Shripad Amrit Dange | |
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Member of the Indian Parliament for Bombay City North |
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In office 15 April 1952 – 4 April 1957 |
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Preceded by | Constituency established |
Succeeded by | V. K. Krishna Menon |
Member of the Indian Parliament for Bombay City Central |
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In office 5 Apr 1957 – 31 March 1962 |
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Preceded by | Jayashri Naishadh Raiji |
Succeeded by | Vithal Balkrishna Gandhi |
Member of the Indian Parliament for Bombay Central South |
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In office 4 March 1967 – 27 December 1970 |
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Preceded by | Vithal Balkrishna Gandhi |
Succeeded by | Abdul Kader Salebhoy |
Personal details | |
Born |
10 October 1899 Karanjgaon, Bombay Presidency, British India (now Maharashtra, India) |
Died |
22 May 1991 (aged 91) Bombay, Maharashtra, India |
Spouse(s) | Ushatai Dange |
Shripad Amrit Dange (10 October 1899 – 22 May 1991) was a founding member of the Communist Party of India (CPI) and a stalwart of Indian trade union movement. During the British Raj, Dange was arrested by the British authorities for communist and trade union activities and was jailed for an overall period of 13 years. After India's Independence, a series of events like Sino-Soviet split, Sino-Indian war, and the revelation that while in jail, Dange had written letters to the British Government, offering them cooperation, led to a split in the Communist Party of India, in 1964. The breakaway Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) emerged stronger both in terms of membership and their performance in the Indian Elections. Dange, who remained the Chairman of the CPI till 1978, was removed in that year because the majority of party workers were against Dange's political line of supporting Indian National Congress, and Indira Gandhi, the then Congress Prime Minister. He was expelled from the CPI in 1981. He joined the All India Communist Party (AICP), and later, United Communist Party of India. Towards the end, Dange got increasingly marginalised in the Indian Communist movement. He was also a well-known writer and was the founder of Socialist the first socialist weekly in India. Dange played an important role in the formation of Maharashtra state.
Shripad Amrutpant Dange was born in 1899, in the village of Karanjgaon in Niphad Taluka of Nashik District, Maharashtra. His father worked in Mumbai as government officer and was major landowner of the area and lived in one palace like house in Karanjgaon. Dange was sent to study in Pune. He was expelled from college for organising a movement against compulsory teaching of the Bible. While in work, Dange was exposed to conditions of workers when he undertook voluntary work in the textile mill areas of Mumbai. Dange was drawn into active politics by the fervour of nationalist movement against the British rule in India.Bal Gangadhar Tilak, a veteran leader of Indian National Congress from Maharashtra, the earliest proponent of swaraj (complete independence) greatly inspired young Dange. Later, when Mahatma Gandhi launched the Non-Cooperation Movement in 1920, Dange gave up his studies and joined the Independence movement.