What is in news : The Prime Minister has paid  tributes to Acharya Vinoba Bhave on his Jayanti.

ABOUT

• Born Vinayak Narahari Bhave to Narahari Rao and Rukmini Devi, Vinoba Bhave had a deep sense of spiritualism instilled in him at a very young age by his religious mother.
• Had read the Bhagavad Gita in his early years and was drawn towards spiritualism and asceticism despite being an academically good student.
• Learnt various regional languages and Sanskrit along with reading the scriptures.
• Read a newspaper report carrying Mahatma Gandhi’s speech at the newly founded Benaras Hindu University, and this inspired him so much that he burnt his school and college certificates while on his way to Bombay to take his intermediate examination.
• Echanged letters with Gandhi before meeting him at the latter’s ashram in Ahmedabad in 1916.
• Quit his formal education and involved himself in teaching and various constructive programmes of Gandhi related to Khadi, education, sanitation, hygiene, etc.
• Took part in nonviolent agitations against the British government, for which he was imprisoned.
• Was chosen by Gandhi as the first individual Satyagrahi in a nonviolent movement in the year 1940. After this event, the unknown Vinoba Bhave became known to the whole country.
• Worked towards eliminating social inequities. He started the Sarvodaya Movement which meant ‘Progress for all’.
• Created the Brahma Vidya Mandir which was a small community of women enabling them to become self-sufficient.
• In 1951, Bhave started the Bhoodan Movement in Pochampally, Telangana.
• Authored several books and was well-versed in many languages including Marathi, Gujarati, Sanskrit, English, Urdu and Hindi.
• Awarded the Roman Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership in 1958. In 1983, he received the Bharat Ratna posthumously.
• Vinoba Bhave died on 15 November 1982 due to a serious illness.