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PUBLIC LIFE AND VOLUNTARY SOCIAL SERVICE ORGANISATIONS
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PUBLIC LIFE
If not of foremost importance, at least of prime importance is the fourth estate as it is popularly called, viz., the press. Public life of the district has been enriched by newspapers, educating public opinion, which voice popular grievances from time to time. Though the voluntary social organisations help in creating a healthy social atmosphere, yet the press is the powerful weapon in revealing public opinion. In fact, the press takes a leading initiative in creating political consciousness among the masses. It is the press which discusses freely and sympathetically the grievances of the common man. Ahmadnagar has a long tradition of enlightened public life. The district had been always in the forefront in the national life as well as the national freedom movement. In the "Quit India" Movement of 1942, many freedom-fighters from the district had participated and were arrested. Many luminaries in the freedom movement, such as Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Acharya Kripalani and Maulana Azad were arrested and detained in the Ahmadnagar fort. It is a note-worthy fact that the late Pandit Jawarharlal Nehru wrote his illustrious book known as the Discovery of India during his stay in the prison in this fort. The late Raosaheb Patwardhan, Achyut Patwardhan and Saptarshi have also played an important role in shaping the public life in the district.
The great saints, such as Dnyaneshwar, Eknath and Changdeo have contributed towards the glorification and purification of the public life in the district through the medium of their poems and religious discourses.
Shri Saibaba, the well-known saint, was one of the luminaries who have contributed towards the enrichment of social and cultural life in the district. Shri Saibaba, who, for reasons known only to himself, chose Shirdi as the seat of his meditation and religious discourses, also did valuable work in glorification of the cultural life in the district. A number of social institutions have been started at the instance of this saint. The Saibaba Sansthan which is devoted to she maintenance of the temple has also been on the forefront in the enrichment of social and cultural life in the area around Shirdi.
Ahmadnagar district has given birth to persons such as Shri T. S. Bharade, Shri Annasaheb Shinde, Shri Dadasaheb Rupavate who have contributed their valuable mite for the economic and educational
development of the people in the district. Shri Annasaheb Shinde is an important name in the context of the immense development of the co-operative movement in this district. Shri Bharade who was the Speaker of the State Legislative Assembly has had a definite impact on the social life in the district. Shri Rupavate has influenced the sociological and economic life of the backward classes in the district. Shri Rupavate is striving for the cause of the downtrodden through the Bharatiya Samata Parishad of which he is a devoted leader.
Newspapers : Of the leading newspapers in the district, the Nava Maratha which is published in Marathi, is the most important. Besides, there are other papers, viz., the Nagar Times and the Shetkari Samachar which are published from Ahmadnagar.
As on 31st March 1972 there were nine dailies, 28 weeklies and eleven fortnightlies and monthlies published from this district. Though the means and measures of the dailies and weeklies differ, their aim is much similar and they offer a place of prime importance to the local news and burning political issues in the district. A list of important newspapers and weeklies published from Ahmadnagar district is given below:—
Dailies—
Nava Maratha (Ahmadnagar), Nagar Times (Ahmadnagar), Samachar (Ahmadnagar), Shetkari Samachar (Ahmadnagar), Lokyug (Ahmadnagar), Pravara (Ahmadnagar), Dainik Gavkari (Ahmadnagar and Nasik) and Jagdish (Kopargaon). Weeklies—
Mangal Warta (Ahmadnagar), Sahkar Shakti (Ahmadnagar), Sandesh (Ahmadnagar), Sangh Shakti (Ahmadnagar), Sanghyug (Ahmadnagar), Hind Times (Ahmadnagar), Talwar (Sangamner), Sheti Udyog Jagruti (Sangamner), Navsanjivani (Kopargaon), Jansatta (Shrirampur), Jai Jawan Jai Kisan (Shrirampur), Shiv Shakti (Shrirampur), Satyagrahi (Shrirampur), Shrirampur Times (Shrirampur), Khari Manuski (Rahuri), Dinmitra (Newasa) and
Ganrajya (Pathardi).
Besides, these, there were 141 printing presses in Ahmadnagar district on 31st
March 1973.
