Baba Amte was last follower of Mahatma Gandhi

The mortal remains of noted social activist and Magsaysay award winner Murlidhar Devidas Amte, fondly known as Baba Amte, will be laid to rest tomorrow morning, family sources said.

Amte (94) breathed his last around 0415 hours at Anandvan Ashram, the abode for leprosy patients, in Warora taluka of Chandrapur district in Maharashtra, his eldest son Dr Vikas Amte told PTI.

President Pratibha Patil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condoled the death describing him as a "saint" and a "Gandhian of our times" who committed his life to the welfare of the destitutes.

"Baba Amte is a great example of a person who committed his life for the welfare of the destitute and needy," the President, who is on a visit to Jalgaon, said in her condolence message.

The Prime Minister, in his condolence message, described Amte as a "legend", and said the Gandhi Peace Prize winner's work in the upliftment of leprosy patients puts him in a "unique class of great national figures."

"It is with a deep sense of grief and loss that I heard the demise of Baba Amte. A true Gandhian who worked hard to uphold Gandhian values in their true spirit, Baba Amte became a legend in his own lifetime," the Prime Minister said.

He said Amte's efforts to unite people on national and Gandhian values and to eliminate all forms of discrimination and bias makes him a "saint of our times".

Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and social activists including Medha Patkar would be attending the funeral.

Amte's daughter Sheetal was in Sri Lanka and is returning today after which the family members will decide on whether he should be cremated or buried, Vikas said.

Baba had earlier expressed his desire that his body be buried instead of being cremated, he added.

Amte was the last follower of Mahatma Gandhi

'Charity Destroys, Work Builds' was the mantra of the last of India's great social activists, Baba Amte, revered as a saint in his lifetime and as a god by the thousands of lepers he cared for.

Innumerable awards, including Padma Vibhushan and the Magsaysay Award, came the way of 94-year old Baba Amte who once allowed bacilli from a leprosy patient to be injected into him for further tests, justifying the title abhaysadhak given to him by Mahatma Gandhi.

Born on December 26, 1914 in Wardha district of Maharashtra, Amte trained as a lawyer and participated in the freedom struggle against the British empire. He spent time at Mahatma Gandhi's ashram in Sevagram, and was also influenced by Vinoba Bhave, Rabindranath Tagore, and Sane Guruji.

Amte's life was the story of one man's colourful odyssey to conquer his own fears and expand the notion of justice and peace through innovative experiments. His most famous experiment was the Anandwan -- Forest of Joy -- where he breathed his last today after battling cancer.

Amte's admirers included the Dalai Lama who described his work as practical compassion, real transformation and the proper way to develop India.

Baba Amte will also be remembered for his many peace and justice marches across India, his solidarity with the aborigine tribes, and his opposition to big dams like the Sardar Sarovar project on Narmada river.

Right from his childhood days, Amte rebelled against the prevailing injustice and discrimination in the society on the basis of birth, caste and creed. After completing his education in Law successfully, he decided to disown his paternal property and pursue emancipation of leprosy patients single-mindedly.

Amte, who did a leprosy orientation course at the Calcutta School of Tropical Medicine, started the Anandwan commune for leprosy patients, with his wife Sadhana, two sons and six leprosy patients.

Anandwan soon became the nerve centre of Amte's relentless crusade, helping leprosy patients become self-confident people capable of co-operative and creative leadership.

With a view to bring about national integration and check communal violence, Baba Amte took up the Bharat Jodo Yatra in December 1985 from Kanyakumari to Jammu and covered different states, reiterating his plea for checking religious fundamentalism, linguistic and territorial bickering and keeping the country above individuals.

He was honoured with several national and international awards including the Padma Shree (1971), the Jamnalal Bajaj Award (1979), the Magsaysay Award (1985), Welfare of the disabled award (1986), the Padma Vibhushan (1986), the GD Birla International Award (1988) and the Gandhi Peace Prize (2000), for his selfless service to the deprived segments of the society.

The Dr Ambedkar International Award for Social Change was given to Amte in 1999 for espousing the cause of the exploited and the underprivileged and fighting against injustice and inequality.

Amte, often referred to as the last follower of Mahatma Gandhi, said there was no alternative to the Father of the Nation. "Gandhiji established a permanent relationship with the common man with a thread and spinning wheel. He could start a mass movement with a pinch of salt," he said.

In a nation which many say has slipped out of Gandhism's clasp, Baba Amte rigidly held firm to the Mahatma's ideals and demonstrated it thorugh his firm belief in village industry, empowerment of the people and leading a spartan life.

He wore khadi woven from the looms of the Anandwan rehabilitation centre and ate fruits and vegetables cultivated there. Amte rarely missed an opportunity to acknowledge his wife Sadhana's contribution to his work.

Amte's sons, Vikas and Prakash, are doctors and have followed in his footsteps. Vikas looks after Anandwan and Prakash works for the welfare of the Madia and Gond tribes in Hemalkasa in Vidarbha.