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{{Short description|Indian physicist and politician}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2015}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2015}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Madhu Dandavate
| image =
| image_size =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=y|1924|01|21}}
| birth_place = [[Ahmednagar]], [[Bombay Presidency]], [[British India]] (now in [[Maharashtra]], [[India]])
| residence =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=y|2005|11|12|1924|01|21}}
| death_place = [[Mumbai]], Maharashtra, India
| office = [[Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission]]
| primeminister =
| term_start = 1 August 1996
| term_end = 21 March 1998
| predecessor = [[Pranab Mukherjee]]
| successor = [[Jaswant Singh]]
| term_start1 = 7 July 1990
| term_end1 = 10 December 1990
| predecessor1 = [[Ramakrishna Hegde]]
| successor1 = [[Mohan Dharia]]
| office2 = [[Ministry of Finance (India)|Minister of Finance]]
| primeminister2 = [[V. P. Singh]]
| term_start2 = 2 December 1989
| term_end2 = 10 November 1990
| predecessor2 = [[Shankarrao Chavan]]
| successor2 = [[Yashwant Sinha]]
| office3 = [[Ministry of Railways (India)|Minister of Railways]]
| term_start3 = 1977
| term_end3 = 1979
| primeminister3 = [[Morarji Desai]]
| predecessor3 = [[Kamalapati Tripathi]]
| successor3 = [[Kamalapati Tripathi]]
| office4 = [[Member of Parliament]], [[Lok Sabha]]
| constituency4 = [[Rajapur (Lok Sabha constituency)|Rajapur]], [[Maharashtra]]
| term_start4 = 1971
| term_end4 = 1991
| predecessor4 = [[Nath Pai]]
| successor4 = [[Sudhir Sawant]]
| office5 = Member of [[Maharashtra Legislative Council]]
| term_start5 = 1970
| term_end5 = 1971
| predecessor5 =
| successor5 =
| party = [[Janata Dal]]
| otherparty = [[Janata Party]],<ref>{{cite web | url=http://164.100.47.192/Loksabha/Members/statedetailar.aspx?state_name=Maharashtra&lsno=6 | title=State wise Details Maharashtra | publisher=[[Lok Sabha]] | accessdate=8 June 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160701234042/http://164.100.47.192/Loksabha/Members/statedetailar.aspx?state_name=Maharashtra&lsno=6 | archive-date=1 July 2016 | url-status=dead }}</ref>[[Praja Socialist Party]]<ref name=loksabha1971>{{cite web|url=http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/StatisticalReports/LS_1971/Vol_I_LS71.pdf |title=General Elections, India, 1971 - Constituency Wise Detailed Results |publisher=Election Commission |accessdate=8 June 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140718175452/http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/StatisticalReports/LS_1971/Vol_I_LS71.pdf |archive-date=18 July 2014 }}</ref>
| nationality = [[Indian nationality|Indian]]
| spouse = {{marriage|[[Pramila Dandavate]]|1953|2001|reason=died}}
| children = Uday Dandavate (Son)
| website =
| footnotes =
| date =
| year =
| source = http://164.100.47.194/loksabha/writereaddata/biodata_1_12/2068.htm
}}
'''Madhu Dandavate''' (21 January 1924 – 12 November 2005) was an Indian [[physicist]] and [[Socialism|socialist]] [[politician]], who served as [[Minister of Railways (India)|Minister of Railways]] in the [[Premiership of Morarji Desai|Morarji Desai ministry]], and as [[Minister of Finance (India)|Minister of Finance]] in the [[Vishwanath Pratap Singh ministry|V P Singh ministry]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|last=Deol|first=Taran|date=21 January 2020|title=Madhu Dandavate — two inches of foam that he gifted Indians and the letters he wrote|work=ThePrint|url=https://theprint.in/theprint-profile/madhu-dandavate-two-inches-of-foam-that-he-gifted-indians-and-the-letters-he-wrote/352263/|access-date=11 September 2020}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last=Guha|first=Ramachandra|date=20 November 2005|title=TWO INCHES OF FOAM, The Hindu|url=http://ramachandraguha.in/archives/two-inches-of-foam.html|access-date=11 September 2020|website=ramachandraguha.in}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite news|date=13 November 2005|title=Madhu Dandavate passes away at 81|work=The Times of India|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Madhu-Dandavate-passes-away-at-81/articleshow/1293361.cms|access-date=11 September 2020}}</ref>

