Kanhaiyalal Maneklal Munshi (; 30 December 1887 – 8 February 1971), popularly known by his pen name Ghanshyam Vyas, was an

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 ...

activist, politician, writer and educationist 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 ninth ...

state. A lawyer by profession, he later turned to author and politician. He is a well-known name in Gujarati literature. He founded Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, an educational trust, in 1938. Munshi wrote his works in three languages namely Gujarati, English and Hindi. Before independence of India, Munshi was part 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 E ...

and after independence, he joined

Swatantra Party The Swatantra Party was an Indian classical liberal political party, that existed from 1959 to 1974. It was founded by C. Rajagopalachari in reaction to what he felt was the Jawaharlal Nehru-dominated Indian National Congress's increasingly soci ...

. Munshi held several important posts like member of

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 ...

, minister of agriculture and food of India, and governor of

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 ...

. In his later life, he was one of the founding members of

Vishva Hindu Parishad The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) () is an Indian right-wing Hindu organization based on Hindu nationalism. The VHP was founded in 1964 by M. S. Golwalkar and S. S. Apte in collaboration with Swami Chinmayananda. Its stated objective is ...

Early life

Munshi was born on 30 December 1887 at Bharuch, a town in Gujarat State of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. Munshi took admission at Baroda College in 1902 and scored first class with 'Ambalal Sakarlal Paritoshik'. In 1907, by scoring maximum marks in the

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the ...

, he received 'Elite prize' along with degree of

Bachelor of Arts 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 year ...

. Later, he was given honoris causa from same university. He received degree of

LLB 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 Mumbai in 1910 and registered as lawyer in the Bombay High Court. One of his professor at Baroda College was Aurobindo Ghosh (later Sri Aurobindo) who had a profound impression on him. Munshi was also influenced by

Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III Sayajirao Gaekwad III (born Shrimant Gopalrao Gaekwad; 11 March 1863 – 6 February 1939) was the Maharaja of Baroda State from 1875 to 1939, and is remembered for reforming much of his state during his rule. He belonged to the royal Gae ...

of Baroda,

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

Sardar 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 ...

and

Bhulabhai Desai Bhulabhai Desai (13 October 1877 – 6 May 1946) was an Indian independence activist and acclaimed lawyer. He is well-remembered for his defence of the three Indian National Army soldiers accused of treason during World War II, and for attemp ...

Political career

Indian independence movement

Due to influence of Aurobindo, Munshi leaned towards revolutionary group and get himself involved into the process of bomb-making. But after settling in the Mumbai, he joined Indian Home Rule movement and became secretary in 1915. In 1917, he became secretary of Bombay presidency association. In 1920, he attended annual congress session at Ahmedabad and was influenced by its president

Surendranath Banerjee Sir Surendranath Banerjee often known as Rashtraguru ( bn, Rāṣṭraguru, Teacher of the Nation; 10 November 18486 August 1925) was Indian nationalist leader during the British Rule. He founded a nationalist organization called the Indian Nat ...

. In 1927, he was elected to the

Bombay legislative assembly Bombay Legislative Assembly came into existence in 1937, as the legislature of Bombay Presidency, a province of British India. It functioned until 1960, when separate states of Maharashtra and Gujarat were formed. History The first session of thi ...

but after

Bardoli satyagraha The Bardoli Satyagraha, in the state of bardoli, India during the British Raj, was a major phase of civil disobedience and revolt in the Indian Independence Movement on 12 June 1928. The movement was eventually led by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, a ...

, he resigned under the influence of Mahatma Gandhi. He participated in the

civil disobedience movement 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 ...

in 1930 and was arrested for six months initially. After taking part in the second part of same movement, he was arrested again and spent two years in the jail in 1932. In 1934, he became secretary of Congress parliamentary board. Munshi was elected again in the 1937 Bombay presidency election and became Home Minister of the Bombay Presidency. During his tenure of home minister, he suppressed the communal riots in Bombay. Munshi was again arrested after he took part in Individual satyagraha in 1940. As the demand for

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

gathered momentum, he gave up non-violence and supported the idea of a civil war to compel the Muslims to give up their demand. He believed that the future of Hindus and Muslims lay in unity in an " Akhand Hindustan". He left Congress in 1941 due to dissents with Congress, but was invited back in 1946 by Mahatma Gandhi.

Offices held

* Member of Bombay Legislative Assembly * Member of Working committee of Indian National Congress (1930), Member of

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 ...

(1930-36,1947) * Secretary of Congress Parliamentary Board (1934) * Home Minister of Government of Bombay (1937-40)

Post-independence India

Jawaharlal Nehru driving a tractor at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, 2 October 1952

He was a part of several committees including Drafting Committee, Advisory Committee, Sub-Committee on Fundamental Rights. Munshi presented his draft on Fundamental Rights to the Drafting and it sought for progressive rights to be made a part of Fundamental Rights. After the independence of India, Munshi, Sardar Patel and N. V. Gadgil visited the Junagadh State to stabilise the state with help of the Indian Army. In Junagadh, Patel declared the reconstruction of the historically important Somnath temple. Patel died before the reconstruction was completed. Munshi became the main driving force behind the renovation of the Somnath temple even after

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 ...