Political representation: In the 1967 general election, Ahmadnagar district had two Parliamentary Constituencies and twelve Assembly Constituencies for the State Legislature, out of which two Assembly Constituencies, viz., Shrigonda and Nagar-Akola, were reserved for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, respectively. No parliamentary constituency in the district was reserved for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The pattern of voting in the district in the 1967 and 1971 general elections is given in Table Nos. 1 and 2.
TABLE No. 1—STATISTICS RELATING TO GENERAL ELECTIONS HELD IN 1967 AND 1972 IN AHMADNAGAR DISTRICT (ASSEMBLY CONSTITUENCIES)
|
Serial No. |
Constituency |
Electorate |
|
1967 |
1972 |
|
(1) |
(2) |
(3) |
(4) |
|
1 |
Karjat |
75,754 |
87,330 |
|
2 |
Shrigonda |
68,468 |
80,275 |
|
3 |
Ahmadnagar (South) |
69,985 |
87,777 |
|
4 |
Ahmadnagar (North) |
80,853 |
94,457 |
|
5 |
Pathardi |
92,410 |
1,08,184 |
|
6 |
Shevgaon |
78,870 |
91,989 |
|
7 |
Shrirampur |
70,194 |
85,278 |
|
8 |
Shirdi |
82,501 |
99,431 |
|
9 |
Rahuri |
80,264 |
95,444 |
|
10 |
Parner |
76,422 |
82,879 |
|
11 |
Sangamner |
88,979 |
1,05,812 |
|
12 |
Nagar-Akola |
76,819 |
84,465 |
|
Total
|
9,41,509 |
11,03,321 |
continued
|
Number of electors who voted |
Percentage of votes polled to total electorate. |
|
Males |
Females |
Total | |
1967 |
1972 |
1967 |
1972 |
1967 |
1972 |
1967 |
1972 | |
(5) |
(6) |
(7) |
(8) |
(9) |
(10) |
(11) |
(12) |
26,448 |
25,911 |
20,371 |
19,599 |
46,819 |
45,510 |
61.30 |
52.11 |
18,193 |
22,585 |
11,798 |
15,590 |
29,991 |
38,175 |
43.80 |
47.56 |
24,994 |
27,066 |
22,622 |
24,233 |
47,616 |
51,299 |
68.04 |
58.44 |
28,168 |
27,952 |
22,983 |
21,995 |
51,151 |
49,947 |
63.26 |
52.88 |
31,928 |
32,584 |
26,704 |
27,037 |
58,632 |
59,621 |
63.44 |
55.11 |
29,416 |
33,012 |
25,253 |
28,652 |
54,669 |
61,664 |
69.31 |
67.04 |
24,356 |
31,331 |
20,607 |
27,499 |
44,963 |
58,883 |
64.05 |
68.99 |
31,748 |
39,548 |
29,477 |
36,041 |
61,225 |
75,789 |
74.21 |
76.02 |
28,775 |
31,416 |
28,775 |
31,416 |
23,454 |
34,758 |
65.18 |
58.86 |
22,313 |
27,271 |
17,941 |
25,249 |
40,254 |
52,520 |
52.67 |
63.37 |
31,135 |
35,214 |
31,985 |
28,853 |
63,120 |
64,067 |
70.93 |
60.55 |
27,677 |
26,476 |
24,513 |
21,172 |
52,190 |
47,648 |
67.93 |
56.41 |
3,25,151 |
3,60,369 |
2,77,799 |
3,00,678 |
6,02,950 |
6,61,047 |
64.04 |
59.91 |
TABLE No. 1—contd.
