Inspiring Historical Figures | Uttarakhand State PSC (UKPSC): Preparation - UKPSC (Uttarakhand) PDF Download

 Page 1


Inspiring Historical Figures
Madho Singh Bhandari- born in 1595 in Maletha village of present day
Tehri Garhwal, Madho Singh was the son of a soldier in the army of Garhwal
ruler. Later Madho Singh himself rose to the Commander-in-chief of the
Garhwal army under its ruler King Mahipat Shah. He led the army to many
victories including those over Tibetan army in 1635. Once he visited his
village Maletha and found it to be dried and barren due to scarcity of water
for irrigation. He worked hard himself by cutting a hillock to bring waters of
Chandrabhaga to Maletha. Yet waters couldn’t enter the village. As folklore
goes one night godess appeared in his dreams and asked him to sacrifice his
son so that water could enter the village. Madho Singh did the same by
sacrificing his son at the mouth of the canal. Finally water entered the village
and the brought prosperity to the parched land. His story is narrated in a
Garhwali folk song Maletha Ki Kool.
Mola Ram- a great artist and poet who adorned court of four Garhwal
rulers namely Lalit Shah, Jaikirti Shah, Pradyman Shah and Sudarshan Shah.
He wrote a chronical named Garhraj Vansh. His paintings depicted life of
common man against the life of rulers. His life and works were brought into
prominence by Barrister Mukundi Lal. His paintings known as Garhwal
Paintings are preserved at Boston Museum.
Pandit Nain Singh Rawat (1830-1895) - born at Milam in Pithoragarh, he
is known as Pandit on account of his profession of teaching. He wrote
memoirs of his travel to Tibet and South Russia and carried out major survey
work in these regions. He was awarded with the prestigious ‘Companion of
Indian Empire’ for his inspirational work.
Kalu Mehra (1831-1906) - born in village Bisur in Lohaghat of present
day Champwat district, he was one of the earliest freedom fighters who
participated in First War of Independence in 1857.
Nar Singh Dhanik- born in 1897 at Chaukuna village of Almora district,
he attained martyrdum in revolt of Salam against British rule.
Acharya Nardev Shashtri- associated with Rudra Sadan in Hyderabad
state
Badridutt Pande (15 Feb 1882–13 Jan 1965) - born at Kankhal in
Page 2


Inspiring Historical Figures
Madho Singh Bhandari- born in 1595 in Maletha village of present day
Tehri Garhwal, Madho Singh was the son of a soldier in the army of Garhwal
ruler. Later Madho Singh himself rose to the Commander-in-chief of the
Garhwal army under its ruler King Mahipat Shah. He led the army to many
victories including those over Tibetan army in 1635. Once he visited his
village Maletha and found it to be dried and barren due to scarcity of water
for irrigation. He worked hard himself by cutting a hillock to bring waters of
Chandrabhaga to Maletha. Yet waters couldn’t enter the village. As folklore
goes one night godess appeared in his dreams and asked him to sacrifice his
son so that water could enter the village. Madho Singh did the same by
sacrificing his son at the mouth of the canal. Finally water entered the village
and the brought prosperity to the parched land. His story is narrated in a
Garhwali folk song Maletha Ki Kool.
Mola Ram- a great artist and poet who adorned court of four Garhwal
rulers namely Lalit Shah, Jaikirti Shah, Pradyman Shah and Sudarshan Shah.
He wrote a chronical named Garhraj Vansh. His paintings depicted life of
common man against the life of rulers. His life and works were brought into
prominence by Barrister Mukundi Lal. His paintings known as Garhwal
Paintings are preserved at Boston Museum.
Pandit Nain Singh Rawat (1830-1895) - born at Milam in Pithoragarh, he
is known as Pandit on account of his profession of teaching. He wrote
memoirs of his travel to Tibet and South Russia and carried out major survey
work in these regions. He was awarded with the prestigious ‘Companion of
Indian Empire’ for his inspirational work.
Kalu Mehra (1831-1906) - born in village Bisur in Lohaghat of present
day Champwat district, he was one of the earliest freedom fighters who
participated in First War of Independence in 1857.
Nar Singh Dhanik- born in 1897 at Chaukuna village of Almora district,
he attained martyrdum in revolt of Salam against British rule.
