Tattva

Pandit Madana Mohana Malaviya is well-known as the founder of the Hindu Benares University. Just as Gandhi has the epithet “Father of the Nation,” Malaviya has earned the title “Teacher of the Nation,” for his determination in manifesting the greatness of India and her culture in the Indian youth. He was three times elected the President of the Indian National Congress, and is also known for popularizing the slogan “Satyameva Jayate (Truth alone will Triumph).” Though his boyhood was spent in utter poverty, he earned much respect through his scholarship, pure life, and selflessness, and this itself earned him more than thirteen million rupees for the university. He is an example of one of the rare geniuses that take birth from time to time in this world.

Birth and Poverty

Malaviya was born on December 25^th 1861 in Ahiyapura, Uttar Pradesh, which is now named after him and famous as Malaviyanagar. His ancestors hailed from a place called Malwa near Jhansi in North India, hence the surname. Just a few years before he was born, there were freedom struggles led by Nana Saheb, Tatia Tope, and Rani Lakshmibai, to drive the British out of India. Despite the resistance, India was made a part of the British Empire, and there was a great social change occurring in Indians, as they wanted to look and act more Western. Malaviya’s ancestors, however, held on to their roots, and his father Pandit Vrajanath earned his living only by reading and delivering discourse on the Srimad Bhagavatam. Because his income was quite low, their house was small and built with walls of mud. Vrajanath was not even rich enough to distribute sweets to guests, and would just thank his well wishers with folded hands. Such were their family tribulations.

Early Years and Education

As a boy, Madana Mohana Malaviya was very cheerful and active. His education started when he turned five. There was no school at that time in Ahiyapura, so he learnt under a private scholar, Pandit Haradeva, where he studied the Bhagavad Gita, Manusmriti, and many other works. He was bestowed with the sacred thread when he was eight, and afterwards he used to perform religious rites in the morning and evening with his father. Madana wanted to learn English, but the schools that taught English also charged heavy fees. Since they were so poor, Madana’s mother had to sell her gold bangles in order to get Madana admitted to the school. Since in his house fresh food was never ready for him in time to attend the school, he had to eat cooked food from the previous day. Nevertheless, little Madana did not lose heart and within a few days, he topped his English class and became his teacher’s favorite. Madana was also very devoted to music, and he learned to play the flute and sitar. He also learned to sing the songs of Meera and Suradas. This kept him happy despite his family’s financial burden.

College Years

Madana passed the F.A. examination in 1881 and joined the Muir Central College. In 1884, he passed the B.A. examination at Calcutta University. Though he wanted to go higher and pursue M.A., he understood the financial strain of his parents and instead took up employment to assist them. He worked as a teacher on a salary of forty rupees a month.

The Lawyer

Malaviya became an advocate of the Allahabad High Court in 1892. He became famous for his charming and persuasive speech, simple and clear analysis, and profound scholarship. He was also very honest, as throughout his life, he never accepted a false or hollow case. He preferred to argue cases in which innocent and poor people were involved.

Benares Hindu University

As Malaviya observed the nation around him, he realized that there was a problem with Indian society. Many Indians were so proud of the English language, customs, manners and civilization that they were getting the feeling that anything Indian was shameful. This was partially because of the education system that was in place in India. After the British Empire regained their control in 1857, they established universities in Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras. However, these universities simply followed the model of the English universities. Malaviya realized as an eminent scholar and patriot of the nation that in order for Indian culture to receive due respect by educated men, there had to be a change in the education system. He decided to establish a Hindu University in Varanasi (Benares).

In the twenty-first session of the Indian National Congress held in Benares, Pandit Malaviya called together the senior leaders of Congress and spoke to them about his strong desire to establish a Hindu University in Benares. All of the leaders heartily welcomed the idea. To obtain the sacred land for the university, he spoke to the Raja of Benares, who happily gifted him the land on the auspicious day of Makar Sankranthi.

The next problem was funding. Malaviya went on a tour of the whole country to solicit funds for the Hindu university. His coffers began to swell as his tour progressed and on his way he reached Hyderabad. At that time, it was ruled by the Nizam, who refused to donate any money to a Hindu university, because he was Muslim. However, Malaviya did not want to return without a donation from the Nizam. It so happened that a rich person died that day in Hyderabad, and his admirers were showering lots of money on his dead body. Malaviya then began to pick up the money and put it in his bag, and interestingly the people surrounding him also helped to collect the money. The bag was full by the end of the day, and the Nizam was so ashamed that he also donated generously.

Malaviya traveled many times across the length and breadth of the country, from Himachal to Kanyakumari and from Peshawar to Brahmadesh. He solicited funds wherever he went. The Maharaja of Dharbanga was so pleased with Malaviya’s work that he himself pledged to work for the noble cause for the rest of his life. Malaviya earned a total of one crore and thirty-four lakh rupees and earned the title of “Emperor of Beggars”. Gandhiji later exclaimed that he learned the art of ‘begging’ from his ‘elder brother’, Malaviya.

