Joseph "Kaka" Baptista (17 March 1864 – 18 September 1930) was an Indian politician and activist from Bombay (today known as Mumbai), closely associated with the Lokmanya Tilak and the Home Rule Movement.

Influenced by the Irish Home Rule movement, Baptista's ideas on an Indian version took root.

[2] In 1916, along with Tilak, Annie Besant founded the Home Rule Movement, with Baptista opening the Belgaum unit.

In the interview, Baptista gained the impression "that the Cabinet had decided to give India the fullest possible measure of Home Rule without delay.

One of his most high-profile clients was Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, where he demanded an open trial to assure the dignity of fundamental rights.

[2] I thoroughly disapprove of separate electorate for Indian Christians in water-tight compartmentsIn 1925, Baptista was elected as the mayor of the Bombay Municipal Corporation, a post that he occupied for a year.