Author: Neesha Mirchandani
To the dalai lama, he is an extraordinary person, and to Gandhi, he was the abhay sadhak. He, however, describes himself as “just the mad son of a mad mother”. He is a nonagenarian living legend, a dreamer and an achiever — Baba Amte.
Rediscovering the life of a legendary maverick is “a dangerous thing”, says Neesha Mirchandani. She has exploited all possible sources — existing biographies, reports, documentaries, audio interviews, articles and so on — to make this biography a collective memory of those who have known Baba over the years.
Baba Amte, a lawyer-turned-healer, nursed people with leprosy at a time when it was incurable. “We see beauty,” said Baba, “in the ruins of the Ajanta and Ellora caves. Then why can’t we see the beauty in the ruins of man?... I started my leprosy work to find answers to these questions.”
In 1949, Baba launched Maharogi Sewa Samiti at Warora in Maharashtra and subsequently took a medical training at the Calcutta School of Tropical Medicine so that he could treat people with leprosy. Upon his return to Warora he successfully treated almost 4,000 patients. In 1951, Maharogi Sewa Samiti was granted fifty acres of land, three kilometres from Warora.
Baba set up the samiti’s first commune there and named it Anandwan. He went there with his wife, two sons, one cow, a dog and Rs 14. He turned that stretch of rocky, barren land into a thriving settlement. Some criticized Baba for making ‘the poor disabled’ leprosy patients toil for the commune, but according to him this made them self-reliant and proud of their own strengths. In 1967, Baba moved to Somnath and within a decade, six communes were set up there. He started Lok Biradari Prakalp at Hemalkasa in 1973 to reach out to the Madia Gond tribals.
In the wake of Operation Blue Star, Baba embarked on two national integration campaigns — Bharat Jodo — in 1985 and 1987 to kindle the spirit of communal harmony.
During his controversial vigil by the Narmada river (1990-2000), Baba, coping with a crippling spinal degenerative disease, stayed at Nijbal to show his solidarity with the Narmada Bachao Andolan activists and for state-sponsored environmental plunder. This move came in for severe criticism, and finally Baba decided to return home. He tried to arrange for a peace trip to Pakistan in 2000, but in vain.
Mirchandani has skillfully mingled facts and fiction while portraying Baba and his authority in a gripping narrative. Her approach is simple, but she knows well how to retell a story. Thus, she goes beyond the role of a researcher.
Baba Amte made a simple discovery — “Your work is your life made visible”. His sermon can still inspire many in this country and usher in a sea change.
