About Prabodhankar Keshav Sitaram Thackeray

Prabodhankar Keshav Sitaram Thackeray (September 17, 1885 – November 20, 1973) was a prolific social reformer, journalist, historian, and a critical figure in the movement to establish the state of Maharashtra. Known by his pen name Prabodhankar, he was a fierce advocate against caste discrimination and religious enslavement.

Early Life and Family

Birth: He was born in Panvel, Raigad district (then part of the Bombay Presidency), into a Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu family.
Family Name: His family’s original traditional surname was Dhodapkar; his father later used Panvelkar before changing it to Thakre.
Anglicized Name: Keshav later changed the spelling to “Thackeray” out of admiration for the British author William Makepeace Thackeray.
Education: His early schooling took place in Panvel, Kalyan, and Baramati. He later attended Victoria High School in Dewas and Calcutta University.
Early Adversity: His father passed away during a plague epidemic in 1902 when Keshav was still a teenager.

Professional and Social Journey

Before becoming a prominent activist, Thackeray worked in diverse fields, including machine repair, photography, painting, and teaching English.

He founded and ran several magazines, most notably Prabodhan ("Awakening"), from which he derived his famous title.

Inspired by reformers like Jyotirao Phule and Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj, he campaigned aggressively against:

He famously protested a marriage by setting fire to a marriage tent after seeing a young girl being married to an elderly man.

He used his oratory and writing to combat these social evils.

He was a vocal opponent of Brahmin priesthood dominance, which he believed led to the decline of Hindu unity.

He was a keen historian of the Maratha era, writing biographies and historical accounts to instill public respect for Maratha history.

He was one of the five key leaders of the movement in the 1950s that fought for a linguistic state for Marathi speakers with Mumbai as its capital. He was imprisoned for his activism during this period.

While he did not found the Shiv Sena himself, his son Balasaheb Thackeray founded the party in 1966, heavily influenced by Keshav's philosophy of Marathi pride and social reform. It was Prabodhankar who reportedly suggested the name "Shiv Sena" (Army of Shivaji).