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The Vital-Vidhvansak, the first monthly journal to have the untouchable people as its target audience was published by
Explanation
The correct answer is Option 1: Gopal Baba Walangkar.
Gopal Baba Walangkar, a pioneer of the Dalit movement in Maharashtra, started the monthly journal Vital-Vidhvansak (Destroyer of Brahmanical Pollution) in 1888. This publication is historically significant as the first journal specifically dedicated to the upliftment and mobilization of the untouchable communities.
- Gopal Baba Walangkar: An ex-serviceman influenced by Jyotiba Phule, he used this journal to challenge the caste hierarchy and advocate for the rights of the Depressed Classes.
- Why other options are incorrect: While Jyotiba Phule (Option 2) founded the Satyashodhak Samaj, his primary works included Gulamgiri. M.K. Gandhi (Option 3) published Harijan much later in 1933, and B.R. Ambedkar (Option 4) started journals like Mooknayak and Bahishkrit Bharat in the 1920s.
Therefore, Walangkar remains the earliest figure to establish a dedicated media platform for the "untouchable" audience.
PROVENANCE & STUDY PATTERN
Guest previewThis is a 'Bouncer' question derived from specialized history of the Dalit movement, not standard textbooks like Spectrum or NCERT. It tests knowledge of the 'precursors' to Dr. Ambedkar in Maharashtra. If you didn't know it, skipping was the only safe option.
This question can be broken into the following sub-statements. Tap a statement sentence to jump into its detailed analysis.
- Statement 1: Was the journal Vital-Vidhvansak, the first monthly journal aimed at untouchable people, published by Gopal Baba Walangkar?
- Statement 2: Was the journal Vital-Vidhvansak, the first monthly journal aimed at untouchable people, published by Jyotiba Phule?
- Statement 3: Was the journal Vital-Vidhvansak, the first monthly journal aimed at untouchable people, published by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi?
- Statement 4: Was the journal Vital-Vidhvansak, the first monthly journal aimed at untouchable people, published by Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar?
This snippet shows that leaders from the Dalit/untouchable movement (e.g., Ambedkar) launched specific journals (Mook Nayak) to articulate untouchable issues — demonstrating a pattern of activists publishing targeted periodicals.
A student could use this pattern to infer that a distinct journal aimed at untouchables (Vital-Vidhvansak) is plausible and then check publisher/editor records for Gopal Baba Walangkar versus other activists.
This snippet shows social reformers (Gopal Ganesh Agarkar) founded and edited periodicals that addressed social issues including untouchability, illustrating that reform journals often targeted caste and social reforms.
Use this rule (reformers publishing journals against untouchability) to narrow likely publishers to known reform figures and then compare Walangkar's known activities or publications.
Early Marathi journalists (Balshastri Jambhekar) used newspapers and journals as instruments of social reform, indicating a regional print-culture tradition that could have produced a Marathi/vernacular journal like Vital-Vidhvansak.
If Vital-Vidhvansak was a regional-language monthly, a student could check Marathi/region-specific press histories or catalogues for Walangkar's name.
This snippet documents the wide practice of nationalists and reformers publishing specialized journals across places and communities, showing a general precedent for niche monthlies.
Given the commonness of specialized journals, a student could search bibliographies of reformist/political periodicals of the relevant era for Vital-Vidhvansak and its publisher.
This snippet emphasizes the emergence of Indian-run newspapers and the print culture that enabled reformers to start periodicals, a necessary condition for someone like Walangkar to publish a monthly.
Combine this with geographic/chronological info (where and when Walangkar was active) to check local press records or library catalogs for the journal title and publisher.
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This statement analysis shows book citations, web sources and indirect clues. The first statement (S1) is open for preview.
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