Sitaram Keshav Bole

Rao Bahadur Sitaram Keshav Bole, also known as Babasaheb Bole (1869―1961) was an Indian reformer, activist, barrister and politician from Bombay. He was a member of the Bombay Legislative Council, who was known for his contributions towards the upliftment of mill workers in Bombay and the Bhandari community. He was an associate of B. R. Ambedkar. He founded the Kitte Bhandari Aikyavardhak Mandali, founded in 1890. Rao Bahadur SK Bole Road in Dadar, Mumbai, is named after him. The British government conferred him the title of Rao Bahadur. He followed Satyashodhak ideology. S. K. Bole joined the Independent Labour Party, a newly formed political party of B. R. Ambedkar. In the 1937 elections, he contested from the Ratnagiri region but lost to the Congress party candidate. In 1938, he took a drastic shift and joined the Hindu Mahasabha.

He was appointed as the chairmanship of Maharashtra Prantik Hindu Mahasabha in 1938 and served as chairman till 1945.

Other Bole established the Indian Education Society in 1917 and held the position of chief of the Indian Education Society and Dadar Co-operative Institute. In 1925, he started a weekly newspaper, Navyug. He was served as the chairman of the Co-operative Conference, Vasai, in 1926 and was made chairman of Co-operative Conference, Kalyan in 1927.

Death and legacy He died on January 14, 1961. A road in Mumbai's Dadar west called Raobahadur SK Bole Road is named after him by the Bombay Municipal Corporation.