Chitrakoot ‘Nanaji’

Chandikadas Amritrao Deshmukh who is popularly known as Nanaji Deshmukh has done
exemplary work in the fields of education, health and rural selfreliance. He established
India’s first Rural University at Chitrakoot and developed a model for the development of
rural areas on the basis of integral humanism.

Nanaji deshmukh was born on October11th, 1916 in Kadoli, a small town in the Parbhani
district of Maharashtra. Though losing his parents at a very early age and confronted severe
poverty, he acquired education with many difficulties. He got his higher education at the
prestigious Birla Institute of Technology and Science in Pilani. Nanaji was deeply inspired by
Lokamanya Tilak and his nationalist ideology. He showed keen interest in social service
activities. He established India's first Saraswati Sishu Mandir at Gorakhpur in 1950. It reflects
Nanaji's love for education and knowledge.

Inspired by Lok manya Tilak, Nanaji acquired interest in social service and activities.
Deshmukh actively participated in Bhoodan movement started by Vinpna Bhave. When Jai
Prakash Narayan gave the call for" Total Revolution", he responded by giving total support to
this movement. When the Janata Party was formed Nanaji was one of its main architects. Janata Party stormed into
power by sweeping off the Congress and Nanaji was elected from Balrampur parliamentary constituency in Uttar
Pradesh. When he was offered ministerial berth by the then Prime Minister, Shri Morarjee Desai he politely refused it.
For him politics was never a career but a mission. He was not the person who would stick to politics or office come
what may.Of his own volition he announced his retirement from politics in presence of Jai Paraksh Narayan and since
then never looked back. By spending 2 months with Vinoba, he was inspired by the success and appeal of the
movement.

After retirement from active politics in 1972, Deshmukh then founded Deendayal Research Institute to validate the
philosophy of integral humanism profounded by Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya. Deshmukh developed a model for the
development of rural areas on the basis of integral humanism. Integral Humanism gave a vision for Bharat that, with
an approach to man and his relationship to society that is integral and complementary, could transform Bharat into a
self-reliant and compassionate example for the world to follow. Nanaji implemented the philosophy of integral
humanism to improve the living standard of more than 150 villages of bundelkhand.

Nanaji did pioneering work towards the anti-poverty and minimum needs programme. Other areas of his work were
agriculture and cottage industry, rural health and rural education. Deshmukh assumed chairmanship of the institute
after relinquishing politics and devoted all his time to building up the institute. He was also instrumental in carrying out
social restructuring programme in over 500 villages of both Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh states of India.[1] He
also published the journal “Manthan” (introspection) which was edited by K.R. Malkani for many years.

In 1977, Nanaji moved to Chitrakoot, a remote village in Madhya Pradesh with a mission to create a prototype of self
sustaining model of development based on the concept of 'Gram Swaraj'. After initial experiments in Gonda (UP) and
Beed (Maharashtra), Nanaji finally finetuned an integrated program for the development of rural areas that covers
health, hygiene, education, agriculture, income generation, conservation of resources and social conscience that is
both sustainable and replicable with the aim of achieving self reliance for these villages. Many of the hundreds of
villages that have come under what is now popularly known as "Chitrakoot project", generate their own electricity
through the Bio-energy and solar energy plants. The villages which always faced water shortage today have a variety
of rain harvesting and water conservation methods. Organic farming is not just for experimentation but a way of life
and Chemical fertilizers are no more an inevitability. Women entrepreneurs today, help run many small scale
industries which produce quality goods. All of this with very little support from the Government.

Later, Nanaji established Chitrakoot Gramoday Vishvavidyalata, India’s first rural University, in Chitrakoot. For
suitably running these projects, he developed couples inclined towards social service into SamajShilpis (sculptors of
society). These SamajShilpis are devotedly handling the projects and executing them correctly and in good speed.

Nanaji was also the first chancellor of Chitrakoot University. The University is currently being run by Chirtrakoot
University. The Government of India bestowed on him the PadmaVibhushan for his outstanding lifetime work in social
th
service. After living a long and inspiring life of a social entrepreneur, Nanaji Deshmukh breathed his last on 27
February 2010 at the premises of Chitrakoot Gramodya Vishwavidyalaya. He is remembered by the country as a
great leader, a social activist, an educationist and also as an inspiring social entrepreneur. _
*Information till Jan-2011