Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi (26 October 1890 – 25 March 1931) was an Indian journalist, a leader of the
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...
and an
independence movement activist. He was an important figure 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. and the freedom movement of India, who once translated
Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...
's novel ''
Ninety-Three'', and is mostly known as the founder-editor of the
Hindi language
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
newspaper, ''Pratap''.
Life
Ganesh Shankar was born in a Hindu
Kayastha
Kayastha (also referred to as Kayasth) denotes a cluster of disparate Indian communities broadly categorised by the regions of the Indian subcontinent in which they were traditionally locatedthe Chitraguptavanshi Kayasthas of North India, the C ...
family at Hathgaon/Hathgam in Fatehpur District. His father Jai Narain, also spelled as Jainarayan, was a teacher in a middle school namely Anglo Vernacular School in
Mungaoli
Mungaoli is a town and a nagar panchayat in Ashoknagar district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is situated on the Bina-Kota railway line. Ganesh Shankar Vidhyarti has taken the Education from Mungaoli. It is situated near the Historic ...
which is now the tehsil of Ashoknagar district of
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...
. He was poor but a deeply religious Hindu and dedicated to high ideals. It was under him that Ganesh Shankar received his early schooling and passed the high school examination privately in 1907 after studying in
Mungaoli
Mungaoli is a town and a nagar panchayat in Ashoknagar district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is situated on the Bina-Kota railway line. Ganesh Shankar Vidhyarti has taken the Education from Mungaoli. It is situated near the Historic ...
and
Vidisha. His admission register is available in this school. He could not study further due to poverty and became a clerk in the currency office and later a teacher in high school in
Kanpur
Kanpur or Cawnpore ( /kɑːnˈpʊər/ pronunciation (help·info)) is an industrial city in the central-western part of the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Founded in 1207, Kanpur became one of the most important commercial and military stations o ...
. At age 16, he also wrote his first book ''Hamari Atmogsargart'' and wed his wife Chandraprakashwati Vidyarthi on 4 June 1909.
His real interest, however, was in journalism and public life and he came early under the influence of the nationalist upsurge, which was taking place in the country. He became an agent of the well-known revolutionary Hindi and Urdu journals – Karamyogi and Swarajya and also began to contribute to them. He adopted the pen-name 'Vidyarthi' – the seeker of knowledge. He attracted the notice of Pt. Mahabir Prasad Dwiwedi, the doyen of Hindi journalism who offered him the job of a sub-editor in his famous literary monthly, "The Saraswati", in 1911. Ganesh Shankar, however, was more interested in current affairs and politics and therefore joined the Hindi weekly "Abhyudaya" a political journal of the time. He thus served his apprenticeship under two of the greatest figures in Hindi literature and journalism of the time.
In 1913 Ganesh Shankar came back to Kanpur and launched his career as a crusading journalist and freedom fighter, which was only to end with his death 18 years later. He founded 'Pratap', his famous revolutionary weekly, which identified itself with the cause of the oppressed wherever they might be and ''Pratap'' would prove to be widespread as its circulation jumped from five hundred in 1913 to six hundred in 1916. It was through this paper that he waged his famous fights for the oppressed peasants of
Rae Bareli, the workers of the
Kanpur
Kanpur or Cawnpore ( /kɑːnˈpʊər/ pronunciation (help·info)) is an industrial city in the central-western part of the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Founded in 1207, Kanpur became one of the most important commercial and military stations o ...
mills and the downtrodden people of Indian states. During the course of these fights, he had to face numerous prosecutions, pay heavy fines and suffer five prison sentences. On 11 January 1915, he said the following quote:
Later on 31 May, he also said:
He first met Gandhiji in 1916 in Lucknow and threw himself whole-heartedly in the national movement. He took a leading part in the Home Rule Movement of 1917–18 and led the first strike of textile workers in Kanpur. In 1920 he launched the daily edition of ''Pratap'' and it was in this year that he was sentenced to two years rigorous imprisonment for championing the cause of peasants of Rae Bareli. He was released in 1922 and almost immediately sent to jail again, for delivering a "seditious" speech as the President of the Provincial Political Conference at Fatehgarh. In 1924, he met and protested along with
Bhagat Singh, who became a close colleague and friend. He would also later associate himself with
Chandra Shekhar Azad. Singh was released in 1924, greatly shattered in health, but he knew no respite and founded a short-lived union
and also launched himself in the preparation for the Congress Session at Kanpur in 1925.
In 1925, when the Congress decided to contest elections of Provincial Legislative Councils and organized the Swaraj Party, Ganesh Shankar won a resounding victory on its behalf, from Kanpur and served as a Member of the U.P. Legislative Council until 1929 when he resigned at the behest of the Congress. In 1925, after Gandhi founded the Beech Wala Chowk temple in Kanpur, Vidyarthi frequently used it to host meetings. In 1926, Vidyarthi, who was considered an important member of Congress, encouraged
Shiv Narayan Tandon
Shiv Narayan Tandon was an Indian National Congress politician. He was a member of the 1st Lok Sabha from Kanpur. He died on 26 December 1999. The flyover at Kanpur Cantonment
Kanpur Cantonment (popularly referred to as Kanpur Cantt) is a ...
to also join Congress. In 1928, he also founded the Mazdur Sabha and led it until his death in 1931.
