Established 1868 Focus Education Area served Madhya Pradesh, India | Legal status Active Headquarters Jabalpur, India | |
Type Educational organization (non-profit) | ||
Hitkarini Sabha (Hindi: हितकारिणी सभा) is a historic, educational, non-profit organization located in the city of Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India. It is runs some of the oldest academic institutions in the region. It was founded in 1868 by Raj Balwant Rao Kher, Diwan Biharilal Khajanchi and Shri Ambika Charan Banerjee.
Hitkarini Sabha was persuaded by Seth Govind Das to take a nationalist view. The students at Hitkarini Sabha institutions participated in the swaraj movement. Hitkarini Sabha has played a significant role in development of Hindi language. In a meeting in 1871, the Hitkarini Sabha met to discuss the question of court language. It was decided by an 8 to 2 margin that Hindi is more suitable than Urdu. It published a literary magazine for a while and organized meetings of leading Hindi authors. Seth Govind Das was associated with Hitkarini Sabha as a trustee and members of his family continue to serve the organization.
Many distinguished scholars, authors and politicians, such as Ravishankar Shukla, Osho Rajnish, Maharshi Mahesh Yogi, Gajanan Madhav Muktibodh have emerged from institutions run by the Hitkarini Sabha.
Its earliest institutions were started in buildings donated by Bholanath Singhai in the memory of his son Kasturchand, who also helped build the Hanumantal Bada Jain Mandir:
In the 1930s and 40s it added:
It has expanded significantly with a number of institutions added since the 1980s. In the recent decades it has focused on professional institutions.
Hitkarini Sabha is now runs 8 colleges, 18 schools, and a computer center, with more than 13000 students, employing more than 1000 teachers and staff. It owns several properties in Jabalpur.