
One of the great patriots of India is Gopal Krishna Gokhale. He was a noble leader. Mahatma Gandhi himself refers to him: “Gokhale is my teacher, he taught me politics.”
Gopal Krishna Gokhale, known as Gopal in his family and among his friends, was born in a small village in Maharashtra. His parents Krishnarao and Sathyabhama bai were very poor. Gokhale had a brother. His name was Govind.
When Gopal was thirteen and Govind was eighteen Krishna Rao died suddenly. As the family was very poor and Govind loved his brother very much, he discontinued his studies and went to work to enable Gopal to go to Kolhapur for his higher studies. Gopal Krishna Gokhale studied hard reading his lessons under the street lamp. For many years he had only one meal a day. On completing his studies he worked as a teacher for a long time for a meagre salary. He was very honest. He always spoke the truth. Even as a boy he was truthful and honest. One day his teacher gave some homework in Arithmetic. During the correction of the home work of students he noticed that almost all the boys had gone wrong in answering one of the sums.
Gokhale alone had managed to answer the sum correctly. Hence, the teacher felt very happy and said, “Gopal, there are no mistakes in your work. I like you. Come to the front and sit on the first bench”. Gokhale did not move from his seat. He stood up and began to sob, surprising the teacher and the students in the class. The teacher asked him, “Why do you sob? You ought to be happy. You have after all done all the sums correctly. Come to the front seat.”
Gokhale stood there weeping and said, “Sir, I did not do it myself. This reply made the teacher and the students appreciate Gokhale’s honesty. Indeed Gokhale remained an honest man throughout his life. Gokhale did not keep anything for himself or for his family. He worked for our country and the people. He died on 19th February 1915.
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