Purushottam Das Tandon (; 1 August 1882 – 1 July 1962) was a
freedom fighter
A resistance movement is an organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to withstand the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability. It may seek to achieve its objectives ...
from
Allahabad,
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...
, India. He is widely remembered for his
opposition to the partition of India, as well as efforts in achieving the ''Official Language of India'' status for
Hindi
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 ...
.
He was customarily given the title ''
Rajarshi
Rajarishi () is a title in Hinduism and Hindu mythology, referring to a sage who hails from a royal background.
Description
A rajarishi may be described to be a king (raja) who adopted a path of devotion, thereby becoming a royal sage (rishi). A ...
'' (etymology: Raja + Rishi = Royal Saint). He was popularly known as UP Gandhi. He was awarded the ''
Bharat Ratna
The Bharat Ratna (; ''Jewel of India'') is the highest civilian award of the Republic of India. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conferred in recognition of "exceptional service/performance of the highest order", without distinctio ...
'', India's highest civilian award, in 1961.
Early life
Purushottam Das Tandon was born in
Allahabad in a middle class
Khatri
Khatri is a caste of the Indian subcontinent that is predominantly found in India, but also in Pakistan and Afghanistan. In the subcontinent, they were mostly engaged in mercantilistic professions such as banking and trade, they were the d ...
family.
After obtaining a degree in law and an
MA in history, he started practicing in 1906 and joined the bar of Allahabad
High Court in 1908 as a junior to
Tej Bahadur Sapru
Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru (8 December 1875 20 January 1949) was an Indian freedom fighter, lawyer, and politician. He was a key figure in India's struggle for independence, helping draft the Indian Constitution. He was the leader of the Liberal pa ...
. He gave up practice in 1921 to concentrate on public activities.
Tandon ji worked as Professor of Hindi at Victoria College, Gwalior.
Freedom struggle
He was a member of
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 ...
since his student days in 1899. In 1906, he represented Allahabad in the
All India Congress Committee
The All India Congress Committee (AICC) is the presidium or the central decision-making assembly of the Indian National Congress. It is composed of members elected from state-level Pradesh Congress Committees and can have as many as a thousan ...
. He was associated with the Congress Party committee that studied the
Jallianwala Bagh incident in 1919. In the 1920s and 1930s he was arrested for participating 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
Salt Satyagraha respectively. He and
Jawaharlal Nehru
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat—
*
*
*
* and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...
were among the people arrested even before
Mohandas K. Gandhi returned from the
Round Table Conference
The three Round Table Conferences of 1930–1932 were a series of peace conferences organized by the British Government and Indian political personalities to discuss constitutional reforms in India. These started in November 1930 and ended in Dec ...
at
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
in
1931. He was known for his efforts in farmers' movements and he served as the President,
Bihar
Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...
Provincial Kisan Sabha in 1934. He also remained President of
Servants of the People Society
Servants of the People Society (SOPS) (Hindi ( ISO) : Lōka Sēvaka Maṇḍala ) is a non-profit social service organization founded by Lala Lajpat Rai, a prominent leader in the Indian Independence movement, in 1921 in Lahore. The society is d ...
(
Hindi
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 ...
(ISO
ISO is the most common abbreviation for the International Organization for Standardization.
ISO or Iso may also refer to: Business and finance
* Iso (supermarket), a chain of Danish supermarkets incorporated into the SuperBest chain in 2007
* Iso ...
): Lōka Sēvaka Maṇḍala ), a social service organisation founded by
Lala Lajpat Rai
Lala Lajpat Rai (28 January 1865 - 17 November 1928) was an Indian author, freedom fighter, and politician. He played a vital role in the Indian Independence movement. He was popularly known as Punjab Kesari. He was one of the three members of ...
, in 1921.
