Ramavriksha Benipuri (, 23 December 1899 – 9 September 1968) was a freedom fighter,

Socialist Leader The ''Labour Leader'' was a British socialist newspaper published for almost one hundred years. It was later renamed ''New Leader'' and ''Socialist Leader'', before finally taking the name ''Labour Leader'' again. 19th century The origins of the ...

editor and

Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

writer. He was born in a small village named Benipur in Muzaffarpur district in a

Bhumihar Brahmin Bhumihars, also called Babhan, are a Hindu caste mainly found in Bihar (including the Mithila region), the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, the Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh, and Nepal. The Bhumihars claim Brahmin statu ...

family in the Indian state of

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...

. He had spent nine years in prison for fighting for India's independence. He was the founder of

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of t ...

in 1931 and

Congress Socialist Party The Congress Socialist Party (CSP) was a socialist caucus within the Indian National Congress. It was founded in 1934 by Congress members who rejected what they saw as the anti-rational mysticism of Gandhi as well as the sectarian attitude of th ...

in 1934. He served as the president of

Patna Patna ( ), historically known as Pataliputra, is the capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Patna had a population of 2.35 million, making it the 19th largest city in India. ...

District A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

Committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...

from 1935 to 1937 during the

1937 Indian provincial elections Provincial elections were held in British India in the winter of 1936-37 as mandated by the Government of India Act 1935. Elections were held in eleven provinces - Madras, Central Provinces, Bihar, Orissa, United Provinces, Bombay Presidency, A ...

. He was elected as the

Member of the Legislative Assembly (India) A Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected by the voters of an electoral district (constituency) to the legislature of State government in the Indian system of government. From each constituency, the people elect o ...

from Katra North in 1957. In 1958, he was elected as the

Syndicate A syndicate is a self-organizing group of individuals, companies, corporations or entities formed to transact some specific business, to pursue or promote a shared interest. Etymology The word ''syndicate'' comes from the French word ''syndicat ...

Member of

University A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

(Now

Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar Bihar University Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar Bihar University, formerly Bihar University, popularly known as Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Bihar University (BRABU), is a public university located in Muzaffarpur, Bihar, India. Established in 1960, the university has 38 const ...

Muzaffarpur Muzaffarpur () is a city located in Muzaffarpur district in the Tirhut region of the Indian state of Bihar. It serves as the headquarters of the Tirhut division, the Muzaffarpur district and the Muzaffarpur Railway District. It is the fourth ...

. Ramvriksha Benipuri hailed from

in Bihar and took active part in the

Indian freedom movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged from Bengal. ...

. He was also a journalist of

Hindi Literature Hindi literature ( hi, हिन्दी साहित्य, translit=hindī sāhitya) includes literature in the various Hindi language which have writing systems. Earliest forms of Hindi literature are attested in poetry of Apabhraṃś ...

and started several newspapers like ''Yuvak'' in 1929 and regularly contributed in various others to spread the idea of nationalism and freedom from

British rule The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was hims ...

Writing career

Benipuriji's first writing was published in Pratapa of Kanpur in 1916. Since then, till the attainment of Independence of India, his was a life of political activities and struggle. In 1928–29, Benipuri established Yuvaka-Ashram in front of

Patna College Patna College is a constituent state aided College of Patna University which is established in 1863 during the British Raj, is one of the oldest colleges in the state of Bihar, India. It offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses in science, ...

with his friends and lifelong colleagues Ganga Sharan Singh and

Pandit Ramnandan Mishra Pandit Ramnandan Mishra (1905–1989) was an Indian nationalist who fought for India's freedom from British rule. Life Ramnandan Mishra was born in Darbhanga in 1905. He was a member of Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee from 1927–1934. He par ...

. In 1929, Benipuri started the publication of Yuvaka, a Hindi monthly from this organization, under his editorship. Benipuri started his literary career in 1921 with a weekly Hindi journal ''Tarun Bharat'' of which he was an associate editor. He also worked as an associate editor of the ''Kisan Mitra'' weekly in 1922, ''Golmal'' in 1924 and as an editor of the monthly journal ''Balak'' in 1926, but the publication of ''Yuvak'' made him more popular.

Yuvak Hindi Journal

''Yuvak'', an illustrated Hindi monthly magazine, was launched in January 1929 by Rambriksh Benipuri, a distinguished Hindi writer, critic, poet, journalist and freedom fighter. He was assisted by

Ganga Sharan Singh (Sinha) Ganga Sharan Singh (Sinha) (1905-1988 Born In Bihta, Patna, Bengal Presidency) was a member of the Rajya Sabha, the Upper House of the Parliament of India, for three terms (1956–62 and 1962-68 from Bihar, and then a nominated member in 1968-197 ...