Acharya Nardev Shashtri- associated with Rudra Sadan in Hyderabad
state
Badridutt Pande (15 Feb 1882–13 Jan 1965) - born at Kankhal in
Haridwar district, he was also known as Kurmanchal Kesri and edited Shakti
from Almora. He also started the newspaper Almora Akhbar in 1913 to create
awareness against British rule and to fight against evils like Kuli Begar. In
1916 he became one of the founders of Kumaun Parishad. A noted historian,
he wrote ‘Kumaun Ka Itihas’.
Har Govind Pant (19 May 1885- May 1957)- born at Chitai in Almora
district.
Jayanand Bharti (17 October 1881–19 Sepember 1952) - born at
Arkandai in Pauri district. A social reformer and Arya samajist, he was the
disciple of Swami Shraddhanand. After reading Satyarth Prakash he joined
Arya Samaj and went to Gurukul Kangri at Haridwar. He adopted the name
‘Pathik’ and vowed to abolish untouchability from Garhwal. He raised the
voice against inhuman custom of Dola Palki and led the movement to abolish
it. He met Gandhiji in Delhi to seek help in abolishing Dola Palki. He
succedded in his mission when in an all party meeting at Lansdowne on 23
February 1941 it was resolved to lead unified movement against Dola Palki.
Barrister Mukundi Lal (14 October 1885–10 January 1982) - born at
village Patali in Chamoli district. He came in contact with nationalist leaders
like Motilal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Bal Gangadhar Tilak etc during his higher
studies at Allahabad and joind nationalist movement. He published his first
article in 1905 in ‘Garhwali’ about forest laws and rights of the people. The
founder of the ‘Garhwali’, Bishambar Dutt Chandola became his good friend
and helped him to study Law in England through a philanthropist Ghananand
Khanduri. In England he met Tilak and both started planning about freedom
struggle. When he came back to India in 1919 he was arrested at Bombay and
sent to15 day police remand. After being released from jail, he led freedom
struggle in Garhwal. He took over leadership of Garhwal movement against
Coolie Begar which was already going on in Kumaun. With leaders like
Ansuya Prasad Bahuguna, Bhairav Dutt Dhulia and Keshar Singh Rawat he
forced British to abolish Coolie Begar in 1923. In 1926 he was elected to the
legislative council as a candidate of Swaraj Party and was made Deputy
Chairperson of the Council. After independence, he was elected to Uttar
Pradesh Legislative assembly as an independent candidate and remained its
member from 1962 to 1967. Thereafter he left politics and devoted himself to
promotiom and preservation of Garhwali culture. In 1969 he published his
most important book ‘Garhwal Paintings’ which brought forward works of
Page 3


Inspiring Historical Figures
Madho Singh Bhandari- born in 1595 in Maletha village of present day
Tehri Garhwal, Madho Singh was the son of a soldier in the army of Garhwal
ruler. Later Madho Singh himself rose to the Commander-in-chief of the
Garhwal army under its ruler King Mahipat Shah. He led the army to many
victories including those over Tibetan army in 1635. Once he visited his
village Maletha and found it to be dried and barren due to scarcity of water
for irrigation. He worked hard himself by cutting a hillock to bring waters of
Chandrabhaga to Maletha. Yet waters couldn’t enter the village. As folklore
goes one night godess appeared in his dreams and asked him to sacrifice his
son so that water could enter the village. Madho Singh did the same by
sacrificing his son at the mouth of the canal. Finally water entered the village
and the brought prosperity to the parched land. His story is narrated in a
Garhwali folk song Maletha Ki Kool.
Mola Ram- a great artist and poet who adorned court of four Garhwal
rulers namely Lalit Shah, Jaikirti Shah, Pradyman Shah and Sudarshan Shah.
He wrote a chronical named Garhraj Vansh. His paintings depicted life of
common man against the life of rulers. His life and works were brought into
prominence by Barrister Mukundi Lal. His paintings known as Garhwal
Paintings are preserved at Boston Museum.
Pandit Nain Singh Rawat (1830-1895) - born at Milam in Pithoragarh, he
is known as Pandit on account of his profession of teaching. He wrote
memoirs of his travel to Tibet and South Russia and carried out major survey
work in these regions. He was awarded with the prestigious ‘Companion of
Indian Empire’ for his inspirational work.
Kalu Mehra (1831-1906) - born in village Bisur in Lohaghat of present
day Champwat district, he was one of the earliest freedom fighters who
participated in First War of Independence in 1857.
