The Konkan region is a stretch of land by the western coast of India from Daman in the north to Karwar in the south. On one side there is an Arabian Sea and other the western Ghat (Sahyadri). The petroglyphs discovered in this region are around twelve-thousand years old and caves found near Guhagar in the Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra are around ninety-thousand years old. Many probable archaeological sites may not have been explored also. It gives the idea of human existence in past in this area. Government of India has honoured some of the eminent personalities of this region, with highest civilian award of Bharatratna. Acharya Balshastri Jambhekar, B. G. Tilak, G. K. Gokhale, K. T. Telang, Bhau Daji Lad, Jagannath Shankar Sheth, Pherozshah Mehta, G. S. Sardesai, R. G. Bhandarkar, G. S. Ghurye, Vasudeoshastri Khare, P. S. Pisurlecar, Datto Vaman Potdar, T. S. Shejwalkar, G. H. Khare, Barrister Nath Pai, Music director Vasant Desai and so on. The Bharatratna recipients are D. K. Karve, P. V. Kane, Vinoba Bhave, B. R. Ambedkar, Lata Mangeshkar and Sachin Tendulkar. Being born and brought up in Konkan, I had a curiosity in its comprehensive history (though I am not a history student) or at least the lives and works of some of its great sons in one volume. I searched, but in vain. I started studying these personalities and present volume is the outcome of it. Though their works have become part of the history, their virtues, styles of working, circumstances under which they worked, obstacles they faced and so on are relevant even today. v Forget about general reader, even well-educated people do not know their lives, works or contributions and its importance. Very few have some knowledge and that is also limited to textbooks only. For a reasonably educated curious reader it is not possible to get the information about the work of these eminent personalities in one volume. Most of the books about them are written by the scholars and for the scholars, which even are not easily accessible and readable (or understandable) for general reader. Authentic information about some people is not easily available also; namely, Mahamahopadhyay P. V. Kane, Riyasatkar Sardesai, Acharya Balshastri Jambhekar, Sociologist G. S. Ghurye etc. Hence within my limits, I have selected some of these people and wrote about their works and major contributions in one volume. Immediately after introduction of western education in India, from first half of nineteenth century, scholars explored past of India and reforms began. Acharya Balshastri Jambhekar was pioneer of the renaissance in western Maharashtra. He belonged to first generations of people taking western education, who realized the real motive of British. He dedicated his entire life for upliftment of society. Within a life-span of only thirty-four years, his work is amazing! He worked as a teacher, social and religious reformer, Orientalist, social teacher through first Marathi newspaper Durpun and so on. Orientalist Ramakrishna Gopal Bhandarkar applied western methods to the study of Sanskrit and Indian antiquities. His reports on the search for Sanskrit Manuscripts was the great work of the history of Sanskrit literature and vi Philosophy. He was a social and religious reformer, historian and Orientalist. All-time great, Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak’s life and work is presented here in condensed form. Indian philosophy and teaching of Mill, Spencer and Comte made deep impact on him in his formative years and he decided to dedicate his life to the cause of his country. He devoted his energies to the task of influencing public opinion. He was one of the pillars of Indian National Congress. His fights with mighty British regime and intellectual work have become immortal. Maharshi Dhondo Keshav Karve was neither gifted with intellectual prowess nor with inherited wealth, yet the social work he did for the cause of women’s education is not less than the valour of any great warrior on battle field or martyr. His life is an example of what a person with devotion and perseverance can do! The Hingne Shtree Shikshan Sanstha and SNDT Women’s University will remind his work permanently. Before and even after Riyasatkar Govind Sakharam Sardesai, no one had written a continuous history of the Marathas, from Shahaji to the end of the State of Satara. It took thirty years for him to write complete history of Maratha Empire. He edited Peshawa Daftar of twenty-thousand bundles (rumals), each of five hundred papers, in forty-five volumes. Really a Herculean task! Keeping away personal miseries, he devoted himself for the study of history. Honorable Gopal Krishna Gokhale was political mentor of Mahatma Gandhi. Under M. G. Ranade’s guidance, he learned political journalism and got opportunity to study vii economic, social and political problems of India. His work in Deccan Education Society, evidence in front of Welbycommission, work as a prominent leader in Indian National Congress, a member of Legislative Council and later of Imperial Council will be remembered forever. The supreme quality among Gokhale and Tilak was their self-less and complete dedication to the service of the motherland from very young age. Mahamahopadhyay Pandurang Vaman Kane studied hundreds of Sanskrit treatises and wrote single handedly History of dharmashastra which runs in more than sixthousand printed pages. It took thirty-seven years to write. His total contribution is over fifteen-thousand printed pages. His life and work are a permanent source of inspiration, not only for Indologists but for all scholars. Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar was born in an untouchable caste, yet achieved the height of excellence in education and scholarship; and leadership of depressed class, in spite of innumerable obstacles at every stage, starting from childhood. His writing Constitution of India almost single handedly, his scholarship and leadership of depressed classes is unique in Indian History. Sociologist Dr. Govind Sadashiv Ghurye is a towering personality among intellectuals of India. Due to his contribution in the field of sociology he has often been acclaimed as the Father of the Indian Sociology. Almost all the postgraduate courses in Indian Universities make it mandatory to read Prof. G. S. Ghurye. viii The progress of any society is judged by its contributions to the various fields of learnings, social work and social reforms, means contributors born in that society. The Konkan has a rich heritage. I thank IIP for publishing this book in short time.