Nanaji Deshmukh
| Nanaji Deshmukh | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Chandikadas Amritrao Deshmukh 11 October 1916 |
| Died | 27 February 2010 (aged 93) |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Alma mater | Birla College (BITS Pilani),VSSD College, Kanpur |
| Profession | Social activist, founder of Bharatiya Jana Sangh Party, MP of BJP. |
Chandikadas Amritrao Deshmukh also known as Nanaji Deshmukh (11 October 1916 – 27 February 2010) was a social activist from India. He worked in the fields of education, health, and rural self-reliance, and has been honoured with the Padma Vibhushan by the Government of India. He was a leader of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh and also a member of the Rajya Sabha.
Deshmukh was born on 11 October 1916 in Kadoli, a small town in the Hingoli district of Maharashtra to Amritrao Deshmukh and Rajabai Amritrao Deshmukh. Deshmukh's career was full of strife and struggle. He lost his parents at an early age and was brought up by his maternal uncle.
His family had little money to pay for his tuition fees and books. He went to high school in Sikar, where the Maharaja of Sikar gave him a scholarship. He studied Intermediate in Birla college (Now BITS Pilani) )and B.A. at the Sanatana Dharma College, Kanpur, graduating in first division in 1937. In the same year, he also joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
Though born in Maharashtra, the fields of his activities were Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Seeing his devotion, the then RSS Sarsanghchalak M. S. Golwalkar sent him to Gorakhpur (U.P) as "pracharak". He rose to be the Saha Prant Pracharak of the whole of Uttar Pradesh (which has now become 8 prant of RSS).
Deshmukh became inspired by Lokamanya Tilak and his nationalist ideology, as well as showing an acquired interest in social service and activities. His family was in close contact with Dr. Keshav Baliram Hedgewar who was a regular visitor to Deshmukh's family. He could discern potential in Nanaji and encouraged him to attend RSS shakhas.
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