In 1929 he was elected the President of the U.P. Congress Committee and was appointed the first 'dictator' to lead the Satyagrah movement in U.P. He was a supporter of the Hindi language and attended the Hindi Sahitya Sammelan conference in 1930 in
Gorakhpur and in March 1930 at Shraddhanand Park in
New Delhi
New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...
.
That same year, he was arrested and sent to jail again. He was released on 9 March 1931 under the
Gandhi–Irwin Pact
The Gandhi–Irwin Pact was a political agreement signed by Mahatma Gandhi and Lord Irwin, Viceroy of India, on 5 March 1931 before the Second Round Table Conference in London. Before this, Irwin, the Viceroy, had announced in October 1929 a va ...
.
Communalism and death
Communalism swept Western Uttar Pradesh in the 1920s as the Shuddhi movement gained steam and Kanpur was no exception.
In February 1927, Vidyarthi and other Congress leaders had organized a demonstration to the Moolganj mosque and played music for forty minutes; this was in retaliation to a Muslim mob attacking a musical band accompanying a Hindu marriage procession.
Despite, Vidyarthi was known for his secular politics and sympathy for Muslims.
In 1931, Kanpur faced communal rioting.
Despite being scheduled to proceed for the Karachi Congress Session, he chose to stay back and rescue the people before felling to the mob.
Eyewitnesses note him to have rescued members of both communities; his daughter "stated that her father had successfully rescued some Muslim women but then immediately got involved in rescuing some trapped Hindus, and at this stage he got attacked and killed." His daughter also claimed that the murder was manifested by the colonial government. Vidyarthi's disfigured body—showing multiple stab wounds—would only be found a few days later, near litter.
Legacy
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- ...
paid him the following tribute in the pages of 'Young India': "The death of Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi was one to be envied by us all. His blood is the cement that will ultimately bind the two communities. No pact will bind our hearts. But heroism such as Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi showed is bound in the end to melt the stoniest hearts, melt them into one. The poison has however gone so deep that the blood even of a man so great, so self-sacrificing and so utterly brave as Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi may today not be enough to wash us of it. Let this noble example stimulate us all to a similar effort should the occasion arise again". Author Siyaramsharan Gupta also made Vidyarthi the subject of the works ''Atmotsarg Patheya'' and ''Mrinmoyee Atmotsarg''.
In 2006, there was a controversy involving an unauthorized unveiling of a statue in Mungawali, Madhya Pradesh honoring Vidyarthi by Member of Parliament of
INC
Inc. or inc may refer to:
* Incorporation (business), as a suffix indicating a corporation
* ''Inc.'' (magazine), an American business magazine
* Inc. No World, a Los Angeles-based band
* Indian National Congress, a political party in India
* I ...
,
Jyotiraditya Madhavrao Scindia
Jyotiraditya Madhavrao Scindia (born 1 January 1971) is an Indian politician who serves as the Minister of Civil Aviation, a position his father also held from 1991 to 1993. He also heads the Ministry of Steel. He is a Member of Parliament in ...
. The police and state government claimed it was unauthorized and seized the statue despite local congressman and journalists insisting it be restored. In 2007, journalist
Alok Mehta
Alok Mehta (born 7 September 1952) is an Indian journalist, TV broadcaster and writer . In 2009, he received the civilian honour of Padma Shri from the Government of India. Mehta's work has focused on issues of social welfare, including educati ...
was awarded the Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Award by the
Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism and Communication.
Personal life
Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi had one son, Hari Shankar Vidyarthi and two grand daughters Srilekha Vidyarthi and Madhulekha Vidyarth
Honors
![Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi 1962 stamp of India](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Ganesh_Shankar_Vidyarthi_1962_stamp_of_India.jpg)
*
Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Puraskar is given to renowned journalists by honourable President of India every year from 1989.
* The Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Memorial (
GSVM)
Medical College Kanpur is named in his remembrance.
* Ganesh Chowk, a square is named after him in the heart of the city of
Gorakhpur.
*
Phool Bagh, earlier Queen's Park in Kanpur is also called as
Ganesh Vidyarthi Udyan.
* The Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Inter College (
GSVIC)
GSV Inter College Kanpur GSV may refer to:
* Garrison of Sør-Varanger, a military base of the Norwegian Army
* General Systems Vehicle, a class of fictional artificially intelligent starship in The Culture universe of late Scottish author Iain Banks
* Geological Survey o ...
is named in his remembrance.
* The Ganesh Shanker Vidyarthi Inter College (GSV Inter College Hathgaon-Fatehpur) is named in his remembrance.
* Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Smarak Inter College (GSVS Inter College Maharajganj, UP) is named after his remembrance.
* On 18 July 2017, the Uttar Pradesh government has renamed
Kanpur Airport as Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Airport to pay respect to his contribution for the independence of India.
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vidyarthi, Ganesh Shankar
1890 births
1931 deaths
20th-century Indian journalists
Indian independence activists from Uttar Pradesh
People from Kanpur
Indian Hindus
Journalists from Uttar Pradesh
Indian National Congress politicians from Uttar Pradesh
20th-century Indian politicians