Manubhai Pancholi also known by his pen name Darshak, was a

Gujarati language Gujarati (; gu, ગુજરાતી, Gujarātī, translit-std=ISO, label=Gujarati script, ) is an Indo-Aryan language native to the Indian state of Gujarat and spoken predominantly by the Gujarati people. Gujarati is descended from Old Guj ...

novelist, author, educationist and politician from

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the nin ...

, India. He participated in the

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...

and held several offices after independence.

Biography

Manubhai Pancholi was born on 15 October 1914 at Panchashiya village in

Morbi district Morbi district is in the state of Gujarat, India. It was formed on August 15, 2013, along with several other districts, on the 67th Independence Day of India. Morbi city is the administrative headquarters of the district. The district has 5 taluk ...

, India. He completed his primary education from Tithwa Lunsar. He left study to participate in

Salt Satyagraha The Salt March, also known as the Salt Satyagraha, Dandi March and the Dandi Satyagraha, was an act of nonviolent civil disobedience in colonial India led by Mahatma Gandhi. The twenty-four day march lasted from 12 March to 6 April 1930 as a di ...

in 1930 when he was studying at

Wankaner Wankaner is a city and a municipality in Morbi district in the State of Gujarat. Until 2013, Wankaner was part of the Rajkot district. Etymology The city was named after its location on the Machhu River, "Wankaner" translating to "riverbend" ( ...

. He was jailed in Sabarmati, Nasik and Visapur. He started his career as a rector in educational institute,

Dakshinamurti Dakshinamurthy () is an aspect of the Hindu god Shiva as a guru (teacher) of all types of knowledge. This aspect of Shiva, as the original guru, is his personification as the supreme or the ultimate awareness, understanding and knowledge. Thi ...

at Bhavnagar in 1932 and later joined as a professor in Gramdakshinamurt, Ambala in 1938. He was also arrested during

Quit India Movement The Quit India Movement, also known as the August Kranti Movement, was a movement launched at the Bombay session of the All India Congress Committee by Mahatma Gandhi on 8th August 1942, during World War II, demanding an end to British rule ...

in 1942 was jailed at

Bhavnagar Bhavnagar is a city in the Bhavnagar district of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat, a state of India. It was founded in 1723 by Bhavsinhji Takhtasinhji Gohil (1703–1764). It was the capital of Bhavnagar State, which was a princely state befo ...

. He served as education minister of

Bhavnagar State Bhavnagar State was a princely state with 13 Gun Salutes during the British Raj. It was part of Kathiawar Agency in Saurashtra. The State of Bhavnagar covered an area of 2,961 sq. miles and had a population of 618,429 in 1941. Its ruler ...

in 1948. He co-founded Lokbharti Gramvidyapith institute with

Nanabhai Bhatt Nanabhai Bhatt (12 June 1915 – 24 April 1999) was an Indian film director and producer who worked in Hindi and Gujarati cinema. He is known for making over a hundred fantasy and mythological films, including ''Mr. X'' (1957), ''Zimbo Comes t ...

in 1953 at Sanosara. He married Vijayaben Patel, a daughter of

Patidar Patidar (Gujarati: ) is an Indian landlord and agrarian caste found mostly in Gujarat but also in at least 22 other states of India. The community comprises at multiple subcastes, most prominently the Levas and Kadvas. They form one of the d ...

family from Varad village of

Bardoli Bardoli is a town and a municipality in Surat Metropolitan Region in the state of Gujarat, India. Geography Bardoli is located at . It has an average elevation of 22 metres (72 feet). Weather Bardoli is having average rainfall of 148 ...

, who predeceased him on 25 April 1995. He was a member of

Gujarat Legislative Assembly Gujarat Legislative Assembly or Gujarat Vidhan Sabha is the unicameral legislature of the Indian state of Gujarat, in the state capital Gandhinagar. Presently, 182 members of the Legislative Assembly are directly elected from single-member co ...

from 1967 to 1971 and served as an education minister in 1970. He was arrested during the emergency in 1975. He served as the president of

Gujarati Sahitya Parishad Gujarati Sahitya Parishad () is a literary organisation for the promotion of Gujarati literature located in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. It was founded by Ranjitram Mehta with the aim of creating literature appealing to all classes of society ...

from 1981 to 1983. He also served as the chairman of the

Gujarat Sahitya Akademi The Gujarat Sahitya Akademi ( gu, ગુજરાત સાહિત્ય અકાદમી) or Gujarat Sahitya Academy, established in 1981, is a government institution dedicated to the development of the languages spoken in Gujarat, India an ...

from 1991 to 1998. He died on 29 August 2001 at Sanosara, Bhavnagar, Gujarat following kidney ailment.