Nar Singh Dhanik- born in 1897 at Chaukuna village of Almora district,
he attained martyrdum in revolt of Salam against British rule.
Acharya Nardev Shashtri- associated with Rudra Sadan in Hyderabad
state
Badridutt Pande (15 Feb 1882–13 Jan 1965) - born at Kankhal in
Haridwar district, he was also known as Kurmanchal Kesri and edited Shakti
from Almora. He also started the newspaper Almora Akhbar in 1913 to create
awareness against British rule and to fight against evils like Kuli Begar. In
1916 he became one of the founders of Kumaun Parishad. A noted historian,
he wrote ‘Kumaun Ka Itihas’.
Har Govind Pant (19 May 1885- May 1957)- born at Chitai in Almora
district.
Jayanand Bharti (17 October 1881–19 Sepember 1952) - born at
Arkandai in Pauri district. A social reformer and Arya samajist, he was the
disciple of Swami Shraddhanand. After reading Satyarth Prakash he joined
Arya Samaj and went to Gurukul Kangri at Haridwar. He adopted the name
‘Pathik’ and vowed to abolish untouchability from Garhwal. He raised the
voice against inhuman custom of Dola Palki and led the movement to abolish
it. He met Gandhiji in Delhi to seek help in abolishing Dola Palki. He
succedded in his mission when in an all party meeting at Lansdowne on 23
February 1941 it was resolved to lead unified movement against Dola Palki.
Barrister Mukundi Lal (14 October 1885–10 January 1982) - born at
village Patali in Chamoli district. He came in contact with nationalist leaders
like Motilal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Bal Gangadhar Tilak etc during his higher
studies at Allahabad and joind nationalist movement. He published his first
article in 1905 in ‘Garhwali’ about forest laws and rights of the people. The
founder of the ‘Garhwali’, Bishambar Dutt Chandola became his good friend
and helped him to study Law in England through a philanthropist Ghananand
Khanduri. In England he met Tilak and both started planning about freedom
struggle. When he came back to India in 1919 he was arrested at Bombay and
sent to15 day police remand. After being released from jail, he led freedom
struggle in Garhwal. He took over leadership of Garhwal movement against
Coolie Begar which was already going on in Kumaun. With leaders like
Ansuya Prasad Bahuguna, Bhairav Dutt Dhulia and Keshar Singh Rawat he
forced British to abolish Coolie Begar in 1923. In 1926 he was elected to the
legislative council as a candidate of Swaraj Party and was made Deputy
Chairperson of the Council. After independence, he was elected to Uttar
Pradesh Legislative assembly as an independent candidate and remained its
member from 1962 to 1967. Thereafter he left politics and devoted himself to
promotiom and preservation of Garhwali culture. In 1969 he published his
most important book ‘Garhwal Paintings’ which brought forward works of
the great artist Mola Ram.
Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant (10 September 1887–7 March 1961) - born
at village Khoot in Almora district, he was awarded Bharat Ratna in1957. He
completed his education in Law from Allahabad University and started
practicing law at Kashipur. He launched movements against British rule and
customs like Coolie Begar and Zamindari. In 1922, he was elected to
Provincial Council of United Province. He became first chief minister of
Uttar Pradesh after independence and became home minister in the
government led by Nehru.
Vir Chandra Singh Garhwali (25 December 1891–1 October 1979) -
born at village Ranisera in Thalisain of Pauri Garhwal, he was the main hero
of ‘Peshawar Kand’ in 1930. He joined British Army after completing his
primary education. A meeting with Gandhiji during a rally at Bageshwar
made him a staunch Gandhian. He was posted at Peshawar where Khan
Abdul Gaffar Khan also known as frontier Gandhi was leading Civil
Disobedience Movement.
A Satyagrah protest was planned on 23 April 1930. Government sent a unit
of Garhwal Rifles and captain asked units to fire on Pathan Satyagrahis.
Chandra Singh refused to comply with the order and asked his unit not to fire
on unarmed Satyagrahis, for which he and his men were court martialed.
Mukundi Lal led famous defence of Garhwali in the court. However, they
were sentenced to life imprisonment. He was released from jail in 1941. After
returning to his village in 1946, he participated in several social movements.
To commemorate his contribution in freedom struggle government released a
postal stamp on his honour in 1994.
