Padma Bhushan Dr. Karmaveer  Bhaurao Patil, a renowned social worker and philanthropist, was born. to Paigounda Patil and Gangubai at Kumbhoj on September 22,  1887.

Filled with a sense of patriotism and social service from childhood, he grew up as a man of vision. He felt that India's progress depended upon the progress of our villages which  could only be achieved through mass education. He, therefore, dedicated his life to the  task of rural mass education. He achieved a great degree of success in his effort and his Rayat Shikshan Sanstha is a living memorial of his noble  work and   mission.

Initially, Bhaurao did not establish any schools himself. He started with hostels in centres where poor and deserving students of rural areas could live, work and educate them­ selves  under  his  guidance.

His field of activity was Maharashtra. Though he himself was a follower of the Jain religion, he was above all considerations of religion, caste or creed. He felt that the insistence on Ahimsa in thought and word would cause religious tolerance. Known for his tenacity of purpose, he dedicated his life to the upliftment and welfare of the depressed and downtrodden, emphassing the removal of untouchability and advocating equality. He befriended a Mahar boy, Ganadeo Druvanath Gholap who later became a member of the Bombay Legislative Assembly one of the first Harijans to get that distinction. Although Bhaurao was not an educationist in an academic sense, his theory of education was based on his own practical experience. All that he knew was that people around  him  needed education. He set up a huge network of primary and  secondary  schools,  training  colleges  and arts colleges throughout southern Maharashtra. His students emerged as good citizens of the country.

He was greatly impressed by the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi and the ideologies of the Indian  National  Congress. He was also influenced  by  the  social  reformers  of  Maharashtra.

Bhaurao sincerely felt that without the spread of mass  education in the rural areas, the experiment of democratic political system envisaged by the national leaders of pre­-independence period, would not succeed. An active worker of Jyotirao Phule's  Satya Shodhak Samaj, he felt there was a great need for changing the age-old values and concepts of social life.

Starting with 5 students his institution developed into a massive popular instrument which not only helped in the spread of education among the rural masses, but also created favourable conditions for establishing a democratic political culture. Rayat Shikshan Sanstha inculcated in the minds of its students a sense of self-reliance, community living and dignity of labour.

Source : Information Folder issued by Indian Posts & Telegraph Department, Government of India