Thakkar Bapa

Amritlal Vithaldas Thakkar, popularly known as Thakkar Bapa, was an Indian social worker who was involved in welfare initiatives for tribal and Dalit communities. He became a member of the Servants of India Society in 1914 founded by Gopal Krishna Gokhale in 1905. In 1922, he founded the Bhil Seva Mandal. Later, he became the general secretary of the Harijan Sevak Sangh founded by Mahatma Gandhi in 1932. The Bharatiya Adimjati Sevak Sangh was founded on 24 October 1948 on his initiative. He was appointed the chairman of "Excluded and Partially Excluded Areas ", a sub committee of the constituent assembly. Mahatma Gandhi would call him 'bapa'. In one of his appeals in 1939 Mahatma Gandhi called him "Father of Harijans".