's opposition. Munshi was appointed diplomatic envoy and trade agent (Agent-General) to the princely state of

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India ...

, where he served until its accession to India in 1948. Munshi was on the ad hoc Flag Committee that selected the Flag of India in August 1947, and on the committee which drafted the

Constitution of India The Constitution of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme law of India. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental ...

under the chairmanship of

B. R. Ambedkar Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956) was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and political leader who headed the committee drafting the Constitution of India from the Constituent Assembly debates, served ...

. Besides being a politician and educator, Munshi was also an environmentalist. He initiated the Van Mahotsav in 1950, when he was Union Minister of Food and Agriculture, to increase area under forest cover. Since then Van Mahotsav a week-long festival of tree plantation is organised every year in the month of July all across the country and lakhs of trees are planted. Munshi served as the

Governor of Uttar Pradesh The following is the list of governors of Uttar Pradesh. The list also includes governors of the United Provinces of pre-independent India as well as Independent India from 15 August 1947 to 25 January 1950. The province was renamed Uttar Prade ...

from 1952 to 1957. In 1959, Munshi separated from the Nehru-dominated (socialist) Congress Party and started the Akhand Hindustan movement. He believed in a strong opposition, so along with

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari Chakravarti Rajagopalachari (10 December 1878 – 25 December 1972), popularly known as Rajaji or C.R., also known as Mootharignar Rajaji (Rajaji'', the Scholar Emeritus''), was an Indian statesman, writer, lawyer, and independence activis ...

, he founded the Swatantra Party, which was right-wing in its politics, pro-business, pro-free market economy and private property rights. The party enjoyed considerable success and eventually died out. In August 1964, he chaired the meeting for the founding of the

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 ...

organisation

at Sandipini ashram.

Posts held

* Member of constituent assembly of India and its drafting committee (1947-52) * Union minister of food and agriculture (1950-52) * Agent general to the Government of India, Hyderabad (1948)

Academic career

Munshi was thinking of giving an institutional foundations to his ideas and ideals since 1923. On 7 November 1938, he established Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan with Harshidbhai Divatia and his wife Lilavati Munshi at

Andheri Andheri ( �n̪d̪ʱeɾiː is a locality in the western part of the city of Mumbai in India. Udayanagari, the name of a hill near the Mahakali caves, inspired the name Andheri. On the former islet of Versova, also known as Vasave, there was ano ...

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...

. Later, he established Mumbadevi Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya to teach

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 ancient Hindu texts according to traditional methods. Apart from founding Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Munshi was instrumental in the establishment of

Bhavan's College Bhavan's College is a college located in Andheri West, a neighborhood in western Mumbai, India. It was established in 1946, a year before India gained independence from the British in 1947. K. M. Munshi was the founding president of the colle ...

Hansraj Morarji Public School Hansraj Morarji Public School is a combined primary, junior and senior school in Mumbai, India. It was founded in 1939 by the Bai Kabibai and Hansraj Morarji Trust. The foundation stone was laid by Sardar Patel. The school was earlier an all-bo ...

, Rajhans Vidyalaya, Rajhans Balvatika and Panchgani Hindu School (1922). He was elected Fellow of the

University of Bombay The University of Mumbai is a collegiate, state-owned, public research university in Mumbai. The University of Mumbai is one of the largest universities in the world. , the university had 711 affiliated colleges. Ratan Tata is the appointed ...

, where he was responsible for giving adequate representation to regional languages. He was also instrumental in starting the department of Chemical Technology. He served as Chairman of Institute of Agriculture, Anand (1951-71), trustee of the Birla Education Trust (1948-71), executive chairman of

Indian Law Institute The Indian Law Institute (ILI) is a Deemed University and socio-legal research institute, founded in 1956. Established in New Delhi, primarily with the objective of promoting and conducting legal research, education and training. The objectiv ...

(1957-60) and chairman of Sanskrit Vishwa Parishad (1951-1961).

Literary career and works

Munshi, with pen name ''Ghanshyam Vyas'', was a prolific writer in Gujarati and English, earning a reputation as one of Gujarat's greatest literary figures. Being a writer and a conscientious journalist, Munshi started a Gujarati monthly called Bhargava. He was joint-editor of Young India and in 1954, started the Bhavan's Journal which is published by the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan to this day. Munshi was President of the

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 an ...

and the . Munshi was also a

litterateur An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator or as ...

with a wide range of interests. He is well known for his historical novels in

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub ...

, especially his

trilogy A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games, and are less common in other art forms. Three-part wor ...

''Patan-ni-Prabhuta'' (The Glory of Patan), ''Gujarat-no-Nath'' (The Lord and Master of Gujarat) and ''Rajadhiraj'' (The King of Kings). His other works include ''Jay Somnath'' (on Somnath temple), '' Krishnavatara'' (on Lord

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...

