Ram Chandra Shukla (4 October 1884 – 2 February 1941), better known as Acharya Shukla, was an Indian historian of

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

literature. He is regarded as the first codifier of the history of Hindi literature in a scientific system by using wide,

empirical Empirical evidence is evidence obtained through sense experience or experimental procedure. It is of central importance to the sciences and plays a role in various other fields, like epistemology and law. There is no general agreement on how t ...

research with scant resources. As an author he is best known for ''Hindi Sahitya Ka Itihaas'' (1928–29).

Early life

Acharya Ramchandra Shukla was born on 4 October 1884,

Basti district Basti district is one of the districts of Uttar Pradesh state, India, and a part of Basti Division. Basti city is the district headquarters. The district is bordered by Sant Kabir Nagar to the east and Gonda to the west. To the south, the ...

in a wealthy Saryuparin Brahmin family. His father Chandrabali Shukla was a Revenue Inspector (Kanoongo) at that time. Before he did his high school at mirzapur Mission School he learned

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

and

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

at his house by qualified teachers and then for further study he came to Prayagraj (then

Allahabad Prayagraj (, ; ISO 15919, ISO: ), formerly and colloquially known as Allahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi, Varanasi (Benar ...

) and continued his study; after that he wrote and published his valuable literature works and his experienced information.

Biography

The work of Shukla traces the genesis of Hindi poetry and

prose Prose is language that follows the natural flow or rhythm of speech, ordinary grammatical structures, or, in writing, typical conventions and formatting. Thus, prose ranges from informal speaking to formal academic writing. Prose differs most n ...

since the 6th century and its development through Buddhist and Nath schools and the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

contributions of

Amir Khusro Abu'l Hasan Yamīn ud-Dīn Khusrau (1253 – 1325 AD), better known as Amīr Khusrau, sometimes spelled as, Amir Khusrow or Amir Khusro, was an Indo-Persian culture, Indo-Persian Sufi singer, musician, poet and scholar, who lived during the per ...

, Kabirdas,

Ravidas Ravidas or Raidas was an Indian mystic poet-saint of the Bhakti movement during the 15th to 16th century CE. Venerated as a ''guru'' (spiritual teacher) in the modern regions of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya P ...

Tulsidas Rambola Dubey (; 11 August 1511 – 30 July 1623pp. 23–34.), popularly known as Goswami Tulsidas (), was a Vaishnavism, Vaishnava (Ramanandi Sampradaya, Ramanandi) Hinduism, Hindu saint and poet, renowned for his devotion to the deity Rama. H ...

, stretching to the modern realism of

Nirala Nirala, real name Syed Muzaffar Husain Zaidi () (8 August 1937 – 9 December 1990) was a Pakistani comedian and film actor. He only appeared in Urdu films made in Pakistan. His first film was ''Aur bhi gham hain'' (1960). His last film wa ...

and

Premchand Dhanpat Rai Srivastava (31 July 1880 – 8 October 1936), better known as Munshi Premchand based on his pen name Premchand (), was an Indian writer famous for his modern Hindustani language, Hindustani literature. Premchand was a pioneer ...

. In his assessment of Shukla (''Acharya Ramchandra Shukla aur Hindi Alochana'') eminent critic Dr. Ram Vilas Sharma emphasises the fact that the great writer opposed

feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of struc ...

and courtly literature as it did not give a true picture of the life of the common people and contemporary society. His works of literary criticism include ''Kavita Kya Hai'', the most widely read essay explaining poetry and poetics in his outstanding collection ''Chintamani'', published initially in two volumes as a collection of essays on emotions like

anger Anger, also known as wrath ( ; ) or rage (emotion), rage, is an intense emotional state involving a strong, uncomfortable and non-cooperative response to a perceived provocation, hurt, or threat. A person experiencing anger will often experie ...

and hatred. Recently his scattered and unpublished essays have been found and published as ''Chintamani-3'' edited by Namwar Singh and ''Chintamani-4'' by Kusum Chaturvedi. To enrich the worldview of Hindi speakers, Acharya Shukla translated

Edwin Arnold Sir Edwin Arnold (10 June 1832 – 24 March 1904) was an English poet and journalist. He is best known for his 1879 work, '' The Light of Asia''. Born in Gravesend, Kent, Arnold's early education at King's School, Rochester, and later at Kin ...

's ''

The Light of Asia ''The Light of Asia'', or ''The Great Renunciation'' (''Mahâbhinishkramana''), is a book by Sir Edwin Arnold. The first edition of the book was published in London in July 1879. In the form of a narrative poem, the book endeavours to descri ...

'' into ''Buddha Charit'' (A biography of

Gautam Buddha Gautam may refer to: *Gautama (name), a name of Sanskrit origin * Gautam (clan), a Rajput clan in India * Gautam (Nepali name), a surname *Gautam Ashram Gautam Ashram () was a gurukul of the ancient Indian philosopher Gautama. It is located at t ...

in Brij Bhasha verse) and German scholar

Ernst Haeckel Ernst Heinrich Philipp August Haeckel (; ; 16 February 1834 – 9 August 1919) was a German zoologist, natural history, naturalist, eugenics, eugenicist, Philosophy, philosopher, physician, professor, marine biology, marine biologist and artist ...

