Ravishankar Vyas, better known as Ravishankar Maharaj, was an Indian independence activist, social worker and

Gandhian The followers of Mahatma Gandhi, the greatest figure of the Indian independence movement, are called Gandhians. Gandhi's legacy includes a wide range of ideas ranging from his dream of ideal India (or ''Rama Rajya)'', economics, environmentalism, ...

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 ...

Life

Ravishankar Vyas was born on 25 February 1884,

Mahashivaratri Maha Shivaratri (IAST: Mahāśivarātri) is a Hindu festival celebrated annually in honour of the god Shiva. The name also refers to the night when Shiva performs the heavenly dance called Tandava. In every month of the luni-solar Hindu ca ...

, in Radhu village (now in

Kheda district Kheda District is one of the thirty-three districts of Gujarat state in western India. Its central city, Kheda, is the administrative headquarters of the district. History Formerly known as Kaira district, it was divided in two with the sou ...

, India) to Pitambar Sivram Vyas and Nathiba, a Vadara

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...

peasant family. His family was native of Sarsavani village near

Mahemdavad Mahemdavad is a town with municipality in the Kheda district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Mahemdavad is situated on the Vatrak River bank. The nearest city is Kheda. It is 30 km from largest city of Gujarat, Ahmedabad. Nearest airport ...

. He dropped out after the sixth standard to help his parents in agriculture work. He married Surajba. His father died when he was 19 and his mother died when he was 22. He was influenced by

Arya Samaj Arya Samaj ( hi, आर्य समाज, lit=Noble Society, ) is a monotheistic Indian Hindu reform movement that promotes values and practices based on the belief in the infallible authority of the Vedas. The samaj was founded by the sanny ...

philosophy. He met

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- ...

in 1915 and joined his independence and social activism. He was one of the earliest and closest associates of Gandhi and

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 ...

, and along with

Darbar Gopaldas Desai Gopaldas Ambaidas Desai (1887–1951) also called Darbar Gopaldas Desai was a prince who ascended the throne of the State of Dhasa in Saurashtra and a noted Gandhian political and social activist. He is remembered as the first prince in India w ...

Narhari Parikh Narhari Dwarkadas Parikh was a writer, independence activist and social reformer from Gujarat, India. Influenced by Mahatma Gandhi, he was associated with Gandhian institutes throughout his life. He wrote biographies, edited works by associates ...

and

Mohanlal Pandya Mohanlal Pandya was an Indian freedom fighter, social reformer and one of the earliest followers of Mahatma Gandhi. Along with fellow Gandhians like Narhari Parikh and Ravi Shankar Vyas, Pandya was a key organizer of nationalist revolts in Gujarat ...

, the chief organizer of nationalist revolts in Gujarat in the 1920s and 1930s. He worked for years for rehabilitation of Baraiya and Patanvadiya castes of coastal central Gujarat. He founded Rashtriya Shala (National School) in Sunav village in 1920. He left his rights on ancestral property against wish of wife and joined

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 ...

in 1921. He participated in Borsad Satyagraha in 1923 and protested against Haidiya Tax. He also participated in

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, an ...

in 1928 and was imprisoned by British authority for six months. He participated in relief work of flood in 1927 which earned him recognition. He joined Gandhi in

Salt March 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 di ...

in 1930 and was imprisoned for two years. In 1942, he also participated in

Quit India Movement The Quit India Movement, also known as the August Kranti Movement, was a movement launched at the Bombay session of the All India Congress Committee by Mahatma Gandhi on 8th August 1942, during World War II, demanding an end to British rule in ...

and also tried to pacify communal violence in

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per t ...

. After independence of India in 1947, he devoted himself to social work. He joined

Vinoba Bhave Vinayak Narahari, also known as Vinoba Bhave (; 11 September 1895 – 15 November 1982), was an Indian advocate of nonviolence and human rights. Often called ''Acharya'' (Sanskrit teacher), he is best known for the Bhoodan Movement. He is cons ...

Bhoodan Movement The Bhoodan movement (Land Gift movement), also known as the Bloodless Revolution, was a voluntary land reform movement in India. It was initiated by Gandhian Vinoba Bhave in 1951 at Pochampally village, Pochampally The Bhoodan movement attempted ...

and travelled 6000 kilometres between 1955 and 1958. In 1960s, he organised and supported

Sarvodaya Movement Sarvōdaya ( hi, सर्वोदय '' sarv-'' "all", '' uday'' "rising") is a Sanskrit term which generally means "universal uplift" or "progress of all". The term was used by Mahatma Gandhi as the title of his 1908 translation of John Ruskin ...

. Ravishankar Maharaj inaugurated Gujarat state when it was created on 1 May 1960. He also opposed the Emergency in 1975. Until his death, it was a tradition that every newly appointed

Chief Minister of Gujarat The Chief Minister of Gujarat is the chief executive of the government of the Indian state of Gujarat. The governor appoints the chief minister, whose council of ministers are collectively responsible to the assembly. The chief minister's term ...

visit him for blessings after taking oath of office. He died on 1 July 1984 in

Borsad Borsad is a town and a municipality in Anand district in the state of Gujarat, India. It is located around 17 km from Anand. It is surrounded by the fertile Charotar region which largely produces tobacco, bananas, cotton, barley and oth ...

. The memorial dedicated to him is located at Adhyapan Mandir, Vallabh Vidyalaya, Bochasan.

Works

He wrote about education, rural reconstruction and

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

Recognition

The

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

released postal stamp in his honour in 1984. Ravishankar Maharaj Award for social work, worth 1

Lakh A lakh (; abbreviated L; sometimes written lac) is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand (100,000; scientific notation: 105). In the Indian 2,2,3 convention of digit grouping, it is written as 1,00,000. For ex ...

, is instituted by Department of Social Justice,

Government of Gujarat The Government of Gujarat, also known as Gujarat Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Gujarat and its 33 districts. It consists of an executive of the legislators appointed by the Governor of Gujarat, a judiciary ...

in his honour.

In popular culture

Jhaverchand Meghani Jhaverchand or Zaverchand Kalidas Meghani ( – ) was an Indian poet, writer, social reformer and freedom fighter. He is a well-known name in the field of Gujarati literature. He was born in Chotila where the Government College has been rena ...

has written ''Manasai Na Diva'' based on his experiences with him during his social work among tribals.

Pannalal Patel Pannalal Nanalal Patel (7 May 1912 – 6 April 1989) was an Indian author known for his contributions in Gujarati literature. He wrote more than 20 short story collections, such as ''Sukhdukhna Sathi'' (1940) and ''Vatrakne Kanthe'' (1952), and ...

has also written a biographical novel ''Jene Jivi Janyu'' (1984) on him.

References

External links

Gujarat inaugural speech by Ravishankar Vyas (Gujarati)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vyas, Ravishankar Indian independence activists from Gujarat Gandhians 1884 births 1984 deaths Indian social reformers Indian pacifists Gujarati-language writers Indian centenarians People from Kheda district