Works

Pancholi is regarded as one of the greatest novelists in Gujarati literature. He was influenced by

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

, and followed

Gandhian The followers of Mahatma Gandhi, the greatest figure of the Indian independence movement, are called Gandhians. Gandhi's legacy includes a wide range of ideas ranging from his dream of ideal India (or ''Rama Rajya)'', economics, environmentalism, ...

thinking and ways in his writings and life as well. The novels Pancholi has written include: ''Jher To Pidha Chhe Jani Jani'' (1952), ''Socrates'' (1974), ''Bandhan ane Mukti'' (1938), ''Bandeeghar'' (1939), ''Deepnirvan'' (1944) and ''Prem ane Pooja'' (1939), among which, ''Jher To Pidha Chhe Jani Jani'' and ''Socrates'' are regarded as classic. ''Dipnirvan'' is a historical novel about the revolt against

Magadh Magadha was a region and one of the sixteen sa, script=Latn, Mahajanapadas, label=none, lit=Great Kingdoms of the Second Urbanization (600–200 BCE) in what is now south Bihar (before expansion) at the eastern Ganges Plain. Magadha was rule ...

in ancient India. His plays have been collected and published in: ''Paritran'' (1967), ''Adharaso Sattavan'' (1935), ''Jaliawala'' (1934) and ''Antim Adhyaya'' (1983). ''Mari Vachankatha'' (1969) and ''Vagishwari Na Karnaphoolo'' (1963) are collections of his critical articles. His ''Apano Varso ane Vaibhav'' (1953), ''Triveni Tirth'' (1955), ''Dharmachakra Parivartan'' (1956), ''Ramayan No Marma'' (1963), ''Lokshahi'' (1973), ''Mahabharat No Marma'' (1978) and ''Sarvodaya Ane Shikshan'' (1974) deal with different aspects of Indian culture. His classic adapted in the Gujarati film, ''Zer To Pidhan Jani Jani'' (1972) directed by

Upendra Trivedi Upendra Jethalal Trivedi (14 July 1936 4 January 2015) was an Indian film and stage actor, director and producer who was one of the most prolific actors of Gujarati cinema. As an actor films like '' Mehndi Rang Lagyo'' (1960), ''Jogidas Khuman ...

. His novel ''Socrates'' was translated into

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of North India, northern, Central India, centr ...

by Sushila Joshi as ''Sukrat'' in 1987.

Awards

He received

Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak, also known as the Ranjitram Gold Medal, was founded by Gujarat Sahitya Sabha and is considered the highest literary award in Gujarati literature. The award is named after renowned Gujarati writer Ranjitram Mehta. It is ...

in 1964,

Sahitya Akademi Award The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the ...

for ''Socrates'' in 1975 and

Bharatiya Jnanpith Bharatiya Jnanpith a literary and research organization, based in New Delhi, India, was founded on February 18, 1944Encyclopaedia of Indian literature vol. 1, p. 298 1987, Sahitya Akademi, by Sahu Shanti Prasad Jain of the Sahu Jain family and ...

Moortidevi Award The Moortidevi Award is an Indian literary award annually presented by the Bharatiya Jnanpith, a literary and research organisation. The award is given only to Indian writers writing in Indian languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the Con ...

for ''Jher To Pidha Chhe Jani Jani'' in 1987. He was awarded

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished servi ...

in 1991 for his work in public affairs. He also received

Saraswati Samman The Saraswati Samman is an annual award for outstanding prose or poetry literary works in any of the 22 languages of India listed in Schedule VIII of the Constitution of India. It is named after the Hindu goddess of knowledge, Saraswati. The Saras ...

in 1997 for his book ''Kurukshetra'' and

Jamnalal Bajaj Award Jamnalal Bajaj Award is an Indian award, for promoting Gandhian values, community service and social development. Established in 1978, by the Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation of Bajaj Group, it is given annually in four categories, and usually presented ...

in 1996.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pancholi, Manubhai 1914 births 2001 deaths 20th-century Indian novelists Gujarati-language writers People from Surendranagar district People from Bhavnagar district Gujarat MLAs 1967–1971 Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in public affairs Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Gujarati Indian independence activists from Gujarat Novelists from Gujarat Recipients of the Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak Gandhians Recipients of the Moortidevi Award

Biography

Works

Awards

See also

References

Further reading

External links