इ. स. 1917 मध्ये 'लोकशिक्षण' या मासिकात मुंबई, मध्यप्रांत, वऱ्हाड आणि हैदराबाद मधील मराठी भाषिक प्रदेशांच्या विलीनीकरनातून एकसंघ महाराष्ट्राच्या निर्मितीचा विचार प्रथम कोणी मांडला ?

The correct answer is Option D (Prof. Vithal Waman Tamhankar).

Key Points:
• Origin of the United Maharashtra Concept:
• The visionary concept of uniting all contiguous Marathi-speaking tracts scattered across British presidencies and princely states was articulated well before the formal political movement began.
• In 1917, in the Marathi monthly magazine 'Lokshikshan' (लोकशिक्षण), Prof. Vithal Waman Tamhankar (प्रा. विठ्ठल वामन ताम्हणकर) published an insightful article outlining the necessity of creating a unified state of 'Maharashtra'.
• He explicitly proposed merging the Marathi-speaking districts of the Bombay Presidency, Central Provinces (Madhya Prant), Berar (Varhad), and Nizam's Hyderabad State into a single unified linguistic state.
• This is regarded as one of the earliest documented territorial blueprints for Samyukta Maharashtra.
• Key Takeaway: Prof. Vithal Waman Tamhankar first proposed a United Maharashtra merging Marathi regions in 'Lokshikshan' (1917).