Shankar Dattatraya Javdekar ( mr, शंकर दत्तात्रय जावडेकर) (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 language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

writer from

Bombay State Bombay State was a large Indian state created at the time of India's Independence, with other regions being added to it in the succeeding years. Bombay Presidency (roughly equating to the present-day Indian state of Maharashtra, excluding Sou ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. 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. It is the administrative headquarter of the Kolhapur district. In, around 2 C.E. Kolapur's name was 'Kuntal'. Kolhapur is kn ...

, 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 the Deccan Education Society. Professor Vaman Shivram Apte was its fir ...

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

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

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

non-cooperation movement The Non-cooperation movement was a political campaign launched on 4 September 1920, by Mahatma Gandhi to have Indians revoke their cooperation from the British government, with the aim of persuading them to grant self-governance.

against the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

. During 1923–26, he operated a dormitory for students belonging to the

untouchable Untouchable or The Untouchable may refer to: People * Untouchability, the practice of socially ostracizing a minority group of very low social status ** A word for the Dalits or Scheduled Caste of India, a group that experiences untouchability * ...

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 Political philosophy, political, Social philosophy, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocati ...

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 Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...

and

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

. He also attempted to reconcile the views of

Tilak In Dharmic culture, the ''tilaka'' ( sa, तिलक) () is a mark worn usually on the forehead, at the point of the Ajna chakra, or sometimes another part of the body such as the neck, hand, chest or arm. ''Tilaka'' may be worn daily or for ...

and

Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

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 he ...

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