Bal Krishna Sharma (8 December 1897 – 29 April 1960), known under the

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

Naveen, was an Indian freedom activist, journalist, politician and a poet of

Hindi literature Hindi literature ( hi, हिन्दी साहित्य, translit=hindī sāhitya) includes literature in the various Hindi language which have writing systems. Earliest forms of Hindi literature are attested in poetry of Apabhraṃś ...

. He was a member of the

1st Lok Sabha The First Lok Sabha was constituted on 17 April 1952 after India's first general election. The 1st Lok Sabha lasted its full tenure of five years and was dissolved on 4 April 1957. The First Session of this Lok Sabha commenced on 13 May 1952. ...

, representing Kanpur constituency and served 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 ...

as a member from 1957 till his death. He succeeded

Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi (26 October 1890 – 25 March 1931) was an Indian journalist, a leader of the Indian National Congress and an independence movement activist. He was an important figure in the non-cooperation movement and the freedom mo ...

as the editor of ''Pratap'' daily and also served as a member of the

Official Languages Commission Official Languages Commission is an Indian commission which was constituted by the president of India in pursuance to the provisions stated in the Article-344 of the Indian Constitution. This commission was constituted on June 7, 1955 vide a notif ...

. His poetry anthologies include ''Kumkum'', ''Rashmirekha'', ''Apalak'', ''Kwasi'', ''Vinoba Stavan'', ''Urmila'' and ''Hum Vishpaee Janam Ke'', the last one published posthumously. The Government of India awarded him the third highest civilian honour of the

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 service ...

, in 1960, for his contributions to literature.

India Post India Post is a government-operated postal system in India, part of the Department of Post under the Ministry of Communications. Generally known as the Post Office, it is the most widely distributed postal system in the world. Warren Hastings ...

issued a commemorative stamp on Sharma in 1989.

Biography

Bal Krishna Sharma was born on 8 December 1897 at Bhyana, a small village in Shajapur district of the largest Indian state 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 second ...

, in a family of modest financial means to Jamanadas Sharma and Radhabai. Due to poverty at home, he could start his formal education only at the age of 11 at a local school in Shajapur where he completed the middle school. Moving to Ujjain, he passed matriculation in 1917 and during this period, he had the opportunity to meet

Makhanlal Chaturvedi Pandit Makhanlal Chaturvedi (4 April 1889 – 30 January 1968), also called Pandit ji, was an Indian poet, writer, essayist, playwright and a journalist who is particularly remembered for his participation in India's national struggle for indepe ...

, the renowned poet, who led him to

, who would later precede him as the editor of ''Pratap'' magazine. The new personal connections helped him to shift his base to

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 ...

and he joined

Christ Church College, Kanpur Christ Church College, Kanpur is a college established in 1866, affiliated with Kanpur University, in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. Earlier in 1840, SPG Mission School was established to educated Christian students. Later its name turned to prese ...

to pursue his graduate studies (BA). A turning point in his life occurred during his Kanpur college days when he 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. Sharma became active in the

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

and was incarcerated by the British government six times between 1921 and 1944, the government declaring him as a dangerous prisoner. He pursued his journalistic career concurrently through his association with ''Pratap'', a

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 ...

daily, and when

, the then editor of the newspaper died in March 1931, he was chosen as the editor. After the Indian independence of 1947, he took up party politics, continuing his alignment with 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 E ...

(INC). He contested the first lok sabha elections of 1951–52, and won from the Kanpur District South cum Etawah district Lok Sabha constituency, defeating Chandrasekhar of the

Congress Socialist Party The Congress Socialist Party (CSP) was a socialist caucus within the Indian National Congress. It was founded in 1934 by Congress members who rejected what they saw as the anti-rational mysticism of Gandhi as well as the sectarian attitude of ...

with a margin of over 26,500 votes, securing almost 50 percent of the votes polled. In 1957, he was elected to the

, a post he held till his death. His active participation in political and social activities together with his oratorical skills earned him the moniker, ''Lion of Kanpur''. When the

was established by the Government of India in 1955, he was selected as a member and he was also a member of the Cultural delegation which visited a number of countries including Nepal, Mauritius and USA. Sharma wrote several poems, under the

''Naveen'', since his college days which reflected patriotic fervor and published many anthologies such as ''Kumkum'', ''Rashmirekha'', ''Apalak'', ''Kwasi'', ''Vinoba Stavan'' and ''Urmila''. He was the editor of the Hindi language literary magazine, ''Prabha''. The Government of India awarded him the third highest civilian honour of the

in 1960, a few months before his death on 29 April 1960; while he was serving as a member of the

. Some of his poems were compiled by Gyanpeeth after his death and published under the title, ''Hum Vishpaee Janam Ke''. His prose writings, ''Balkrishna Sharma Gadya Rachanavali'' is available in 5 volumes and poems, ''Balkrishna Sharma Kavya Rachanavali'' has been published in 3 volumes. His poems have been reported to have influenced many, including the former Indian Prime Minister,

Atal Behari Vajpayee Atal Bihari Vajpayee (; 25 December 1924 – 16 August 2018) was an Indian politician who served three terms as the 10th prime minister of India, first for a term of 13 days in 1996, then for a period of 13 months fr ...

. The India Post honored him with a commemorative stamp in 1989 and the ''

Uttar Pradesh Hindi Sansthan Uttar Pradesh Hindi Sansthan also known as UP Hindi Sansthan is an autonomous organisation in Uttar Pradesh, working for the promotion of Hindi language. It is run under the Department of Languages, Government of Uttar Pradesh. Apart from organiz ...

'' has instituted an award, ''Bal Krishna Sharma Naveen award'', in his honor. A college in

Shajapur Shajapur is a town in Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh state in west-central India. It is the headquarters of Shajapur district. Geography Shajapur is located at . It has an average elevation of . The highest peak is known as Bhairo Dungri. ...

managed by the Government of Madhya Pradesh, ''Government Balkrishna Sharma Navin Post Graduate College'', has been named after him. His life has been documented in a biography, ''Balkrishna Sharma Naveen'', written by Vishnu Tripathi and published in 2013.

Biography

See also

References

Further reading