Maharashtra has always produced statesmen, warriors, scientists,
literateurs that have distinguished themselves not only in their native
Maharashtra but in the whole of India. The Great Shivaji of course
comes to the mind of every true Maharashtrian. In fact, despite the
attempts of his detractors to denigrate his image, Shivaji was, it has
been established, a warrior of the stature of Alexander the Great. There
have been hundreds of others in different fields.
The late Shri Y. B. Chavan, was one of such national leader, who
transcended the borders of Maharashtra. The famous poet, the late Shri
Shripad Krishna Kolhatkar, has described this trait of Maharashtrians in
his famous poem on Maharashtra in the following words, Deekeâeb#eeheg{efle efpeLes
ieieve "WieCes (the sky is the limit for the ambitious).
It would be no exaggeration here to assert that Shri Y. B. Chavan was
one of the very few leaders in Maharashtra, who could easily be included
in the galaxy of the political luminaries like Dadabhai Naoroji, Mahadev
Govind Ranade, Gopalkrishna Gokhale and Bal Gangadhar Tilak. But, the
personality of Shri Y. B. Chavan differed from the above giants of Indian
politics, inasmuch as that his roots were in rural ambient of Maharashtra
where he familiarised himself with the conditions of the toiling masses
and hardworking peasantry who form the backbone of this country. This
rural background stood him in good stead in his career in adopting a
realistic and down-to-earth approach to problems facing him.
After an apprenticeship as a freedom-fighter, during the forties and
a couple of jail terms, Shri Chavan was rather hesitant about the future
course of action. In the jail he was introduced to the writin