Anusuya Prasad Bahuguna (18 February 1894–23 March 1943) - set up
Ansuya Ashram at Nandprayag in Chamoli district.
Mohan Singh Mehta (1897-1988) - born at village Bajyula in Bageshwar
district. He was the first freedom fighter from Uttarakhand to get arrested.
Sri Dev Suman (25 May 1916–25 July 1944) - born at village Jaul in Tehri
Garhwal, he was a teacher at Hindu National School at Dehradun. At the age
of 14 he participated in the Salt Satyagrah at Dehradun and was jailed for 15
days. In 1938 he organized a political convention at Srinagar in which he
invited Nehru and Vijay Laxmi Pandit and called for unified Garhwal
including Pauri and Tehri.
In 1939 when Tehri Rajya Praja Mandal was formed at Dehradun, Suman
Page 4


Inspiring Historical Figures
Madho Singh Bhandari- born in 1595 in Maletha village of present day
Tehri Garhwal, Madho Singh was the son of a soldier in the army of Garhwal
ruler. Later Madho Singh himself rose to the Commander-in-chief of the
Garhwal army under its ruler King Mahipat Shah. He led the army to many
victories including those over Tibetan army in 1635. Once he visited his
village Maletha and found it to be dried and barren due to scarcity of water
for irrigation. He worked hard himself by cutting a hillock to bring waters of
Chandrabhaga to Maletha. Yet waters couldn’t enter the village. As folklore
goes one night godess appeared in his dreams and asked him to sacrifice his
son so that water could enter the village. Madho Singh did the same by
sacrificing his son at the mouth of the canal. Finally water entered the village
and the brought prosperity to the parched land. His story is narrated in a
Garhwali folk song Maletha Ki Kool.
Mola Ram- a great artist and poet who adorned court of four Garhwal
rulers namely Lalit Shah, Jaikirti Shah, Pradyman Shah and Sudarshan Shah.
He wrote a chronical named Garhraj Vansh. His paintings depicted life of
common man against the life of rulers. His life and works were brought into
prominence by Barrister Mukundi Lal. His paintings known as Garhwal
Paintings are preserved at Boston Museum.
Pandit Nain Singh Rawat (1830-1895) - born at Milam in Pithoragarh, he
is known as Pandit on account of his profession of teaching. He wrote
memoirs of his travel to Tibet and South Russia and carried out major survey
work in these regions. He was awarded with the prestigious ‘Companion of
Indian Empire’ for his inspirational work.
Kalu Mehra (1831-1906) - born in village Bisur in Lohaghat of present
day Champwat district, he was one of the earliest freedom fighters who
participated in First War of Independence in 1857.
Nar Singh Dhanik- born in 1897 at Chaukuna village of Almora district,
he attained martyrdum in revolt of Salam against British rule.
Acharya Nardev Shashtri- associated with Rudra Sadan in Hyderabad
state
Badridutt Pande (15 Feb 1882–13 Jan 1965) - born at Kankhal in
Haridwar district, he was also known as Kurmanchal Kesri and edited Shakti
from Almora. He also started the newspaper Almora Akhbar in 1913 to create
awareness against British rule and to fight against evils like Kuli Begar. In
1916 he became one of the founders of Kumaun Parishad. A noted historian,
he wrote ‘Kumaun Ka Itihas’.
Har Govind Pant (19 May 1885- May 1957)- born at Chitai in Almora
district.
Jayanand Bharti (17 October 1881–19 Sepember 1952) - born at
Arkandai in Pauri district. A social reformer and Arya samajist, he was the
disciple of Swami Shraddhanand. After reading Satyarth Prakash he joined
Arya Samaj and went to Gurukul Kangri at Haridwar. He adopted the name
‘Pathik’ and vowed to abolish untouchability from Garhwal. He raised the
voice against inhuman custom of Dola Palki and led the movement to abolish
it. He met Gandhiji in Delhi to seek help in abolishing Dola Palki. He
succedded in his mission when in an all party meeting at Lansdowne on 23
February 1941 it was resolved to lead unified movement against Dola Palki.
