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{{short description|Indian independence actvist and social reformer}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2018}}
{{more citations needed|date=June 2016}}
{{infobox officeholder
| name = Kaka Kalelkar
| image = Kaka Kalelkar 1985 stamp of India.jpg
| image_size = 240px
| birth_name = Dattatreya Balkrishna Kalelkar
| birth_date = 1 December 1885
| birth_place = [[Satara district|Satara]], [[Maharashtra]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1981|8|21|1885|12|1}}
| death_place = [[New Delhi]]
| occupation = Social reformer, activist
| office = [[Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha]]
| termstart = 3 April 1952
| termend = 2 April 1964
| alma_mater = [[Fergusson College]]
}}
'''Dattatreya Balkrishna Kalelkar''' (1 December 1885 – 21 August 1981), popularly known as '''Kaka Kalelkar''', was an Indian independence activist, social reformer, journalist and an eminent follower of the [[Gandhism|philosophy and methods of Mahatma Gandhi]].

==Biography==
Kalelkar was born in [[Satara (city)|Satara]] on 1 December 1885. His family's ancestral village of Kaleli, near [[Sawantwadi]] in [[Maharashtra]], gave him his surname Kalelkar. He matriculated in 1903 and completed B.A. in Philosophy from [[Fergusson College|Fergusson College, Pune]] in 1907. He appeared in the first year examination of LL.B. and joined Ganesh Vidyalaya in Belgaum in 1908. He worked for a while on the editorial staff of a nationalistic Marathi daily named ''Rashtramat'', and then as a teacher at a school named Ganganath Vidyalaya in [[Baroda]] in 1910. In 1912, the British government forcibly closed down the school because of its nationalistic spirit. He traveled to the Himalayas by foot and later joined [[Acharya Kripalani]] on a visit to [[Burma]] ([[Myanmar]]) in 1913. He first met [[Mahatma Gandhi]] in 1915.<ref name=agsi>{{cite book|title=અર્વાચીન ગુજરાતી સાહિત્યનો ઈતિહાસ : ગાંધીયુગ અને અનુગાંધીયુગ (History of Modern Gujarati Literature:Gandhi Era and Post-Gandhi Era)|language=gu|last=Brahmabhatt|first=Prasad|publisher=Parshwa Publication|pages=38–51}}</ref>

Influenced by Gandhi, he became member of [[Sabarmati Ashram]]. He taught at Rashtriya Shala of Sabarmati Ashram. For some time, he served as the editor of ''Sarwodaya'' periodical which was run from the premises of the Ashram. He was imprisoned several times due to his participation in [[Indian independence movement]]. With Gandhi's encouragement, he played an active role in establishing [[Gujarat Vidyapith]] at [[Ahmedabad]], and served as its vice-chancellor from 1928 to 1935.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/kaka-kalelkar-and-sarojini-nanavati|title=From Kaka Kalelkar and Sarojini Nanavati|date=2016-04-29|website=The Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute|language=en|access-date=2019-10-13}}</ref> He retired from Gujarat Vidyapith in 1939.<ref name=agsi/> Mahatma Gandhi called him ''Savai Gujarati'', a quarter more than a Gujarati.<ref name="agsi" />

In 1935, Kalelkar became member of ''Rashtabhasha Samiti'', a committee whose objective was to popularize [[Hindi]]-[[Hindustani language|Hindustani]] language as the national language of India. He was active with Gandhi Smarak Nidhi from 1948 to his death.<ref name=agsi/>

He was appointed a member of [[Rajya Sabha]] from 1952 to 1964 and later appointed a president of [[Kalelkar Commission|Backward Classes Commission]] in 1953.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://frontline.thehindu.com/static/html/fl2516/stories/20080815251604400.htm|title=Caste card|last=Chhokar|first=Jagdeep S.|date=August 2008|website=frontline.thehindu.com|access-date=2019-10-13}}</ref> He presided over [[Gujarati Sahitya Parishad]] in 1959. He established Gandhi Vidyapith, Vedchhi in 1967 and served as its vice chancellor.<ref name=agsi/>{{Clarify|reason=Is this a branch of the institution with same name located in Ahmedabad, mentioned earlier in this section? Please verify the claim|date=October 2019}}

