K. M. Munshi
Encyclopedia
Kanaiyalal Maneklal Munshi (or Kulapati Dr. K. M. Munshi) (December 30, 1887 – February 8, 1971) was an Indian independence movement
activist, politician, writer and educationist from Gujarat state. A lawyer by profession, he later turned to literature and politics. He was a well known name in Gujarati literature
. He founded Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
, an educational trust, in 1938.
(Broach) in Gujarat, and educated in Vadodara
(Baroda), where he excelled in academics. One of his teachers at Baroda College was Sri Aurobindo Ghosh
who had a profound impression on him. Munshi was also greatly influenced by Mahatma Gandhi
, Sardar Patel, Bhulabhai Desai
, and Mohammed Ali Jinnah. After acquiring his degree in Law from the University of Bombay, he enrolled himself as an advocate in 1913, and soon became a member of the Bar. Munshi began practicing at the Bombay High Court
. His fame spread as a good and successful lawyer spread and he began getting cases from all over India. About this time his first novel was being serialised in a Gujarati weekly.
During World War I, Munshi was influenced by the Home Rule Movement
. In 1912-13, he took part in the activities of the Social Reform Association and championed the cause of widow remarriage. He led by example and married Lilavati Sheth, a widow, in 1922. He also founded the Children's Home for delinquent children at Chembur, Bombay in 1939.
Under Sri Aurobindo
's influence, Munshi was attracted to armed rebellion against the British. He even learnt to make bombs, but when he moved to Bombay in 1915, he drifted towards the Home Rule Movement
, and was later elected member of the Subjects Committee of the Indian National Congress
in 1917. When Sardar Patel was organising the Bardoli Satyagraha
, Munshi lent his support, and when Gandhi announced the Salt Satyagraha
, he joined the movement along with his wife. He started the movement for a Parliamentary wing of the Congress, and later became Secretary of the Congress Parliamentary Board in 1938. The same year he founded the well-known Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
and Institute of Agriculture at Anand, Gujarat.
Munshi was an active participant in the Indian Independence Movement
ever since the advent of Mahatma Gandhi
. He joined the Swaraj Party
but returned to the Indian National Congress
on Gandhiji's behest with the launch of the Salt Satyagraha
in 1930. He was arrested several times, including during the Quit India Movement
of 1942. A great admirer of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
, Munshi served in the Central Legislative Assembly
in the 1930s.
After the independence of India, Munshi was appointed diplomatic envoy and trade agent (Agent-General) to the princely state of Hyderabad
, 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
under the chairmanship of B. R. Ambedkar
. He and Purushottam Das Tandon
were among those who strongly opposed propagation and conversion in the constituent assembly
. He was also the main driving force behind the renovation of the historically important Somnath
Temple by the Government of India just after independence.
Munshi served as the Governor of Uttar Pradesh from 1952 to 1957. In 1959, Munshi separated from the Nehru-dominated (socialist) Congress Party
and and started the Akhand Hindustan Movement. He believed in a strong opposition, so along with Chakravarti Rajagopalachari 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 limited success and eventually died out. Later, Munshi joined the Jan Sangh.
Being a prolific 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 Sanskrit Viswa Parishad, the Gujarati Sahitya Parishad
, and the Hindi Sahitya Sammelan.
Apart from founding Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
, Munshi was instrumental in the establishment of Bhavan's College
, Hansraj Morarji Public School
, Rajhans Vidyalaya
, Rajhans Balvatika
and Panchgani Hindu School (1924). He was elected Fellow of the University of Bombay, where he was responsible for giving adequate representation to regional languages. He was also instrumental in starting the department of Chemical Technology.
Besides being a politician
and educator, Munshi was also an environmentalist
. He initiated the Vanmahotsav 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.
, especially his trilogy Patan-ni-Prabhuta (The Greatness of Patan), Gujarat-no-Nath (The Ruler of Gujarat) and Rajadhiraj (The Emperor). His other works include Jay Somnath (on Somnath
temple), Krishnavatara (on Lord Krishna
), Bhagavan Parasurama (on Parshurama), and Tapasvini (The Lure of Power) a novel with a fictional parallel drawn from the Freedom Movement of India under Mahatma Gandhi
. Munshi also wrote several notable works in English.
