Mahant Digvijay Nath (born Nanhu Singh; 1894–1969) was the

mahant Mahant () is a religious superior, in particular the chief of a temple or the head of a monastery in Indian religions. James Mallinson, one of the few westerners to be named as a mahant, describes the position of a mahant as a combination of an ...

(), of the

Gorakhnath Math The Shri Gorakhnath Mandir also known as Gorakhnath Temple is a temple of the Nath monastic order group of the Nath tradition. The name Gorakhnath derives from the medieval saint, Gorakshanath (c. 11th century), a yogi who travelled widely acro ...

Gorakhpur Gorakhpur is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, along the banks of the Rapti river in the Purvanchal region. It is situated 272 kilometers east of the state capital Lucknow. It is the administrative headquarters of Gorakhpur dist ...

, India. He was also a

Hindu nationalist Hindu nationalism has been collectively referred to as the expression of social and political thought, based on the native spiritual and cultural traditions of the Indian subcontinent. "Hindu nationalism" or the correct term ''Hindū rāṣṭ ...

activist and a politician of the

Hindu Mahasabha The Hindu Mahasabha (officially Akhil Bhārat Hindū Mahāsabhā, ) is a Hindu nationalist political party in India. Founded in 1915, the Mahasabha functioned mainly as a pressure group advocating the interests of orthodox Hindus before the B ...

, who was arrested for inflaming passions among Hindus against

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

. Nath played a leading role in the

Ram Janmabhoomi movement Ram Janmabhoomi (literally, "Rama's birthplace") is the site that is hypothesized to be the birthplace of Rama, believed to be the seventh avatar of the Hindu deity Vishnu. The Ramayana states that the location of Rama's birthplace is on the ...

in 1949, which culminated in the placing of

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...

idols inside the

Babri Masjid Babri Masjid (IAST: Bābarī Masjid; meaning ''Mosque of Babur'') was a mosque in Ayodhya, India, at a site believed by many Hindus to be the birthplace of Hindu deity Rama. It has been a focus of dispute between the Hindu and Muslim communi ...

, in an effort to revive the

after its implication in the Gandhi assassination. Nath was elected as the MP for

in 1967 on a Hindu Mahasabha ticket.

Early life

Digvijay Nath was born Swaroop 'Nanhu' Singh in 1894 in Kankarwa Thikana (Mewar) of (Udaipur),

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

in a Viramdevot Ranawat

Rajput Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...

family. His mother (a Rathore from Kundoj, Ajmer) died when he was 8 years old. His father was Rawat Thakur Uday Singhji of Kankarwa, President of the Mewar Presidency Council (Mahendraj Sabha). He was given away or taken away to a

Nath Nath, also called Natha, are a Shaiva sub-tradition within Hinduism in India and Nepal. A medieval movement, it combined ideas from Buddhism, Shaivism and Yoga traditions in India.Gorakhnath Math The Shri Gorakhnath Mandir also known as Gorakhnath Temple is a temple of the Nath monastic order group of the Nath tradition. The name Gorakhnath derives from the medieval saint, Gorakshanath (c. 11th century), a yogi who travelled widely acro ...

(monastery) in Gorakhpur. Nanhu Singh grew up in a monastery and went to study at St. Andrews College in Gorakhpur. He was an average student but excelled in sports, especially, hockey, horse-riding, and tennis. In 1920, he left his education to take part in politics. In 1932, Baba Brahma Nath became the mahant of the Gorakhnath Math and initiated Nanhu Singh into the Nath Panth tradition. After his death in 1935, the leadership of the math passed to Digvijay Nath, who was anointed as the mahant on 15 August 1935. Despite being a mahant, Nath continued his pastime of playing lawn tennis as well as his political activities. The Gorakhnath math was traditionally venerated by both Hindus and Muslims, especially in lower caste communities.

Religious career

Digvijay Nath was succeeded by Mahant Avaidyanath as the head of

in 1969.

Political career

Digvijay Nath joined the

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

in 1920, and participated in the

non-cooperation movement The Non-cooperation movement was a political campaign launched on 4 September 1920, by Mahatma Gandhi to have Indians revoke their cooperation from the British government, with the aim of persuading them to grant self-governance.

in 1922. He was arrested for taking an "active part" in the

Chauri Chaura incident 200px, Chauri Chaura Martyrs Memorial, alt= The Chauri Chaura incident took place on 4 February 1922 ( according to the Indian government's official data ) at Chauri Chaura, in the Gorakhpur district, in the United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh ...

where a police station was burnt down, killing 23 policemen, causing

to abort the movement. Nath joined the

in 1937 when

V. D. Savarkar Vinayak Damodar Savarkar (), Marathi pronunciation: �inaːjək saːʋəɾkəɾ also commonly known as Veer Savarkar (28 May 1883 – 26 February 1966), was an Indian politician, activist, and writer. Savarkar developed the Hindu nationali ...

became its President, and rose to become the head of the party in the United Provinces. His status as the mahant of the Gorakhpur Math as well as his political acumen helped him rise fast. He was radically anti-Muslim. He told ''

The Statesman A statesman or stateswoman typically is a politician who has had a long and respected political career at the national or international level. Statesman or Statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States * ''The Statesman'' (Oregon), a n ...

'' in 1952 that, if the Hindu Mahasabha attained power, it would deprive the Muslims of the right to vote for five to ten years, until they proved "their loyalty to India." He incited Hindus to kill Mahatma Gandhi in a public meeting on 27 January 1948, three days before the actual assassination. He was subsequently arrested, along with Professor Ram Singh and V. G. Deshpande, but released after 9 months. Soon after his release from prison, Digvijay Nath started making plans to revive the Hindu Mahasabha, which had invited the public's revulsion for its role in the assassination of Gandhi. The capture of the

Ayodhya Ayodhya (; ) is a city situated on the banks of holy river Saryu in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Ayodhya, also known as Sāketa, Saketa, is an ancient city of India, the birthplace of Rama and ...

was a key plank of his plan. He was elected to Lok Sabha in 1967 General election from

. He died mid-term in 1969.

References

Citations

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nath, Digvijay 1894 births Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Uttar Pradesh People from Gorakhpur Indian Hindus Lok Sabha members from Uttar Pradesh Ayodhya dispute 1969 deaths Far-right politicians in India Hindu Mahasabha politicians India MPs 1967–1970