Barrister Mukundi Lal (14 October 1885–10 January 1982) - born at
village Patali in Chamoli district. He came in contact with nationalist leaders
like Motilal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Bal Gangadhar Tilak etc during his higher
studies at Allahabad and joind nationalist movement. He published his first
article in 1905 in ‘Garhwali’ about forest laws and rights of the people. The
founder of the ‘Garhwali’, Bishambar Dutt Chandola became his good friend
and helped him to study Law in England through a philanthropist Ghananand
Khanduri. In England he met Tilak and both started planning about freedom
struggle. When he came back to India in 1919 he was arrested at Bombay and
sent to15 day police remand. After being released from jail, he led freedom
struggle in Garhwal. He took over leadership of Garhwal movement against
Coolie Begar which was already going on in Kumaun. With leaders like
Ansuya Prasad Bahuguna, Bhairav Dutt Dhulia and Keshar Singh Rawat he
forced British to abolish Coolie Begar in 1923. In 1926 he was elected to the
legislative council as a candidate of Swaraj Party and was made Deputy
Chairperson of the Council. After independence, he was elected to Uttar
Pradesh Legislative assembly as an independent candidate and remained its
member from 1962 to 1967. Thereafter he left politics and devoted himself to
promotiom and preservation of Garhwali culture. In 1969 he published his
most important book ‘Garhwal Paintings’ which brought forward works of
the great artist Mola Ram.
Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant (10 September 1887–7 March 1961) - born
at village Khoot in Almora district, he was awarded Bharat Ratna in1957. He
completed his education in Law from Allahabad University and started
practicing law at Kashipur. He launched movements against British rule and
customs like Coolie Begar and Zamindari. In 1922, he was elected to
Provincial Council of United Province. He became first chief minister of
Uttar Pradesh after independence and became home minister in the
government led by Nehru.
Vir Chandra Singh Garhwali (25 December 1891–1 October 1979) -
born at village Ranisera in Thalisain of Pauri Garhwal, he was the main hero
of ‘Peshawar Kand’ in 1930. He joined British Army after completing his
primary education. A meeting with Gandhiji during a rally at Bageshwar
made him a staunch Gandhian. He was posted at Peshawar where Khan
Abdul Gaffar Khan also known as frontier Gandhi was leading Civil
Disobedience Movement.
A Satyagrah protest was planned on 23 April 1930. Government sent a unit
of Garhwal Rifles and captain asked units to fire on Pathan Satyagrahis.
Chandra Singh refused to comply with the order and asked his unit not to fire
on unarmed Satyagrahis, for which he and his men were court martialed.
Mukundi Lal led famous defence of Garhwali in the court. However, they
were sentenced to life imprisonment. He was released from jail in 1941. After
returning to his village in 1946, he participated in several social movements.
To commemorate his contribution in freedom struggle government released a
postal stamp on his honour in 1994.
Anusuya Prasad Bahuguna (18 February 1894–23 March 1943) - set up
Ansuya Ashram at Nandprayag in Chamoli district.
Mohan Singh Mehta (1897-1988) - born at village Bajyula in Bageshwar
district. He was the first freedom fighter from Uttarakhand to get arrested.
Sri Dev Suman (25 May 1916–25 July 1944) - born at village Jaul in Tehri
Garhwal, he was a teacher at Hindu National School at Dehradun. At the age
of 14 he participated in the Salt Satyagrah at Dehradun and was jailed for 15
days. In 1938 he organized a political convention at Srinagar in which he
invited Nehru and Vijay Laxmi Pandit and called for unified Garhwal
including Pauri and Tehri.
In 1939 when Tehri Rajya Praja Mandal was formed at Dehradun, Suman
became its active member. He was invited by Nehru as a representative of hill
states at a conference held at Ludhiana in 1939. In 1942 he met Gandhiji at
Wardha and took his blessings for the success of Praja Mandal in Tehri state.
He was barred from entering Tehri state and arrested when he tried to do it.
He was arrested at Chamba in 1943 while trying to enter Tehri and jailed at
Tehri jail. In 1944 he was tried for treason for which he defended himself but
was jailed. He started indefinite fast inside jail to protest against inhuman
treatment by jail authorities. He died after 84 days of Hunger strike in 1944,
but he inspired people to fight against oppressive rule.
Indramani Badoni (1924-1999) - born at Akhori village of Tehri, he is
also known as Gandhi of Uttarakhand. One of the tallest figures in the
movement for a separate hill state, he was elected as the block pramukh of
Jakholi village in 1962 and to the U.P state assembly in 1969 from
Devprayag. He was appointed as Deputy Chairperson of Hill Development
Council. In 1994 he started fast unto death at Pauri for a separate hill state.
