Deshpande joined
Vinoba Bhave's
Bhoodan movement in 1952. She undertook a 40,000-km journey on foot --
padayatra—across India to carry Gandhi's message of
Grām Swarāj. She recognized that it was difficult to practice Gandhian principles, yet believed that doing so was the only way towards a truly democratic society. Deshpande was known to be the spirit behind peace marches in
Punjab and
Kashmir when violence was at its peak in those states. Her peace mission to Kashmir in 1994 and her initiative in organizing India-Pakistan meet in 1996 were her two major public service achievements. The
Tibetan cause against
Chinese suppression was also close to her heart. She served as the president of a historical organization i.e.
Harijan Sevak Sangh from June 1983 to till her death. She was involved or associated with many other social organizations and bodies. And also, she founded
Akhil Bharat Rachnatmak Samaj that won the National Communal Harmony Award in 2004. In 2006, Deshpande championed clemency for Afzal Guru, who had been convicted of a
terrorist attack on Indian Parliament in 2001. (The attack had resulted in the death of 13 people.) Deshpande visited many cities in the
United States of America on a tour organized by a prominent
Indian American from
Lansing, Michigan in the last few years of her life. She was member of a
Rajya Sabha, when she died in her sleep in the early hours of 1 May 2008, in
New Delhi at the age of 79. She continually worked for harmony between India and Pakistan. Even her mortal remains were immersed in
Indus river of
Sindh province in Pakistan. ==Authorship==