Born in [[Ahmednagar]], [[Bombay Presidency]], Dandavate studied and was employed as a physicist in [[Mumbai|Bombay]], before participating in the [[Quit India Movement]] in 1942.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /> After independence, he served as a [[Member of parliament, Lok Sabha|Member of Parliament]] from [[Rajapur (Lok Sabha constituency)|Rajapur]] in [[Maharashtra]] from 1971 to 1991.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":4" /> As an opposition politician, Dandavate was jailed during [[The Emergency (India)|the Emergency]].<ref name=":5" /> Serving as Railway Minister from 1977 to 1979, he initiated a number of improvements, most notably providing more comfortable cushioned seats to second-class passengers, a measure that "helped hundreds of millions of people". Later in the late 1980s, he served as Finance Minister.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0" /><ref name=":6">{{Cite book|last=Guha|first=Ramachandra|title=[[India After Gandhi]]|publisher=Picador|year=2008|isbn=978-0-330-50554-3|location=London|pages=526–527}}</ref>

A prominent socialist politician and opposition leader, Dandavate was respected for his integrity, knowledge, simplicity and [[pragmatism]], with historian [[Ramachandra Guha]] placing him among the few ministers who "shall be remembered for having carried out programmes that radically reshaped the lives of their people".<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0" /><ref name=":4" /><ref name=":6" />

==Early life and career==
Madhu Dandavate was born in a [[Marathi people|Marathi]] [[Deshastha Brahmin]] family<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.indiainfoline.com/finance-ministers-of-india/madhu-dandavate|title=Madhu Dandavate the Finance Minister of India|publisher=India Infoline}}</ref> in [[Ahmednagar]] on January 21, 1924, the son of Ramachandra Dandavate.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite news|date=12 November 2005|title=Veteran Socialist Madhu Dandavate passes away|work=Zee News|url=https://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/veteran-socialist-madhu-dandavate-passes-away_255615.html|access-date=11 September 2020}}</ref> After completing his [[Master of Science|M.Sc.]] in [[Physics]] from [[The Institute of Science, Mumbai|Royal Institute of Science, Bombay]], he headed the Physics department at Siddhartha College of Arts and Sciences, Bombay.<ref name=":0" />

==Political career==
Dandavate entered politics as an [[List of Indian independence activists|independence activist]], participating in the [[Quit India Movement]] in 1942. He was the leader of a ''[[Satyagraha]]'' campaign in [[Portuguese India|Goa in 1955 against Portuguese imperialism]].<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":0" />

He was a member of [[Praja Socialist Party]], and since 1948 served as chairman of its Maharashtra unit. Later, he also served as the party's joint secretary.{{citation needed|date=April 2018}} He was an active leader of the Land Liberation Movement, 1969.{{citation needed|date=April 2018}}

During 1970-71, Dandavate was a member of the [[Maharashtra Legislative Council]].<ref name=":4" /> From 1971 to 1990, he was a [[Member of parliament, Lok Sabha|Member of Parliament]], elected to the [[Lok Sabha]] for five consecutive terms from [[Rajapur (Lok Sabha constituency)|Rajapur]] in [[Konkan]], [[Maharashtra]].<ref name=":2">{{cite web |url= http://164.100.47.132/LssNew/biodata_1_12/2068.htm |title= Member's Profile -9th Lok Sabha |accessdate= 22 Feb 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131017214644/http://164.100.47.132/LssNew/biodata_1_12/2068.htm |archive-date= 17 October 2013 |url-status= dead }}</ref> He was one of the prominent opposition leaders during [[Indira Gandhi]] and [[Rajiv Gandhi]]'s tenures as [[Prime Minister of India|Prime Ministers]].<ref name=":0" />

Dandavate was arrested during [[The Emergency (India)|the Emergency]] in 1975, spending time in [[Bangalore Central Jail]].<ref>Selections from Regional Press -2002 - Volume 21 - Page 36</ref><ref>Dialogue with Life by Madhu Dandavate- Page 109</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=QaGzA2WA_B0C&pg=PA511&dq=Madhu+Dandavate+arrested+emergency&hl=en&sa=X&ei=qAoUU4_rKMKCrgeBuoGoCA&ved=0CCoQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Madhu%20Dandavate%20arrested%20emergency&f=false] Case Studies on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms: A World Survey, Volume 3- 1987</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite news|last=Ashraf|first=Ajaz|date=25 June 2019|title=44th anniversary of Emergency: How love letters between Madhu and Pramila Dandavate in jail defied odds of authoritarian rule|work=Firstpost|url=https://www.firstpost.com/politics/44th-anniversary-of-emergency-how-letters-of-love-between-madhu-and-pramila-dandavate-in-jail-defied-odds-of-authoritarian-rule-25-june-1975-6868681.html|access-date=11 September 2020}}</ref>

