Govind Pansare

Govind Pansare (26 November 1933 – 20 February 2015) was a left-wing Indian politician of the Communist Party Of India (CPI).

Govind Pandharinath Pansare was born on 26 November 1933 in Kolhar village, Shrirampur taluka, Ahmednagar district, Maharashtra.

He was the youngest of five siblings.

His mother, Harnabai, was a farmhand and his father Pandharinath worked odd jobs.

They lost their land to the moneylenders and they lived in poverty.

Pansare joined the local branch of Rashtra Seva Dal, a local socialist group founded by Sane Guruji.

A member of the organisation, Govind Patki, helped Pansare get admission to a high school in Rahuri.

Pansare was introduced to Communism in his school days.

He helped the election campaign of communist candidate P. B. Kadu Patil in the assembly elections.

Pansare then moved to Kolhapur district for further education.

There he was joined by Patki who was a native of that district.

In 1952, he joined the Communist Party of India (CPI).

While studying in the Rajaram College, Kolhapur, he used to visit a book shop called The Republic Bookstall, which was run by left-wing activists.

There he read various books on the left ideologies.

He participated in Samyukta Maharashtra Movement and the Goa liberation movement.

After completing his Bachelor of Arts, he studied law in Shahaji Law College and completed his LLB.

In 1962, he was arrested during the Sino-Indian War, as he was a communist and was seen as a China-sympathiser.

In 1964, he began practicing in the field of labour law.

He represented various labour unions and slum dwellers.

In 1964, when the Communist Party of India (CPI) split, he stayed with the parent party.

He later became a state secretary of the CPI and a member of CPI's national executive.

Pansare used to run an organisation which encouraged inter-caste marriages.

He had opposed the Putrakameshti yajna, a Hindu ritual that supposed results in a male child.

He had protested toll taxes.

He had also criticised the glorification of Nathuram Godse, the man who killed Gandhi.

After the murder of Narendra Dabholkar, the anti-superstition activist, Pansare had asked the members of Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti to continue his work.

He had three children.

His son Avinash was also active in left politics.

Avinash died young.

He has two daughters, Smita and Megha, and a daughter-in-law, Megha.

His daughter-in-law Megha Pansare is Assistant Professor in Russian language at the Shivaji University, Kolhapur.

She is also an activist of CPI, now holds the position of President, Kolhapur District, National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW).

Pansare was a rationalist.

Pansare has written 21 books, most of them commentaries on social wrongs.

Shivaji Kon Hota? (Marathi for Who was Shivaji) is considered his most notable work.

It was based on a speech he gave in May 1987.

It was a counter to the ideology of Hindutva organisations and right-wing organisations like Shiv Sena, for whom the king Shivaji is icon.

He and his wife were attacked on 16 February 2015 by gun-wielding assailants in Kolhapur district.

He died from his wounds on 20 February, 2015.

He was also the author of the best selling Marathi language biography of 17th century ruler Shivaji, Shivaji Kon Hota (Marathi: शिवाजी कोण होता?, literally Who was Shivaji?).