Bhai Mahavir | |
|---|---|
 Dr. Bhai Mahavir | |
| 12th Governor of Madhya Pradesh | |
| In office 22 April 1998 – 7 May 2003 | |
| Chief Minister | Digvijaya Singh |
| Preceded by | Mohammad Shafi Qureshi |
| Succeeded by | Ram Prakash Gupta |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1921-10-30)30 October 1921 Lahore,Punjab,British India |
| Died | 3 December 2016(2016-12-03) (aged 94) New Delhi, India |
| Political party | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| Spouse | Krishna Kumari |
| Children | 2 (One : Pratibha Sharma) |
| Parent |
|
| Alma mater | University of Delhi |
Bhai Mahavir (30 October 1922 – 3 December 2016) was an Indian politician who was governor of the Indian state ofMadhya Pradesh between April 1998 and March 2003. He was apracharak of theRashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and served as a leader of theBharatiya Jana Sangh andBharatiya Janata Party. He has authored many books and had served two terms prior to his governorship as a member of theRajya Sabha. He had an M.A. and Ph.D. in economics and studied law (LLB) from the University of Delhi.[1]
Bhai Mahavir was the son ofBhai Parmanand, a Mohyal Brahmin, member ofArya Samaj and a leader of theHindu Mahasabha.[2] He grew up with an Arya Samaj background and went to study at theDayanand Anglo-Vedic College inLahore. His ancestors were famous martyrs of Sikhism i.e. Bhai Matidas and Bhai Satidas.[3]
Mahavir joined the RSS in 1938, in ashakha established by Raja Bhau Paturkar in Lahore. He became apracharak in 1942, and worked in that capacity inJalandhar for 2 years. Between 1944 and 1947 he was the Secretary of RSS in Lahore.[4] After thepartition, he settled down in Jalandhar and worked as a lecturer. He moved to Delhi in 1956, working as a lecturer in the Panjab University College established for the Panjabi refugees.[4]
Towards the end of 1950,Shyama Prasad Mookerjee gathered in Delhi a core group of activists to form a new political party, the futureBharatiya Jana Sangh. Bhai Mahavir was among this group, along withVasantrao Oak andBalraj Madhok, all RSS Pracharaks. The three of them founded the Panjab-Delhi branch of the Jana Sangh in Jalandhar on 27 May 1951, which later became part of the nationwide `Bharatiya' Jana Sangh established on 21 October. Mahavir was named a General Secretary of the nationwide party. He served in that capacity for one year, succeeded byDeendayal Upadhyaya in 1952. He continued on the Working Committee of the Jana Sangh, along with several other RSS leaders who controlled the policy line of Jana Sangh.[5][6] After the death of Mookerjee in 1953, the RSS members of the Working Committee forced out the next elected PresidentMauli Chandra Sharma, in effect taking full control of the Jana Sangh.[7]
Mahavir continued in senior positions in the Jana Sangh and later inBharatiya Janata Party. He was elected to theRajya Sabha during 1968-74 and 1978–84. In 1998, he was appointed the Governor ofMadhya Pradesh and served a full term till 2003.
Bhai Mahavir had two daughters and three grandchildren. He was married to Krishna Kumari who died in New Delhi on 14 December 2012. Bhai Mahavir died at his home in Delhi on 3 December 2016.[8]
Sources
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