Bharat Ratna Nanaji Deshmukh

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Bharat Ratna Nanaji Deshmukh- Relevance for UPSC Exam

GS Paper 1: Modern Indian history from about the middle of the eighteenth century until the present- significant events, personalities, issues.

Recently, the Prime Minister of India has paid tributes to Bharat Ratna Nanaji Deshmukh on his Jayanti.
Prime minister tweeted that Bharat Ratna Nanaji Deshmukh dedicated himself towards the development of our villages and empowering the industrious farmers.

About: Bharat Ratna Nanaji Deshmukh was born on 11th October 1916 in Maharashtra’s Hingoli district.
Ideology: he was influenced by Lokmanya Tilak and his nationalist ideology.
- Later, he was influenced by Dr. Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, founding Sarsangha-chalak(head) of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
- Due to this, he later joined and became leader of Bharatiya Jana Sangh and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
National Honours: Nanaji Deshmukh was honoured with the Padma Vibhushan in 1999 and was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna in 2019.

Bharat Ratna Nanaji Deshmukh participated in the Acharya Vinoba Bhave’s Bhoodan movement
- Bhoodan movement was directed towards redistribution of land among poor and landless citizens of India.
Association with RSS and Janata Party: Nanaji Deshmukh was RSS member and a founding member of the Jan Sangh.
- He later became a part of the Janata Party and Bharatiya Janata Party.
Participation in the movement against National Emergency: He was considered one of the architects of Jayaprakash Narayan’s agitation for total revolution against Emergency in 1974.
Member of the Parliament: Nanaji Deshmukh was a member of the sixth Lok Sabha between 1977 and 1979.
- Nanaji Deshmukh was also nominated to Rajya Sabha by the then NDA government in 1999.

A social activist: Nanaji Deshmukh worked in the fields of education, health, and rural self-reliance. His social contribution is especially visible in around 500 villages in Chitrakoot.
Set up the country’s first rural university: Chitrakoot Gramodaya Vishwavidyalaya was established Nanaji Deshmukh in Madhya Pradesh.
- Chitrakoot Gramodaya Vishwavidyalaya is considered to be the country’s first rural university.
Nanaji Deshmukh is also credited for starting a chain of Saraswati Vidya Mandir schools throughout India.