Gopal Krishna Gokhale

Gopal Krishna Gokhale

Gopal Krishna Gokhale was born on May 9, 1866. He was one of the most prominent leaders in Indian National Congress at the time of independence. He was also one of the founding social and political leaders during the Indian Independence Movement and started ‘Servants of India’ Society. He was mainly a social reformer. To achieve the aim of independence, he preached two principles known as non-violence and reform within existing government institutions that too through non-violence.

Childhood

Gopal Krishna Gokhale was born in a Chitpavan Brahmin family in the Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra. He was born to Krishna Rao and Valubai. His family belonged to lower class which did not have much money to spend even on basic necessities.

Education

Despite of such financial conditions Gopal’s father sent him to English medium school and he was amongst the first batch of Indians to be studied in English medium school. After passing school, he studied in Elphinstone College. Studies brought clarity in his thinking as he got exposed to western political thoughts.

Career

After the completion of his studies, he joined a school as a Math teacher and being familiar to English language he taught without any hesitation. In 1889, Gopal Krishna Gokhale became a member of the Indian National Congress and started contributing actively on how to improve lives of Indians. Afterwards, Gokhale moved on to Pune and became one of the founding members of Fergusson College, along with his colleagues in Deccan Education Society.

In 1902, Gopal Krishna Gokhale left the Fergusson College and became a Member of the Imperial Legislative Council in Delhi itself.

At the End

In 1905, Gokhale started a new society called "Servants of India Society". There he trained workers to serve for the mission of expanding education in India. During 1912, Gokhale joined Mahatma Gandhi in South Africa to improve the lives of minority Indians there. Gopal Krishna Gokhale was a diabetic and asthmatic patient. Thus, he served the country to his level best and due to excessive assertion, it took its toll on Gokhale's health and ultimately he died on February 19, 1915.