Dattatraya Kashinath Kunte, also known as Nanasaheb Kunte (1908–1991), was an

Indian independence activist The Indian independence movement consisted of efforts by individuals and organizations from a wide spectrum of society to obtain political independence from the British, French and Portuguese rule through the use of a many methods. This is a l ...

, a former Member of the Bombay Legislative Assembly and the

4th Lok Sabha List of Members of the 4th Lok Sabha (4 March 1967 – 27 December 1970), elected February–March 1967. The Lok Sabha (House of the People) is the lower house in the Parliament of India.13 sitting members from Rajya Sabha were elected to 4th ...

. He was born at Alibag in 1908 and died in Mumbai in 1991.

Early life and family

He was born on 27 October 1908 the son of Alibag lawyer

Kashinath Vaman Kunte Kashinath may refer to: * Shiva, the patron deity of the Kashi Vishwanath Temple * Kashinath (actor) (1951–2018), Indian actor and director in Kannada-language films * Kashinath Ghanekar (1940–1986), Indian actor in Marathi-language films * Kash ...

(1880–1951) and his first wife. His mother died when he was eight. His early education was at

Alibag Alibag, also known as Alibaug (Pronunciation: �libaːɡ, is a coastal town and a municipal council in Raigad District of Maharashtra, India. It is the headquarters of the Raigad district and is south of the city of Mumbai. Alibag is part of ...

, Kulaba district (now Raigad). He attended Wilson College at the

University of Bombay The University of Mumbai is a collegiate, state-owned, public research university in Mumbai. The University of Mumbai is one of the largest universities in the world. , the university had 711 affiliated colleges. Ratan Tata is the appointed ...

where he received his B.A. in 1928. In 1930, he stood first in the University's LLB examination and was awarded the Justice Davar Gold medal. In 1935, he married Vimal Biwalkar, a descendant of

Ramji Mahadev Biwalkar Ramji Mahadev Biwalkar was a Maratha General during the Peshwa Period. He is renowned as the builder of the Varadvinayak temple in Mahad. Military career Biwalkar rose to be a Sardar of the Maratha Peshwas. He was Sar-Subedar (governor) of Ka ...

. They have 3 daughters, Sunanda, Usha and Asha. His younger brother,

Prabhakar Kashinath Kunte Prabhakar Kashinath Kunte, (29 September 1922 – 15 August 2012) was an Indian Freedom fighter and former Member of Legislator Assembly of Maharashtra. He was born at Alibag in 1920 and was a resident of Mumbai from 1939 till his death o ...

was also a state legislator, minister, politician and public servant.

Political activities

Nana joined the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

in 1930, participating in the Civil Disobedience Movement of 1930, and all subsequent Indian Independence activities, including the Quit India movement in 1942. He was imprisoned several times by British regime. In 1937, he was elected to the Bombay Legislative Assembly from a multi-member constituency in Kulaba district of the Bombay Presidency. He was re-elected to the Bombay Legislative Assembly in 1946 and 1952. In 1946 he became part of the ministry of

B. G. Kher Balasaheb Gangadhar Kher (24 August 1888 – 8 March 1957) was an Indian politician who served as the prime minister of Bombay (1937 - 1939, 1946 - 1947) and the first chief minister (then called Premier) of Bombay State (1947 - 1952). He was a ...

serving as Parliamentary Secretary. In 1952, he was elected Speaker of the Bombay Legislative Assembly. He was sympathetic to the cause of Samyukta Maharashtra and was active in the 1956 negotiations with the Samyunkta Maharashtra Samiti. He resigned the Speakership in protest against the Congress-run Central Government's decision not to create a Marathi-speaking state of Maharashtra in 1956, which however did come to fruition in 1960. In 1961 he was appointed Chairman of the Maharashtra Housing Board. He later left the Congress Party and contested the 1967 elections for the

from the Kolaba constituency (now defunct; most parts now in the Raigad Lok Sabha constituency) and was elected as an Independent candidate with the support of the

Peasants and Workers Party of India The Peasants and Workers Party of India is a Marxist political party in Maharashtra, India. The party was founded on 13.06.1948, having its roots from the pre-Independence period and has around 1,00,000 members. The influence of the party is lar ...

(PWP). In Parliament he served as a member of the Public Accounts Committee. He was an advocate of Opposition unity and participated in the formation of the

Bharatiya Kranti Dal Bharatiya Kranti Dal was a political party in India, formed by the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Charan Singh. The party was founded at a meeting in Lucknow in October 1967. After the 1977 general election, the successor party of the BKD, Bharat ...

and served as the party's General Secretary. He was also nominated as Chairman, Bennett, Coleman, and Company and was instrumental in steering the company through two major press strikes in 1968 while returning it to profitability. In 1971 he was defeated in the Lok Sabha elections.''The Politics of Regionalism in India'', Lewis P. Fickett, Jr., Pacific Affairs, Vol. 44, No. 2 (Summer, 1971), pp. 193-210 University of British Columbia)
/ref> Subsequently, he retired from active politics. In 1973 he moved to Pune after having resided in Bombay since 1946. He continued his social and educational activities. He actively canvassed for the newly formed Janata Party in the 1977 but refused the nomination for a Parliamentary seat. His autobiography "Vaatchaal" (in Marathi) was published in 1987.

Development and social activities

He was the founder Chairman of the Bombay Khar Lands board, which actively assisted farmers in making productive saline land close to the sea front. He spearheaded the "Kul Kayda" whereby tillers of the soil were able to possess the land they farmed. He was a founder of the Janata Shikshan Mandal which operates several educational institutions in and near Alibag, including JSM College. He was one of the earliest advocates of the

Konkan Railway The Konkan Railway (abbreviated KR) is one of the 19 railway zones in India with its headquarters at CBD Belapur in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. The first passenger train ran on Konkan railway tracks on 20 March 1993, between Udupi and ...

, and was successful in gaining the support of

Lal Bahadur Shastri Lal Bahadur Shastri (; 2 October 1904 – 11 January 1966) was an Indian politician and statesman who served as the 2nd Prime Minister of India from 1964 to 1966 and 6th Home Minister of India from 1961 to 1963. He promoted the White Re ...

when Shastri was the Minister of Railways. Shastri subsequently had a brief stint as Prime Minister but the project languished until it was revived in the 1990s. He was a Vice Chairman of the

Asiatic Society of Bombay The Asiatic Society of Mumbai (formerly ''Asiatic Society of Bombay'') is a learned society in the field of Asian studies based in Mumbai, India. It can trace its origin to the Literary Society of Bombay which first met in Mumbai on 26 November 1 ...

References

External links

JSM College Alibag
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kunte, Dattatraya Kashinath 1908 births 1991 deaths Members of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Marathi politicians India MPs 1967–1970 Lok Sabha members from Maharashtra Bombay State politicians People from Alibag