Atmaram Pandurang Biography 
Atmaram Pandurang was a social reformer who founded the Prarthana Samaj, a movement for religious and social reform in Bombay in the second half of 19th century, with an aim to make people believe in one God and worship only one God. He also founded Bombay Natural History Society aside Sakharam Arjun, one of the largest non-governmental organisations in India engaged in conservation and biodiversity research. Atmaram was a physician and his full name is Atmaram Pandurang Turkhadekar. His name is credited as Turkhad in English publications.
Atmaram Pandurang Turkhadekar was born in 1823 to Pandurang Yeshwant and Yashodabai. He belonged to a highly educated family with close links to several social reformers of 19th century. He completed his medical studies from the newly opened Grant Medical College. Dr Bhau Daji Lad was his classmate at college. He completed a medical diploma from the college, after which he worked in Bhiwandi, running a smallpox vaccination campaign. He later helped frame Article 14 of the Contagious Diseases Act (1868), and was present in the famous Maharaj Libel Case. Apart from a noted physician, he was a social worker and social reformer who opposed many evils of Indian society like child marriage.
He was influenced by Keshab Chunder Sen, which led in the formation of a new social organization called Prarthana Samaj in Mumbai in 1867. Openly denounce the caste system was one among its agendas, and women empowerment too, which supported education of girl child and widow remarriage and discouraged child marriage. He proposed 20 years as the minimum age for girls to marry. He was selected Sheriff of Bombay in 1879. It’s said that when Rabindranath Tagore was attracted to Pandurang’s sister during his stay in Mumbai, and wrote many poems for her. Pandurang lived in the 19th century during the period, 1823-1898.
Published: January 10, 2019
Updated: January 10, 2019
