Anant Viththal Keer (
Devanagari
Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental writing system), based on the ...
: अनंत विठ्ठल कीर),
known by his alias Dhananjay Keer (धनंजय कीर)(1913–1984
) was an Indian biographer who profiled many high profile politicians and social activists. He had written biographies of
Mahatma Jyotiba Phule,
B.R Ambedkar,
V.D Savarkar,
Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Bal Gangadhar Tilak (; born Keshav Gangadhar Tilak (pronunciation: eʃəʋ ɡəŋɡaːd̪ʱəɾ ʈiɭək; 23 July 1856 – 1 August 1920), endeared as Lokmanya (IAST: ''Lokmānya''), was an Indian nationalist, teacher, and an independence ...
,
,
and
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
.
Keer was born in
Ratnagiri
Ratnagiri (IAST:Ratnāgirī ; �ət̪n̪aːɡiɾiː is a port city on the Arabian Sea coast in Ratnagiri District in the southwestern part of Maharashtra, India. The district is a part of Konkan division of Maharashtra. The city is known for ...
on 23 April 1913. His father's name was Vithal and his mother's was Devaki; he was married to Sudha and had six children.
K. N. Jadhav writes that the revolutionary atmosphere in Ratnagiri in the early 1920s had a great influence on him. He migrated to Mumbai in 1938 to work with the Education Committee of the city's Municipal Corporation. He began writing in "Free Hindustan". His first biography, that of Savarkar, was first published in 1950.
Later he wrote biographies of Ambedkar and Tilak. Resigning from his job, he wrote biographies of Phule, Shahu and Gandhi.
He was bestowed with the
Padma Bhushan
The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...
in 1971
and was conferred with an honorary doctorate by the
Shivaji University in 1980.
Keer had worked with Savarkar in the building of a temple in Ratnagiri.
Books
Marathi
* ''Mahatma Jotirao Phule: Amchya Samajkrantiche Janak''
* ''
Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar (1966)
* ''Lokmanya Tilak ani Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj: Ek Mulyamapan'' (1971)
* ''Vishwabhooshan Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar: Manas Ani Tattvavichar''
* ''Mahatma Phule : Samagra Wangmay'' (1969) (Coeditor S. G. Malshe)
* ''Krushnarao Arjun Keluskar: Atmacharitya va Charitya''
* ''Rajarshi Shahu Chattrapati''
* ''Krutadnya Mi Krutartha Mi'' (autobiography)
* ''Lokhitkarte Babasaheb Bole''
*Teen Mahan Saraswat (1979)
*Hyani Itihas Ghadawila (1980)
English
* ''Veer Savarkar'' / ''Savarakar and His Times'' (1950)
* ''Dr. Ambedkar: Life and Mission'' (1954)
* ''Lokmanya Tilak: Father of Indian Freedom Struggle'' (1959)
* ''Mahatma Jotirao Phule: Father of Indian Social Revolution'' (1964)
* ''Mahatma Gandhi: Political Saint and Unarmed Prophet'' (1973)
* ''Shahu Chattrapati: A Royal Revolutionary'' (1976)
References
1913 births
1984 deaths
Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in literature & education
Writers from Pune
Marathi people
20th-century Indian biographers
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