Madan Mohan Malaviya.

Why is in news? PM pays tributes to Pt. Madan Mohan Malaviya on his Jayanti

Madan Mohan Malaviya was born on 25th December 1861, in Allahabad (now Prayagraj) in Uttar Pradesh.

He was an Indian scholar, educational reformer and politician notable for his role in the Indian independence movement.

He took part in numerous activities like the freedom struggle movements, promotion of industries, the economic and social development of the country, education, religion, social service, development of Hindi language and many other issues of national importance throughout his life.

He was given the title of ‘Mahamana’ by Mahatma Gandhi and the second President of India, Dr. S. Radhakrishnan gave him the status of a ‘Karmayogi’.

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.

He was elected as the President of the Congress committee (four times) in 1909, 1918, 1932 and 1933.

Sengupta was elected Congress chief in 1933 after president-elect Madan Mohan Malviya was arrested.

Contributions:

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.

He was a social reformer and a successful legislator, serving as a member of the Imperial Legislative Council for 11 years (1909–20).

He popularized the term ‘Satyamev Jayate’. However, the phrase originally belongs to the Mundaka Upanishad. The term now is the national motto of India.

Devnagri was introduced in the British-Indian courts because of Malviya’s efforts with the British government.

He worked immensely for Hindu-Muslim unity. He is known to have given famous speeches on communal harmony.

He was expelled from the Brahmin community for expressing his views on caste discrimination and Brahmanical patriarchy.

He helped establish the Hindu Mahasabha (“Great Society of Hindus”) in 1915. He founded the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in 1916.

As a journalist, he started a Hindi weekly, Abhyudaya in 1907. He started an English daily- Leader in 1909.

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. In 2016, the Indian Railways started the Varanasi-New Delhi Mahamana Express in the leader’s honour.