Shankar Dattatraya Javdekar (1894–1955, alternatively ''Javadekar'' or ''Jawadekar''), popularly known as Acharya Javdekar, was a

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...

writer from

Bombay State Bombay State was a large Indian state created in 1950 from the erstwhile Bombay Province, with other regions being added to it in the succeeding years. Bombay Province (in British India roughly equating to the present-day Indian state of Mah ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. He was born on 26 September 1894. His schooling was in

Kolhapur Kolhapur () is a city on the banks of the Panchganga River in the southern part of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Kolhapur is one of the most significant cities in South Maharashtra and has been a hub of historical, religious, and cultural a ...

, and he did his B.A. from

Fergusson College Fergusson College is an autonomous public-private college offering various courses in the streams of arts and science in the city of Pune, India. It was founded in 1885 by Vaman Shriram Apte, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Vishnushashtri Chiplunkar, Mah ...

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

, specialising in philosophy. While studying for his M.A. degree, he set aside his studies to join

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

non-cooperation movement Non-cooperation movement may refer to: * Non-cooperation movement (1919–1922), during the Indian independence movement, led by Mahatma Gandhi against British rule * Non-cooperation movement (1971), a movement in East Pakistan * Non-cooperatio ...

against the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

. During 1923–26, he operated a dormitory for students belonging to the untouchable community in the Indian society of his times. This dormitory was located in a village near Islampur in Maharashtra. Subsequently, Javdekar served as the editor of the dailies ''Navashakti'' (New Power) and ''Lok Shakti'' (People's Power). He was the editor of the weekly '' Sadhana'' from 1950 to 1952. Javdekar was a

social democrat Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...

in his political thinking, and was influenced by the political and social views of

. In his 1954 book ''सर्वोदय आणि समाजवाद'' (Sarwodaya and Samajwad), he propounded ''Satyagrahi Samajwad'' (सत्याग्रही समाजवाद) philosophy, attempting to amalgamate

Marxism Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, ...

and

Gandhism Gandhism is a body of ideas that describes the inspiration, vision, and the life work of Mohandas K. Gandhi. It is particularly associated with his contributions to the idea of nonviolent resistance, sometimes also called civil resistance. The ...

. He also attempted to reconcile the views of Tilak and

Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British ...

in his book ''लो. टिळक व म. गांधी'' (Lokamnya Tilak Wa Mahatma Gandhi). In his literary work "आधुनिक भारत" (''Adhunik Bharat'') (1938), he described the philosophical evolution of India through its struggle for freedom from the British rule. He presided over

Marathi Sahitya Sammelan Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan (All India Marathi Literary Conference) is an annual conference for literary discussions by Marathi writers. Marathi is the official language of Maharashtra State. The first Marathi Sahitya Sammelan was ...

in 1949. He died on 10 December 1955.

Literary work

The following is a partial list of Javdekar's works: * आधुनिक भारत (''Adhunik Bharat'') (1938) * गांधीजींचे चरित्र - जीवनरहस्य (''Gandhijinche Charitra - Jivan Rahasya'') * राज्यशास्त्रमीमांसा * आधुनिक राज्यमीमांसा * विश्वकुटुंबवाद * शास्त्रीय समाजवाद * सर्वोदय आणि समाजवाद (''Sarwodaya and Samajwad'') (1954) * लोकशाही * पुरोगामी साहित्य * गांधीवाद * लो. टिळक व म. गांधी

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Javdekar, Shankar Dattatraya Marathi-language writers 1894 births Writers from Maharashtra 1955 deaths Indian socialists Presidents of the Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan