Indian social worker and activist Baba Amte was well-known. He was especially well-known for his efforts to empower and rehabilitate leprosy patients.

On December 26, 1914, Baba Amte—also known as Murlidhar Devidas Amte—was born. He was an Indian social worker and activist who gained notoriety mainly for helping leprosy patients become more independent and rehabilitative.

Baba Amte is recognized as the last true follower of Gandhi’s teachings. He joined the Indian Freedom Movement and participated in almost all of the main movements that Mahatma Gandhi led as a result of his influence. As part of the Quit India movement, he started defending Indian freedom movement leaders who had been arrested by the British in 1942.

Baba Amte also spent some time at the ashram Mahatma Gandhi founded, Sevagram, where he became a follower of Gandhianism. He embodied Gandhianism by dressing in Khadi and spinning yarn with a charkha. Dr. Amte was given the name Abhay Sadhak by Gandhi upon discovering that he had shielded a girl from some British soldiers’ obscene taunts (Fearless Seeker of Truth).

Later, he encountered a living corpse, a leprosy patient named Tulshiram, and these encounters altered the meaning of his life. Amte tried to disseminate the notion that until there is no longer any false information about leprosy or “Mental Leprosy” connected to the disease, society cannot assist those who suffer from the disease. His motto throughout his life has been “Work Builds; Charity Destroys.” He devoted his life to serving others.

Baba Amte and his wife Indu Ghuleshastri devoted their lives to treating and aiding people afflicted with the crippling disease known as leprosy. They embarked on a quest to offer the best medical care possible to eradicate the disease’s scourge.

Anandvan, Somnath, and Ashokvan are the three ashrams he founded to provide care and rehabilitation to leprosy patients, disabled individuals, and members of marginalized communities. To help the patients financially, these Ashrams offered small-scale handicraft production as well as vocational training.

In addition to the Quit India movement, Baba Amte devoted his life to educating the public about the importance of ecological harmony, wildlife preservation, and the Narmada Bachao Andolan. In 1973, Amte founded the Lok Biradari Prakalp to support the Madia Gond tribe in the Gadchiroli District. He also founded the first Knit India Mission for Peace in 1985. To promote national unity, he walked more than 3000 miles at the age of 72 from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. After three years, he planned another march that stretched over eight hundred miles from Gujarat to Assam. He also left Anandwan and spent seven months there during the 1990 Narmada Bachao Andolan.

On February 9, 2008, Amte passed away in Anandwan, Maharashtra, from illnesses related to aging. He decided to be buried before being cremated, by the principles he advocated as an environmentalist and social reformer. Still, his family members who are dispersed across the nation continue his legacy of charitable giving.

Baba Amte won multiple international awards for his selfless service to humanity, including the Gandhi Peace Prize (1999), a portion of the 1990 Templeton Prize (1988), and the 1988 UN Human Rights Prize. Known as India’s modern Gandhi, he has received numerous honors, including the Padma Vibhushan, the Dr. Ambedkar International Award, the Padma Shri, the Gandhi Peace Prize, the Ramon Magsaysay Award, the Templeton Prize, and the Jamnalal Bajaj Award.