Prof. Ram Raj Pant (1920–1993) was a pioneering

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

of the

Nepali language Nepali (; , ) is an Indo-Aryan language native to the Himalayas region of South Asia. It is the official, and most widely spoken, language of Nepal, where it also serves as a '' lingua franca''. Nepali has official status in the Indian st ...

literary Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to ...

writer and promoter of

legal education Legal education is the education of individuals in the principles, practices, and theory of law. It may be undertaken for several reasons, including to provide the knowledge and skills necessary for admission to legal practice in a particular j ...

in Nepal. In addition to publishing multiple volumes on Nepali linguistics, Ram Raj Pant led the establishment of Nepal Law College and was its founding Principal.''Unforgettable four karma-yogis'', by Dr. Suresh Raj Sharma,

Kantipur Kantipur (from kanti ''light'', pur ''city'') was a medieval kingdom in the Malla (Nepal), Malla confederacy of Nepal. The name of the kingdom was derived from the Sanskrit name of its capital city, now known as Kathmandu. History The kingdom ...

( Nepali: बिर्सन नहुने चार कर्मयोगी), July 9, 1996/

Bikram Sambat Vikram Samvat (IAST: ''Vikrama Samvat''; abbreviated VS) or Bikram Sambat B.S. and also known as the Vikrami calendar, is a Hindu calendar historically used in the Indian subcontinent. Vikram Samvat is generally 57 years ahead of Gregorian Calend ...

2053 Asar 25 Nepal Law College later became

Nepal Law Campus Nepal Law Campus ( Nepali: नेपाल ल क्याम्पस), originally called Nepal Law College, is the oldest college under the Faculty of Law of Tribhuvan University - the oldest and largest university of Nepal. ''Nepal Law Camp ...

under the

Tribhuvan University Tribhuvan University (TU; ne, त्रिभुवन विश्वविद्यालय) is a public university located in Kirtipur, Kathmandu. Established in 1959, TU is the oldest university in Nepal. In terms of enrollment, it is t ...

. He was also the founding chairman and first visiting professor of

program at

Banaras Hindu University Banaras Hindu University (BHU) IAST: kāśī hindū viśvavidyālaya IPA: /kaːʃiː hɪnd̪uː ʋɪʃwəʋid̪jaːləj/), is a collegiate, central, and research university located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, and founded in 1916 ...

. One of his books - ''Nepali Lipivijana'' is continued to be used for MA in Nepali

curriculum In education, a curriculum (; : curricula or curriculums) is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view ...

BHU Banaras Hindu University (BHU) IAST: kāśī hindū viśvavidyālaya IPA: /kaːʃiː hɪnd̪uː ʋɪʃwəʋid̪jaːləj/), is a collegiate, central, and research university located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, and founded in 1916. ...

Biography

Ram Raj Pant was born in

Gyaneshwor Gyaneshwor is one of the central neighborhoods in the city of Kathmandu, Nepal. It is named after the ancient temple of Gyaneshwor Mahadev & Bhairavsthan located there. It is a multi-cultural residential area with good facilities. Some major es ...

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

in February 1920 (

1976

Falgun Falgun or Phalgun (; ne, फाल्गुण) or Phagun ( as, ফাগুন) is the eleventh month of the year in the Bengali calendar, the Assamese calendar, and the Nepali calendar. In the revision of the Bengali calendar used in Bangladesh ...

) to his father Bhairav Raj Pant and mother Dambar Kumari. He was born as Hridaya Nath Pant. When his mother died when he was only eight years old, the responsibility of looking after his two younger brothers - Chandra Raj and Surya Raj came on his shoulders. Under guidance from his grandfather, Gajendra Dhoj Pant, Ram Raj enrolled in

Durbar High School Durbar High School () or Bhanu Higher Secondary School, opened in 1854 is the oldest modern school in Nepal located near Rani Pokhari, Kathmandu. The school was originally built to teach sons of Ranas exclusively but was opened to public citizens i ...

for his early schooling. His

upanayan ''Upanayana'' ( sa, उपनयनम्, lit=initiation, translit=Upanāyanam) is a Hindu educational sacrament, one of the traditional saṃskāras or rites of passage that marked the acceptance of a student by a preceptor, such as a ''guru'' ...

was also completed when he was eight years old. Ram Raj continued his education at

Patna University Patna University is a public state university in Patna, Bihar, India. It was established on 1 October 1917 during the British Raj. It is the first university in Bihar and the seventh oldest university in the Indian subcontinent in the modern er ...

from where he completed his

matriculation Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now ...

. Then he returned to Kathmandu to enroll in then newly established

Tri Chandra College Tri-Chandra Multiple Campus, more colloquially known as Tri-Chandra College, is a constituent campus of Tribhuvan University located in Ghantaghar, Kathmandu. Found in 1918 by Chandra Shumsher, it is the oldest institute of higher learning in Ne ...

