Shridhar Venkatesh Ketkar

Shridhar Venkatesh Ketkar was a prominent Marathi sociologist, historian and novelist who made significant contributions to the study of Indian history, culture and society. He was born on February 2, 1884 in Raipur, Central Provinces, British India. He belonged to a Marathi Hindu family of the Chitpavan Brahmin caste. He received his education at Wilson College, Bombay and then went to the United States in 1906 to pursue his PhD at Cornell University. He completed his doctoral thesis on The History of Caste in India in 1911 and returned to India after a brief stay in London, where he met his future wife Edith Kohn. He started his career as a professor of economics, science of administration and universal jurisprudence at Calcutta University. In 1920, he married Edith Kohn, who was a German Jewish woman. She changed her name to Sheelavati Ketkar after the wedding and became a proficient Marathi speaker and writer. She also translated Moriz Winternitz's A History of Indian Literature from English into German for her husband's private use. The couple adopted two children and lived in Pune. Mrs Ketkar wrote a memoir about her husband's life and work, which was published after his death. Ketkar was a prolific writer and scholar who wrote several books and articles on various aspects of Indian history, culture and society. He was especially interested in the origins and development of the caste system, Hinduism, Indian economics and law. Some of his notable works are An Essay on Hinduism, An Essay on Indian Economics, Hindu Law and the Methods and Principles of the Historical Study Thereof, Nishastranche Rajkaran (Politics of the Unarmed), Victorious India and Pracheen Maharashtra: Shaatvahan Parva (Ancient Maharashtra: The Shaatvahan Period). He also served as the president of two Marathi literary conventions, namely the Sharadopasak Sammelan in 1926 and the Maharashtra Sahitya Sammelan in 1931. Ketkar's most remarkable achievement was the creation of Maharashtriya Jnanakosha, the first-ever encyclopedia in the Marathi language. He conceived the idea of compiling an encyclopedia that would cover all aspects of knowledge related to Maharashtra and its people. He formed an encyclopaedia committee in 1916 and worked as the chief editor, accountant and general manager of the project. He faced many difficulties and challenges in collecting funds, finding contributors, editing articles and publishing volumes. He devoted twelve years of his life to this monumental work and completed 22 volumes out of the planned 30 before his death. He wrote an account of his experiences about this project in his book Majhe Bara Varshanche Kam, Urph Jnanakosh Mandalacha Itihas (Twelve Years of My Work, or the History of the Encyclopaedia Committee). Ketkar was a diabetic and suffered from a gangrenous wound in his leg. He died on April 10, 1937 in Pune at the age of 53. He was cremated according to Hindu rites and his ashes were immersed in the Godavari river. He was mourned by many people who admired his scholarship and dedication. His wife continued his legacy by publishing some of his unfinished works and donating his personal library to Wilson College. A biography of Ketkar was written by D. N. Gokhale, who was his friend and colleague. Ketkar is remembered as one of the most eminent Marathi intellectuals of the 20th century and a pioneer of encyclopedic writing in India.