Page 92 - Swatantrata to Atmanirbharta : Lokmanya Tilak’s legacy

a teacher and headmaster in this institution, became a beacon
of women’s education who was awarded the title of Bharat
Ratna. Over the next few decades, the organization spread to
Maharashtra and beyond. The number of schools and colleges
reached 60. The Deccan Education Society has been named
among the leading educational institutions in Maharashtra
since the establishment of Kirti College in Mumbai, IMDR in
Pune and College of Nursing and Physiotherapy in Pune.
Swatantryaveer Savarkar, who was educated here, formed
revolutionary organizations even when he was a student at
Fergusson College. With the blessings of Lokmanya, they
celebrated Holi with the burning of foreign clothes, the flames
of which reached the British Parliament. Later, Swatantryaveer
Savarkar ignited the flame of revolution in this country and
inspired thousands of youths. Gogte, a student who shot
Hotson, a British officer, in the library of Fergusson College
was born out of this patriotic youth movement. Teachers and
students of the Deccan Education Society have always stood
by the Swadeshi movement, first led by Lokmanya and then
by Mahatma Gandhi. In doing so, the office bearers of the
Deccan Education Society have never forgotten the teaching
given by Lokmanya that their institutions should not depend on
government grants. Lokmanya used to say, “Education should
be self-reliant and students as well as society should become
self-reliant through education.”
The Deccan Education Society has remained financially
self-sufficient. It has never faced any occasion to succumb to
any pressure. This institute is not limited to BA, BCom, B.Sc.
courses. Not only did they produce graduates in traditional
subjects, but teachers and the society members worked tirelessly
to make students self-reliant by creating numerous vocational
courses.

Launched in 1935 on the campus of Ferguson College,
the Technical Institute is perhaps the first institute to provide
business guidance to students. The institute started courses in
many fields such as industrial safety, paint production, and
electroplating. Later, JRVJTI, which was established by the

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