Bhalchandra Trimbak Ranadive (; 19 December 1904 – 6 April 1990), popularly known as BTR, was an Indian

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

politician and trade union leader.

Personal life

He was elder brother of Ahilya Rangnekar, a CPI-M leader and 6th Lok Sabha member from

Mumbai North Central (Lok Sabha constituency) Mumbai North Central is a Lok Sabha (parliamentary) constituency of Maharashtra state in western India. Assembly segments Presently, after the implementation of the delimitation of the parliamentary constituencies in 2008, Mumbai North Central ...

. They belonged to a Marathi

Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu (CKP) or historically and commonly known as Chandraseniya Prabhu or just Prabhu is a caste mainly found in Gujarat and Maharashtra. Historically, they made equally good warriors, statesmen as well as writers. Th ...

(CKP) family but Ranadive, a brilliant student, would teach Dalit students in his spare time.

Political career

Ranadive completed his studies in 1927, obtaining an M.A. degree with distinction and in 1928 he joined the clandestine

Communist Party of India The Communist Party of India (CPI) is a political party in India. The CPI considers the Foundation of the Communist Party of India, December 26, 1925 Cawnpore (Kanpur) conference as its foundation date. Between 1946 and 1951, the CPI led m ...

. In the same year he became a major leader of the All India Trade Union Congress in

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

. He was active with the Girini Kamgar Union of the textile workers in

and with the struggles of the railway workers. He became the secretary of the GIP Railwaymen's Union. In 1939, he married Vimal, a trade union activist. In 1943 he was elected to the central committee of the party. In February 1946 Ranadive played a major role in organizing a general strike in support of the Naval ratings revolt. At its 2nd Party Congress held in

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

in February, 1948 the party elected Ranadive in place of P.C. Joshi as its general secretary.Chandra, Bipan & others (2000). ''India after Independence 1947-2000'', New Delhi: Penguin, , p.204 Ranadive was the general secretary of CPI 1948–1950. During that period the party was engaged in

revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates for, a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective to describe something producing a major and sudden impact on society. Definition The term—bot ...

uprisings, such as the Telangana armed struggle. In 1950 Ranadive was deposed, and denounced by the party as a "left adventurist". In 1956, at the 4th Party Congress in Palghat BTR was again included in the Central Committee. He became a leading figure of the leftist section of the CC. At the time of the Indo-China border conflict in 1962, Ranadive was one of many prominent communist leaders jailed by the government. In 1964 he became one of the main leaders of

Communist Party of India (Marxist) The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)) is a Communism in India, communist List of political parties in India, political party in India. It is the largest communist party in India in terms of membership and electora ...

. At the founding conference of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions in

May 28–31 1970, Ranadive was elected president.

Commemoration

The central building of CITU in

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

is named after him— ''BTR Bhavan''. Akg-btr

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ranadive, B.T. Indian independence activists Communist Party of India (Marxist) politicians from Maharashtra Trade unionists from Maharashtra Marathi politicians 1904 births 1990 deaths