Madhav Shrihari Aney

Loknayak Bapuji Madhav Shrihari Aney
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
In office 1962–1967
Preceded by	Anasuyabai Kale
Succeeded by	Narendra R. Deoghare
Constituency	Nagpur
2nd Governor of Bihar
In office 12 January 1948 – 14 June 1952
Chief Minister	Shri Krishna Sinha
Preceded by	Jairamdas Daulatram
Succeeded by	R. R. Diwakar
Member of the Viceroy's Executive Council
In office 1941–1943
Monarch	George VI
Governor‑General	Victor Hope, 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow
Personal details
Born	29 August 1880 Wani, Berar Province, Hyderabad State, British India (present-dayMaharashtra, India)
Died	26 January 1968 (aged 87)
Cause of death	Myocardial Infarction
Political party	Congress Nationalist Party
Other political affiliations	Indian National Congress
Spouse	Yamuna Bai ​ ​ (m. 1898; died 1925)​
Children	4
Alma mater	Morris College (B.A., 1902) Calcutta University (LL.B, 1907)
Occupation	Author, politician, freedom fighter
Known for	Role in the Indian Independence movement
Awards	Padma Vibhushan (1968)

Madhav Shrihari Aney (29 August 1880 – 26 January 1968);^[1] 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".^[2] He was one of the founders 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.^[3] 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, confided 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.^[4]