Narhar Ambadas Kurundkar

Kurundkar died due to a heart attack on 10 February 1982 while giving a public speech on Indian music at Aurangabad.

In a span of just fifty years, Acharya Kurundkar made a valuable contribution to Maharashtra's intellectual world through his exceptional intellect, elocution, knowledge and writing. In Aakalan (1982), Acharya Kurundkar has brought to life the personalities of famous Indian leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. Ambedkar, Subhashchandra Bose, Sardar Patel, etc., encompassing their social and political work. This book familiarises us with these personalities, as well as the social and political situation in those times. His autobiography Vaatchaal also familiarises us with many contemporary famous personalities.

There were two prevalent streams of thought at the time. One that believed that art should be pure and exist for art itself, while the other believed that art cannot exist in isolation, but has to connect with the society and social life of the times. Kurundkar was a staunch supporter of the later stream. His articles on Dalit literature amply demonstrate this belief. He also believed in the eternal human values which bound him throughout his life in the different roles that he executed. His thoughts on different social issues continue to inspire people to introspect and provoke action. Dalit literature and the Dalit movement were special subjects of study for him. He often provided guidance to the dalit leaders, encouraging them in building their movement. He was of the opinion that there should be an open exchange of thoughts and ideas between people from different walks of life, across class, castes and sub-castes. He strived hard to promote this through his literature and work. His book Bhajan (1981) contains various articles on Dalit literature and the existing social issues in his time. His Manusmruti (1982) intensely highlights the injustice dealt by society on women and dalits. Status of women in society, social and political relationships between Hindu and Muslim were also subjects for study and writing. He was a supporter of the Muslim Satyashodhak movement started by the social worker Hamid Dalwai.

All of Kurundkar's literary work reflected the idea of supremacy of logical thinking. (He had said that he had imbibed that idea from his father and one of his high school teachers.) Bertrand Russell was his role model: He shared Russell's thinking and reasoning. Besides being a deep thinker and a littérateur, he was a social activist. He was associated with Jayprakash Narayan's Total Revolution; Agitation for the Development of Marathwada; Vinoba Bhave's Teachers' Congress (आचार्य कुल); and the Fear Not movement opposing the dictatorial "national Emergency" imposed in 1975 by the then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

His method of studying history as a historian is worth learning. He believed that the concepts of nationalism and socialism are complementary. At the same time he was a proponent of democracy. In Chaya Prakash (1975) written during the Emergency, he has expressed his thoughts about democracy and dictatorship.

His Shivratra (1970) which elucidates the ill effects of caste based and communal politics is relevant even today.

He opined that it was necessary to study history to completely understand nationalism, socialism and democracy. Though Kurundkar was not an established historian, Kurundkar determinedly and dedicatedly worked towards finding new horizons in the study and research of history. His most important contribution as a historian is his study of the meanings, concepts and processes involved with the changing meanings of words with time. He proved that research is incomplete and unidimensional without an understanding of this process. He gave a new direction to methods of historical research. His historical books are considered a guide for researchers of history today, chief among which are Magova (1967) – a collection of articles on ancient history, Jaagar (1969) – a profound perspective on Indian history, politics, economics, and religion, and Shivrai, a book that reveals the substance of Shivaji Maharaj's life. The foreword written by him for the popular book on Shivaji Maharaj, Shriman Yogi, is worth a mention.

His writing gave a new direction to the world of Marathi literature, especially to criticism. His critique on subjects like Marathi stories, novels, poems, drama, thought-provoking literature, light literature, Dalit literature, etc. are milestones in Marathi literature. Acharya Kurundkar's name must be mentioned when talking about criticism of Marathi literature. Roopvedh (1963) is a collection of some of his invaluable freestyle critiques. This publication brought Kurundkar the recognition of best literary work from the government. In Dhaar ani Kaath (Stream and border), published in 1971, Kurundkar has summed up the progress and development of Marathi novels in a comprehensive manner. This book is considered a self-sufficient book for the study of Marathi novels. His Paayvaat (footsteps) published in 1974, contains numerous critiques on different streams of Marathi literature like critique, poems, and drama.

In 1955, he started his teaching career at Pratibha Niketan high school in Nanded. While teaching, he resumed his pursuit of college degrees in Humanities. After earning in 1963 a master's degree from Marathwada University, he joined the faculty of People's College in Nanded as a professor of Marathi. He later became principal of that college. Narhar Kurundkar was conferred with "Best Teachers Award" by Government of Maharashtra in the year 1979.

His career in teaching began in 1955 at Pratibha Niketan in Nanded. Later in 1963, he became a professor in People's College in Nanded. He was also the external examiner for research papers on Marathi and Political Science. He gave informal guidance for the research on history, music, Sanskrit, poetry and literature. He efficiently handled the responsibility as a Principal of People's College also.

Narhar Ambadas Kurundkar (15 July 1932 – 10 February 1982) was a Marathi scholar, critic and writer who wrote on political philosophies in general and cultural matters and historical events in Maharashtra, India.

Kurundkar was born on 15 July 1932 in the town of Nandapur in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra. After his high school education, he joined the City College in Hyderabad. In his first two years in college, he often skipped classes and spent most of his time at the State Library in Hyderabad, voraciously reading books on History, Culture, Religion, philosophy, Education, Literature, Politics, and Economics. Through inattention to preparations for his college examinations, he failed to pass the second-year college examination even after a few attempts, and he quit his pursuit of a college degree (until some years later).