Balkrishna Ganesh Khaparde

Balkrishna Ganesh Khaparde (1882–1968) was leader of Swaraj Party from Amravati, India. He was lawyer by profession like his father Ganesh Shrikrishna Khaparde who was a close ally of Bal Gangadhar Tilak.
He belonged to ‘Tilak School of Thought’ and as a prominent leader in Swarajya Party. He was twice elected to the Second and Third Provincial Central Provinces Legislative Council in 1923 & 1927. He was minister of Central Provinces and Berar state.
He used to write under the pen name Baba Bharti in Marathi Magazine Prasad published from Pune and wrote the book ‘From Science to Samadhi’.
As the President of the All India Hindu Mahasabha, he constantly toured the entire country.
He was the chief trustee of the Badrinath Temple and as such he had to walk down 120 miles from Dehradun to the interior of the Himalayas to open the gates of Badrinath Temple after winter every year. His name is still adorned in the temple.
In 1968, he courted death by Prayopaweshan, meaning to liberate immortal soul from mortal body by voluntary fast unto death.