An archive on the principal founder of the Banaras Hindu University (BHU), ‘Mahamana’ Madan Mohan Malaviya was recently unveiled.
Who was Madan Mohan Malaviya?
- Malaviya was born on 25th December, 1861 in Allahabad.
- He was a great Indian educationist and freedom fighter, distinguished from others for his significant role in Indian independence and his support of Hindu nationalism.
- At the Banaras Hindu University (BHU), which he founded in 1916, he served as Vice-Chancellor from 1919 to 1938.
- The University has around 12,000 students all across the field such as the arts, sciences, engineering and technology.
Political affiliations
- Malaviya rose up the ranks, and became president four times — in 1909 (Lahore), in 1918 (Delhi), in 1930 (Delhi), and in 1932 (Calcutta).
- He was part of the Congress for almost 50 years.
- He was one of the early leaders of the Hindu Mahasabha, and helped found it in 1906.
- He was a social reformer and a successful legislator, serving as a member of the Imperial Legislative Council for 11 years (1909–20).
- In the freedom struggle, he was midway between the Liberals and the Nationalists, the Moderates and the Extremists, as the followers of Gokhale and Tilak were respectively called.
- In 1930, when Mahatma Gandhi launched the Salt Satyagraha and the Civil Disobedience Movement, he participated in it and courted arrest.
Literary associations
- He remained the Hindustan Times’ Chairman from 1924 to 1946.
- He was involved with magazines including the-
- Hindi language weekly, the Abhyudaya (1907)
- English-language daily the Leader of Allahabad (1909) and
- Hindi dailies Aaj