He was arrested which enraged people and movement got a fillip which
ultimately led to creation of Uttarakhand, one year after his unfortunate
death.
Nagendra Saklani (1920-1948)- born at Pujargao in Saklana in the district
of Tehri, Nagendra saklani was the rallying figure in the movement to
integrate princely state of Tehri into Union of India after independence. In
1948 under his leadership a mob set fire to the Kirti Nagar court. The police
resorted to firing and one of the bullets hit Saklani who died at the age of 28.
But this movement culminated into merger of Tehri into Indian Union.
Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna (25 April 1919–17March 1989) - born in
village Bughanti of Khirsu block in Pauri Garhwal district, he was also
known as ‘Himalaya Putra’. A student leader and a freedom fighter, he joined
Anand Bhawan at Allahabad and came into contact with leaders like Nehru
and Shashtri. He mobilized students during Quit India Movement. He was
arrested in 1945 and was jailed at Sultanpur prison. A year after his release,
he organized ‘Majdoor Sabha’ at Allahabad. After independence, he was
elected to UP assembly and became minister in Govind Ballabh Pant
Government in 1957. He joined Union cabinet in1967 as Minister of State in
Finance and Transport ministry. In 1973 he became chief minister of Uttar
Pradesh. He opposed imposition of emergency and left Congress party to
form ‘Congress for Democracy’. In Janta government he was made Minister
Page 5


Inspiring Historical Figures
Madho Singh Bhandari- born in 1595 in Maletha village of present day
Tehri Garhwal, Madho Singh was the son of a soldier in the army of Garhwal
ruler. Later Madho Singh himself rose to the Commander-in-chief of the
Garhwal army under its ruler King Mahipat Shah. He led the army to many
victories including those over Tibetan army in 1635. Once he visited his
village Maletha and found it to be dried and barren due to scarcity of water
for irrigation. He worked hard himself by cutting a hillock to bring waters of
Chandrabhaga to Maletha. Yet waters couldn’t enter the village. As folklore
goes one night godess appeared in his dreams and asked him to sacrifice his
son so that water could enter the village. Madho Singh did the same by
sacrificing his son at the mouth of the canal. Finally water entered the village
and the brought prosperity to the parched land. His story is narrated in a
Garhwali folk song Maletha Ki Kool.
Mola Ram- a great artist and poet who adorned court of four Garhwal
rulers namely Lalit Shah, Jaikirti Shah, Pradyman Shah and Sudarshan Shah.
He wrote a chronical named Garhraj Vansh. His paintings depicted life of
common man against the life of rulers. His life and works were brought into
prominence by Barrister Mukundi Lal. His paintings known as Garhwal
Paintings are preserved at Boston Museum.
Pandit Nain Singh Rawat (1830-1895) - born at Milam in Pithoragarh, he
is known as Pandit on account of his profession of teaching. He wrote
memoirs of his travel to Tibet and South Russia and carried out major survey
work in these regions. He was awarded with the prestigious ‘Companion of
Indian Empire’ for his inspirational work.
Kalu Mehra (1831-1906) - born in village Bisur in Lohaghat of present
day Champwat district, he was one of the earliest freedom fighters who
participated in First War of Independence in 1857.
Nar Singh Dhanik- born in 1897 at Chaukuna village of Almora district,
he attained martyrdum in revolt of Salam against British rule.
Acharya Nardev Shashtri- associated with Rudra Sadan in Hyderabad
state
Badridutt Pande (15 Feb 1882–13 Jan 1965) - born at Kankhal in
Haridwar district, he was also known as Kurmanchal Kesri and edited Shakti
from Almora. He also started the newspaper Almora Akhbar in 1913 to create
awareness against British rule and to fight against evils like Kuli Begar. In
1916 he became one of the founders of Kumaun Parishad. A noted historian,
he wrote ‘Kumaun Ka Itihas’.
Har Govind Pant (19 May 1885- May 1957)- born at Chitai in Almora
district.
Jayanand Bharti (17 October 1881–19 Sepember 1952) - born at
Arkandai in Pauri district. A social reformer and Arya samajist, he was the
disciple of Swami Shraddhanand. After reading Satyarth Prakash he joined
Arya Samaj and went to Gurukul Kangri at Haridwar. He adopted the name
‘Pathik’ and vowed to abolish untouchability from Garhwal. He raised the
voice against inhuman custom of Dola Palki and led the movement to abolish
it. He met Gandhiji in Delhi to seek help in abolishing Dola Palki. He
succedded in his mission when in an all party meeting at Lansdowne on 23
February 1941 it was resolved to lead unified movement against Dola Palki.
