Shreedhar Mahadev Joshi, also known as S.M. Joshi (12 November 1904 – 1 April 1989), was an

Indian independence activist The Indian independence movement consisted of efforts by individuals and organizations from a wide spectrum of society to obtain political independence from the British, French and Portuguese rule through the use of many methods. This is a li ...

, a

Socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

, a Member of Parliament, and leader of

Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti Samyukta Maharashtra Movement, () commonly known as the Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti, was an organisation in India that advocated for a separate Marathi-speaking state in Western India and Central India from 1956 to 1960. The Samiti demanded t ...

Biography

Born 12 November 1904, in

Junnar Junnar (Marathi pronunciation: ͡ʒunːəɾ is a city in the Pune district of the Indian state of Maharashtra. The city has history dating back to the first millennium. The nearby fort of Shivneri was the birthplace of Maratha king Shivaji ...

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 ...

, Shreedhar Mahadev Joshi is considered a distinguished personality among the stalwarts of the socialist movement in India. A well-known social worker, he served as the Chairman of the

Praja Socialist Party The Praja Socialist Party, abbreviated as PSP, was an Indian political party. It was founded in 1952 when the Socialist Party, led by Jayaprakash Narayan, Rambriksh Benipuri, Acharya Narendra Deva and Basawon Singh (Sinha), merged with the ...

(PSP) and the

Samyukta Socialist Party Samyukta Socialist Party (; SSP), was a political party in India from 1964 to 1974. SSP was formed through a split in the Praja Socialist Party (PSP) in 1964. In 1965, Ram Manohar Lohia merged his Socialist Party (Lohia) with SSP and conteste ...

(SSP) and was a founder member of the

Janata Party The Janata Party (JP, ) is an unrecognised political party in India. Navneet Chaturvedi is the current president of the party since November 2021, replacing Jaiprakash Bandhu. The JP was established as an amalgam of Indian political partie ...

. Joshi excelled in his academic years both at school and college. A student of New Modern English School, Pune, he displayed outstanding oratory skill in contests while at the

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 Vaman Shriram Apte, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Vishnushashtri Chiplunkar, Mah ...

and won innumerable prizes. His literary excellence was well reflected in his regular article contributions. He was motivated to move into politics after participating in the

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

festivals and Tilak processions. He entered the

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic ...

in 1924 while still studying at college. Joshi was jailed for one year in 1930 for his involvement in the Civil Disobedience Movement. Following his release, he was again put behind bars for another two years for a speech he made on "Roy's Day". This earned him a lot of acclaim from the people of India. His notable contributions to the socialist movement include the formation of the

Congress Socialist Party The Congress Socialist Party (CSP) was a socialist caucus within the Indian National Congress. It was founded in 1934 by Congress members who rejected what they saw as the anti-rational mysticism of Gandhi as well as the sectarian attitude of ...

in 1934, the Rashtra

Seva Dal The Seva Dal is an organization of the Indian National Congress. The organization has a chapter in all the states of India. The members of the organization are known for wearing the Gandhi topi. It is headed by a Chief Organiser Shri Lalji Des ...

, and his role in the revolutionary campaign launched by

Jayaprakash Narayan Jayaprakash Narayan Srivastava (; 11 October 1902 – 8 October 1979), also known as JP and ''Lok Nayak'' (Hindi for "People's leader"), was an Indian politician, theorist and Indian independence activist, independence activist. He is mai ...

. In his political career, he worked as the secretary of the Maharashtra Youth Conference and the Mass-Contact Committee. He played a key role in the success of the (Congress Convention). He was a member of the All-India Congress Socialist Party. His other notable social work includes his participation in the

's drive for a unilingual Marathi speaking Maharashtra state, setting up worker unions, and working for the cause of the Dalits in

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 ...

. He became a State Assembly member in 1957, and secured a

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 ...

seat in 1967. Joshi died in 1989.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Joshi, Shreedhar Mahadev 1904 births 1989 deaths Praja Socialist Party politicians India MPs 1967–1970 Lok Sabha members from Maharashtra People from Pune district Leaders of the opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Marathi politicians Samyukta Socialist Party politicians Janata Party politicians