Munshi has written mostly based on fictional historical themes namely
K.M. Munshi's novel Prithvi Vallabh was made into a movie of the same name twice. The adaptation directed by Manilal Joshi in 1924 was very controversial in its day: Mahatma Gandhi
railed against it for excessive sex and violence. The second version was by Sohrab Modi
in 1943.
in 1926. His elder son from his first marriage, Jagadish Munshi went on to become a successful and respected Supreme Court solicitor.
In the memory of shri K. M. Munshi variety of awards are being presented. Some links to those details are
Indian independence movement
The term Indian independence movement encompasses a wide area of political organisations, philosophies, and movements which had the common aim of ending first British East India Company rule, and then British imperial authority, in parts of South Asia...
activist, politician, writer and educationist from Gujarat state. A lawyer by profession, he later turned to literature and politics. He was a well known name in Gujarati literature
Gujarati literature
The history of Gujarati literature may be traced to 1000 AD, and this literature has flourished since then to the present. It is unique in having almost no patronage from a ruling dynasty, other than its composers...
. He founded Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan is an Indian educational trust. It was founded on November 7, 1938 by Dr. K. M. Munshi, with the blessings of Mahatma Gandhi...
, an educational trust, in 1938.
Life
K. M. Munshi was born on 30 December, 1887 in the town of BharuchBharuch
Bharuch , also known as Broach, is the oldest city in Gujarat, situated at the mouth of the holy river Narmada. Bharuch is the administrative headquarters of Bharuch District and a municipality of more than 1,50,000 inhabitants. As Bharuch is a major seaport city, a number of trade activities have...
(Broach) in Gujarat, and educated in Vadodara
Vadodara
Vadodara formerly known as Baroda is the third most populated city in the Indian State of Gujarat . It is one of the four cities with the population of over 1 million...
(Baroda), where he excelled in academics. One of his teachers at Baroda College was Sri Aurobindo Ghosh
Sri Aurobindo
Sri Aurobindo , born Aurobindo Ghosh or Ghose , was an Indian nationalist, freedom fighter, philosopher, yogi, guru, and poet. He joined the Indian movement for freedom from British rule and for a duration became one of its most important leaders, before developing his own vision of human progress...
who had a profound impression on him. Munshi was also greatly influenced by Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...
, Sardar Patel, Bhulabhai Desai
Bhulabhai Desai
Bhulabhai Desai was an Indian freedom fighter and acclaimed lawyer. He is well-remembered for his defense of the three Indian National Army soldiers accused of treason during World War II, and for attempting to negotiate a secret power-sharing agreement with Liaquat Ali Khan of the Muslim League.-...
, and Mohammed Ali Jinnah. After acquiring his degree in Law from the University of Bombay, he enrolled himself as an advocate in 1913, and soon became a member of the Bar. Munshi began practicing at the Bombay High Court
Bombay High Court
Bombay High Court at Mumbai, Maharashtra, is the High Court of India with jurisdiction over the states of Maharashtra & Goa, and, the Union Territories of Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli...
. His fame spread as a good and successful lawyer spread and he began getting cases from all over India. About this time his first novel was being serialised in a Gujarati weekly.
During World War I, Munshi was influenced by the Home Rule Movement
Home Rule Movement
The All India Home Rule League was a national political organization founded in 1916 to lead the national demand for self-government, termed Home Rule, and to obtain the status of a Dominion within the British Empire as enjoyed by Australia, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand and Newfoundland at the...
. In 1912-13, he took part in the activities of the Social Reform Association and championed the cause of widow remarriage. He led by example and married Lilavati Sheth, a widow, in 1922. He also founded the Children's Home for delinquent children at Chembur, Bombay in 1939.
Under Sri Aurobindo
Sri Aurobindo
Sri Aurobindo , born Aurobindo Ghosh or Ghose , was an Indian nationalist, freedom fighter, philosopher, yogi, guru, and poet. He joined the Indian movement for freedom from British rule and for a duration became one of its most important leaders, before developing his own vision of human progress...
