Acharya Kishore Kunal | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1950-08-10)10 August 1950 Baruraj village,Muzaffarpur district, Bihar, India |
| Died | 29 December 2024(2024-12-29) (aged 74) Patna, Bihar, India |
| Alma mater | Patna University |
| Notable work | Ayodhya Revisited by Kishore Kunal |
| Spouse | Anita Kunal |
| Children | 1 |
| Police career | |
| Country |  India |
| Service years | 1972-2000 |
| Rank | ADG |
| Batch | 1972 |
| Cadre | Gujarat |
| Awards | Padma Shri PPMDS |
Kishore Kunal (10 August 1950 – 29 December 2024), also known asAcharya Kunal, was a 1972 batchIndian Police Service (IPS)[1] officer ofGujarat Cadre, from the state ofBihar, India. During his police career, he was appointed as the Officer on Special Duty (OSD) on theAyodhya dispute by then Prime MinisterV. P. Singh to mediate between theVishva Hindu Parishad and theBabri Masjid Action Committee. He continued to serve in this position during the premierships ofChandra Sekhar andP. V. Narasimha Rao.[2]
Under his leadership Mahavir Mandir Trust in the year 1998 started the Mahavir Cancer Institute & Research Centre (MCSRC), at Patna. The Trust runs total 9 hospitals including Mahavir Cancer Sansthan, Mahavir Aarogya Sansthan, Mahavir Vatsalya Aspatal, Mahavir Heart Hospital, Mahavir Netralaya, Mahavir Senior Citizen Hospital, Mahavir Vishalnath Hospital and Mahavir Hospice & Palliative Care. Kunal laid the foundation stone of India's first cancer hospital namely Mahavir Child Cancer Hospital on 12 December 2024, only 15 days before his death.[3]
Kishore Kunal was born on 10 August 1950 in aBhumihar family.[4] He had his schooling at Baruraj village inMuzaffarpur district. Then he studiedHistory andSanskrit atPatna University, graduating in 1970. Later, in the middle of his career, he also studied for master's degree, receiving it in 1983.[2] His teachers included historiansR. S. Sharma andD. N. Jha.[5]
Kunal is credited for appointment of priests from Dalit communities in Mahavir Mandir, Patna in 1993 and then temples all across Bihar while serving as the Administrator and President of Bihar Hindu Religious Trusts Board. He also worked to free the temple properties from illegal encroachment.[6]
In 1972, Kunal became an officer of theIndian Police Service in the Gujarat cadre. His first posting was as theSuperintendent of Police, atAnand. By 1978, he rose to become theDeputy Commissioner of Police ofAhmedabad.[2]
After completion of his Master's in 1983, Kunal was appointed theSenior Superintendent of Police atPatna. In 2001, Kunal resigned from the Indian Police Service voluntarily.[2] After retirement, he served as the chairman of the Bihar State Board of Religious Trusts.[7][8] Kunal was also secretary of theMahavir Temple Trust, Patna,[9] and previously of Mahavir Arogya Sansthan, in which he was involved with the improvement of healthcare for the poor.[10] He also foundedGyan Niketan school in Patna.
The Government ofV. P. Singh established an 'Ayodhya Cell' in 1990 under the leadership of the Minister of State for Home Affairs for handling theAyodhya dispute. Kunal was appointed an 'Officer on Special Duty' to assist in its functioning.[11] The cell continued under the Government ofChandra Sekhar (November 1990–March 1991), during which timeRajiv Gandhi suggested that historical and archaeological evidence should be taken into consideration for deciding the Ayodhya issue. The representatives of theVishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and theBabri Masjid Action Committee (BMAC) met under the banner of the Ayodhya Cell, and decided to exchange their respective evidence.[12] Kunal stated that he had forwarded the submitted evidence to the Chairman of theIndian Council of Historical Research (ICHR), the Director General of theArchaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the Director General of Archives for verification and submitting reports. Both VHP and BMAC had also nominated ten experts each to examine the evidence.[13] The four key historians nominated by the BMAC,R. S. Sharma,Suraj Bhan,M. Athar Ali andD. N. Jha, asked for six weeks to examine the VHP's evidence. The VHP did not agree to the demand. The negotiations ended after this.[12]
Kunal later published his own analysis of the evidence submitted by the parties, and other evidence that he unearthed on his own, under the titleAyodhya Revisited.[14]
On 29 December 2024, Kunal suffered a cardiac arrest while being admitted for minor issues related to cold and cough at the Mahavir Vaatsalya Hospital inPatna. He died early morning at the age of 74.[15][16][17]
Kunal was also secretary of the Mahavir mandir, Patna. Under his secretaryship, renovation work ofMahavir Temple started on 30 October 1983, and it was inaugurated on 4 March 1985. Governor R S Gavai on Monday said Mahavir Temple is an ideal religious trust and it should be emulated by other trusts in the country. Mahavir Trust later set upMahavir Cancer Sansthan and 8 other hospitals. The temple has established big hospitals and provides financial help to the needy people.[18]
He was involved in the uplift of Mundeshwari Bhawani Mandir, the 'oldest' surviving temple in the eastern region belonging to Gupta Age (AD 343) and located in Kaimur hills. The temple site will also be developed into a full-fledged pilgrim center, just likeVaishno Devi temple, with a number of amenities like dormitory, rest rooms, kitchens and efficient transportation system. As part of the temple's development plans, a 'vivah' mandap is under construction in over two-and-a-half acres. He was penning a historical novel titled 'Mahima Mundeshwari Maa Ki'. Recently, a 185-page book 'Mundeshwari Mandir: The Oldest Recorded Temple in the Country', also written by him, was released.[19]
Under his leadership as the Secretary, Bihar Mahavir Mandir Trust (BMMT), he has spearheaded building the biggest temple in the world. He said, "they will build a bigger temple in Bihar's East champaran district than the 12th-centuryAngkor Wat temple in Cambodia."
Under the leadership of Kunal, Mahavir Mandir Trust runs a community kitchen namely Ram Rasoi in Ayodhya which feeds pure Bihari food twice a day to approximately 10,000 pilgrims every day with accepting any donation.[20]
Kunal posthumously won Padma Shri in 2025 for his works in Civil Service.[21]
In 2008 he received the Bhagwaan Mahaveer Award for his contribution to community and social services. The award, presented to Kunal by thePresident of IndiaPratibha Patil, is instituted by the Bhagwan Mahaveer Foundation,Chennai.[22] Acharya Kunal is the first individual fromBihar-Jharkhand to get this award.[22] His selection was made by a jury headed by Justice ShriM. N. Venkatachaliah, formerChief Justice of India.[22]
Kunal authored 18 books in total and had just finished his last book on Ramayana which is yet to be published. He is also author of Dalit Devo Bhava, a promininent work examining the original proofs of regional languages and Hindi literature and on the basis of new interpretations, has tried to prove that in order to give Dalits an equal place in society, every part of the country and In the past, visionary sages have taken meaningful initiatives.
In this 800-page book, Kunal analysed the historical documents to draw the conclusion that theBabri Masjid was built by EmperorAurangzeb, notBabur. He blamed the BritishEast India Company surveyorFrancis Buchanan for erroneously creditingBabur. Kunal also stated that a Ram temple existed at the disputed site which was demolished by Aurangzeb's governor Fedai Khan in 1660 AD. Reviewer Kuldeep Kumar has remarked that the book deserves a close reading by professional historians.[24][14]
Kunal submitted evidence to theSupreme Court of India inAyodhya dispute presenting his analysis.[11]
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