Durga Bhagwat
| Durga Narayan Bhagwat | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | 1910 |
| Died | 2002 |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Notable works | Pais, Vyas Parva, Bhavmudra, Rutuchakra |
| Notable awards | Sahitya Academy ( Pais) |
| Relatives | Kamala Sohonie, sister |
Durga Narayan Bhagwat (10 February 1910 - 07 May 2002), popularly known as Durga Bhagwat, was an Indian scholar, socialist and writer. She studied Sanskrit and Buddhist literature, roamed jungles of Madhya Pradesh to study tribal life, later returned to Mumbai as a researcher and wrote books in Marathi. Being a rebel by nature, she highly opposed Government during The Emergency (India) and was subsequently imprisoned. She also had refused to accept literary honors like Padma Shree and Jnanapeeth.
Durga Bhagwat was born in 1910 in a Karhade Brahmin family settled in the then princely state of Baroda. The veteran Sanskrit scholar and social activist Rajaram Shastri Bhagwat was the brother of her grandmother. Her sister Kamala Sohonie went on to become the first woman scientist of India.
Her father was a scientist who discovered the procedure of making ghee from oil. Many American companies offered him the job with a handsome salary which he declined. He offered that technique to Tata only without a single penny considering that a national duty.
Durgabai got also attracted to Gandhism and took part in Indian freedom movement for a very short time. When she realised that she cannot do it for a longer time she left that and completed her studies from St. Zavier College. But she continued to wear Khadi in that period. Her paternal aunt Smt Seetabai Bhagwat who remained unmarried to look after family had a great influence on Durgabai. Durgabai went to Madhya Pradesh for studying tribal culture where she had idiosyncratic reaction to Yam (Elephant foot) for which she was bed-ridden for six years. She could not complete her doctarate course. But she was Durgabai on whose literature many people had doctorate research.
Durga Bhagwat was elected President of the 51st Marathi Sahitya Sammelan, held in Karad, in 1975. She was second woman President of Sammelan, after Kusumavati Deshpande since its inception in 1878.Yashwantrao Chavan,a great congress leader was the host of that ceremony.Durgabai opposed emergency and arrest of Jaiprakash Narayan openly. The Indian Government later on jailed her for the speech delivered by her during the Meet and open protest of the Government of India. She campaigned against the ruling Congress Party in 1977 general election, and remained opposed to it for the rest of her life.After emergency, she was offered an influential government seat by then ruling Janata Party which she declined.She even decided not to accept any state-sponsored honours and declined an offer of Dnyan Peeth, the most prestigious award for Indian writers.
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