's influence, Munshi was attracted to armed rebellion against the British. He even learnt to make bombs, but when he moved to Bombay in 1915, he drifted towards the Home Rule Movement
Home Rule Movement
The All India Home Rule League was a national political organization founded in 1916 to lead the national demand for self-government, termed Home Rule, and to obtain the status of a Dominion within the British Empire as enjoyed by Australia, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand and Newfoundland at the...
, and was later elected member of the Subjects Committee of the Indian National Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
in 1917. When Sardar Patel was organising the Bardoli Satyagraha
Bardoli Satyagraha
The Bardoli Satyagraha of 1928, in the state of Gujarat, India during the period of the British Raj, was a major episode of civil disobedience and revolt in the Indian Independence Movement...
, Munshi lent his support, and when Gandhi announced the Salt Satyagraha
Salt Satyagraha
The Salt March, also known as the Salt Satyagrahah began with the Dandi March on March 12, 1930, and was an important part of the Indian independence movement. It was a campaign of tax resistance and nonviolent protest against the British salt monopoly in colonial India, and triggered the wider...
, he joined the movement along with his wife. He started the movement for a Parliamentary wing of the Congress, and later became Secretary of the Congress Parliamentary Board in 1938. The same year he founded the well-known Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan is an Indian educational trust. It was founded on November 7, 1938 by Dr. K. M. Munshi, with the blessings of Mahatma Gandhi...
and Institute of Agriculture at Anand, Gujarat.
Munshi was an active participant in the Indian Independence Movement
Indian independence movement
The term Indian independence movement encompasses a wide area of political organisations, philosophies, and movements which had the common aim of ending first British East India Company rule, and then British imperial authority, in parts of South Asia...
ever since the advent of Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...
. He joined the Swaraj Party
Swaraj Party
The Swaraj Party, Swarajaya Party or Swarajya Party, established as the Congress-Khilafat Swarajaya Party, was a political party formed in India in 1922 that sought greater self-government and political freedoms for the Indian people from the British Raj. It was inspired by the concept of Swaraj...
but returned to the Indian National Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
on Gandhiji's behest with the launch of the Salt Satyagraha
Salt Satyagraha
The Salt March, also known as the Salt Satyagrahah began with the Dandi March on March 12, 1930, and was an important part of the Indian independence movement. It was a campaign of tax resistance and nonviolent protest against the British salt monopoly in colonial India, and triggered the wider...
in 1930. He was arrested several times, including during the Quit India Movement
Quit India Movement
The Quit India Movement , or the August Movement was a civil disobedience movement launched in India in August 1942 in response to Mohandas Gandhi's call for immediate independence. Gandhi hoped to bring the British government to the negotiating table...
of 1942. A great admirer of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel was an Indian barrister and statesman, one of the leaders of the Indian National Congress and one of the founding fathers of India...
, Munshi served in the Central Legislative Assembly
Legislative Assembly
Legislative Assembly is the name given in some countries to either a legislature, or to one of its branch.The name is used by a number of member-states of the Commonwealth of Nations, as well as a number of Latin American countries....
in the 1930s.
After the independence of India, Munshi was appointed diplomatic envoy and trade agent (Agent-General) to the princely state of Hyderabad
Hyderabad State
-After Indian independence :When India gained independence in 1947 and Pakistan came into existence in 1947, the British left the local rulers of the princely states the choice of whether to join one of the new dominions or to remain independent...
, where he served until its accession to India in 1948. Munshi was on the ad hoc
Ad hoc
Ad hoc is a Latin phrase meaning "for this". It generally signifies a solution designed for a specific problem or task, non-generalizable, and not intended to be able to be adapted to other purposes. Compare A priori....
Flag Committee that selected the Flag of India
Flag of India
The National flag of India is a horizontal rectangular tricolour of deep saffron, white and India green; with the Ashok Chakra, a 24-spoke wheel, in navy blue at its centre. It was adopted in its present form during a meeting of the Constituent Assembly held on 22 July 1947, when it became the...
in August 1947, and on the committee which drafted the Constitution of India
Constitution of India
The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India. It lays down the framework defining fundamental political principles, establishes the structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions, and sets out fundamental rights, directive principles, and the duties of citizens...
under the chairmanship of B. R. Ambedkar
B. R. Ambedkar
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , popularly also known as Babasaheb, was an Indian jurist, political leader, philosopher, thinker, anthropologist, historian, orator, prolific writer, economist, scholar, editor, a revolutionary and one of the founding fathers of independent India. He was also the Chairman...