He worked as the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the present-day
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...
for a period of 13 years, from 31 July 1937 to 10 August 1950. He was elected to the
Constituent Assembly of India
The Constituent Assembly of India was elected to frame the Constitution of India. It was elected by the 'Provincial Assembly'. Following India's independence from the British rule in 1947, its members served as the nation's first Parliament as ...
in 1946.
he is a prominent leader of India
Post-Independence
He tried for the position of the President of the Congress Party unsuccessfully against
Pattabhi Sitaramayya
Bhogaraju Pattabhi Sitaramayya (24 November 1880 – 17 December 1959) was an Indian independence activist and political leader in the state of Andhra Pradesh. He was also the first governor (1 November 1956 – 13 June 1957) of Madhya Pradesh. ...
in 1948 but contested successfully against
Acharya Kriplani in the controversial and difficult 1950 election to head the
Nagpur
Nagpur (pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, aːɡpuːɾ is the third largest city and the winter capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the 13th largest city in India by population and according to an Oxford's Economics report, Nag ...
session. He soon resigned from Congress's president post because of differences with Nehru and as Nehru's popularity was needed for winning elections. Nehru, while being the PM, also became the president of Congress for 1951 and 1952.
[Varshney, Ashutosh (updated 28 March 2015]
Faults and lines
Indianexpress.com. Retrieved on 12 December 2018.
He was elected to the
Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-past ...
in 1952 and the
Rajya Sabha
The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...
in 1956. He retired from active public life after that due to indifferent health. He was awarded the
Bharat Ratna
The Bharat Ratna (; ''Jewel of India'') is the highest civilian award of the Republic of India. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conferred in recognition of "exceptional service/performance of the highest order", without distinctio ...
, India's highest civilian award in 1961.
Controversies
Religious tolerance
Several controversies and contradictions abound in the life of Purushottam Das Tandon. While he emphasised the similarities between
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
and
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
cultures, he is regarded to have carried the image of a ''soft''
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 ...
leader. He was not as successful as Gandhi in summoning religious ideals to aspects of Public Service despite being associated with the moderate
Radha Soami
Radha Soami is a spiritual tradition founded by Shiv Dayal Singh in 1861 on Basant Panchami Day in Agra, India. p. 90 note 5, Quote: "The date of Seth Shiv Dayal's first public discourse is Basant Panchami Day, February 15, 1861"., Quote: ...
sect. He and
KM Munshi were among those who strongly opposed religious propagation and conversion of a people of one religion to another; they strongly argued in the
constituent assembly
A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...
for a condemnation in the
constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When ...
of religious conversion.
Opposition to the partition of India
On 12 June 1947, the
Congress Working Committee
The Congress Working Committee (CWC) is the executive committee of the Indian National Congress. It was formed in December 1920 at Nagpur session of INC which was headed by C. Vijayaraghavachariar. It typically consists of fifteen members electe ...
met and passed a resolution accepting the
partition of India
The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...
. When the same had to be ratified on 14 June by the AICC, one of the dissenting voices came from Tandon. On that occasion, he said, "Acceptance of the resolution will be an abject surrender to the British and the Muslim League. The admission of the Working Committee was an admission of weakness and the result of a sense of despair. The Partition would not benefit either community – the Hindus in Pakistan and the Muslims in India would both live in fear."
Thus, he was strongly
opposed to the partition of India.
Relations with Nehru
He and
Jawaharlal Nehru
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat—
*
*
*
* and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...
had good relations in the beginning; Nehru who commended the "No Tax" campaign started by Tandon in 1930. In the 1940s, the differences between them increased. While Tandon was not perceived to be power-hungry, his relation with Nehru was not on good terms and he was believed to be a protégé of
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel (; ; 31 October 1875 – 15 December 1950), commonly known as Sardar, was an Indian lawyer, influential political leader, barrister and statesman who served as the first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister of I ...
. In 1950, his successful election to the post of Congress President against
Acharya Kriplani, who was widely believed to be backed by Nehru, put the latter in a tight spot. The relations between the party and the government suffered during that period. Subsequently, it became a sort of unwritten norm for the leader of the government to also be the party president or at the least, have a pliable candidate in the post.