He died on 21 August 1981.<ref name=agsi/>

==Selected works==
Kalelkar wrote several books, including voluminous travelogues, in [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]], [[Marathi language|Marathi]], and [[Hindi]]. The following is a partial list of Kalelkar's books:

* Quintessence of Gandhian Thought (English)
* Profiles in Inspiration (English)
* Stray Glimpses of Bapu (English)
* Mahatma Gandhi's Gospel of Swadeshi (English)
* Mahatma Gandhi Ka Swadeshi Dharma (Hindi)
* Rashtriya Shiksha Ka Adarsha (Hindi)
* Smaran Yatra (Marathi)
* Uttarekadil Bhinti (Marathi) (also translated into English as ''Even behind the Bars'')
* Hindalgyacha Prasad (Marathi)
* Lok-Mata (Marathi)
* Latanche Tandav (Marathi)
* Himalayatil Pravas (Marathi)
* Himalayano Pravas (Gujarati)
* Jeevan-Vyavastha (Gujarati)
* Purva Africaman (Gujarati)
* Jivavano Anand (Gujarati)
* Jivata Tehvaro (Gujarati)
* Mara Sansmarano (Gujarati)
* Ugamano Desh (Gujarati)
* Otterati Divaro (Gujarati) (also translated into English as ''Even behind the Bars'')
* Brahmadeshano Pravas (Gujarati)
* Rakhadvano Anand (Gujarati)
* Multi-Part Kaka Kalelkar Granthawali
** Part 5: Atmacharitra
** Part 6: Charitra Kirtan
** Part 7: Geeta darshan
** Part 8: Dharma
** Part 9: Sahitya
** Part 10: Diary
** Part 11: Patra
**Sahijan ka ped

==Recognition==
Kalelkar received a [[Sahitya Akademi Award]] in 1965 for his ''Jeevan-Vyavastha'', a collection of essays in Gujarati.<ref name=agsi/> He was honored with [[List of Sahitya Akademi fellows|Sahitya Akademi Fellowship]] in 1971 for his literary achievements.

The Government of India conferred on him [[Padma Vibhushan]] (India's second-highest civilian award after the [[Bharat Ratna]]) in 1964.<ref name=agsi/><ref>{{cite web|title=Padma Awards: Year wise list of recipients (1954–2014)|url=http://mha.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/Year_Wise_main_25042017.pdf|publisher=Ministry of Home Affairs (India)|date=21 May 2014|access-date=18 October 2015|pages=1, 3–6, 9, 11, 14, 17, 19–20, 23, 25, 29, 32–33, 37, 42, 48, 55, 59, 63, 66, 69–70, 72, 74, 83, 86, 88, 90–93, 95, 99–100, 105–106, 112, 114–115, 117–118, 121, 126, 131, 135, 139–140, 144, 149, 154–155, 160, 166, 172, 178, 183, 188|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/6U68ulwpb?url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf|archive-date=15 November 2014|df=dmy-all}}</ref> It also issued a commemorative stamp in his honor in 1985.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{Commons category|Kaka Kalelkar}}
* ''A Gandhian Patriarch: A Political and Spiritual Biography of Kaka Kalelkar'' (book) by Madho Prasad
*[http://www.indianautographs.com/productdetail-111081.html]

{{Padma Vibhushan Awards}}
{{SahityaAkademiFellowship}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kalelkar, Kaka}}
[[Category:People from Satara (city)]]
[[Category:Indian independence activists from Maharashtra]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in literature & education]]
[[Category:1981 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian educational theorists]]
[[Category:Marathi-language writers]]
[[Category:1885 births]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship]]
[[Category:Gujarati-language writers]]
[[Category:Gandhians]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Gujarati]]
[[Category:Savitribai Phule Pune University alumni]]
[[Category:Indian travel writers]]
[[Category:Gujarati people]]
[[Category:Nominated members of the Rajya Sabha]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian journalists]]
[[Category:Indian male writers]]
[[Category:Rajya Sabha members from Gujarat]]

Kaka Kalelkar - Revision history

->Serols at 16:27, 23 December 2021