The Life of Dattaji Tamhane: A Century of Service

Born as Dattatreya Balakrishna Tamhane on April 13, 1913, in Ratnagiri district, his life became closely tied to Thane, where he moved as a boy and lived until his death in 2014. Dattaji Tamhane lived for 102 years, witnessing India’s journey from British rule to a modern nation. A freedom fighter, socialist leader, and writer, he was admired for his simplicity, integrity, and Gandhian values, never seeking wealth or power.

Dattaji’s father was a Postmaster who was transferred to Thane in 1922, when Dattaji was nine. This move shaped his life, as Thane became his home for nearly a century. Though his father worked for the British government, the family was deeply patriotic. He loved poetry and taught his children nationalist verses, including poems by Savarkar. When a police officer objected, Dattaji’s father cleverly wrote a poem praising King George V to the same tune, giving Dattaji an early lesson in the realities of life under foreign rule. 

Dattaji was born on the same date—six years before the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 1919. As he grew older, he vowed not to celebrate his birthday until India became free.

He joined the freedom struggle as a teenager. At just fifteen, he took part in protests against the Simon Commission in 1928. In 1930, at seventeen, he joined Mahatma Gandhi’s Salt Satyagraha in coastal Maharashtra. Though he began studying mechanical engineering in 1932, his dedication to the nation led him to leave college in 1934 and become a full-time volunteer of the Indian National Congress. He took part in individual satyagraha in 1940 and the Quit India Movement of 1942. He was arrested by the British police in 1942 and imprisoned in Thane jail and spent over two years there, showing his deep commitment to the cause.

Dattaji began his political life with the Congress but gradually changed his views. Concerned for poor farmers and workers, he spent two years at an ashram with Swami Anand, a close associate of Mahatma Gandhi, where he learned simplicity and self-reliance. After Independence, dissatisfied with Congress policies, he joined the Socialist Party in 1948. Believing in democratic socialism, he became a leader of the Praja Socialist Party and helped organize it in Maharashtra. In the 1950s, Dattaji joined the Samyukta Maharashtra Movement for a separate Marathi-speaking state. In 1957, he was elected from the Thane City constituency to the Bombay Legislative Assembly.

Unlike many politicians, Dattaji was deeply studious. He carefully studied laws and wrote books explaining the Tenancy Act and Debt Relief Act so farmers could know their rights. He served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly from 1957 to 1962 and was later elected to the Maharashtra Legislative Council, serving from 1968 to 1974. Throughout this period, he remained a steadfast advocate for land reform and the welfare of tribal communities.

In 1975, when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared the Emergency and civil rights were suspended, Dattaji opposed it despite being in his sixties. He was arrested and jailed for 18 months. In prison, he studied economics and politics deeply. After his release, he helped form the Janata Party in Thane in 1976, playing a key role in defeating the Congress in the next elections.

Dattaji retired from active politics in 1983 but continued social work. He devoted himself to Adivasi welfare in Palghar and Dahanu, fighting moneylenders and protecting tribal land rights. For this work, the Maharashtra government honored him with the Adivasi Seva Puraskar.

Dattaji was also a writer and editor of the weekly ‘Lokmitra’ in Thane, through which he spread socialist ideas. He wrote for children too; his story collection ‘Kalicha Ghoda’ won a state literary award. A lover of Marathi, he spoke at the 84th Akhil Bhartiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan in Thane in 2010 at age 97, urging people to use Marathi in daily life, not just in books.

Dattaji never married and dedicated his life to the nation. He lived simply with his brothers’ families in Thane and avoided luxury. Even after 100, he stayed active, starting a daily reading circle at his home to inspire youth. He was honored by the Maharashtra Chief Minister on his 100th birthday and passed away on April 6, 2014, in a Mulund hospital at the age of 102.

Dattaji Tamhane linked the era of freedom fighters with modern politics. He showed that politics can be honest, simple, and service-driven. Living most of his life in Thane, he is remembered through landmarks like Dattaji Tamhane Maidan in Mulund and a teachers’ award named after him. His life taught that true leadership rests on service and sacrifice, earning him the title “Grand Old Man” of Thane.