Anand Dighe (27 January 1951 – 26 August 2001), popularly known as ''Dharmaveer'', was an Indian

right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...

politician and social worker. He was a prominent public figure in Thane district and the unit chief of the Shiv Sena political party. He mentored many young politicians from the Thane region including Naresh Mhaske, Rajan Vichare, and

Eknath Shinde Eknath Sambhaji Shinde (born 9 February 1964) is an Indian politician who has served as the List of deputy chief ministers of Maharashtra, Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra since December 2024, alongside Ajit Pawar under Devendra Fadnavis. ...

Career

Dighe joined politics at a young age. He became president of Shiv Sena's Thane Unit in 1984. Dighe was a

grassroots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or continent movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from volunteers at the local level to imp ...

leader with a large support base and was popularly known as ''Dharmaveer''. He was considered a powerful muscleman in Thane. He would hold a daily Durbar at his Tembhi Naka residence to hear out/resolve issues faced by Thane citizens along with Shiv Sena party workers. Dighe was accused in the murder of Shiv Sena party member Sridhar Khopkar, who had allegedly voted for Congress in 1989. Dighe was arrested under TADA and was released on bail. The investigation continued until his death.

Death and Legacy

Dighe was hospitalised in August 2001 after a car accident, suffering from minor injuries to his leg. During his treatment, hospital management announced that Dighe died of a heart attack. His followers believed that he died because of medical negligence, leading to riots that culminated with the destruction of Sunitidevi Singhania Hospital in Thane. Some followers believed that he was killed due to his popularity and there are many conspiracy theories related to Anand Dighe's death.

, Dighe's former mentee and future Chief Minister of Maharashtra, has asserted that he knows information about his death that would cause a "political earthquake" if he were to reveal it. Former Lok Sabha MP Nilesh Narayan Rane made a similar hint.

Popular culture

The 2022 Marathi biopic Dharmaveer was based on Dighe's life. Prasad Oak played the role of Dighe in the movie. A sequel, Dharmaveer 2, was released in 2024.

References

People from Thane Shiv Sena politicians 1951 births 2001 deaths Marathi politicians Politics of Thane district {{authority control