution was in process, Thakkarbapa visited remotest and most difficult parts of India and conducted probe into the situation of tribal and Harijan people. He added valuable inputs in the process of constitution. Mahatma Gandhi would call him ‘Bapa’.

Thakkarbapa visited forests in Assam, rural Bengal, drought affected areas of Orissa, Bhil belts in Gujarat and Harijan areas of Saurashtra, Mahar areas of Maharashtra, untouchables in Madras, hilly areas of Chhota Nagpur, desert of Tharparkar, foothills of Himalaya, coastal areas of Travankor with his mission of upliftment of tribal and harijans. He would always travel in third class of railway. Thakkarbapa spent 35 years of his life in service of tribal and harijans.

A. V. Thakkar, known to millions of his admiring countrymen as Thakkar Bapa, led a truly dedicated life. It was, indeed, a piece of rare good luck for India that, early in his life, he should have been, to quote Mr. C. Rajagopalachari's foreword to the Commemoration Volume published in his honour in September 1949, salvaged for social work from humdrum Government service. It was while he was working in the Bombay Municipality that he first came face to face with the miserable conditions of life in which the bhangis, the poor and the downtrodden lived in the towns and villages of India. He did not join the Congress but that great judge of men, Mahatma Gandhi, had no hesitation in entrusting him with the conduct of affairs of the Harijans Sevak Sangh. Thakkar Bapa was a tireless member of the Servants of India Society and did splendid and selfless work for the uplift of the aboriginal hill tribes of Panchmahals; he founded the Bhil Seva Mandal, an organisation devoted exclusively to this field of service. Gandhiji himself and most of those in charge of State Governments, frequently called him into consultation while drafting plans for the welfare of backward tribes. Indeed, there has been no big revival or uplift movement in which Thakkar Bapa has not played a useful part. He scorned delights and lived laborious days.