Nanaji Deshmukh Age, Death, Wife, Family, Biography & More

Bio/Wiki
Real Name	Chandikadas Amritrao Deshmukh
Nickname(s)	Nanaji, Nana Bhai
Profession(s)	Activist, Politician
Famous For	• Working in the fields of health, education, and rural development • Being posthumously awarded the highest civilian honour of India, the Bharat Ratna
Politics
Political Party	Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS)
Political Journey	1950s - 1977: General Secretary of Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS) 1977: Member of the Lok Sabha from Balrampur (U.P.) constituency 1999: Nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the NDA Government
Awards, Honours	• Padma Vibhushan (1999) • Dnyaneswar Award (2005) • Naresh Samata Puraskar (2006) • Bharat Ratna (2019, Posthumously)
Personal Life
Date of Birth	11 October 1916 (Wednesday)
Age (At the time of Death)	93 Years
Birthplace	Kadoli, Bombay Presidency, British India (Now in Maharashtra, India)
Date of Death	27 February 2010 (Saturday)
Place of Death	Chitrakoot, Madhya Pradesh, India
Death Cause	Age-related illness
Zodiac sign	Libra
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Hingoli, Maharashtra, India
School	He studied in a High School in Sikar, Rajasthan, India
College/University	Birla College (Now BITS Pilani), Rajasthan, India
Educational Qualification	Not Known
Religion	Hinduism
Caste	Deshastha Brahmin
Food Habit	Vegetarian
Hobbies	Reading, Writing
Relationships & More
Marital Status	Married
Family
Wife/Spouse	Name Not Known
Children	Not Known
Parents	Names Not Known
Favourite Things
Favourite Leader(s)	Bal Gangadhar Tilak, K. B. Hedgewar

Some Lesser Known Facts About Nanaji Deshmukh

• He was born into a poor family. Despite the lack of money, he had a great desire to study and to fulfil his desire, he became a vegetable vendor to raise money for his studies.

• In childhood, he was greatly inspired by the theories of Bal Gangadhar Tilak (an Indian Independence Activist and Nationalist).

• Although he was born in Bombay Presidency (Now, Maharashtra), he spent most of the time in North India, especially, in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh.

• He received his education in Rajasthan. He was so brilliant at studies that Raoraja of Sikar gave him a scholarship.

•  In school days in 1928, he joined the ‘Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’ (RSS).

• His family had close ties with Dr. Keshav Baliram Hedgewar (Founder of the RSS) who was a regular visitor to Nanaji’s family. It was Keshav Baliram Hedgewar who encouraged Nanaji to join RSS.
  

  Dr Keshav Baliram Hedgewar inspired Nanaji to join RSS

• Seeing his devotion, second Chief of the RSS, M. S. Golwalkar, sent him to Gorakhpur as a Pracharak (Full-time functionary).
  

  M. S. Golwalkar made Nanaji a full-time functionary

• After the death of Dr. Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, many youngsters were inspired by him to join the RSS. In Agra, he met Deen Dayal Upadhyaya (Political Leader) for the first time.

• In 1947, the RSS launched two journals; ‘Rashtradharma’ and ‘Panchjanya.’ Atal Bihari Vajpayee was assigned the responsibility as an editor of these journals. Nanaji and Deen Dayal Upadhyaya were made the managing directors.
  

  Nanaji Deshmukh with Atal Bihari Vajpayee

• He always emphasized education and due to his hard work, India’s first ‘Saraswati Shishu Mandir’ (School) was opened in Gorakhpur in 1950.
  

  Saraswati Sishu Mandir Schools were founded by Nanaji Deshmukh

• He had a good relationship with Chaudhary Charan Singh (Former Prime Minister of India) and Ram Manohar Lohia (Activist). Due to this, Bharatiya Jana Sangh made an alliance with United Legislature Party, which formed the first non-Congress government in Uttar Pradesh in 1967.

• In 1969, he established the Deendayal Research Institute and served it after his retirement from active politics.
  

  Nanaji Deshmukh founded the Deendayal Research Institute

• In 1977, when Morarji Desai became the Prime Minister, Nanaji was offered a cabinet portfolio of Industry. However, Nanaji rejected it.
  

  Nanaji Deshmukh (in red circle) with Morarji Desai

• He has worked against Poverty and supported the minimum needs programs. Apart from it, he also laid emphasis on agriculture, rural health, rural education, etc.

• Nanaji carried out many reconstructing programs in the villages of both Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

• He did a lot to improve the condition of agriculture especially in Beed (Maharashtra) and Gonda (U.P.). His motto was- “Har hath ko denge kaam, har khet ko denge paanee.”

• His favourite destination was Chitrakoot, which is situated on the border of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. In his old age, he settled here and lived here until death.

• He became dejected when he saw the pathetic condition of Chitrakoot, the ‘karmabhoomi’ (work place) of Lord Rama. Once, he was sitting on the bank of Mandakini River, he resolved to change the condition of Chitrakoot in his entire life.

• He laid the foundation and served as the chancellor of Chitrakoot Gramodaya Vishwavidyalaya in Chitrakoot, which is considered India’s first rural University. Later, the university was renamed as Mahatma Gandhi Gramodaya Vishwavidyalaya.
  

  Main Facade of the University founded by Nanaji Deshmukh

• Former President of India, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, had praised Nanaji for his services in the society.
  

  Nanaji Deshmukh with APJ Abdul Kalam

• Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has spoken about Nanaji many times and praised his pioneering works in the field of rural development.
  

  Early photo of Nanaji Deshmukh and Narendra Modi

• To spread the Indian Culture, he also travelled many countries; the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, Cuba, Canada, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, and Kenya (Africa).

• In 2010, Nanaji passed away in Chitrakoot Gramoday Vishwavidyalaya. He refused to be taken to Delhi for treatment.
  

  Narendra Modi paying tribute to Nanaji Deshmukh on his Jayanti

• In 2017, the Government of India issued the postal stamps of Nanaji Deshmukh in his honour.
  

  Postal Stamp of Nanaji Deshmukh