Bhausaheb Santuji Thorat was a pioneering cooperative leader, freedom fighter, and educational social reformer who transformed the drought-prone Sangamner region of Ahmednagar district into a thriving agro-industrial hub.
- January 12, 1924 – March 14, 2010
- Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.): Law College, Pune; utilized his legal training to establish cooperative charters and land reform frameworks.
- Place of Origin: Born in Sangamner, Ahmednagar district, Maharashtra.
- Children: Balasaheb Thorat (Senior Cabinet Minister, Govt. of Maharashtra) and Dr. Jayashree Thorat.
- Founder of Sangamner Bhag Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana Ltd.
- Founder of Sangamner District Central Co-operative Bank
- Founder of Sangamner Taluka Milk Producers' Co-operative Union (Rajhans Milk)
- Founder Chairman of the Amrutvahini Sheti Vidyut Swayam Rojgar Co-operative Society and Amrutvahini Education Trust
- The Sangamner Cooperative Pattern: Created an integrated web of primary agricultural credit, dairy collection, sugar manufacturing, and rural electrification societies under one regional cooperative umbrella.
- Drought-Proofing Through Cooperatives: Led watershed management, cooperative lift irrigation projects, and farm-pond networks that reclaimed thousands of acres of arid land for multi-crop sugarcane and fruit cultivation.
- Speeches, memoirs, and field frameworks on drought-prone rural development, cooperative sugar mill management, and dairy processing.
- Sahakar Maharshi Title: Conferred by the public and state cooperative bodies for exceptional lifetime service.
- Commemorated through the Sahakar Maharshi Bhausaheb Thorat Cooperative Sugar Complex and regional educational institutes.