Birth and childhood

Baba Amte was born to Mr. Devidas Amte and Mrs. Laxmibai Amte in the city of Hinganghat in Wardha
District of Maharashtra on 26 December 1914 . It was a wealthy family. His father was a British
government officer with responsibilities for district administration and revenue collection.[4] Murlidhar
had acquired his nickname Baba in his childhood.[5][6][7]
He came to be known as Baba not because "he was a saint or any such thing, but because his parents
addressed him by that name."[8]
As the eldest son of a wealthy landowner, Murlidhar had an idyllic childhood. By the time he was
fourteen, he owned his own gun and hunted boar and deer. When he was old enough to drive, he was
given a Singer Sports car with cushions covered with panther skin. He never appreciated the restrictions
that prevented him from playing with the 'low-caste' servants' children. "There is a certain callousness in
families like my family.[9]" he use to say. "They put up strong barriers so as not to see the misery in the
world outside and I rebelled against it. "[10]

Childhood & Early Life

He was born as Muralidhar Amte to Devidas Amte and his wife Laxmibai in Wardha district. His father
was a British government official and his family was very wealthy and prosperous. Baba was his
childhood nickname.
He enjoyed an idyllic childhood and even possessed his own gun by the time he was a teenager! He loved
hunting and watching movies. In fact, he even wrote reviews for a film magazine and communicated with
actresses like Greta Garbo and Norma Shearer.
When he attained the age of driving, his father gave him a Singer sportscar. He was living such a
luxurious life as a youngster!
family
Amte married Indu Ghule (Sadhana Amte).[5] She actively participated in her husband's social work with
equal dedication. Their two sons, Dr. Vikas Amte and Dr. Prakash Amte, and two daughters-in-law, Dr.
Mandakini and Dr. Bharati, are all doctors. All four have dedicated their lives to social work and causes
similar to those of the senior Amte.
Son Dr. Prakash Amte and his wife Dr. Mandakini Amte run a school and a hospital at Hemalkasa village
in the underprivileged district of Gadchiroli in Maharashtra where people belonging to the "Madia Gond"
tribe. After marryingPrakash Amte, Mandakini Amte left her governmental medical job and moved to
Hemalkasa to eventually start a hospital, a school, and an orphanage for injured wild animals, including a
lion and some leopards. Their two sons, Digant, a doctor, and Aniket, an engineer, have also dedicated
their lives to the same causes as their parents.[12][13] In 2008, Prakash and Mandakini were given
the Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership.[14]
Baba Amte's elder son Vikas Amte and his wife Bharati Amte run the hospital at Anandwan and coordinate operations between Anandwan and satellite projects.[15]
Today, Anandwan and Hemalkasa village have one hospital, each. Anandwan has a university, an
orphanage, and schools for the blind and the deaf. Currently, the self-sufficient Anandwan ashram has

over 5,000 residents.[6] The community development project at Anandwan in Maharashtra is recognised
around the world. Besides Anandwan, Amte later founded "Somnath" and "Ashokwan" ashrams for
treating leprosy patients.

Social work
Trained in law, he developed a successful legal practice at Wardha. He soon got involved in the Indian
struggle for freedom from the British Raj, and started acting as a defence lawyer for leaders of the Indian
freedom movement whom the British authorities had imprisoned in the 1942 Quit India movement. He
spent some time at Sevagram ashram of Mahatma Gandhiand became a follower of Gandhism for the rest
of his life. He followed Gandhism, including yarn spinning using a charkhaand wearing khadi. When
Gandhi got to know that he has saved a girl from British soldiers who were trying to rape her, Gandhi
gave him the name Abhay Sadhak (Fearless Follower).
In those days, leprosy was associated with social stigma and the society disowned people suffering from
leprosy. There was also a widespread misbelief that leprosy was contagious. Amte strove to dispel the
misbelief and once allowed bacilli from a leprosy patient to be injected into him while participating in an
experimental test aimed at proving that leprosy was not contagious.[11]
Amte founded three ashrams for treatment and rehabilitation of leprosy patients, disabled people, and
people from marginalised sections of the society in Maharashtra, India. On 15 August 1949, he started a
hospital in Anandvan under a tree. In 1973, Amte founded the Lok Biradari Prakalp to work for the Madia
Gond tribal people of Gadchiroli District.
Amte devoted his life to many other social causes, the most notable among which were generating public
awareness towards importance of ecological balance, wildlife preservation, and the Narmada Bachao
Andolan. He Was Awarded With Padma Shri In 1971

Honoured received
Honorary titles[edit]
D.Litt., Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India
D.Litt., 1980: Nagpur University, Nagpur, India
Krishi Ratna, 1981: Hon. Doctorate, PKV Agricultural University, Akola, Maharashtra, India
D.Litt., 198586: Pune University, Pune, India
Desikottama, 1988: Hon. Doctorate, Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan, West Bengal, India
Gandhi had conferred on Amte the title Abhayasadhak ("A Fearless Aspirant") for his fight against the
British for India's freedom.
Famous Awards[edit]
Padma Sri, 1971[20]
Ramon Magsaysay Award, 1985

Padma Vibhushan, 1986

United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights,1988
Died

Death

9 February 2008 (aged 93)

Anandwan, Maharashtra, India

Gandhi Peace Prize, 1999