, Ambica Kant Sinha and Jagdish Narayan in its publication. Devoted to 'strength, courage and culture', Yuvak was edited, printed and published by Rambriksh Benipuri from the Patna Yuvak Ashram. It was printed at the Searchlight Press. Yuvak was the official organ of the ''Patna Yuvak Sangh'' founded in 1927 by Manindra Narayan Roy, a journalist of ''The Searchlight''. ''Yuvak'' made Benipuri an eyesore of the colonial British government as its mission was to secure Swaraj for India promoting armed revolution and overthrowing the British regime. Its writings had a clear impact of Marxism as its contributors were political elites, avowed nationalists and Marxist revolutionaries.

As a Playwright

Ramvriksha Benipuri stands in a class apart as a playwright. He wrote ''Ambapalai'' during his detention in the Hazaribagh Central Jail. Later on he wrote a series of one-act plays and radio-dramas, more notable being: the ''Netra-dan'', ''Tathagat'', ''Sanghamitra'', ''Singhal Vijay'' and ''Vijeta''. Benipuri had a forceful pen and was a prolific writer. Main attraction of Benipuri's plays lies in his way of writing. There is a delightful mixture of romanticism and idealism in his plays.

Short stories

In most of Ramvriksha Benipuri's short stories pictures of rural life of north Bihar, specially that of Muzaffarpur district have been vividly presented. His ''Mati ki Mooraten'', though not a story book in strict sense of the term, actually presents persons of flesh and blood, each throbbing with life, on a rural canvas.

Style and influence

Benipuri wrote mostly big stories and essays. His dramas covered mostly ancient events. For example, ''Amipure'' depicts the life of the famous courtesan Ambipure who adopted and converted to

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...

after meeting

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...

. Likewise ''Netradaan'' (that is, Gift of Eyes), another drama, is based on a historical legend involving

Ashoka Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, s ...

and his son Kunal. He was also a distinguished playwright. A stanza from one of his famous poems, ''"Shahido – tumhari yaad me"'' goes like this: The eminent

writer, poet, play-wright, journalist and nationalist Rambriksh Benipuri, who spent more than eight years in prison fighting for India's independence writes of Non-co-operation movement as: JP,_Lohia_&_Benipuri_at_Kisan_Sabha_CSP_Patna_Rally,_August_1936

JP,_Lohia_&_Benipuri_at_Kisan_Sabha_CSP_Patna_Rally,_August_1936

In the freedom movement

Benipuri was a close associate of

Jayaprakash Narayan Jayaprakash Narayan (; 11 October 1902 – 8 October 1979), popularly referred to as JP or ''Lok Nayak'' ( Hindi for "People's leader"), was an Indian independence activist, theorist, socialist and political leader. He is remembered for l ...

and a leading light of the

. He took active part in the agitation against the

Rowlatt Act The Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act of 1919, popularly known as the Rowlatt Act, was a law that applied in British India. It was a legislative council act passed by the Imperial Legislative Council in Delhi on 18 March 1919, indefinitel ...

and participated in the

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.

launched by

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

in 1920. He was an active member of the Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee, a member of the

, one of the founder members of the Bihar Socialist Party and a member of the working committee of the All India Congress Socialist Party. He had also been the President of the Bihar Provincial Kisan Sabha and the Vice-President of the

All India Kisan Sabha All India Kisan Sabha ( AIKS; lit. ''All India Farmers Union'', also known as the Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sabha), is the peasant or farmers' wing of the Communist Party of India, an important peasant movement formed by Sahajanand Saraswati in 1 ...

. At the 50th session of the All India Congress Committee held at

Faizpur Faizpur is town in Tahasil of Yawal in Jalgaon district of Maharashtra India. Geography Faizpur is located at . It has an average elevation of 226 metres (741 feet). Transport Road Faizpur is well connected by road network. Maharas ...

in 1937 he moved a resolution on the abolition of Zamindari. Again, it was Benipuri who helped

escape from the Hazaribagh Central Jail along with Jogendra Shukul, Suraj Narayan Singh, Gulali Sonar,

, and Shaligram Singh on 9 November 1942 keeping the prisoners engaged in Diwali Celebration. In Hazaribagh Central Jail, he initiated a campaign " Janaeu Todo Abhiyaan" (Breaking of the

Upanayana ''Upanayana'' ( sa, उपनयनम्, lit=initiation, translit=Upanāyanam) is a Hindu educational sacrament, one of the traditional saṃskāras or rites of passage that marked the acceptance of a student by a preceptor, such as a ''guru'' ...

threads) against

Casteism Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultural ...

. As Upnayan threads are the symbol of upper castes epesically

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (gur ...

and

Zamindar A zamindar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as ...

Homage

In 1999, Benipuri was one of the Hindi writers depicted in a set of commemorative postal stamps released to celebrate the "''Linguistic Harmony of India,''" marking the 50th anniversary since India adopted Hindi as its official language.