After Partition, Patel and Nehru developed differences over how to deal with the Muslim minority of India, especially as anti-Hindu violence reigned in Pakistan. Nehru argued that India's constitutional commitment to the security of its Muslim minority did not depend on how Pakistan treated its Hindu minority. Tandon, being close to Patel, differed with Nehru on this. So, Nehru launched an internal political battle against his own party's elected President and got the party's organisation to support his idea of secularism. Subsequently, it became clear that the nation's prime minister cannot be opposed by his party's elected president and Tandon resigned from the post of Congress' president to give way for Nehru. Tandon was elected president in 1950 and then Nehru was elected twice in 1951 and 1952.
Advocacy for Hindi
Despite Gandhi and other leaders advocating the adoption of
Hindustani, a mixture of Hindi and Urdu, as the National language, he insisted on the usage of
Devanagari
Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental Writing systems#Segmental syste ...
script and the rejection of the
Urdu script
The Urdu alphabet (), is the right-to-left alphabet used for Urdu. It is a modification of the Persian script, which is itself a derivative of the Arabic script. The Urdu alphabet has up to 39 or 40 distinct letters with no distinct letter c ...
as well as words with Arabic-Persian roots. This led to him being called a political reactionary by Nehru. His attitude towards the
Sanskritisation
Sanskritisation (or Sanskritization) is a term in sociology which refers to the process by which castes or tribes placed lower in the caste hierarchy seek 'upward' mobility by emulating the rituals and practices of the dominant castes or upper ...
or making the language more formal was also controversial. His insistence on the usage of numerals of Devanagari script over the international system and his debates in the
constituent assembly
A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...
on adoption of Hindi as the official language irked
Dravidian leaders.
Anecdotes
* A Speaker is supposed to be impartial and hence, speakers generally do not participate in their party meetings. Tandon, however, used to participate actively in his party meetings, as he was clear in his conscience that since he could separate these into different compartments, there should not be any issue. When he was questioned on this stand on the floor of the house, he offered to step down if any of the members of the house lacked confidence in him. No member pressed the issue.
* As a staunch believer in
ahimsa
Ahimsa (, IAST: ''ahiṃsā'', ) is the ancient Indian principle of nonviolence which applies to all living beings. It is a key virtue in most Indian religions: Jainism, Buddhism, and Hinduism.Bajpai, Shiva (2011). The History of India ...
, he started using rubber
chappal
Flip-flops are a type of light sandal, typically worn as a form of casual footwear. They consist of a flat sole held loosely on the foot by a Y-shaped strap known as a toe thong that passes between the first and second toes and around both side ...
s to avoid usage of leather.
* Rajarshi Purushottam Das Tandon was at the time a member of parliament. Once, when he went to collect his salary cheque in the Parliament Office, he asked the clerk there to transfer the amount directly to a "Public Service Fund". The officials over there were pleasantly surprised by his generosity. One of his colleagues standing nearby said: "There are hardly four hundred rupees as your allowance for the whole month. And you are donating the entire amount for social service?" Tandon ji humbly replied – "You see, I have seven sons and all are earning sufficiently to raise their families; each one sends me one hundred rupees per month. I spend only about rupees three to four hundred from that and the rest goes to some philanthropic causes. This allowance as a Member-of-Parliament is again extra for some one like me. Why should I save it for myself or my family? It was because of this natural austerity and detachment from selfish possessions that he was called a "Rajarishi".
*He was fondly called Rajarishi by Mahatma Gandhi.
References
External links
An article on Purushottam Das Tandon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tandon, Purushottam Das
Presidents of the Indian National Congress
1882 births
1962 deaths
Indian independence activists from Uttar Pradesh
Indian Hindus
Recipients of the Bharat Ratna
Politicians from Allahabad
Members of the Constituent Assembly of India
Speakers of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly
Lok Sabha members from Uttar Pradesh
India MPs 1952–1957
Rajya Sabha members from Uttar Pradesh
Indian National Congress politicians from Uttar Pradesh
Prisoners and detainees of British India