Raghunath Dhondo Karve

Raghunath Dhondo Karve (14 January 1882 – 14 October 1953) was a professor of mathematics and a social reformer from Maharashtra, India. He was a pioneer in initiating family planning and birth control for masses in Mumbai in 1921.

Born in a Chitpavan Brahmin family, Raghunath was the eldest son of Bharat Ratna Maharshi Dhondo Keshav Karve. His mother Radhabai died during childbirth in 1891 when he was nine.

He was born in Murud. He studied at New English School, Pune. He stood first in matriculation examination conducted in 1899. He went to Fergusson College, Pune and obtained Bachelor of Arts degree in 1904.

Karve started his professional career as a professor of mathematics at Wilson College in Mumbai. However, when he started publicly expressing his views about family planning, population control, and women's right to experience sexual/sensual pleasure as much as men, the conservative Christian administrators of the college asked him to resign from the professorship. He then devoted himself to the above causes.

On his own initiative, Karve started the very first birth control clinic in India in 1921, the same year when the first birth control clinic opened in London.

Samaj Swasthya

Karve published a Marathi magazine Samaj Swasthya (समाजस्वास्थ्य)^[1] starting from July 1927 until 1953. In it, he continually discussed issues of society's well being through population control through use of contraceptives so as prevent unwanted pregnancies and induced abortions. He promoted responsible parenting by men, gender equality, and women's empowerment and right to experience sexual/sensual pleasure. As an illustration of some of Karve's radical thoughts, he expressed the thought that so long as childbirth and venereal diseases are prevented, women could engage in promiscuity—even perhaps with male prostitutes—for the sake of variety in sexual pleasure, if they so desire, without in fact harming their husbands.

Wife's support

Karve's wife, Malati, supported his cause though it brought them social ostracism besides his loss of his professorial career. She shared the couple's financial responsibility, and the two chose to remain childless.

A Critic's Analysis

Literary critic M V Dhond has written three essays on Karve. In the third essay, he analyses why Karve was not as successful in his mission as much as Margaret Sanger and Marie Stopes, his counterparts in United States and UK respectively.

Karve's mission was not restricted to that of Sanger and Stopes namely happy family life, emancipation of women, control of population. Karve wanted women to have as much sexual freedom and sensual pleasure as men.

Dhond claims contemporary society's objectives were restricted to those of Sanger and Stopes and hence not only Karve's mission has a whole suffered, he himself was persecuted by society at large. There were other reasons too: Karve’s unattractive personality, poor finances and lack of networking skills.

It’s unfortunate Karve was not alive when three major events, that make us understand woman sexuality better, took place-
1. Publication of the Kinsey report in 1953
2. Publication of Masters and Johnson's book in 1966 and
3. Publication of The Hite Report in 1976.
These documents have proven how right Karve was with his thoughts on woman's sexuality.

Further Reading and Viewing

• "Ra. Dho. Karve" (र. धो. कर्वे) by Yashawant Dinkar Phadke, 1981 (in Marathi)
• "'Samajswastya'kar"- a biography of R.D.Karve by Dr. Anant Deshmukh, Padmagandha Prakashan, 2010
• "Maharashtrache Shilpakaar – Ra Dho Karve" -a biography by Dr Anant Deshmukh, (2013)
• "Ra. Dho. Karve" (र. धो. कर्वे) : Vyaktitva aani kartrutva by Dr. Anant Deshmukh (2010)
• "'Samajswastya'til nivadak lekh" edited by Dr. Anant Deshmukh, Padmagandha Prakashan, 2010
• "Mopansa'chya katha" edited by Dr. Anant Deshmukh, Padmagandha Prakashan, 2010
• "Buddhipramanyawad (translated by Prof. Madhukar Toradmal)" edited by Dr. Anant Deshmukh, Padmagandha Prakshan, 2010
• "Asangrahita R.D.Karve" edited by Dr. Anant Deshmukh, Padmagandha Prakashan, 2010
• "R.D.Karve-Mate aani Matantare" edited by Dr. Anant Deshmukh, Padmagandha Prakashan, 2010
• "Shesha Samajswastya" edited by Dr. Anant Deshmukh, Padmagandha Prakashan, 2010
• "Nivadak 'Sharadechi Patre'" edited by Dr. Anant Deshmukh, Padmagandha Prakashan, 2010
• Research articles on R. D. Karve by Dr. Anant Deshmukh^[2]
• Raghunathrao Dhondo Karve – Ek drashta purush – Article in Loksatta by Dr Anant Deshmukh 12-Jan-2003
• Avaghe Ra Dho (अवघे ‘रधों’) – Article in Loksatta 10-Oct-2010
• "Majhe Puran" by Anandibai Karve, 1951 (Marathi)
• "Kahi Ambat Kahi God" by Shakuntala Paranjape, 1979 (Marathi)
• "Upekshit Drashta" by Diwakar Bapat, 1971 (Marathi)
• Marathi novel based on R D Karve's life: "Raghunathachi Bakhar" (रघुनाथाची बखर) by S J Joshi (श्री ज जोशी), 1976
• National family health survey (NFHS-2), India, 1998–99
• The Journal of Family Welfare By Family Planning Association of India
• National family health survey (MCH and family planning)
• Marathi film on the life of R. D. Karve: Dhyasparva (2001), directed by Amol Palekar

References

External links

• Article by Dr. Anant Deshmukh (डॉ. अनंत देशमुख) (Marathi)
• Amol Palekar's interview