After the end of the Emergency and the [[1977 Indian general election|1977 elections]], Dandavate served as the [[Minister of Railways (India)|Minister of Railways]] in the [[Premiership of Morarji Desai|Morarji Desai ministry]]. He initiated a number of improvements in [[Rail transport in India|the country's rail infrastructure]]. These included the computerization of railway reservations, which reduced corruption among booking clerks and uncertainty among passengers; sanctioning the first phase of the [[Konkan Railway]] in 1978-79, with a line from [[Apta railway station|Apta]] to [[Roha railway station|Roha]]; and the repair or replacement of 5000 [[kilometre]]s of worn-out [[Track (rail transport)|tracks]]. Most notably, he introduced cushioned berths for passengers of second-class sleeper coaches, replacing the existing wooden berths, to provide for a more comfortable journey. While initially implemented in the major trunk lines, all trains had these padded berths in their second-class compartments by the end of the 1980s.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Editorial|date=22 February 2018|title=February 22, 1978, Forty Years Ago|work=The Indian Express|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/editorials/indian-railways-history-rail-budget-5073301/|access-date=11 September 2020}}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

As a parliamentarian, one of his major interventions during the enactment of the [[Anti-defection law (India)|Anti-Defection Law]] in 1985 was the incorporation of a safety clause to allow [[dissent]].<ref name=":4" />

Dandavate later served as the [[Minister of Finance (India)|Finance Minister]] in [[Vishwanath Pratap Singh ministry|the cabinet of V. P. Singh]].<ref name=":3" /> His parliamentary career ended after his loss to [[Sudhir Sawant|Major Sudhir Sawant]] of the [[Indian National Congress|Congress]] in [[1991 Indian general election|1991]], and he slowly receded from national politics.<ref name=":4" />

He was also the [[Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission]] in 1990, and again from 1996 to 1998.

== Death ==
After a protracted period of suffering from [[cancer]], Dandavate died at the [[Jaslok Hospital]] in [[Mumbai]] on 12 November 2005, at the age of 81.<ref name=":3" /> As per his wishes, his body was donated to the city's [[Grant Medical College and Sir Jamshedjee Jeejeebhoy Group of Hospitals|J. J. Hospital]].<ref name=":4" />

==Personal life==
Madhu Dandavate was married to [[Pramila Dandavate]], who was also prominently involved in the socialist movement in India, in 1953.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":5" /> She was a member of the [[7th Lok Sabha]] after being elected in the [[1980 Indian general election|1980 general election]] from the [[Mumbai North Central (Lok Sabha constituency)|Mumbai North Central constituency]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://164.100.47.132/LssNew/biodata_1_12/2714.htm | title=Members Bioprofile - Dandavate, Shrimati Pramila | publisher=[[Lok Sabha]] | accessdate=10 May 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512231640/http://164.100.47.132/LssNew/biodata_1_12/2714.htm | archive-date=12 May 2014 | url-status=dead }}</ref> During their 18-month detention during the Emergency, with Madhu lodged in Bangalore Central Jail and Pramila in [[Yerawada Central Jail|Yerawada Jail]] in [[Pune]], the couple wrote each other 200 letters, discussing issues like music, books, philosophy and love.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":5" />

Pramila died on 31 December 2001 after a [[heart attack]].<ref>{{cite news | url=http://hindu.com/2002/01/02/stories/2002010201421100.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121015044402/http://hindu.com/2002/01/02/stories/2002010201421100.htm | url-status=dead | archive-date=15 October 2012 | title=Pramila Dandavate dead | newspaper=[[The Hindu]] | date=2 January 2005 | accessdate=10 May 2014}}</ref> The couple had one son, Uday, who studied at the [[National Institute of Design]], and owns a design research consulting company in [[San Francisco]], [[United States|US]]. In 2014, Uday Dandavate joined the [[Aam Aadmi Party]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=News Desk|date=16 January 2014|title=Former Railway Minister Madhu Dandavate's son Uday joins AAP|work=IndiaTV|url=https://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/former-railway-minister-madhu-dandavate-s-son-uday-joins-aap-32559.html|access-date=11 September 2020}}</ref>

== Legacy ==
A prominent socialist politician and opposition leader, Dandavate was known for his incisive speeches laced with wit and humour, often raising issues of public importance during [[Lok Sabha|Zero Hour in Parliament]].<ref name=":4" /> He was also hailed for his integrity and humility.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

In ''[[India After Gandhi]]'', historian [[Ramachandra Guha]] highlights Dandavate's pragmatism, stating that "his socialism eschewed rhetoric against the rich in favour of policies for the poor. As he [Dandavate] put it, 'what I want to do is not degrade the first class but elevate the second class'."<ref name=":6" /> Noting his role in the introduction of cushioned seats in trains, Guha writes that "those two inches of [[Foam rubber|foam]]" have probably "brought more succour to more people than any other initiative by an Indian politician". Guha thus places him among the few ministers who "shall be remembered for having carried out programmes that radically reshaped the lives of their people".<ref name=":1" />