|
Serial No. |
Constituency |
Party-wise number of votes polled |
|
Congress |
Communist |
|
(1) |
(2) |
1967 |
1972 |
1967 |
1972 |
|
(13) |
(14) |
(15) |
(16) |
|
1 |
Karjat |
27,142 |
34,146 |
7,780 |
-- |
|
2 |
Shrigonda |
14,263 |
15,192 |
-- |
-- |
|
3 |
Ahmadnagar (South) |
16,485 |
13,286 |
14,677 |
4,995 |
|
4 |
Ahmadnagar (North) |
22,421 |
31,779 |
15,866 |
16,380 |
|
5 |
Pathardi |
28,316 |
23,126 |
26,520 |
-- |
|
6 |
Shevgaon |
26,610 |
28,097 |
21,223 |
31,329 |
|
7 |
Shrirampur |
23,066 |
30,276 |
-- |
-- |
|
8 |
Shirdi |
22,581 |
33,058 |
18,525 |
-- |
|
9 |
Rahuri |
26,320 |
25,064 |
18,525 |
28,939 |
|
10 |
Parner |
18,814 |
25,900 |
16,451 |
-- |
|
11 |
Sangamner |
28,819 |
46,634 |
27,521 |
-- |
|
12 |
Nagar-Akola |
20,073 |
30,445 |
30,055 |
11,482 |
|
Total
|
2,75,010 |
3,39,003 |
1,78,618 |
92,826 |
continued
|
Party-wise number of votes polled
|
|
Jansangh |
Republican |
Independent |
P.S.P. |
|
1967 |
1972 |
1967 |
1972 |
1967 |
1972 |
1967 |
1972 |
|
(17) |
(18) |
(19) |
(20) |
(21) |
(22) |
(23) |
(24) |
|
8,519 |
8,502 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
7,139 |
1,814 |
6,247 |
19,853 |
-- |
-- |
|
3,205 |
2,405 |
-- |
1,112 |
9,900 |
28,406 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
10,173 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
1,158 |
34,471 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
3,738 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
4,807 |
-- |
-- |
4,149 |
-- |
22,350 |
13,120 |
-- |
-- |
1,552 |
2,285 |
-- |
32,577 |
39,177 |
-- |
-- |
|
3,693 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
528 |
278 |
-- |
-- |
|
990 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
2,226 |
24,560 |
-- |
-- |
|
2,863 |
2,991 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
21,099 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
3,882 |
|
24,077 |
15,450 |
9,424 |
7,075 |
66,547 |
1,80,194 |
13,120 |
3,882 |
TABLE No. 2—STATISTICS RELATING TO GENERAL ELECTIONS HELD IN 1967 AND 1971 IN AHMADNAGAR DISTRICT (PARLIAMENTARY CONSTITUENCIES)
|
Serial No. |
Constituency |
Year |
Electorate |
Number of electors who voted |
Percentage of votes polled to total electorate |
|
Males |
Females |
Total |
|
(1) |
(2) |
(3) |
(4) |
(5) |
(6) |
(7) |
(8) |
|
1 |
Kopargaon |
1967 |
4,75,179 |
1,66,004 |
1,48,068 |
3,14,072 |
65.3 |
1971 |
5,14,941 |
1,68,184 |
1,39,183 |
3,07,367 |
59.68 |
|
2 |
Ahmadnagar |
1967 |
4,66,330 |
1,59,147 |
1,29,731 |
2,88,878 |
65.6 |
1971 |
5,00,698 |
1,60,639 |
1,27,595 |
2,88,234 |
57.56 |
|
Total
|
1967 |
9,41,509 |
3,25,151 |
2,77,799 |
6,02,950 |
64.04 |
|
1971 |
10,15,639 |
3,28,823 |
2,66,778 |
5,95,601 |
58.64 |
continued
|
Serial No. |
Constituency |
Year |
Party-wise number of votes polled |
|
Congress |
Communist |
Jansangh |
Indepen-dent |
P.S.P. |
|
(1) |
(2) |
(3) |
(9) |
(10) |
(11) |
(12) |
(13) |
1 |
Kopargaon |
1967 |
1,38,747 |
1,23,806 |
37,313 |
-- |
-- |
1971 |
1,79,492 |
1,10,000 |
-- |
-- |
6,277 |
2 |
Ahmadnagar |
1967 |
1,42,814 |
92,235 |
-- |
42,075 |
-- |
1971 |
1,52,262 |
-- |
-- |
1,25,527 |
-- |
|
Total
|
1967 |
2,81,561 |
2,16,051 |
37,313 |
42,075 |
-- |
|
1971 |
3,31,754 |
-- |
-- |
1,25,527 |
6,277 |
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