. He and Purushottam Das Tandon
Purushottam Das Tandon
Purushottam Das Tandon पुरुषोत्तम दास टंडन , was a freedom fighter from Uttar Pradesh in India, of Punjabi Khatri descent. He is widely remembered for his efforts in achieving the Official Language of India status for Hindi. He was customarily given the title Rajarshi...
were among those who strongly opposed propagation and conversion in the constituent assembly
Constituent Assembly of India
The Constituent Assembly of India was elected to write the Constitution of India, and following independence served as the nation's first Parliament.-Nature of the Assembly:...
. He was also the main driving force behind the renovation of the historically important Somnath
Somnath
The Somnath Temple located in the Prabhas Kshetra near Veraval in Saurashtra, on the western coast of Gujarat, India, is one of the twelve Jyotirlinga shrines of the God Shiva. Somnath means "The Protector of Moon God". The Somnath Temple is known as "the Shrine Eternal", having been destroyed...
Temple by the Government of India just after independence.
Munshi served as the Governor of Uttar Pradesh from 1952 to 1957. In 1959, Munshi separated from the Nehru-dominated (socialist) Congress Party
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
and and started the Akhand Hindustan Movement. He believed in a strong opposition, so along with Chakravarti Rajagopalachari he founded the Swatantra Party
Swatantra Party
The Swatantra Party was a classical liberal political party in India founded by Chakravarti Rajagopalachari and N. G. Ranga in August 1959. The party opposed the Nehruvian socialist outlook of the Congress Party by advocating free enterprise and free trade, and opposing the licence-permit Raj...
, which was right-wing in its politics, pro-business, pro-free market economy and private property rights. The party enjoyed limited success and eventually died out. Later, Munshi joined the Jan Sangh.
Being a prolific 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
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan is an Indian educational trust. It was founded on November 7, 1938 by Dr. K. M. Munshi, with the blessings of Mahatma Gandhi...
to this day. Munshi was President of the Sanskrit Viswa Parishad, the Gujarati Sahitya Parishad
Gujarati Sahitya Parishad
Gujarati Sahitya Parishad is a literary institution for the promotion of Gujarati literature located in the city of Ahmedabad, India. It was founded by Ranjitram Mehta with an aim of creating literature appealing to all classes of the society and cultivate a literary sense among the people...
, and the Hindi Sahitya Sammelan.
Apart from founding Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan is an Indian educational trust. It was founded on November 7, 1938 by Dr. K. M. Munshi, with the blessings of Mahatma Gandhi...
, Munshi was instrumental in the establishment of Bhavan's College
Bhavan's College, Andheri
Bhavan's College, AndheriThe college was established in 1946 while free India was born in 1947 that is the College is one year older to independent India. Coincidentally, in 2006-07, the college celebrated its diamond jubilee and then, one year later India celebrated 60 years of independence. Upon...
, Hansraj Morarji Public School
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 the Deputy Prime Minister, Sardar Patel.-Campus:...
, Rajhans Vidyalaya
Rajhans Vidyalaya
Rajhans Vidyalaya is a CBSE Board, private unaided, independent,for profit, day boarding co-educational school located in Andheri West, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India....
, Rajhans Balvatika
Rajhans Balvatika
Rajhans Balvatika or Baikabibai Balvatika is a reputed CBSE preprimary school attached to Rajhans Vidyalaya situated in Andheri West, Mumbai, India. It acts as the feeder school to Rajhans Vidyalaya and Hansraj Morarji Public School....
and Panchgani Hindu School (1924). He was elected Fellow of the University of Bombay, where he was responsible for giving adequate representation to regional languages. He was also instrumental in starting the department of Chemical Technology.
Besides being a politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
and educator, Munshi was also an environmentalist
Environmentalist
An environmentalist broadly supports the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that seeks to improve and protect the quality of the natural environment through changes to environmentally harmful human activities"...