==Bibliography==
Dandavate authored a number of books. His speeches and lectures have also been published.
* ''Future of Parliamentary Democracy in India'', Harold Laski Institute of Political Science, 1974
* ''Marx and Gandhi'', [[Popular Prakashan]], 1977
* ''Jayaprakash Narayan, the Man and His Ideas'', Popular Prakashan, Bombay 1981
* ''Evolution of Socialist Policies and Perspective, 1934-1984'', Popular Prakashan, 1986
* ''As the Mind Unfolds: Issues and Personalities'', Shipra Publications, 1993, {{ISBN|8185402191}}
* ''Echoes in Parliament: Madhu Dandavate's speeches in Parliament, 1971-1990'', Allied Publishers, 1995, {{ISBN|8170234204}}
* ''Quest of Conscience'', Shipra Publications, 1998, {{ISBN|8175410043}}
* ''Yusuf Meherally: Quest For New Horizons'', [[National Book Trust|National Book Trust, India]], 1998 {{ISBN|8123705530}}
* ''Parivartanāce Pāīka: Mahātmā Jotibā Phule Aani Nyāyamūrtī Rānaḍe'', Sadhana Prakashan, 2001 {{small|(Comparative study in [[Marathi language|Marathi]] of social reformers [[Jyotirao Phule]] and [[Mahadev Govind Ranade]])}}
* ''Jayaprakash Narayan: Struggle with Values: A Centenary Tribute'', Allied Publishers, 2002, {{ISBN|9788177643411}}
* ''Dialogue with Life'', Allied Publishers, 2005 {{ISBN|9788177648560}}
* ''Social Roots of Gender Injustice'', [[Theosophical Publishing House]], 2005 {{small|(Lecture delivered at the Theosophical Society, Chennai on 27 December 2001)}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
* Madhu Dandavate: [https://web.archive.org/web/20021003041149/http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mag/2002/01/06/stories/2002010600050400.htm `The battle for justice'], ''The Hindu'', 6 Jan. 2002.
* Madhu Dandavate: [https://web.archive.org/web/20040228085531/http://www.hindu.com/2004/02/04/stories/2004020401941000.htm `Vote-on-account: use and misuse'], ''The Hindu'', 4 Feb. 2004.
* Madhu Dandavate: [https://web.archive.org/web/20081028144017/http://www.hinduonnet.com/2005/04/06/stories/2005040602221000.htm `Gandhis dialogue with the nation'], ''The Hindu'', 6 Apr. 2005.

{{s-start}}
{{succession box
| before=[[Kamalapati Tripathi]]
| title=[[Ministry of Finance (India)|Minister of Railways]]
| years=1977–1979
| after=[[Kamalapati Tripathi]]
}}
{{succession box
| before=[[S. B. Chavan]]
| title=[[Ministry of Finance (India)|Finance Minister of India]]
| years=1989–1990
| after=[[Yashwant Sinha]]
}}
{{s-end}}
{{Ministry of Finance (India)}}
{{Railway Ministers of India}}
{{Deputy Chair of the Planning Commission}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dandavate, Madhu}}
[[Category:1924 births]]
[[Category:2005 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian socialists]]
[[Category:Gandhians]]
[[Category:Marathi politicians]]
[[Category:Lok Sabha members from Maharashtra]]
[[Category:Desai administration]]
[[Category:Railway Ministers of India]]
[[Category:Finance Ministers of India]]
[[Category:Ministers for Corporate Affairs]]
[[Category:V. P. Singh administration]]
[[Category:5th Lok Sabha members]]
[[Category:6th Lok Sabha members]]
[[Category:7th Lok Sabha members]]
[[Category:8th Lok Sabha members]]
[[Category:9th Lok Sabha members]]
[[Category:Members of the Maharashtra Legislative Council]]
[[Category:Indians imprisoned during the Emergency (India)]]
[[Category:Janata Dal politicians]]
[[Category:Praja Socialist Party politicians]]
[[Category:Janata Party politicians]]
[[Category:Janata Dal (Secular) politicians]]
[[Category:Indian independence activists from Maharashtra]]
[[Category:Prisoners and detainees of British India]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian physicists]]
[[Category:English-language writers from India]]
[[Category:Marathi-language writers]]
[[Category:Scientists from Maharashtra]]

Madhu Dandavate - Revision history

->SdkbBot at 11:03, 4 January 2022