Barrister Mukundi Lal (14 October 1885–10 January 1982) - born at
village Patali in Chamoli district. He came in contact with nationalist leaders
like Motilal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Bal Gangadhar Tilak etc during his higher
studies at Allahabad and joind nationalist movement. He published his first
article in 1905 in ‘Garhwali’ about forest laws and rights of the people. The
founder of the ‘Garhwali’, Bishambar Dutt Chandola became his good friend
and helped him to study Law in England through a philanthropist Ghananand
Khanduri. In England he met Tilak and both started planning about freedom
struggle. When he came back to India in 1919 he was arrested at Bombay and
sent to15 day police remand. After being released from jail, he led freedom
struggle in Garhwal. He took over leadership of Garhwal movement against
Coolie Begar which was already going on in Kumaun. With leaders like
Ansuya Prasad Bahuguna, Bhairav Dutt Dhulia and Keshar Singh Rawat he
forced British to abolish Coolie Begar in 1923. In 1926 he was elected to the
legislative council as a candidate of Swaraj Party and was made Deputy
Chairperson of the Council. After independence, he was elected to Uttar
Pradesh Legislative assembly as an independent candidate and remained its
member from 1962 to 1967. Thereafter he left politics and devoted himself to
promotiom and preservation of Garhwali culture. In 1969 he published his
most important book ‘Garhwal Paintings’ which brought forward works of
the great artist Mola Ram.
Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant (10 September 1887–7 March 1961) - born
at village Khoot in Almora district, he was awarded Bharat Ratna in1957. He
completed his education in Law from Allahabad University and started
practicing law at Kashipur. He launched movements against British rule and
customs like Coolie Begar and Zamindari. In 1922, he was elected to
Provincial Council of United Province. He became first chief minister of
Uttar Pradesh after independence and became home minister in the
government led by Nehru.
Vir Chandra Singh Garhwali (25 December 1891–1 October 1979) -
born at village Ranisera in Thalisain of Pauri Garhwal, he was the main hero
of ‘Peshawar Kand’ in 1930. He joined British Army after completing his
primary education. A meeting with Gandhiji during a rally at Bageshwar
made him a staunch Gandhian. He was posted at Peshawar where Khan
Abdul Gaffar Khan also known as frontier Gandhi was leading Civil
Disobedience Movement.
A Satyagrah protest was planned on 23 April 1930. Government sent a unit
of Garhwal Rifles and captain asked units to fire on Pathan Satyagrahis.
Chandra Singh refused to comply with the order and asked his unit not to fire
on unarmed Satyagrahis, for which he and his men were court martialed.
Mukundi Lal led famous defence of Garhwali in the court. However, they
were sentenced to life imprisonment. He was released from jail in 1941. After
returning to his village in 1946, he participated in several social movements.
To commemorate his contribution in freedom struggle government released a
postal stamp on his honour in 1994.
Anusuya Prasad Bahuguna (18 February 1894–23 March 1943) - set up
Ansuya Ashram at Nandprayag in Chamoli district.
Mohan Singh Mehta (1897-1988) - born at village Bajyula in Bageshwar
district. He was the first freedom fighter from Uttarakhand to get arrested.
Sri Dev Suman (25 May 1916–25 July 1944) - born at village Jaul in Tehri
Garhwal, he was a teacher at Hindu National School at Dehradun. At the age
of 14 he participated in the Salt Satyagrah at Dehradun and was jailed for 15
days. In 1938 he organized a political convention at Srinagar in which he
invited Nehru and Vijay Laxmi Pandit and called for unified Garhwal
including Pauri and Tehri.
In 1939 when Tehri Rajya Praja Mandal was formed at Dehradun, Suman
became its active member. He was invited by Nehru as a representative of hill
states at a conference held at Ludhiana in 1939. In 1942 he met Gandhiji at
Wardha and took his blessings for the success of Praja Mandal in Tehri state.
He was barred from entering Tehri state and arrested when he tried to do it.
He was arrested at Chamba in 1943 while trying to enter Tehri and jailed at
Tehri jail. In 1944 he was tried for treason for which he defended himself but
was jailed. He started indefinite fast inside jail to protest against inhuman
treatment by jail authorities. He died after 84 days of Hunger strike in 1944,
but he inspired people to fight against oppressive rule.