On February 4^th 1916 on the auspicious day of Vasant Panchami, the foundation stone of the Hindu University was laid by the Viceroy and the Governor-General of India, on the bank of the holy Ganga. The ceremony was attended by distinguished persons and leaders of every community, including Hindus, Muslims, Parsis, and Christians. Rajas and Maharajas graced the occasion.

The Ideal Journalist

Malaviya also exhibited great service in the field of journalism. When he took over as editor of “The Hindusthan”, he made a pact with the owner of the newspaper that he should have full freedom in his writing. He had all the qualities to make a world-famous journalist, such as self-respect, dignity, sense of honor, and a sense of responsibility. He wrote only for the service of the country. The “Hindusthan Times” and the “Hindusthan” published from Delhi are the fruits of his inspiration. He also served as the editor of The Indian Union, an English newspaper.

Round Table Conference

In those days, the British government was considering the question of giving India “Swaraj” or self-rule. In 1931, the second Round Table Conference met in London. Mahatma Gandhi was one of the leaders invited from India, and he decided to take Malaviya with him. Malaviya’s role at the conference was so memorable that he won the hearts of even eminent politicians in distant lands. In his book “Indian Dairy”, Montague has spoken appreciatively of Malaviya’s part in the conference. Tej Bahadur Sapru also heartily praised Malaviya’s courage.

Revolutionary

When he was asked how Hindus who had been converted to Islam could be reconverted to Hinduism, he said “Ram Nam and the holy water of the Ganga, these will do”. With the goal of organizing Hindus, he worked hard day after day. At the same time, he worked for Hindu-Muslim unity. He proclaimed that India could never progress if the lot of the Harijans (untouchables) did not improve. He was always thinking of the ways to uplift the backward classes, the poor people, the young widows, and illiterate villagers. He was a great man whose dream was that India should grow stronger in every way.

Malaviya’s Views and Outlooks

Pandit Malaviya passed away on November 12^th, 1946. But his vision and thoughts still live on in many hearts today. His multifaceted personality made him, at the same time, a great patriot, an educationist with a vision, a social reformer, an ardent journalist, reluctant but effective lawyer, a successful parliamentarian and an outstanding statesman.

He strongly felt that the study of the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Gita, the Mahabharata, the Ramayana, and the holy books, and fostering of Indian culture and of the Sanskrit language were matters of importance. He established the university to fulfill these ideals of his life, and it soon became his very breath. Some of his quotes and excerpts from famous speeches are printed below:

“Conduct is more important than economic progress. Every country must always be prepared to protect its religion. If our modern young men and women do not protect the Hindu Dharma which has been bequeathed to us, we will be surrounded by uneducated, useless, mean people or educated people who misuse their learning. The result is the total loss of religion. We need not understand religion in a narrow sense. It is also not necessary to reject religion. A proper understanding of the Hindu religion will be a guiding light in one’s life. The younger generation of India should understand Indian culture.”

“Let our youths receive liberal education. Side by side let them also try to learn how to evaluate the teachings of other religions.”

“Have faith in the Supreme Being; be kind to all animals. Have pity on the poor and the weak. Always respect women. Sympathize with people who are in distress and give them all the help you can. Do not be cruel to anybody.”

“Lead a pure life. Protect the sacred cow. Do not desire another’s money. Good deeds beget good results and evil deeds bad results.”

“Always have self-confidence. Do not speak ill of others. When there is difference of opinion respect the other man’s opinion.”

“Do not be afraid of anybody; do not make anybody afraid of you.”

“India is our mother land. This country is a blessed land, and a holy land. Act according to morality and justice.”

“Bharat, that is India, is also known as Hindusthan. Blessed are the people born in this country.”

“Hindu Dharma, the Hindu Religion, is a great religion. According to the Hindu philosophy, God laid down that man should aim at righteous conduct, riches, pleasure, and salvation. For man to attain these goals god laid down four phases of life; bachelorhood, family life, life in retirement, and “sanyasa” (detachment from worldly affairs). By observing these, let all people be benefited and thereby protect and preserve moral values forever.”

“If a man lives for his own pleasures he is no better than animals. He must live for his country, live for his religion and live for others. The Vedas are the oldest moral treatises in the whole world. Even western scholars accept this view. The Vedas say: before God created this world there was ignorance, utter ignorance. Then God appeared with his divine radiance. God loves light. Man must seek light and more light in his mind and in his life.”

Sai Tenneti is an undergraduate student at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

 Email This Post

 

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 15th, 2010 at 12:32 am and is filed under Biographies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.