Centenary celebrations

The chief guest on the occasion of the birth centenary of Benipuri held in zonal railway training centre at

, held under the auspices of railway ministry, was the former Prime Minister of India

Chandra Shekhar Chandra Shekhar ( 17 April 1927 – 9 August 2015) was an Indian politician who served as the 8th Prime Minister of India, between 10 November 1990 and 21 June 1991. He headed a minority government of a breakaway faction of the Janata Dal with ...

. The main speakers included litterateur Namwar Singh and journalist

Prabhash Joshi Prabhash Joshi (15 July 1937 – 5 November 2009) was an Indian Journalism, Journalist, especially Hindi journalism, writer and political analyst. He was strongly in favour of "ethics and transparency". He played a part in Gandhian movement, Bh ...

. Namwar Singh described Benipuri as only the second litterateur who preferred to associate his name with that of his village.

ranked Benipuri with

Makhanlal Chaturvedi Pandit Makhanlal Chaturvedi (4 April 1889 – 30 January 1968), also called Pandit ji, was an Indian poet, writer, essayist, playwright and a journalist who is particularly remembered for his participation in India's national struggle for indepe ...

and

Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi (26 October 1890 – 25 March 1931) was an Indian journalist, a leader of the Indian National Congress and an independence movement activist. He was an important figure in the non-cooperation movement and the freedom mo ...

, who were both contemporary writers and journalists as well. He said '"Benipuri was not like today's journalists who work only to earn. Benipuri had a desire to create a "samtawadi samaj" and fight against imperialism."

Major literary works

Memoirs and essays

* Patiton Ke Desh Mein-1930-33 * Chita Ke Phool-1930-32 * Lal Taaraa-1937-39 Lal Tara is the symbol of a new light of the morning. The light is very near and therefore the darkness has increased. The writer wants to say that the darkness would disappear within a short time and a new rising light would come out. There are 16 such sketches in the collection. Benipuri tries to search out a new society, a new way of living and a new culture. * Kaidee Ki Patni-1940 * Maate -1941-45 * Gehun Aur Gulaab- 1948–50 It was published in 1950. This composition also brought much laurels and fame to Benipuri and was welcomed in the Hindi world like the former two titles, ''"Lal Tara"'' and ''"Mati ki Murten"''. * Zanjeeren Aur Deewaren * Udate Chalo, Udate Chalo

Dramas

* Ambpali-1941-46 * Sita Ki maan-1948-50 * Sanghamitra-1948-50 * Amar Jyoti-1951 * Tathaagat * Singhal Vijay * Shakuntala * Ramrajya * Netradaan-1948-50 * Gaao Ke Devata * Nayaa samaaj * Vijeta-1953. * Baiju Mama,

National Book Trust National Book Trust (NBT) is an Indian publishing house, which was founded in 1957 as an autonomous body under the Ministry of Education of the Government of India. The activities of the Trust include publishing, promotion of books and reading, ...

, 1994

Editing and critical

Vidyapati Vidyapati ( – 1460), also known by the sobriquet ''Maithil Kavi Kokil'' (the poet cuckoo of Maithili), was a Maithili and Sanskrit polymath-poet-saint, playwright, composer, biographer, philosopher, law-theorist, writer, courtier ...

Ki Padaavali *

Bihari (poet) Bihari Lal Chaube or Bihārī (1595–1663)
National Museum, New Delhi, 1966. was a Hindi poet, who is fa ...

satsai Ki Subodh Teekaa

Biography

only with the initials Jayaprakash

Lalit Gadya

* Vande Vaani Vinayaka −1953-54.

Collected works

* Collected Works of Rambriksh Benipuri, 8 volumes, Radhakrishna Prakashan

Selected works/anthology

* Rambriksh Benipuri Rachna Sanchayan,

Sahitya Akademi The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of, the Indian government. Its of ...

Works on Rambriksha Benipuri

*Gajanan Pandurang Chavan, ''Ramvriksha aur unka sahitya'', 1984. *Dr. Prabha Benipuri, ''Benipuriji ke natakon me samajik chetna, 1989.'' *Ram Bachan Rai, ''Ramvriksh Benipuri'',

, 1995, . *Raśmi Caturvedī, ''Rāmavr̥ksha Benīpurī ke rekhācitra, eka adhyayana'', Sāhitya Nilaya, 2005. *Indu Prakash Pandey, ''Hindi Literature: Trends & Traits'', Firma K. L. Mukhopadhyay, 1975.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benipuri, Rambriksh Hindi-language writers Indian male dramatists and playwrights Indian male short story writers Journalists from Bihar Indian male journalists Indian literary critics Indian socialists Indian independence activists from Bihar People from Muzaffarpur district Poets from Bihar 1899 births 1968 deaths Hindi dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Indian poets 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights Indian male poets Indian male essayists 20th-century Indian short story writers 20th-century Indian essayists Dramatists and playwrights from Bihar 20th-century Indian male writers Members of the Constituent Assembly of India Prisoners and detainees of British India