Dr. Muralidhar Devidas Amte: Life and Legacy of a Renowned Humanitarian

Dr. Muralidhar Devidas Amte
“The person who supports the downtrodden or helps the needy…. is the true saint in my eyes.”
●  Dr. Muralidhar Devidas Amte was born on December 26, 1914 in Hinganghat village in Wardha district, Maharashtra.
●  His father Devidas Harbaji Amte was a Lekhpal in government service.
●  He practiced law and after that, he established his own firm.
●  Dr. Murlidhar Devidas Amte was a freedom fighter and a well-known social worker of India, people used to fondly call him Baba Amte.
●  Later, his interests moved towards the freedom struggle and he became a soldier in the freedom struggle.
●  He had to go to jail for participating in the Quit India Movement of 1942. Baba Amte also lobbied as a lawyer for the release of the leaders who were imprisoned by the British government during this movement.
●  He also spent some time in Mahatma Gandhi's Sevagram ashram and spent the rest of his life as a follower of Gandhism.
●  Impressed by his conduct, Gandhiji gave him the title of 'Abhay Sadhak'.
●  During the Quit India Movement, he saw a leprosy patient in Vadodara who had worms all over his body. He was so moved by this incident that his very concept of life changed.
●  He dedicated his whole life to the service, food and shelter of these leprosy patients.
●  Baba Amte tried to remove disbelief and misconceptions and awakened the public that leprosy is not a contagious disease. He used to say that if a healthy person comes in contact with a sick person, he will not get sick and its treatment is possible.
●  He got himself afflicted with leprosy to remove the misconception of the public. He established many ashrams and communities for the abandoned people and leprosy patients.
●  Baba Amte dedicated his life to many other social works like wildlife conservation and Narmada Bachao Andolan.
●  In the year 1973, he had established 'Lok Biradari Prakalp' for the welfare of Madiya Gond tribals.
●  He has been awarded Padma Shri, Padma Vibhushan, Ramon Magsaysay, United Nations Prize in the field of Human Rights and many other awards including Gandhi Peace Prize.
●  In the year 1985, at the age of 72, he traveled on foot from Kanyakumari to Kashmir to give the message of unity.
●  Baba Amte died on February 9, 2008 at the age of 94.