Vishnu Kant Shastri (2 May 1929 – 17 April 2005) was an Indian politician who served as the 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 195 ...

and

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several pea ...

. He was also an academician, scholar, poet, philosopher, author, critic, orator, editor and administrator.

Early life

A native of

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 ...

, Vishnu Kant Shastri completed his B.A. LLB and

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

from the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a public collegiate state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered one of best state research university all over India every yea ...

and chose to become a lecturer in

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 ...

. After 41 years, he retired as

Acharya In Indian religions and society, an ''acharya'' ( Sanskrit: आचार्य, IAST: ; Pali: ''ācariya'') is a preceptor and expert instructor in matters such as religion, or any other subject. An acharya is a highly learned person with a ...

of the Hindi department of the University of Calcutta in 1994, marking the end of his academic career.

Politics

Associated with

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ( ; , , ) is an Indian right-wing, Hindu nationalist, paramilitary volunteer organisation. The RSS is the progenitor and leader of a large body of organisations called the Sangh Parivar (Hindi for "Sangh family ...

, he entered active politics and served as a member of the

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...

Legislative Assembly in 1977. He went on to become one of the founding members of the

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the List of ruling p ...

in 1980 and a member of 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 ...

in 1992. He was appointed Governor of Himachal Pradesh on 2 December 1999, serving until 23 November 2000 and, the following day, 24 November, was sworn in as Governor of Uttar Pradesh, where he served until 2004, less than a year before his death.

Literature

Vishnu Kant Shastri was a well-known figure in the

literary world and authored several books, including: ''Kavi Nirala Ki Kavya Vedna Tatha Anya Nibandh'', ''Kuch Chandan Ki Kuch Kapur Ki'', ''Chintan Mudra'', ''Anuchintan'' (literary criticism), ''Tulsi Ke Hiye Heyri'' (essay on

Tulsidas Tulsidas (; born Rambola Dubey; also known as Goswami Tulsidas; c.1511pp. 23–34.–1623) was a Ramanandi Vaishnava Hindu saint and poet, renowned for his devotion to the deity Rama. He wrote several popular works in Sanskrit and Awadhi, b ...

), ''

Bangla Desh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

Ke Sandarbh Main'' (reportage), ''Smaran Ko Patheya Banahe Do'', ''Sudhiyan Us Chandan Ke Van Ki'' (travelogue and reminiscence), ''

Bhakti ''Bhakti'' ( sa, भक्ति) literally means "attachment, participation, fondness for, homage, faith, love, devotion, worship, purity".See Monier-Williams, ''Sanskrit Dictionary'', 1899. It was originally used in Hinduism, referring to d ...

Aur Sharanagati'', ''Gyan Aur Karma'' (thought-philosophy), ''Anant Path Ke Pathik-Dharamveer Bharti'', ''Jeevan Path Par Chalte Chalte'' (poetry). Apart from translating several

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

and English poems into Hindi, he translated several books into Hindi as well, including: ''Upma Kalidasasya'' (Bangla to Hindi), ''Sankalp-Santras-Sankalp'' (Poetic translation of fiery poems of

) and ''

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- ...

Ka Samaj Darshan'' (English to Hindi). Some of the several accolades and laurels Vishnu Kant Shastri won for his literary efforts were "Acharya Ramchandra Shukla Puruskar" by the Government of Uttar Pradesh for his book ''Kuch Chandan Ki Kuch Kapur Ki'' in 1972-73, the Government's State Literary Award for his book ''Bangla Desh Ke Sandarbh Mein'' in 1974-75, Special Award by U.P. Hindi Sansthan for ''Smaran Ko Patheya Banahe Do'' (1978–79), Special Award by Ramayan Mahotsava Pratishthan, Chitrakoot, U.P. for his work on the literature of Tulsidas (1979), Sahitya Bhushan Samman, Dr.

Ram Manohar Lohia Ram Manohar Lohia ; (23 March 1910 – 12 October 1967) was an activist in the Indian independence movement and a socialist political leader. During the last phase of British rule in India, he worked with the Congress Radio which was broadcast ...

Samman, Rajrishi Tandon Hindi Sevi Samman, special lecture on "Ram Charit Manas mein Gyan Aur Karma" as lecturer at Rama Krishna Mission Institute of Culture (1979).

Family

Two weeks before his 76th birthday, Vishnu Kant Shastri was travelling on the

Danapur Danapur is a Indian satellite town and one of the 6 sub-divisions (Tehsil) in Patna district of Bihar state.Patna Patna ( ), historically known as Pataliputra, is the capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Patna had a population of 2.35 million, making it the 19th largest city in India. ...

, intending to provide a discourse on

Gita The Bhagavad Gita (; sa, श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता, lit=The Song by God, translit=śrīmadbhagavadgītā;), often referred to as the Gita (), is a 700- verse Hindu scripture that is part of the epic ''Mahabharata'' ( ...

, when he suffered a fatal heart attack. He was married to Indira Devi from 26 January 1953 until her death in 1988. They had one daughter, Bharti Sharma, who survives him.

External links

Biographical resume of Vishnu Kant Shastri as governor of Uttar Pradesh

Vishnu Kant Shastri death announcement; includes three official photographs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shastri, Vishnu Kant 1929 births 2005 deaths Politicians from Kolkata Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from West Bengal University of Calcutta alumni Academic staff of the University of Calcutta Governors of Himachal Pradesh Governors of Uttar Pradesh Indian Hindus 20th-century Indian writers Janata Party politicians