Manohar Gajanan Joshi (2 December 1937 – 23 February 2024) was an Indian politician from the state of

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

, who served as the

Chief Minister of Maharashtra The chief minister of Maharashtra (IAST: Mahārāṣṭrāce Mukhyamaṃtrī) is the head of the executive branch of the government of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Following elections to the Legislative Assembly, the governor invites ...

from 1995 to 1999, and

Speaker of the Lok Sabha The Speaker of the Lok Sabha ( IAST: ) is the presiding officer and the highest authority of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament of India. The speaker is elected generally in the first meeting of the Lok Sabha following a general ...

from 2002 to 2004. He was one of the prominent leaders of the Shiv Sena, and also one of the Indians to be elected to all of the four

legislatures A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers ...

. He was posthumously awarded the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 Januar ...

, India's third-highest civilian honour, by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

in 2025.

Early life

Joshi was born on 2 December 1937 in the Marathi-speaking

Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...

family of Gajanan Krishna Joshi and Saraswati Gajanan in Nandavi of

Raigad district Raigad district (), previously Colaba fort, Colaba district, is a district in the Konkan division of Maharashtra, India. The headquarters of the district is Alibag. Other major cities in the district are Panvel, Karjat, Navi Mumbai, Khopoli, Sh ...

. He received his Masters of Arts and LLB degrees from Mumbai University. He married Anagha Joshi on 14 May 1964, with whom he had a son, Unmesh, and two daughters, Asmita and Namrata. His granddaughter, Sharvari Wagh, made her debut as an actress with the 2021 film ''

Bunty Aur Babli 2 ''Bunty Aur Babli 2'' () is a 2021 Indian Hindi-language crime comedy film written and directed by debutante Varun V. Sharma, based on a story by producer Aditya Chopra, under the Yash Raj Films banner. A sequel to the 2005 film '' Bunty Aur B ...

''.

Formation of Kohinoor

After receiving his MA in law he joined

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), or the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) is the governing civic body of Mumbai, the capital city of Maharashtra. Salman Khan Is Now Brand Ambassador of BMC from 2016. The BMC is India ...

(BMC) as an officer, but later started the Kohinoor technical/vocational training institute with the idea of an institute for semi–skilled youths to offer training as electricians, plumbers, TV/radio/scooter repairmen and photographers. Eventually, he started multiple branches of Kohinoor in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

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 ...

Nagpur Nagpur (; ISO 15919, ISO: ''Nāgapura'') is the second capital and third-largest city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is called the heart of India because of its central geographical location. It is the largest and most populated city i ...

, Nashik, etc., and later he made an entry into construction and another capital-oriented business. Manohar Joshi also founded the Kohinoor Business School & Kohinoor-IMI School of Hospitality Management in Khandala, Maharashtra. Later on he took Chancellorship of Dnyaneshwar Vidyapeeth.

Political career

Early years

Joshi began his career by being elected as a municipal councillor in Bombay Municipal Corporation in 1968 from the Shiv Sena. In 1972 Joshi was elected to the Maharashtra Legislative Council, where he served three terms until 1989. He became the Mayor of

during 1976 to 1977. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly from a Shiv Sena ticket in 1990. Dnyaneshwar-agashe-manohar-joshi

Chief Minister

Joshi became the first non-

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

when the Shiv Sena-

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...

(BJP) coalition came to power in 1995. Technically, Sharad Pawar led the first non-Congress government in Maharashtra in 1978 as a member of Socialist Indian National Congress.

Controversy and resignation

Joshi and Bal Thackeray were explicitly named for inciting the Shivsainiks to violence against Muslims during the 1992–1993 riots in an inquiry ordered by the

government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

, the Srikrishna Commission Report. However, Joshi, then a part of the BJP-Sena government called the report "anti-Hindu, pro-Muslim and biased" and refused to adopt the commission's recommendations. As Chief Minister, he had permitted the release of a plot of land in Pune, reserved for a school, to a builder with ties to his son-in-law, Girish Vyas. A housing complex, named Sundew, was built on that land by Vyas in 1998. Sustained legal efforts by Vijay Kumbhar, an RTI activist from Pune, led to Joshi's resignation in January 1999. In March 2009,

Bombay High Court The High Court of Bombay is the High courts of India, high court of the States and union territories of India, states of Maharashtra and Goa in India, and the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. It is seated primarily ...

passed a verdict calling the housing complex illegal. The

Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India is the supreme judiciary of India, judicial authority and the supreme court, highest court of the Republic of India. It is the final Appellate court, court of appeal for all civil and criminal cases in India. It also ...

upheld the verdict in 2011 and fined Joshi Rs 15,000. Following its order, the building is now being used for a school.

Lok Sabha and Speaker

Joshi was promoted to the Lok Sabha when he won in Central Mumbai in the 1999 General Elections. He was the Speaker of the

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...

from 2002 to 2004 during the

National Democratic Alliance The National Democratic Alliance (NDA; ISO 15919, ISO: ''Rāṣṭrīya Lokatāntrik Gaṭhabandhan'') is an Indian big tent Political group, multi-party political alliance, led by the country's biggest political party, the Bharatiya Janata Pa ...

(NDA) administration. Joshi was elected for a six-year term to the Rajya Sabha on 20 March 2006 after being defeated in the previous Lok Sabha election in the Central Mumbai constituency.

National Legislator Conference

In September 2022, Manohar Joshi was appointed a key patron of NLC Bharat.

Death

Manohar Joshi died in

on 23 February 2024, at the age of 86. He had suffered a cardiac arrest a day earlier and been placed in Hinduja hospital's intensive care unit, dying the next day of age-related health complications.

References

External links

May 8, 2002 news article "Manohar Joshi to be next LS speaker"
–

Times of India ''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...

Photos from site of Speaker of Lok Sabha
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Joshi, Manohar 1937 births 2024 deaths 20th-century mayors of places in India Chief ministers of Maharashtra Mayors of Mumbai Marathi politicians Speakers of the Lok Sabha Rajya Sabha members from Maharashtra Shiv Sena politicians Members of the Maharashtra Legislative Council India MPs 1999–2004 Politicians from Mumbai Lok Sabha members from Maharashtra Leaders of the opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Maharashtra MLAs 1990–1995 Maharashtra MLAs 1995–1999 Members of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in public affairs