Brief life sketch of Bhanupratap Shukla

Bhanupratap Shukla was born on August 7, 1935. His father Pandit Abhaynarayan Shukla originally belonged to Rajpur Bairihvan village of Basti district. His mother had passed away when he was just 12 years old. He was bought up in Sultanpur (Uttar Pradesh) by his maternal grandfather Pandit Jagdamba Prasad Tewari. He had started his studies at the village school under the strict discipline of Pandit Ram Abhilash Mishra. He came into contact of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in 1951. After completing the senior secondary education in 1955, he became a Sangh Pracharak and completely dedicated himself to the cause of Hindu society.

It was under the close association of eminent Hindi literary persons like Suryakant Tripathi ?Nirala?, Sumitranandan Pant, Mahadevi Verma, Bhagwaticharan Verma, Amritlal Nagar and Pandit Shrinarayan Chaturvedi, the seeds of literature and Hindi language developed in Bhanupratap Shukla when he was living in Sultanpur city. After coming to Lucknow he learnt journalism under the guidance of Pandit Ambika Prasad Vajpayee. He became the editor of Rashtradharma and Tarun Bharat (Lucknow). After coming to Delhi he held the responsibility of Panchjanya editor. He was underground during the Emergency. He also toured various countries of the world.

He was a fearless journalist. He was a father figure of nationalist Hindi journalism. He remained in the news for his objective and neutral comments. He influenced a complete generation through his sharp writings and inculcated the nationalist feelings among them. His writing had the clear influence of Mahrishi Aurobindo, Swami Vivekananda, Shri Guruji Golwalkar and Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya. He wrote and edited many books. Prominent among them are Rashtra Jeevan Ki Disha, Savarkar Vichar Darshan, Aratees Kahaniyan, Ankhin Dekhi Kanan Suni, etc. He edited and wrote introductions to several famous and ideological books like Rashtra and Eemanwale.

Though Bhanupratap Shukla had accepted the life of Sangh Pracharak and remained bachelor throughout his life, he developed a vast ideological family through his writings. His death has snatched away a lighthouse of Hindi journalism.