, from where he received his IA degree. He returned afterwards to

for further study towards receiving his

BA degree Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in 1939. Ram Raj then enrolled in law program at

, from where he received his

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

in 1941. Influenced by his grandfather Gajendra Dhoj, who studied philosophy and literature, and by the well known literary culture of

Banaras Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic tra ...

, Ram Raj started writing while there. He also studied

linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

to receive his

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in 1943.''Major life events'', Handwritten notes by Raj Ram Pant ( Nepali) After graduation, Ram Raj continued literary writing as well as his research on linguistics, especially related to the

. While living in Kathmandu, Ram Raj continued to visit Banaras every year for most of his life to continue his research and intellectual endeavors. Ram Raj was married when he was 18 years of age to Pushpa Kumari of Bista family from Maligaun in

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

. Between them, they had five sons - Shiva Raj, Ananda Raj, Durga Raj, Rajendra Raj and Binayak Raj Pant as well as two daughters - Prabha Pandey and Prativa Tiwari.

Career

Ram Raj Pant made teaching and writing into his passionate profession. In 1943, he was the founding visiting professor of Nepali program at

, which continues to use one of Ram Raj's book on linguistics in its MA program. After completing his role in BHU, Ram Raj returned to Nepal to further the cause of education in his native country. He was offered the position of chief inspector of higher education by then Nepal government, which allowed him to visit academic institutions in many parts of the country. In 1947, he took on the position of professor and head of Nepali language department at

, where he later started the BA honors program. Ram Raj Pant led the initiative to establish the first institution for

in Nepal. Nepal Law College was formed under his leadership in 1954 and Ram Raj was its founding Principal. The classes were initially held in the evenings at

. Ram Raj's relentless efforts also helped secure the college its own site on Exhibition Road in

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

where it stands today. Nepal Law College was renamed to

when it was later brought under the

faculty of law A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In American usage such divisions are generally referred to as colleges ...

. Ram Raj worked for next two decades as Principal of

to build it into a solid academic institution that produced graduates who went on to become leaders of many organizations in Nepal and abroad. Ram Raj Pant is credited with starting the ''Nepali grammar simplification movement'' ( Nepali: सजिलोबाद) in 1959. He also established the

for MA program in

in 1961. After his retirement from Tribhuvan University in 1975, Ram Raj continued to write and advise various institutions to further the cause of education and the system of

rule of law The rule of law is the political philosophy that all citizens and institutions within a country, state, or community are accountable to the same laws, including lawmakers and leaders. The rule of law is defined in the ''Encyclopedia Britannica ...

in Nepal.

Publications

*Editor of

publication ''Jyotsna'' ( Nepali: सम्पादक, ज्योत्सना पत्रिका), 1948–1953 *''Nepali Linguistic Science, Vol. 1'' ( Nepali: नेपाली भाषा विज्ञान (पहिलो भाग)), Feb 1958 (

2014

) *''Nepali Linguistic Science'' ( Nepali: नेपाली भाषा विज्ञान) (

2036

) Publisher:

Royal Nepal Academy The Nepal Academy ( ne, नेपाल प्रज्ञा–प्रतिष्ठान), formerly known as Royal Nepal Academy ( ne, नेपाल राजकीय प्रज्ञा–प्रतिष्ठान), is an autonomo ...

*''Nepali

Writing System A writing system is a method of visually representing verbal communication, based on a script and a set of rules regulating its use. While both writing and speech are useful in conveying messages, writing differs in also being a reliable form ...

'' ( Nepali: नेपाली लिपि विज्ञान), 1959 (

2016

) Publisher: Jagadamba Publication *''History of Linguistics'' ( Nepali: भाषा विज्ञानको इतिहास), 1962 (

2018) *''Essay collection, Part 1'' ( Nepali: प्रबन्ध पाठ सङ्ग्रह, भाग १), 1961 (

2018) *Collection of stories ( Nepali: बेवारिसी, पाल्तु र फाल्तु), 1963 (

2019) *''Nepali Linguistic Science'' ( Nepali: नेपाली भाषा विज्ञान), 1979 (

2036) *''Nepal Legal Framework'' ( Nepali: नेपाल कानुन सार), 1979 (

2036) *One-act plays ( Nepali: चट्टुको चट, चन्द्रको पालो) *Poem collection ( Nepali: कहिले जाला घाम, मातृ भू भव्य बनोस) *Nepali Language in Tribhuvan University ( Nepali: त्रिभुवन बिश्वविधालयमा नेपाली भाषा) *''Innovative Educational System'', with Yadhunandan ( Nepali: नवीन शिक्षण पद्धति), (

2014)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pant, Ram Raj 1920 births 1993 deaths Academic staff of Tribhuvan University Nepalese male writers Banaras Hindu University alumni Patna University alumni 20th-century Indian linguists Linguists from Nepal 20th-century Nepalese educators Durbar High School alumni Tri-Chandra College alumni