Chandrashekhar Agashe
| Chandrashekhar Agashe | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born |
14 February 1888 Bhor, Bhor State, Poona Agency, Bombay Presidency |
| Died |
9 June 1956 (aged 68) Pune, Maharashtra, India |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Occupation | industrialist, lawyer |
| Known for | Brihan Maharashtra Sugar Syndicate Ltd. |
| Spouse(s) | Indira Agashe (née Dwarka Gokhale) |
| Children | Dnyaneshwar Agashe (son) , Jagdish "Panditrao" Agashe (son) |
| Parent(s) | Govind Agashe II (father), Bhima Bapat (mother) |
Chandrashekhar Agashe I (February 14, 1888 – June 9, 1956)[1][2] was an Indian industrialist[3] best known as the founder of Brihan Maharashtra Sugar Syndicate Ltd.[4][5] The Chandrashekhar Agashe College of Physical Education, the Chandrashekhar Agashe Road in Shaniwar Peth, Pune and the Chandrashekhar Agashe Museum in the Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum are named after him.
Family and early life
Born to the quasi-aristocratic family of the House of Mangdari, a branch of the Chitpavan brahmin Agashe family,[6] Agashe was the son of Govind Agashe II and Bhima Bapat.[7] He was born one of 4 siblings, on 14 February 1888 at a family residence in Bhor, at the time part of the Bhor State under the Poona Agency during the Bombay Presidency.[8]
His ancestors settled the village Mangdari in the later part of the 16th century, forming the House of Mangdari, a cadet branch to the Agashe House of Kolambe in the Ratnagiri district of the Konkan belt.[9] The family owned majority of the land in the village as vassals to the Pantsachiv rulers, where they continued the traditional family businesses of money lending and tenanted farming.[7]
Agashe began his education at the Nutan Marathi Vidyalaya, where he graduated from high school in 1905 at the age of 17.[10] At the age of 26, he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from Fergusson College in 1914, and then a Bachelor of Law degree from the Government Law College, Mumbai in 1921.[11]
Agashe married Dwarka Gokhale, daughter of Narayan Gokhale VI by his wife Lakshmi Phatak, from the House of Talekhasan-Pirandavanwadi, a branch of the Gokhale family traditionally occupied as the hereditary jewellers to the Peshwa Bhat family.[12] She adopted the name Indirabai Agashe after marriage; together, they had a total of 11 children, including Dnyaneshwar Agashe and Jagdish "Panditrao" Agashe with only 9 surviving to adulthood.[10]
Career
Agashe began his career as a teacher at his former school, the Nutan Marathi Vidyalaya, upon graduating from Fergusson College in 1914. He also took up posts as a visiting professor at convents schools in Karachi and Mumbai. Upon graduating from the Government Law College, he worked as a freelance attorney in Pune.[13] Between 1932 and 1934, he was secretary and later president of the Bhor State Council. As president, he provided financial encouragement and legal counsel to small and new business owners in Maharashtra.
During his tenure on the council, in 1932, the Indian government increased spending for the production of sugar, which inspired him to found the Brihan Maharashtra Sugar Syndicate Ltd. in 1934. Through crowd funding, he established sugar cane processing factories in the village of Sripur, and further purchased an estate and the surrounding farm lands as a means to look after his own sugar plantations.[14]
Legacy
Agashe died at the age of 68 on 9 June 1956.[14] He was survived in business by his sons Panditrao Agashe and Dnyaneshwar Agashe.[15] He also gave the starting capital to the Deccan Education Society for the founding of the Brihan Maharashtra College of Commerce.[16][17] The college celebrated its golden jubilee in 1993/94 by opening the Chandrashekhar Govind Agashe Business Motivation, Training and Research Centre in his honor.[18]
The Chandrashekhar Agashe College of Physical Education,[19][20][21] and the Chandrashekhar Agashe Road in Shaniwar Peth, Pune are named after him.[22] The Chandrashekhar Agashe Museum in the Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum was named after him, after his son donated his family collection of ancient Indian musical instruments to the museum.[23][24]
References
- ↑ "Punyasmaran". Maharashtra Times. June 9, 2017.
- ↑ Prasidh Udyogpati Chandrashekhar Agashe (Plaque outside building) (in Marathi (language)). Shaniwar Peth, Pune: Pune Municipal Corporation.
- ↑ "Pune's Pride - 20th Century". Pune Diary.
- ↑ "Chandrashekhar Govind Agashe". Virasat Pune.
- ↑ "The Brihan Maharashtra Sugar Syndicate Ltd.". Zauba Corp.
- ↑ Ranade 1974, p. 52.
- 1 2 Ranade 1974, p. 53.
- ↑ Ranade 1974, p. 61.
- ↑ Ranade 1974, p. 3.
- 1 2 Ranade 1974, p. 62.
- ↑ Karandikar 1992, p. 7,8.
- ↑ Pathak 1978.
- ↑ Ranade 1974, p. 62-63.
- 1 2 Ranade 1974, p. 63.
- ↑ Kelkar, Siddharth (January 4, 2009). "Friends recall ‘royal’ Agashe, despite". Indian Express.
- ↑ "Brihan Maharashtra College Of Commerce - History". India Mart.
- ↑ "Testimonials". BMCC.
- ↑ "About Deccan Education Society". BMCC.ac.in.
- ↑ "About". Agashe College.
- ↑ "Educative pun on fun". The Statesman. August 18, 2015.
Chandrashekhar Agashe College of Physical Education, Pune: With a view to create and educate youth about sport, exercise and physical activities, the foundation of this college was laid in 1977.
- ↑ "Chandrashekhar Agashe College - Topic". Sakaal Times.
- ↑ "Chandrashekhar Agashe Road, Shaniwar Peth". Google Maps.
- ↑ "Chandrashekhar Agashe Museum". Tourism Places.
- ↑ Agashe & Agashe 2006, p. 62.
Bibliography
- Ranade, Sadashiv (1974). Agashe Kula-vr̥ttānta (in Marathi). p. 375. LCCN 74903020. OCLC 20388396.
- Pathak, Gangadhar (1978). Gokhale kulavr̥ttānta (in Marathi) (2nd ed.). Pune: Gokhale Kulavr̥ttānta Kāryakārī Maṇdaḷa. p. 1286. LCCN 81902590.
- Karandikar, Shakuntala (1992). Vishwasta [Trusted] (in Marathi). Pune: Mandar Printers. ISBN 978-1-5323-4501-2.
- Agashe, Trupti; Agashe, Gopal (2006). Wad, Mugdha, ed. Agashe Kulvrutant (in Marathi) (2nd ed.). Hyderabad: Surbhi Graphics. ISBN 978-1-5323-4500-5.