Saints & Reformers of Maharashtra as Moral Thinkers — Practice

Question 1

What does Tukaram's line 'bole taisa chale, tyachi vandin paule' teach?

Accepted Answer

That the person whose conduct matches their words deserves respect. It expresses integrity as the unity of word and deed.

Question 2

What was the motto of Agarkar's Sudharak, and what value does it express?

Accepted Answer

'I shall say what is right and do what is possible.' It joins moral conviction with practical judgement.

Question 3

What does the Pasaydan pray for regarding wrongdoers?

Accepted Answer

That the wicked give up their crookedness, which supports reforming wrongdoers rather than destroying them.

Question 4

What did Gokhale mean by 'spiritualising public life'?

Accepted Answer

Making public service a selfless calling. Members of his Servants of India Society (1905) pledged lifelong service, a simple life and no personal gain.

Question 5

What did Dr Ambedkar mean by constitutional morality, and why does it matter for civil servants? (~150 words)

Accepted Answer

In the Constituent Assembly on 4 November 1948, Ambedkar said that constitutional morality is not a natural sentiment but has to be cultivated. He meant respect for the Constitution's forms and restraints: settling disputes by constitutional methods, observing limits on power and accepting institutional processes even in disagreement. On 25 November 1949 he warned against the grammar of anarchy and hero-worship, and called for social democracy based on liberty, equality and fraternity. For civil servants it means loyalty to the Constitution rather than to persons or parties, due process under pressure, fair treatment of every citizen and the courage to record dissent. It is the ethical foundation of a neutral and accountable civil service.

Question 6

How are the teachings of Sant Gadge Maharaj relevant to public administration today? (~150 words)

Accepted Answer

Gadge Maharaj cleaned village streets with a broom and used kirtans to preach against superstition and for education. His dashsutri begins with food for the hungry and water for the thirsty, a list of basic needs that reads like a welfare charter. For administration, three lessons follow. Service is measured by work done, not status, which matters in field postings. Sanitation and public health are moral as well as technical tasks, which is why Maharashtra named its rural sanitation campaign of 2000 after him. And changing behaviour requires persuasion in the people's own idiom, not orders alone. His life supports dedication, humility and community participation.

Question 7

As Municipal Commissioner, you are ordered to clear an encroachment on a storm-water drain before the monsoon. Hundreds of poor families live there, and local leaders threaten protests. What will you do? (~250 words)

Accepted Answer

The encroachment blocks a drain; left in place, it risks flooding the whole ward, as the 2005 Mumbai floods showed. The residents are poor and have nowhere to go. The values in tension are the rule of law and public safety on one side and compassion for the families on the other, with political pressure as an outside force. Clearing by force at once would be lawful but harsh, and doing nothing would endanger the ward and breach duty. I would carry out the removal, because the drain protects thousands, following Ambedkar's insistence on the rule of law over pressure. Before removal I would survey the families, arrange transit housing and link them to rehabilitation schemes, treating the afflicted as one's own in Tukaram's sense. I would give written notice and time, meet the local leaders and explain the flood risk openly, and schedule the work before the rains with medical and child-care support on site. Law without compassion becomes cruelty, and compassion without law leaves the whole ward at risk; the duty is to protect public safety while treating the displaced with dignity.

Question 8

A district officer finds that a popular local faith healer is treating seriously ill children and discouraging hospital care. Villagers support him. How should the officer act, drawing on Maharashtra's thinkers? (~250 words)

Accepted Answer

The children's right to life and health is at stake, and Maharashtra's 2013 law against black magic and exploitative practices may apply. Villagers' faith and the healer's popularity mean that force alone could provoke resistance and drive families away from care. The officer should first secure the children: arrange medical teams to examine them at once and move serious cases to hospital, with the help of ASHA workers and trusted local figures. If the healer's practices fall under the 2013 law, the police should act on evidence, following due process as Ambedkar's constitutional morality requires. At the same time, persuasion must carry the community. Gadge Maharaj fought superstition through kirtans in the people's own language, and Agarkar's rationalism asks that we say what is right and do what is possible. The officer can involve local kirtankars, teachers and self-help groups, run health camps and share examples of children who recovered in hospital. The goal is not to humiliate believers but to protect children and build trust in public health. Firm action on harm, respectful persuasion on belief and better health services together offer a durable answer.

Question 9

What moral lesson does Jyotirao Phule's verse on education hold for policy? (~150 words)

Accepted Answer

In Shetkaryacha Asud, Phule wrote that without education, wisdom was lost; without wisdom, morality; without morality, progress; without progress, wealth; and without wealth, the Shudras were ruined, all from the lack of education. The verse makes education the root of both moral and material progress, and treats its denial as the source of social injustice. For policy, the lesson is that access to quality education for the excluded is a matter of justice, not charity. It supports investment in girls' and first-generation learners' schooling, hostels and scholarships, and attention to learning outcomes rather than enrolment alone. Phule's own schools for girls and lower castes, from 1848, show that the state and society must act together.

Practice — Saints & Reformers of Maharashtra as Moral Thinkers

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