), ''Bhagavan Parasurama'' (on Parshurama), and ''Tapasvini'' (The Lure of Power) a novel with a fictional parallel drawn from the Freedom Movement of India under

. Munshi also wrote several notable works in English. Munshi has written mostly based on fictional historical themes namely # Earlier Aryan settlements in India (What he calls Gaurang's – white skinned) # Krishna's endeavors in Mahabharata times # More recently in 10th century India around Gujarat, Malwa and Southern India. K.M. Munshi's novel '' Prithivivallabh'' was made into a movie of the same name twice. The adaptation directed by Manilal Joshi in 1924 was very controversial in its day: The second version was by

Sohrab Modi Sohrab Merwanji Modi (2 November 1897 – 28 January 1984) was an Indian stage and film actor, director and producer. His films include ''Khoon Ka Khoon'' (1935), a version of Shakespeare's ''Hamlet'', '' Sikandar'', ''Pukar'', ''Prithvi Va ...

in 1943.

Works in Gujarati and Hindi

His works are as following:Open Library – Books of Kanhiyalal Munshi
Openlibrary.org. Retrieved on 7 December 2018. Novels * ''Mari Kamala'' (1912) * ''Verni Vasulat'' (1913) (under the pen name ''Ghanashyam'') * '' Patanni Prabhuta'' (1916) * '' Gujaratno Nath'' (1917) * '' Rajadhiraj'' (1918) * '' Prithivivallabh'' (1921) * ''Svapnadishta'' (1924) * ''Lopamudra'' (1930) * ''Jay Somanth'' (1940) * ''Bhagavan Parashurama'' (1946) * ''Tapasvini'' (1957) * '' Krishnavatara'' (in eight volumes) (1970)last novel, still remained incomplete * ''Kono vank'' * ''Lomaharshini'' * ''Bhagvan Kautilya'' * ''Pratirodha'' (1900) * ''Atta ke svapana'' (1900) * ''Gaurava kā pratīka'' (1900) * ''Gujarat ke Gaurava'' (1900) * ''Sishu aura Sakhi'' (1961) * ''Avibhakta Atma'' Drama * ''Brahmacharyashram'' (1931) * ''Dr. Madhurika'' (1936) * ''Pauranik Natako'' Non-fiction * ''Ketlak Lekho'' (1926) * ''Adadhe Raste'' (1943)

Works in English

* ''Gujarat and Its Literature'' * ''Imperial Gujaras'' * ''Bhagavad Gita and Modern Life'' * ''Creative Art of Life'' * ''To Badrinath'' * ''Saga of Indian Sculpture'' * ''The End of An Era'' * ''President under Indian Constitution'' * ''Warnings of History: Trends in Modern India'' * ''Somanatha, The shrine eternal''

Personal life

In 1900, he married Atilakshmi Pathak, who died in 1924. In 1926, he married Lilavati Munshi ( née Sheth).

Popular culture

Kanaiyalal Maneklal Munshi 1988 stamp of India

Munshi was portrayed by

K. K. Raina K. K. Raina is an Indian film, television and theatre character actor and award-winning script writer, who is best known for his roles as ''Juror #8'' in the 1986 film ''Ek Ruka Hua Faisla'', a remake of 12 Angry Men, and Byomkesh Bakshi's asso ...

in the Shyam Benegal's mini-series '' Samvidhaan''.

Memorials

* A major thoroughfare in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

is named after him. * A road in

Jaipur Jaipur (; Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had a population of 3.1 million, making it the tenth most populous city in the country. Jaipur is also known ...

is named after him. * A school in

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

is named after him as Bhavan's Kulapati K.M. Munshi Memorial Vidya Mandir Sapthat. * A postage stamp was issued in his honor in 1988. * The Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan has instituted an award in his honor – The Kulapati Munshi Award – awarded to recognize and honor a citizen of the Kendra who has done excellent and outstanding service to society in any special field. * A boys hostel named as K. M. Munshi Hall at Main campus, The

Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, formerly Baroda College, is a public university in the city of Vadodara, in Gujarat state, India. Originally established as a college in 1881, it became a university in 1949 after the independence of ...

, Vadodara, Gujarat.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Munshi, Kanaiyalal Maneklal 1887 births 1971 deaths People from Vadodara Indian independence activists from Gujarat Scholars from Gujarat Governors of Uttar Pradesh Gujarati-language writers Founders of Indian schools and colleges University and college founders Members of the Constituent Assembly of India Novelists from Gujarat Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Members of the Central Legislative Assembly of India English-language writers from India Indian male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Indian lawyers Hindi-language writers Gandhians Indian male journalists Indian Hindus Prisoners and detainees of British India Swatantra Party politicians 20th-century Indian politicians Indian environmentalists Indian National Congress politicians from Gujarat Hindu activists Hindu movements 20th-century Indian novelists 20th-century Indian educators Indian historical novelists 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights Indian male novelists Dramatists and playwrights from Gujarat Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda alumni