Babasaheb Apte

Umakant Keshav Apte (29 April 1903 - 1971), also known as Babasaheb Apte, was one of the first

pracharaks (full-time propagators) of the Hindu nationalist organisation Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), taking initiation from its founder K. B. Hedgewar

. Upon his death, the Babasaheb Apte Smarak Samiti was set up in his honour by RSS pracharak Moropant Pingle, which has been active in commissioning and publishing research on the history of ancient India.

Life

Apte was born on 29 April 1903 into a

RSS pracharak, even before the term itself was coined.^[1]^[2]

Activism

Apte was instrumental in spreading the network of the

RSS pracharak network. He travelled continuously and provided a special kind of help to the pracharaks by identifying and meeting persons of importance to win their patronage for the RSS shakhas. He toured the Punjab province in 1935 and established contacts with both the Hindu Mahasabha and Arya Samaj, laying the ground work for the spread of the RSS in Punjab.^[3]

Apte died in 1971. He was honoured by RSS as a karmayogi.[4] To commemorate his keen interest in rewriting Indian history in the mould of Hindutva as well as popularising Sanskrit, Moropant Pingley set up Babasaheb Apte Smarak Samiti in 1973 for commissioning and publishing books on these topics.^[5] This organisation in due course gave rise the all-India organisation Akhil Bharatiya Itihas Sankalan Yojana.^[6]^[7] The RSS has also instituted a "Baba Saheb Apte Birth Centenary National Sanskrit Award" given annually in recognition of efforts for promoting Sanskrit.^[8]

References

^ "Babasaheb Apte". Archives of RSS. Retrieved 2014-09-25.
^ Jaffrelot 1996, pp. 46–47.
^ Jaffrelot 1996, pp. 64–67.
^ Sahasrabuddhe 1982.
^ "Prof. Madhok's selfless contribution lauded; 11th Dr Wakankar award presented to Prof. Balraj Madhok". Organiser. 5 October 2008. Retrieved 2014-10-10.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ Berti, Daniela (1 January 2007). "Hindu nationalists and local History: From ideology to local lore". Rivista di Studi Sudasiatici. 2: 5–36. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
^ Engineer, Asghar Ali (23 October 1998). "Communal Interpretation of History". The Hindu. Retrieved 2014-09-29.
^ "Future of India in learning Sanskrit: K. S. Sudharshan". Organiser. 30 October 2005. Retrieved 2014-10-10.^{[permanent dead link]}

Bibliography

Jaffrelot, Christophe (1996). The Hindu Nationalist Movement and Indian Politics. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers.
ISBN 978-1850653011
.

Sahasrabuddhe, P. G. (1982). Karmayogi Babasaheb Apte (in Hindi). Nagpur: Phejpurker.

External links

"Works published by Babasaheb Apte Smarak Samiti". granthalaya.org. Retrieved 2014-09-25.

[RSSarchive-1] "Babasaheb Apte". Archives of RSS. Retrieved 2014-09-25.

[FOOTNOTEJaffrelot199646–47-2] Jaffrelot 1996, pp. 46–47.

[FOOTNOTEJaffrelot199664–67-3] Jaffrelot 1996, pp. 64–67.

[FOOTNOTESahasrabuddhe1982-4] Sahasrabuddhe 1982.

[5] "Prof. Madhok's selfless contribution lauded; 11th Dr Wakankar award presented to Prof. Balraj Madhok". Organiser. 5 October 2008. Retrieved 2014-10-10.^{[permanent dead link]}

[Berti_2007-6] Berti, Daniela (1 January 2007). "Hindu nationalists and local History: From ideology to local lore". Rivista di Studi Sudasiatici. 2: 5–36. Retrieved 16 August 2014.

[7] Engineer, Asghar Ali (23 October 1998). "Communal Interpretation of History". The Hindu. Retrieved 2014-09-29.

[8] "Future of India in learning Sanskrit: K. S. Sudharshan". Organiser. 30 October 2005. Retrieved 2014-10-10.^{[permanent dead link]}

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