Gopal Krishna Gokhale

Not much is known about his personal life except for the fact that he married twice. The first was to Savitribai in 1880. In 1887, he married a second time and had two daughters with his second wife.

He bequeathed his life for a better and improved nation. For the same, he multi-tasked and continued to make contributions in various sectors which took a toll on his health and he passed away on February 15, 1915.

Gokhale was one of the founding social and political members of the Indian Independence Movement against British Empire and his contribution is remembered till date.

Gopal Krishna Gokhale was born in a Chitpavan Brahmin family on May 9, 1866 in Kothluk village of Guhagar in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra.

Despite coming from a poor household, his family was adamant on providing young Gokhale with quality education. As such, he was one of the first few Indians who received university education. In 1884, he graduated from Elphinstone College. Same year, he gained membership at the Deccan Educational Society.

It was in his early years that he was exposed to western political thought which framed and influenced much of his later works and life. His education instilled in him the thought for liberty, democracy and parliamentary system and gave him an important status in the Indian intellectual society.

Following his university education, in 1885, he moved to Pune and became one of the founding members of the Fergusson College. He started off as a professor of history and political economy and soon rose to become its principal.

Meanwhile, politically active, he took up the position of the secretary at the Sarvajanik Sabha, a leading political organization of Bombay and in 1889 became a member of the Indian National Congress.

Unlike other political cotemporaries, he was of moderate views and looked to obtain political representation and power for common Indian through dialogue and discussion. He believed that it was through conversation that he could instil respect for Indian rights in the Britishers.

He regularly contributed articles on nationalism and put forward the state of India under British Rule in Bal Gangadhar Tilak’s weekly publication ‘Maharatta’ to invoke the spirit of patriotism and nationalism in general public. In 1891, he served as the secretary of the Deccan Education Society.

In 1895, when the Indian Congress held its session in Pune, he was chosen as the Secretary to the Indian National Congress along with Tilak. The position gained him prominence in the Indian political circle. Same year, he was elected to the Senate of Bombay University.

In 1904, he was formally appointed a CIE or Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire in the New Year’s Honors List by the British Empire for his services.