Focus: GS I- Modern History
Why in News?
The Prime Minister has paid tributes to Pt. Madan Mohan Malaviya on his Jayanti.
About Pt. Madan Mohan Malaviya
- Born on 25th December 1861, in Allahabad (now Prayagraj) in Uttar Pradesh.
- He played a key role in the Indian independence struggle against British rule and founded the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in 1916.
- He is also remembered for his role in ending the Indian indenture system, especially in the Caribbean.
- Indentured labour was a system of bonded labour that was instituted following the abolition of slavery in 1833.
- Indentured labour were recruited to work on sugar, cotton and tea plantations, and rail construction projects in British colonies in West Indies, Africa and South East Asia.
- He popularized the term ‘Satyamev Jayate’. However, the phrase originally belongs to the Mundaka Upanishad. The term now is the national motto of India.
- He was given the title of ‘Mahamana’ by Rabindranath Tagore and the second President of India, Dr. S. Radhakrishnan gave him the status of a ‘Karmayogi’.
- Devnagri was introduced in the British-Indian courts because of Malviya’s efforts with the British government. This is still considered as one of his greatest achievements.
- Madan Mohan Malviya was expelled from the Brahmin community for expressing his views on caste discrimination and Brahmanical patriarchy.
- He worked immensely for Hindu-Muslim unity. He is known to have given famous speeches on communal harmony.
- He helped establish the Hindu Mahasabha (“Great Society of Hindus”) in 1906, which brought diverse local Hindu nationalist movements together.
Newspapers:
- Malaviya’s consciousness toward the public led to the launch of his own Hindi-language weekly, the Abhyudaya (1907);
- the Leader of Allahabad, an English-language daily (1909);
- and the Hindi monthly the Maryada (1910).
- He also served as the chairman of the board of Hindustan times and facilitated the launch of its Hindi edition.
- He died on 12th November, 1946, at the age of 84.
- In 2014, he was posthumously conferred with Bharat Ratna, the country’s highest civilian award.
Poona Pact (1932)
It was signed by Ambedkar on behalf of the depressed classes and Madan Mohan Malviya on behalf of the Upper Caste Hindus as a means to end the fast that Gandhi was undertaking in jail as a protest against the MacDonald communal award.
