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Narasimha Chintaman Kelkar

(1872 – 1947) – (Maharashtra)

Narasimha Chintaman Kelkar (Aged 75) popularly known as Sahityasamrat Tatyasaheb Kelkar, was a multifaceted personality born on 24 August 1872 in a Chitpavan Brahmin family. He was a lawyer from Miraj, a dramatist, novelist, short story writer, poet, biographer, critic, historian, and writer on philosophical and political themes. He was a prominent literary and political figure in Maharashtra, India, and served as both editor and trustee of the newspaper Kesari, having been elected twice as its editor when Tilak was imprisoned in 1897 and 1908.

Kelkar was associated with Shikshana Prasarak Mandali Pune, an education society in Pune established in 1904, and was also closely connected with Bal Gangadhar Tilak in the Indian independence movement. After Tilak’s death in 1920, Kelkar became one of the foremost leaders of the Tilak faction in the Congress party. He was elected to the Central Legislative Assembly, the lower house of the Imperial Legislative Council in 1923 and served until 1929.

Kelkar was also president of Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha twice, in Jabalpur in 1928 and Delhi in 1932. He passed away on 14 October 1947.