December 25 was the birth anniversary of Madan Mohan Malaviya, the famed Indian educationist and freedom fighter who is also called ‘Mahamana’.
About:
Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya (1861 – 1946) was an Indian educationist and a Freedom Fighter.
Names: He was conferred the title of ‘Mahamana’ by Mahatma Gandhi. During his school days he started writing poems under the pen name ‘Makarand’ which were published in journals and magazines.
Role in Freedom Movement:
He was a moderate leader. He was elected as the president of Indian National Congress four times in 1909, 1918, 1932 and 1933, but owing to his arrest by the Government of India, he could not preside over the 1932 and 1933 sessions which had been banned.
As a member of Imperial Legislative Council (later renamed as Central Legislative Assembly), he participated in the important debates most notable being the prohibition of recruitment of Indian indentured labour to the British colonies.
He attended the Round Table Conference in 1931.
Congress Nationalist Party: In protest against the Communal Award of 1932 which sought to provide separate electorates for minorities, Malaviya along with Madhav Shrihari Aney left the Congress and started the Congress Nationalist Party.
Hindu Mahasabha: He founded the Hindu Mahasabha in 1906 to oppose not the just claims of the Muslim community but the "divide and rule" policy of the British Government.
As an Educationist: He founded Banaras Hindu University (BHU) at Varanasi in 1916, which was created under the B.H.U. Act, 1915. He was Vice Chancellor of Banaras Hindu University from 1919–1938.
Journalism: He started the 'Abhyudaya' as a Hindi weekly in 1907 and made it a daily in 1915. He also started the 'Maryada' a Hindi monthly in 1910. He started the 'Leader' an English daily in 1909. He was the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the 'Hindustan Times' from 1924 to 1946.
Though, scouting in India was officially founded in British India in 1909, scouting for native Indians was started by him alongwith Annie Besant. In 1913, he started a scouting inspired organisation called All India Seva Samiti.
Malviya founded Ganga Mahasabha to oppose the damming of Ganges. An agreement known as Aviral Ganga Raksha Samjhuata 1916 was signed between British government and Ganga Mahasabha for uninterrupted flow of Ganges in Haridwar
He took a keen interest in the industrial development of the country and was therefore appointed a member of the Indian Industrial Commission in 1916.
Awards and Honours: He was posthumously conferred with Bharat Ratna in 2014. Mahamana Express, a train named after Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2016. The Train runs between Delhi and Varanasi.
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