Pt Madan Mohan Malaviya was born in a Brahmin family on December 25, 1861, in Allahabad. He was one of the eight children born to his parents, Meena Devi and Pandit Baijnath. At the age of five, he started his early schooling by being sent to a Mahajani school. After that, he enrolled in a religious school run by Haradevaji. He pursued his education by enrolling in the recently established Government high school in 1868. He graduated from Muir Central College in 1879, earned his B.A. from Calcutta University in 1884, and then started working as a teacher in an Allahabad district school for a salary of Rs. 40 per month.
Pt Madan Mohan’s career as a politician and freedom fighter began in 1886 when he joined the second session of the Indian National Congress, which was held in Calcutta that year under the leadership of Dadabhai Naoroji
Pt Madan Mohan’s career as a politician and freedom fighter began in 1886 when he joined the second session of the Indian National Congress, which was held in Calcutta that year under the leadership of Dadabhai Naoroji. In 1887, he resigned his position as a schoolmaster to take a job as editor of the Hindi magazine “Hindostan.” In 1889, he was appointed editor of the “Indian Opinion.” In addition, he launched the Hindi newspaper Maryada, the English daily Leader, and the Hindi weekly Abhyudaya. After earning his L.L.B., he began practising law at the Allahabad District Court in 1891. He then advanced to the Allahabad High Court, where he began to practise law, in 1893. Pt Pandit Madan Mohan launched the Hindi weekly “Abhyudaya” in 1907, and in 1915 it became a daily publication. Dr Annie Besant, an Irishwoman who came to India with the intention of promoting educational programmes, profoundly inspired Pt Madan Mohan Malaviya. In 1889, she founded Central Hindu College at Karachi in Varanasi, which later served as the hub of the Banaras Hindu University. In 1904, Pandit ji recommended the creation of the Banaras Hindu University with the assistance of Prabhu Narain Singh, the Maharaja of Banaras at the time. This plan received the approval of numerous Hindu groups in the year 1905. The plan was finally adopted on December 31st, 1905, in Varanasi’s Town Hall, which was presided over by DN Mahajan. A decision was passed in 1911 by Dr Annie Besant’s association to found “Kashi Vishva Vidyalaya,” and on November 28, 1911, a society was established to start construction on the Banaras Hindu University. Harcourt Butler introduced a bill for the creation of the University in the Imperial Legislation Council on March 25, 1915. The BHU legislation was passed on October 1st, 1915. The Banaras Hindu University was founded on February 4th, 1916, or Magh Shukla Pratipada, samvat 1972. To commemorate the event, a lavish ceremony was held in which various notable Indians were present. Pt. Malaviyaji, a member of the Industrial Commission (1916–18), issued a dissenting letter criticising the British Government’s economic strategy toward India. Pt Malaviyaji founded the All India Swadeshi Sangh in 1932 and advocated for “Buy Indian” in his manifesto as a way to alleviate India’s economic woes and end widespread poverty. In 1909, 1918, 1930, and 1932, he was elected president of the Indian National Congress four times. The Seva Samithi, a group inspired by Scouting, was founded by him. In the Chauri-Chaura case, he testified in court for saving 177 independence fighters. 156 of the 177 convicted individuals were found “Not Guilty.” Pt Madan Mohan joined the Imperial Legislative Council in 1912 and served there till 1926. He was a key figure in the Mahatma Gandhi-founded non-cooperation movement and joined other notable figures from Indian history, like Lala Lajpat Rai and Jawahar Lal Nehru, in their opposition to the Simon Commission. He opposed Congress’ involvement in the early 1920s Khilafat Movement as well as separate electorates for Muslims under the Lucknow Pact of 1916. Pt Madan Mohan attended the First Round Table Conference in 1931 on behalf of India. Additionally, he is credited with popularising the phrase Satyameva Jayate (Truth alone will prevail). Pt Madan Mohan Malaviya, who had been unwell for the last few years of his life, passed away on November 12, 1946. In addition to his political work, he was active in several connected fields. To protest the building of dams in the Ganga, he founded the Ganga Mahasabha. He contributed to society in a number of significant ways and strove to remove societal obstacles including the caste system in temples. He was banished by the Shri Gaud Brahmin because of his social efforts in Dalit communities. On the Rath Yatra day, he had organised for Hindu Dalits to enter the Kalaram Temple, and he had also taken a dip in the Godavari River while reciting Hindu mantras. In Vrindavan, he also started the organisation Shri Mathura Vrindavan Hasanand Gochar Bhumi. He received the moniker “Mahanama.” I do not aspire to reign, nor do I yearn for Moksha or heaven, said Pt Malaviyaji. I only want to give birth repeatedly till I can relieve people of their suffering. Never before in history has a man given his country and its people such unselfish service. Malaviyaji was appropriately referred to by Gandhiji as a “Devata Purush” (man of God) and Rabindranath Tagore as a “Mahamana” (lit., “luminous intellect, magnanimous heart”) by Rabindranath Tagore. He received the Bharat Ratna honour from the Indian government in 2014.