Indramani Badoni (1924-1999) - born at Akhori village of Tehri, he is
also known as Gandhi of Uttarakhand. One of the tallest figures in the
movement for a separate hill state, he was elected as the block pramukh of
Jakholi village in 1962 and to the U.P state assembly in 1969 from
Devprayag. He was appointed as Deputy Chairperson of Hill Development
Council. In 1994 he started fast unto death at Pauri for a separate hill state.
He was arrested which enraged people and movement got a fillip which
ultimately led to creation of Uttarakhand, one year after his unfortunate
death.
Nagendra Saklani (1920-1948)- born at Pujargao in Saklana in the district
of Tehri, Nagendra saklani was the rallying figure in the movement to
integrate princely state of Tehri into Union of India after independence. In
1948 under his leadership a mob set fire to the Kirti Nagar court. The police
resorted to firing and one of the bullets hit Saklani who died at the age of 28.
But this movement culminated into merger of Tehri into Indian Union.
Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna (25 April 1919–17March 1989) - born in
village Bughanti of Khirsu block in Pauri Garhwal district, he was also
known as ‘Himalaya Putra’. A student leader and a freedom fighter, he joined
Anand Bhawan at Allahabad and came into contact with leaders like Nehru
and Shashtri. He mobilized students during Quit India Movement. He was
arrested in 1945 and was jailed at Sultanpur prison. A year after his release,
he organized ‘Majdoor Sabha’ at Allahabad. After independence, he was
elected to UP assembly and became minister in Govind Ballabh Pant
Government in 1957. He joined Union cabinet in1967 as Minister of State in
Finance and Transport ministry. In 1973 he became chief minister of Uttar
Pradesh. He opposed imposition of emergency and left Congress party to
form ‘Congress for Democracy’. In Janta government he was made Minister
in the department of Petroleum and Chemicals.
Dev Singh Danu- born at Pinaun village of Chamoli district, a subedar of
Garhwal Rifles who later joind Indian National Army of Subhas Bose and led
Boys Guards battalion as a commander.
Inder Singh Nayal (1902-1992) - born in village Bisodkot in Almora
district, a freedom fighter who worked extensively in social issues specially
promotion of education in Kumaun region.
Khushi Ram Arya (13 December 1886-5 May 1971) - born at Halduchor
in Nainital district, an Arya Samajist and social reformer who faught for the
rights of the downtrodden sections of society in Kumaun. He faught against
evils like child marriage, alcoholism, untouchabilty etc. he gave the name
‘shilpkar’ to dalits and worked throughout his life to improve their condition.
He established educational institutions for their education and brought them
to the mainstream of national movement. In 1946 he was elected to the
legislative assembly of Uttar Pradesh and remained MLA till 1967.
Shiv Prasad Dabral ‘Charan’ (1912-1999)- born in Gahali village of
Pauri Garhwal,he was a famous historian known for his monumental work
‘History of Uttarakhand’ which is available in 18 volumes, 2 collections of
poetry, 9 plays. He did many translation works from Bangla and English into
Hindi.
Sumitra Nandan Pant - born at Kausani in Almora district, famous poet of
Hindi, a Gyanpeeth awardee was a tall personality in the order of Chhayawad
School of poetry. He was brought up by a shiva devotee and popularly called
Gusai Dutt. He knew many languages apart from Hindi including Persian and
English. At Allahabad he wrote his earliest collection of poetry including
Vina and Pallav. At Kalakanar he edited a monthly periodical Rupabh. His
works were inspired by contemporary events like Quit India Movement,
Indo- Pakistan War etc. his writings include Chidambara, Pallav, Veena
Granthi, Kala or Budha Chand etc.
Govind Ballabh Pant (1898-1996) - born at Ranikhet in Almora district, a
Hindi playwriter and novelist. He joined non-cooperation movement during
his days of higher studies at BHU. Inspired by the works of Jaishankar Prasad
he wrote a play called Varmala. His plays were inspired by western
playwriters and include Rajmukt, Angoor Ki Beti, Antahpur Ka Chhidra,
Guru Dakshina, Yayati, Sujata, Panna, Sona-Sa-Sona, Adhuri Murti,
Ahankar, Atmadeep and Tulsidas. He also wrote more than 40 novels