Anant Viththal Keer

Anant Viththal Keer (Devanagari: अनंत विठ्ठल कीर), known by his alias Dhananjay Keer (धनंजय कीर)(1913–1984) was an Indian biographer who profiled many high profile politicians and social activists. He had written biographies of Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, B.R Ambedkar, V.D Savarkar, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Jyotiba Phule,: 194  Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj and Mahatma Gandhi. Keer was born in Ratnagiri on 23 April 1913. His father's name was Vithal and his mother's was Devaki; he was married to Sudha and had six children.: 136  K. N. Jadhav writes that the revolutionary atmosphere in Ratnagiri in the early 1920s had a great influence on him. He migrated to Mumbai in 1938 to work with the Education Committee of the city's Municipal Corporation. He began writing in "Free Hindustan". His first biography, that of Savarkar, was first published in 1950.: 159  Later he wrote biographies of Ambedkar and Tilak. Resigning from his job, he wrote biographies of Phule, Shahu and Gandhi. He was bestowed with the Padma Bhushan in 1971: 159  and was conferred with an honorary doctorate by the Shivaji University in 1980.