Anna Babaji Latthe (9 December 1878 – 16 May 1950) or Annasaheb Latthe was an Indian politician, social reformer, educationist and leader of the

Satyashodhak Samaj Satyashodhak Samaj (''Truth-seekers' Society'') was a social reform society founded by Jyotiba Phule in Pune, Maharashtra, on 24 September 1873. The society endeavoured to mitigate the distress and sufferings of Dalits and women. It espoused a m ...

and Non-Brahmin movement.

Early life

Annasaheb was born on 9th December 1878 in a Jain family. He was the fifth child of Babaji Latthe, who was in the service of the Patwardhans at Kurundwad and later had his own business of selling foodgrains and cotton. Annasaheb completed his middle school education from Kurundwad and high school from

Miraj Miraj (Pronunciation: iɾəd͡z ) is a city that is part of the Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad metropolitan region in Sangli district, Maharashtra. Founded in the early 10th century, Miraj was an important jagir of the Bijapur Sultanate. Chhatrapa ...

. He graduated from Rajaram College, Kolhapur in 1898 and further obtained a B.A. Degree from the Deccan College in Poona in 1901. He obtained his M.A. Degree in English from the

University of Bombay University of Mumbai is a public university, public List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, state university in Mumbai. It is one of the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, largest univ ...

in 1903. Annasaheb married ten year old Dnyanamati in 1899. She was uneducated but Annasaheb taught her reading and writing after marriage. Dnyanmati died in 1913 after which Annasaheb married Jotsnabai with whom he had had eight children.

Career

Annasaheb Latthe attended the first conference of the

Dakshin Bharat Jain Sabha Dakshin Bharat Jain Sabha (DBJS), also known as the South Indian Jain Association, is a religious and social service organization of the Jains in India. The organization is headquartered at Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India. The association is cred ...

while studying in Poona and had suggested its name. He started his career as a Lecturer of English in Rajaram College in 1907 and later as Education Inspector of

Kolhapur State The Kolhapur State was a Maratha princely state of India, under the Deccan Division of the Bombay Presidency, and later the Deccan States Agency. It was considered the most important of the Maratha principalities with the others being Baroda Sta ...

. Inspired by the teachings of

Jyotirao Phule Jyotirao Phule (11 April 1827 – 28 November 1890), also known as Jyotiba Phule, was an Indian social activist, businessman, anti-caste social reformer and writer from Maharashtra. His work extended to many fields, including eradication of ...

, Latthe in cooperation with Bhaskarrao Jadhav launched a movement of social awakening of the masses under the

. Latthe was elected to the

Central Legislative Assembly The Central Legislative Assembly was the lower house of the Indian Legislature, the legislature of British India. It was created by the Government of India Act 1919, implementing the Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms. It was also sometimes calle ...

in 1920 from the Bombay Southern Rural constituency with the support of

Shahu of Kolhapur Shahu (also known as Chhatrapati Rajarshi Shahu, Shahu IV, Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj) (26 June 1874 – 6 May 1922) of the Bhonsle dynasty of Marathas was a Raja (reign. 1894 – 1900) and the first Maharaja (1900–1922) of the Indian princ ...

. He represented the Deccan Non-Brahmin League and in the assembly became a member of the Democratic Party. In 1923, Latthe unsuccessfully contested elections to the Bombay Legislative Council as Non-Brahmin Party candidate. In 1924, he organised the first conference of the Non-Brahmin Party under the presidentship of Arcot Ramasamy Mudaliar. In the same year he wrote the official biography of Shahu Maharaj of Kolhapur. Latthe was appointed as the advisor of Chhatrapati Rajaram III of

in 1925. After the retirement of Dewan Raghunathrao Sabnis, he was appointed as Dewan of Kolhapur. He was nominated by the

Chamber of Princes The Chamber of Princes (''Narendra Mandal'') was an institution established in 1920 by a royal proclamation of King-Emperor George V to provide a forum in which the rulers of the princely states of India could voice their needs and aspiration ...

Special Organisation to attend the

Round Table Conference The three Round Table Conferences of 1930–1932 were a series of peace conferences, organized by the British Government and Indian political personalities to discuss constitutional reforms in India. These started in November 1930 and ended in De ...

. He resigned as the Dewan in 1931 and settled in

Belgaum Belgaum (Kannada ISO 15919, ISO: ''Bēḷagāma'', ), officially known as Belagavi (also Belgaon), is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka located near its northern western border in the Western Ghats. It is the administrative headquarters ...

where was elected to the District School Board, District Local Board, and then to the Belgaum Municipality. In 1936, Latthe joined the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

returning all honours and titles conferred on him by the British Government. In the

1937 Bombay Presidency election The elections to the two houses of legislatures of the Bombay Presidency were held in 1937, as part of the nationwide provincial elections in British India. The Indian National Congress was the single largest party by winning 86 of 175 seats ...

, he was elected to the Bombay Legislative Council from the Belgaum North constituency. He was appointed as the finance minister in the First Kher ministry. He was arrested in August 1942 for participating in the Quit India Movement and was placed in Hindalaga Jail for 8 days. He was again elected to the Bombay Legislative Council in 1946 but was not appointed to the ministry. He resigned from the council and was appointed as constitutional adviser to Shahaji II of Kolhapur in June 1947. He resisted the merger of

with the Indian Union for which he was ordered to leave Kolhapur and

Shahaji II Shahaji II (formerly ''Vikramsinhrao (Nana Sahib) Pawar'') (4 April 1910 – 9 May 1983) of the Bhonsle dynasty of the Marathas, was the Maharaja of Kolhapur between 1947 and 1949. He was the grandson of Shahu of Kolhapur through his daughte ...

signed the document of merger Annasaheb Latthe died of heart failure on 16 May 1950.

References

{{Reflist Bombay Presidency Kolhapur Members of the Bombay State Legislative Assembly Indian National Congress politicians from Karnataka