Indian History
Madan Mohan Malaviya Jayanti
- 26 Dec 2019
- 3 min read
Why in News
The Prime Minister of India paid tribute to Pt. Madan Mohan Malaviya on his 158th birth anniversary (25th December, 2019).
Pt. Madan Mohan Malaviya
- Born on 25th December 1861, in Allahabad (now Prayagraj) in Uttar Pradesh, Malviya played a key role in the Indian independence struggle against British rule and founded the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in 1916.
- He is also remembered for his role in ending the Indian indenture system, especially in the Caribbean.
- Indentured labour was a system of bonded labour that was instituted following the abolition of slavery in 1833.
- Indentured labour were recruited to work on sugar, cotton and tea plantations, and rail construction projects in British colonies in West Indies, Africa and South East Asia.
- He popularized the term ‘Satyamev Jayate’. However, the phrase originally belongs to the Mundaka Upanishad. The term now is the national motto of India.
- He was given the title of ‘Mahamana’ by Rabindranath Tagore and the second President of India, Dr. S. Radhakrishnan gave him the status of a ‘Karmayogi’.
- Devnagri was introduced in the British-Indian courts because of Malviya’s efforts with the British government. This is still considered as one of his greatest achievements.
- Madan Mohan Malviya was expelled from the Brahmin community for expressing his views on caste discrimination and Brahmanical patriarchy. He worked immensely for Hindu-Muslim unity. He is known to have given famous speeches on communal harmony.
- He helped establish the Hindu Mahasabha (“Great Society of Hindus”) in 1906, which brought diverse local Hindu nationalist movements together.
- Malaviya’s consciousness toward the public led to the launch of his own Hindi-language weekly, the Abhyudaya (1907); the Leader of Allahabad, an English-language daily (1909); and the Hindi monthly the Maryada (1910). He also served as the chairman of the board of Hindustan times and facilitated the launch of its Hindi edition.
- He died on 12th November, 1946, at the age of 84.
- In 2014, he was posthumously conferred with Bharat Ratna, the country's highest civilian award.
