Gayakwad- the king who assisted Ambedkar and others

Those who offered their service in British India in the welfare of the depressed class were many. But the one whose contributions were diverse and matchless was Sayajirao Gayakwad, the king of Baroda. It was he who bestowed the title of ‘Mahatma’ upon Jyotiba Phulay for the revolutionary works he did to the cause of removal of social discrimination that low-castes faced then. Not only this but he also pleaded the British govt. to confer on him the title of “Booker T. Washington” of India. On the persuasion of Bhai Permanand [father of Veer Savarkar] he made the provision of monetary-relief from the fund of Baroda govt. for Jyotiba’s wife and son after his [Jyotiba] demise.

So also, the founder of the “Mission to the depressed class” Vitthal Rao Ji Shinde [popularly known as Maharshi Shinde] received scholarship from Sayaji Rao to complete his higher study in Manchester college of England. To keep the depressed-class away from the tendency of violence and retribution and to inculcate in them the inspiration for the self-emancipation was Maharshi Shinde’s modus-operandi. Here also Sayaji offered him his cooperation wherever needed