New Delhi: Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya, born in the holy pilgrim city of Prayagraj (later renamed to Allah-abad) on 25th December 1861, was a great Scholar, educationist, man of action and a leader of tile national liberation movement.
His ancestors were poor but were known for their Sanskrit scholarship. Madan graduated from the Calcutta University in 1884 and was appointed as a teacher in his school. He attended the Second Congress Session held in Calcutta in 1886 and delivered a speech which held the audience spell-bound.
After that, he was offered the editorship of the Hindi weekly, the Hindustan. He became popular for his outspoken views about media as a subject of the British, the abject poverty of the masses and the indifference of the British towards them. He studied law and became a High Court Vakil in 1893. He was elected to the Provincial legislative Council in 1902 and later to the Imperial Legislative Council in 1909.
Malviya was a conservative in social matters but wanted to take the leaders of the Hindu community and the Benares pandits with him in matters of social reform. He felt strongly the injustice done to the depressed classes in connection with temple entry and pleaded their cause before the pandits in 1936.
He was the President of the All India Seva Samity from 1914 till 1946. He had the courage to differ more than once from Mahatma Gandhi even at the risk of becoming unpopular.
Bureau Report
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