Mukandi Lal (14 October 1885 - 10 January 1982) was an Indian advocate, judge, freedom fighter, politician, writer and art critic from Garhwal.

Early life

Mukandi Lal was born in Patali village, Malla Nagpur patti in

Chamoli Chamoli district is a district of the Uttarakhand state of India. It is bounded by the Tibet region to the north, and by the Uttarakhand districts of Pithoragarh and Bageshwar to the east, Almora to the south, Pauri Garhwal to the southwest, ...

, Garhwal in the later Indian state of

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

. His early education was in Pauri and

Almora Almora ( Kumaoni: ''Almāḍ'') is a municipal board and a cantonment town in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Almora district. Almora is located on a ridge at the southern edge of the Kumaon Hills of th ...

, followed by higher education in Allahabad,

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

and

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. As a student of

Muir central college Muir Central College in Allahabad in northern India was a college of higher education founded by William Muir in 1872. It had a separate existence to 1921, when as a result of the Allahabad University Act it was merged into Allahabad University. ...

, Allahabad, Lal accompanied

Lala Lajpat Rai Lala Lajpat Rai (28 January 1865 - 17 November 1928) was an Indian author, freedom fighter, and politician. He played a vital role in the Indian Independence movement. He was popularly known as Punjab Kesari. He was one of the three members of ...

in his tour of

Kumaon Kumaon or Kumaun may refer to: * Kumaon division, a region in Uttarakhand, India * Kumaon Kingdom, a former country in Uttarakhand, India * Kumaon, Iran, a village in Isfahan Province, Iran * , a ship of the Royal Indian Navy during WWII See also ...

and Garhwal during the famine of 1913. He studied law at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

. His education at Oxford was sponsored by Ghanananad Khanduri, a local philanthropist.

Career

Lal was an advocate in the Allahabad High Court beginning in 1919 and served as a Judge of the High Court in Tehri-Garhwal State. He was the founder and editor of the newspaper ''Tarun Kumaun'' (''Young Kumaun''). In 1921, Garhwali and Kumaoni youth rallied against the coolie beggar system and Lal met Garhwali students from Varanasi on the issue.

Activist

Lal represented

along with Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant in the Convention of the United Provinces Congress in November 1920, prior to the Nagpur session during which it was decided that the propaganda for

Non-cooperation movement The Non-cooperation movement was a political campaign launched on 4 September 1920, by Mahatma Gandhi to have Indians revoke their cooperation from the British government, with the aim of persuading them to grant self-governance.

would also be carried out in Kumaon. Lal represented Garhwal. Mukandi Lal was the legal counsel of the soldiers of 39

Garhwal Rifles The Garhwal Rifles, formerly known as the Royal Garhwal Rifles, are an infantry regiment of the Indian Army. It was originally raised in 1887 as the 39th (Garhwal) Regiment of the Bengal Army. It then became part of the British Indian Army, and a ...

accused of mutiny during the Peshawar Incident (

Qissa Khwani Bazaar The Qissa Khwani Bazaar ( ps, قصه خوانۍ بازار, ur, ; ''"Story-tellers market'') is a bazaar in Peshawar, the capital of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Background The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (then North-West Frontier Provinc ...

massacre) in 1930, when they refused to open fire against unarmed satyagrahis of

Khudai Khidmatgar Khudai Khidmatgar ( ps, خداۍ خدمتګار; literally "servants of God") was a predominantly Pashtun nonviolent resistance movement known for its activism against the British Raj in colonial India; it was based in the country's North-West ...

protesting the unlawful arrest of

Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan Abdul Ghaffār Khān (; 6 February 1890 – 20 January 1988), also known as Bacha Khan () or Badshah Khan (), and honourably addressed as Fakhr-e-Afghan (), was a Pakistani Pashtun, independence activist, and founder of the Khudai Khidmatgar ...

. He is credited for saving the 'Hero of Peshawar' - platoon commander Chandra Singh - from death-penalty.

Art critic and author

Lal became an authority on Pahari paintings, especially the Garhwal School of Painting and one its prolific artists - Mola Ram. He authored the book ''Garhwal Paintings'' published by the Department of Publications in 1968. He wrote several books. He was awarded the fellowship of State Lalit Kala Akademi, Uttar Pradesh in 1972 and his work was recognised by the All India Fine Arts & Crafts Society in 1978.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lal, Mukandi People from Chamoli district 1885 births 1982 deaths