Consider the following statements regarding Balshastri Jambhekar:

1. He attacked Brahmanical orthodoxy and tried to reform Hinduism.

2. He started a weekly newspaper ‘Lokahitawadi’.

3. He founded the Bombay Native General Library.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

Solution

· Statement 1 is correct: Balshastri Jambhekar (1812–46) was a pioneer of social reform through journalism in Bombay, he attacked brahmanical orthodoxy and tried to reform popular Hinduism. · Statement 2 is incorrect: He started the newspaper Darpan in 1832, also referred to as the father of Marathi journalism. The paper was bilingual fortnightly and also published in English as The Bombay Darpan and stopped publishing in 1840. Jambhekar used the Darpan to awaken the people to awareness of social reforms like widow remarriage, and to instill within the masses a scientific approach to life. In 1840, Digdarshan was started by him, which published articles on scientific subjects as well as history. · Statement 3 is correct: Jambhekar established the Bombay Native General Library and started the Native Improvement Society of which an offshoot was the Students Literary and Scientific Library.