Jawaharlal Nehru as President of the Lucknow session of the Congress, April 1936

Sampurnanand (1 January 1891 – 10 January 1969) was a teacher and politician in

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 served as the second Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh from 1954 to 1960. If single tenures in the office of the Uttar Pradesh Chief Ministers are only considered, then Dr. Sampurnanand had the longest stretch from 28 December 1954 to 7 December 1960, which is almost six years in the office. Dr. Sampurnanand, a scholar of

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

and

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 ...

, succeeded

Govind Ballabh Pant Govind Ballabh Pant (10 September 1887 – 7 March 1961) was an Indian freedom fighter and the first chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. Alongside Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Vallabh Bhai Patel, Pant was a key figure in the movement fo ...

. Advised by a council of ministers numbering 28, he governed Uttar Pradesh was asked to resign as Chief Minister following a political crisis in Uttar Pradesh initiated by

Kamlapati Tripathi Kamalapati Tripathi (3 September 1905 – 8 October 1990) was an Indian politician, writer, journalist, and freedom fighter. He was a senior Indian National Congress leader from Varanasi constituency. He served as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh as ...

and

Chandra Bhanu Gupta Chandra Bhanu Gupta (14 July 1902 – 11 March 1980) served three terms as chief minister of Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. In 1970s he was a member of Congress (O) and Janata Party. Early life He was born in Atrauli, Aligarh district in 190 ...

. Sampurnanand 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.

; edited Maryada, a Hindi monthly staffed by

Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya Madan Mohan Malaviya ( (25 December 1861 — 12 November 1946) was an Indian scholar, educational reformer and politician notable for his role in the Indian independence movement. He was president of the Indian National Congress four times and ...

in Benaras, contributed frequently to the

National Herald The ''National Herald'' is an Indian newspaper published by The Associated Journals Ltd and owned by Young India Limited a company by Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi. It was founded by India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1938 as a t ...

and the Congress Socialist; was elected to 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 States and union territories of India, state-level Pradesh Congress Commit ...

in 1922, became provincial Minister for Education in the Uttar Pradesh cabinet, federal Minister from 1946 to 1951 and from 1951 to 1954, holding portfolios such as education, finance, and home labour; and, became Governor of

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 ...

from April 1962 to April 1967. The appointment of former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Dr. Sampurnanand as governor of Rajasthan heralded a new beginning in the Indian politics when spent forces in the politics were sent to hold gubernatorial positions.

Life

Sampurnanand was born to a Kayastha family on 1 January 1891 at Benaras (present-day

Varanasi 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 t ...

) and started life as a teacher. Brought up under the influence of the

Benaras 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 ...

ethos, he was a strong votary of traditional culture. He was deeply interested in ancient Hindu culture including Sanskrit and Phalit Jyotish (astrology). His interest in phalit coupled with his academic bent of mind got him interested in astronomy. Babu Sampurnanandji was also an ardent freedom fighter. His jail-mates narrate that while under confinement in jail (as a freedom fighter) Babuji used to entertain them with discussions on astronomy and acquainted them with the night sky. Babuji had a modern outlook too and in this respect he was a curious mixture of diverse influences. After Independence, Babu Sampurnanandji became Education Minister in the first popular government of

. This was instrumental in fulfilling his cherished astronomical dreams and drew up plans for establishing an astronomical observatory with a Time unit at the Government Sanskrit College,

(GSC) (now

Sampurnanand Sanskrit University Sampurnanand Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya (IAST: ; formerly Varanaseya Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya and Government Sanskrit College, Varanasi) is an Indian university and institution of higher learning located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, specializing i ...

). Dr Sampurnanand was first Chairman of State Lalit Kala Akademi, U.P. which was established on 8 February 1962 under the Department of Culture, Govt. of

as a fully funded autonomous body. Sampurnanand as a CM pushed Hindi (also Cow slaughter ban). As a reformist governor of

he promoted the idea of Sanganer’s no-bars prison. In this open prison convicts live with their families, go out to work and pay taxes for water and electricity. Sampurnanand believed that crime should not be looked at as an act of revenge but as an act of reformation. Life imprisonment is like a death sentence for a convict as it results in a separation from family and friends. The

government started the Sri Sampurnanand Khula Bandi Shivir (

open jail An open prison (open jail) is any jail in which the prisoners are trusted to complete sentences with minimal supervision and perimeter security and are often not locked up in their prison cells. Prisoners may be permitted to take up employment w ...

), named after the governor, on an experimental basis in 1963.

References

External links

Article
{{Authority control 1891 births 1969 deaths Indian socialists Uttar Pradesh MLAs 1952–1957 Indian National Congress politicians from Uttar Pradesh Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh Governors of Rajasthan Founders of Indian schools and colleges Politicians from Varanasi Uttar Pradesh MLAs 1957–1962 Chief ministers from Indian National Congress