WDr. Madhav Shrihari Aney ; popularly referred to as Loknayak Bapuji Aney or Bapuji Aney, was an ardent educationist, freedom fighter, statesman, a modern Sanskrit poet and a politician. He was also conferred with the title of "Loknayak Bapuji", which means "The People's Leader and Respected Father". He was one of the founder of the Congress Nationalist Party. He was first among the eminent disciples of Lokmanya Tilak such as N C Kelkar, Kakasaheb Khadilkar, Gangadhar Deshpande, Dr B S Munje, Abhyankar, T B Paranjpe and Vaman Malhar Joshi, who walked in the footsteps of Tilak. Accepting the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi on the death of Bal Gangadhar Tilak. Aney persuaded his colleagues to see the writing on the wall. At the same time he was not blind in his loyalty. He disapproved Congress throwing itself in Khilafat Movement and warned against excessive wooing of Muslims at the cost of national interests. He regarded unity at any price as elusive and dangerous. Since the best safeguard for the minority was the goodwill of the majority. He never permitted his critical faculties to be blurred by emotion. Mahatma Gandhi admiring his calm logic, confined in him and often sought his counsel. He was chosen to arbitrate the disputes between Subhash Chandra Bose and Jatindra Mohan Sengupta. He was never a breaker or a destroyer but was always a cementing factor believing in synthesis and not in segregation.
WHari Narayan Apte was a Marathi writer from Maharashtra, India.
WPrahlad Keshav Atre, popularly known as Āchārya Atre, was a prominent Marathi writer, poet, educationist, founder–editor of [Maratha], and above all, a noted orator.
WDurga Narayan Bhagwat, popularly known as Durga Bhagwat, was an Indian scholar, socialist and writer. She studied Sanskrit and Buddhist literature and spent time in the jungles of Madhya Pradesh to study tribal life. She later returned to Mumbai as a researcher and wrote books in Marathi. She is arguably the foremost female writer in Marathi. Shes one amongst the prominent writers who opposed The Emergency (India). She also abstained from accepting such institutional and civilian honours as the Padma Shree and the Jnanapeeth.
WPurushottam Laxman Deshpande, popularly known by his initials or as P. L. Deshpande, was a Marathi writer and humorist from Maharashtra, India. He was also an accomplished film and stage actor, script writer, author, composer, musician, singer and orator. He was often referred to as "Maharashtra's beloved personality".
WNarhar Vishnu Gadgil was an Indian freedom fighter and politician from Maharashtra, India. He was also a writer. He wrote in both Marathi and English. His son Vitthalrao Gadgil also represented Congress later as minister and ideologue.
WSayajirao Gaekwad III was the Maharaja of Baroda State from 1875 to 1939, and is remembered for reforming much of his state during his rule. He belonged to the royal Gaekwad dynasty of the Marathas which ruled parts of present-day Gujarat.
WUttam Kamble is an Indian journalist who was the Chief Editor of Sakal Media Group. He is a post modern author. He has been in journalism for more than three decades. He is best known for his oratory, poetry and his writings for the oppressed and deprived class. He is the President of 84th Akhil Bhartiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan, single largest literary meet surviving great tradition in Marathi. He also inaugurated 16th Kamgar Sahitya Sammelan in Satara district of Maharashtra which was presided over by Ramdas Phutane.
WShri Venkatesh Bapuji Ketkar was a scholar, astronomist and astrologist from Maharashtra, India. This forgotten star from the field of Indian astronomy, the legendary 'Jyotirvid' born in 1854, dedicated his life for the research and purification of Indian almanac system (Pañcānga) of timekeeping. It is a lesser known fact that he predicted the existence of 'Pluto' in 1911; even before its discovery in 1930. He authored a number of books on astronomy, Pañcānga and literature and also published many research papers in European science journals.
WVishnu Sakharam Khandekar was a Marathi writer from Maharashtra, India. He was the first Marathi author to win the prestigious Jnanpith Award.
WVishnu Vāman Shirwādkar, popularly known by his pen name, Kusumāgraj, also known as Vi. Vā. Shirwadkar, was an eminent Marathi poet, playwright, novelist, short story writer, apart from being a humanist, who wrote of freedom, justice and emancipation of the deprived, In a career spanning five decades starting in pre-independence era, he wrote 16 volumes of poems, three novels, eight volumes of short stories, seven volumes of essays, 18 plays and six one-act plays. His works like the Vishakha (1942), a collection of lyrics, inspired a generation into the Indian freedom movement, and is today considered one of the masterpieces of Indian literature, apart from his play, Natsamrat, which has an important place in Marathi literature. He was the recipient of several State awards, and National awards including the 1974 Sahitya Akademi Award in Marathi for Natsamrat, Padma Bhushan (1991) and the Jnanapith Award in 1987; he also served as the President of the Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan held at Margao in 1964.
WGajānan Digambar Mādguḷkar was a Marāthi poet, lyricist, writer and actor from India. He is popularly known in his home state of Mahārāshtra by just his initials as Ga Di Mā (गदिमा). He was awarded Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1951 and Padma Shri in 1969. He has written 157 screen plays and over 2000 songs in his career. He was called Ādhunik Valmiki of current era due to his composition of Geet Rāmāyan as the most notable work. 2019 is celebrated as his Birth Century year. Government of Maharashtra hosts various events and festivals to grace the occasion.
WYashawant Dinkar Phadke was a historian and a political activist from Maharashtra, India.
WDattatray Vaman Potdar, better known as Datto Vaman Potdar, was an Indian historian, writer, and orator. He was the Vice-Chancellor of University of Pune during 1961 - 1964.
WMahadev Govind Ranade was an Indian scholar, social reformer, judge and author. He was one of the founding members of the Indian National Congress party and owned several designations as member of the Bombay legislative council, member of the finance committee at the centre, and judge of the Bombay High Court, Maharashtra.
WVinayak Damodar Savarkar, commonly known as Swatantryaveer Savarkar or simply Veer Savarkar in Marathi language, was an Indian independence activist and politician who formulated the Hindu nationalist philosophy of Hindutva. He was a leading figure in the Hindu Mahasabha.
WShanta Janardan Shelke was a Marathi poet and writer in the Marathi language. She was also a noted journalist, and academic. Her work included song compositions, stories, translations, and children's literature. She presided over many literary gatherings.