. He initiated the Vanmahotsav in 1950, when he was Union Minister of Food and Agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
, to increase area under forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
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.
Works
Munshi was also a litterateur with a wide range of interests. He is well known for his historical novels in GujaratiGujarati language
Gujarati is an Indo-Aryan language, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. It is derived from a language called Old Gujarati which is the ancestor language of the modern Gujarati and Rajasthani languages...
, especially his trilogy Patan-ni-Prabhuta (The Greatness of Patan), Gujarat-no-Nath (The Ruler of Gujarat) and Rajadhiraj (The Emperor). His other works include Jay Somnath (on Somnath
Somnath
The Somnath Temple located in the Prabhas Kshetra near Veraval in Saurashtra, on the western coast of Gujarat, India, is one of the twelve Jyotirlinga shrines of the God Shiva. Somnath means "The Protector of Moon God". The Somnath Temple is known as "the Shrine Eternal", having been destroyed...
temple), Krishnavatara (on Lord Krishna
Krishna
Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...
), Bhagavan Parasurama (on Parshurama), and Tapasvini (The Lure of Power) a novel with a fictional parallel drawn from the Freedom Movement of India under Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...
. 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 kaal
- More recently in 10 th century India around Gujarat, Malwa and sourthen india.
K.M. Munshi's novel Prithvi Vallabh was made into a movie of the same name twice. The adaptation directed by Manilal Joshi in 1924 was very controversial in its day: Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...
railed against it for excessive sex and violence. The second version was by Sohrab Modi
Sohrab Modi
Sohrab Modi was an Indian Parsi stage and film actor, director and producer. His films include Khoon Ka Khoon , a version of Shakespeare's Hamlet, Sikandar, Pukar, Prithvi Vallabh, Jhansi ki Rani, Mirza Ghalib, and Nausherwan-e-dil . His films always carried a message of strong commitment to...
in 1943.
Novels
- Mari Kamala (1912)
- Verni Vasulat (1913) (under the pen namePen nameA pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her...
Ghanashyam) - Patanni Prabhuta (1916)
- Gujaratno Nath (1917)
- Rajadhiraj (1918)
- Prithvivallabh (1920)
- Svapnadishta (1924)
- Lopamudra (1930)
- Jay Somanth (1940)
- Bhagavan Parashurama (1946)
- Tapasvini (1957)
- KrishnavataraKrishnavataraKrishnavatara is a series of seven novels written by Dr. K.M. Munshi. The eighth was not completed. The novel is based on life of Lord Krishna and the epic Mahabharata.- About Krishnavatara : reads the preface to the series.It goes on to say:...
(in seven volumes) (1970) - Kono vank
- Lomaharshini
- Bhagvan Kautilya
Notable works in English
- Gujarat and Its Literature
- Imperial Gujaras
- Bhagavad Gita and Modern Life
- Crearive Art of Life
- To Badrinath
- Saga of Indian Sculpture
- The End of An Era
- President under Indian Constitution
Personal life
After the death of his first wife Atilakshmi, he married Leelavati Seth, a noted writer in GujaratiGujarati language
Gujarati is an Indo-Aryan language, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. It is derived from a language called Old Gujarati which is the ancestor language of the modern Gujarati and Rajasthani languages...
in 1926. His elder son from his first marriage, Jagadish Munshi went on to become a successful and respected Supreme Court solicitor.
External links
- Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan's founder, K.M. Munshi
- India post stamp on Munshi - 1988
- Rediff.com article
- Prithvi Vallabh(1924):synopsis
- Prithvi Vallabh (1943)
In the memory of shri K. M. Munshi variety of awards are being presented. Some links to those details are
- http://www.hindu.com/2008/09/03/stories/2008090352000700.htm
- http://www.harilalupadhyay.org/achievements.php
- http://www.tribuneindia.com/2008/20080205/cth1.htm#17
- http://books.google.co.in/books?id=QA1V7sICaIwC&pg=PA237&lpg=PA237&dq=munshi+award&source=web&ots=iZn978UNIh&sig=Y3Mb1VZjOV9QqbTCw6OHVgTOm4U
- Portrait of Munshiji at Kamat.com