Dattatreya Balkrishna Kalelkar (1 December 1885 – 21 August 1981), popularly known asKaka Kalelkar, was an Indian independence activist, social reformer, journalist and an eminent follower of thephilosophy and methods of Mahatma Gandhi.
Kalelkar was born inSatara on 1 December 1885. His family's ancestral village of Kaleli, nearSawantwadi inMaharashtra, gave him his surname Kalelkar. He matriculated in 1903 and completed B.A. in Philosophy fromFergusson College, Pune in 1907. He appeared in the first year examination of LL.B. and joined Ganesh Vidyalaya in Belgaum in 1908. He worked for a while on the editorial staff of a nationalistic Marathi daily namedRashtramat, and then as a teacher at a school named Ganganath Vidyalaya inBaroda in 1910. In 1912, the British government forcibly closed down the school because of its nationalistic spirit. He travelled to the Himalayas by foot and later joinedAcharya Kripalani on a visit toBurma (Myanmar) in 1913. He first metMahatma Gandhi in 1915.[1]
Influenced by Gandhi, he became member ofSabarmati Ashram. He taught at Rashtriya Shala of Sabarmati Ashram. For some time, he served as the editor ofSarwodaya periodical which was run from the premises of the Ashram. He was imprisoned several times due to his participation inIndian independence movement. With Gandhi's encouragement, he played an active role in establishingGujarat Vidyapith atAhmedabad, and served as its vice-chancellor from 1928 to 1935.[2] He retired from Gujarat Vidyapith in 1939.[1] Mahatma Gandhi called himSavai Gujarati, a quarter more than a Gujarati.[1]
In 1935, Kalelkar became member ofRashtabhasha Samiti, a committee whose objective was to popularizeHindi-Hindustani language as the national language of India. He was active with Gandhi Smarak Nidhi from 1948 to his death.[1]
The Government of India conferred on himPadma Vibhushan (India's second-highest civilian award after theBharat Ratna) in 1964.[1][4] It also issued a commemorative stamp in his honor in 1985.
^abcdefghBrahmabhatt, Prasad.અર્વાચીન ગુજરાતી સાહિત્યનો ઈતિહાસ : ગાંધીયુગ અને અનુગાંધીયુગ (History of Modern Gujarati Literature: Gandhi Era and Post-Gandhi Era) (in Gujarati). Parshwa Publication. pp. 38–51.