's famous work ''The Riddles of Universe'' into ''Vishwa Prapanch'' where he added his own thought-provoking preface by comparing its findings with Indian philosophical systems. These works signify that he did not restrict himself to be the foremost moderniser of the Hindi

language Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...

, literature and thought. He was involved with scientific temper-building by translating and updating works of science and history. In developing a scientific methodology to investigate the literary works of several centuries as creations of socio-economic and political conditions of the respective era, Acharya Shukla became a pathbreaker. In his view true literature is not merely an expression of human consciousness as an end in itself but accounts for Lokmangal, a concept defining progress of society where common people are supreme and their sufferings are best understood as purpose for amelioration: literature, through aesthetics, must address itself to the pains/woes of the downtrodden and underdog and work for human emancipation from exploitation of all kinds. Acharya Ram Chandra Shukla was born on 4 October 1884 to Chandrabali Shukla in a small village—Agona, Basti, Uttar Pradesh—during British rule over India. He started his work in the world of letters with a poem and an article ''Prachin Bharatiyoin Ka Pahirava'' in Hindi and by writing in English his first published essay at the age of 17—''What Has India to do''. Keeping in the spirit of

anti-imperialism Anti-imperialism in political science and international relations is opposition to imperialism or neocolonialism. Anti-imperialist sentiment typically manifests as a political principle in independence struggles against intervention or influen ...

, in 1921, he wrote ''Non-co-operation and Non-mercantile Classes of India'' which was an attempt to look at the struggle of Indian classes in the set up of colonial and semi-feudal economy. Acharya Shukla taught at

Banaras Hindu University Banaras Hindu University (BHU), formerly Benares Hindu University, is a collegiate, central, and research university located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, and founded in 1916. The university incorporated the Central Hindu College, ...

Varanasi Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.* * * * The city has a syncretic tradition of I ...

and chaired its department of Hindi during

Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya Madan Mohan Malaviya (25 December 1861 — 12 November 1946; ) was an Indian scholar, educational reformer and activist notable for his role in the Indian independence movement. He was president of the Indian National Congress three times and ...

's period from 1937 until he died (1941). Although not a regular story writer, he wrote a long Hindi story "Gyarah Varsh Ka Samay" to inspire original writing. His collection of original poems ''Madhushrota'' includes his adolescent hunger for hills, rocks, waterfalls, crops and birds, and images of his childhood sphere. His famous work ''Sahitya ka Itihaas'' was later edited online by a group of eminent Hindi writers and translators, led by Dr. Suresh Kumar Mishra "Uratrupt", writer and methodologist from Ranga Reddy,

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

.''Hindi Sahitya ka Itihaas'' is considered as authentic Hindi literature. Ram Chandra Shukla was married to Savitri Devi and had two sons, Keshav Chandra and Gokul Chandra, and three daughters, Durgavati, Vidhya and Kamla. He was a painter and designed his own house, which was incomplete when he died in 1941. ''Acharya Ram Chandra Shukla Sahitya Shodh Sansthan'', a

research institute A research institute, research centre, or research organization is an establishment founded for doing research. Research institutes may specialize in basic research or may be oriented to applied research. Although the term often implies natural ...

established in 1972 in his name, is a center of literary activities. It was built on the wish of his son Gokul Chandra Shukla and on the land provided by the Varanasi local authority. Later it got financial help from the state government of Uttar Pradesh for building and infrastructure. Its first secretary, Kusum Chaturvedi, published a regular journal ''Naya Mandand'' which established a reputation for its special numbers on women, postmodernism, Dalit Sahitya, among others. Its articles and research papers are acclaimed in Hindi and Indian languages literature. After the death of Kusum Chaturvedi, a connoisseur of literature, Gyan Datta Chaturvedi became the secretary. After his death, Dr. Manjeet Chaturvedi, son of Kusum Chaturvedi and Gyan Datta Chaturvedi, professor, Banaras Hindu University took over as the Secretary (MANTRI) of Acharya Ram Chandra Shukla Sahitya Shodh Sansthan; its Chairperson (ADHYAKSHA) is Dr. Mukta, a famous author of Hindi stories. Kusum Chaturvedi and Mukta have produced a documentary for

Doordarshan Doordarshan (), abbreviated as DD, is India's State-owned enterprise, state-owned public broadcasting, public television broadcaster. Established by the Government of India on 15 September 1959, it is owned by the Ministry of Information and B ...

on Acharya Shukla and published his authentic biography.

Works

Acharya Shukla Sansthan has published following under the editorship of Kusum Chaturvedi. *Nirala Aur Nazrul Ka Rashtriya Chintan *Nirvachit Prabandh Sankalan *Sadi Ke Ant Mein Hindi *Naya Mandand (research journal in Hindi)

References

External links

Ramchandra Shukla at Gadya Kosh (Online Encyclopedia of Hindi Literature)

Complete Hindi Sahitya Ka Itihaas at Gadya Kosh (Online Encyclopedia of Hindi Literature)
* ttp://languageinindia.com/march2003/hindustani.html Language in Indiabr>Issues of the journal of the Acharya Ramchandra Shukla Research InstituteSri Ramakrishna Math : The Vedanta Kesari, May 2006Indian Authors-Embassy of India to the Lao PDR
*Biography of th
Acharya Pandit Ramchandra Shukla
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shukla, Ramchandra 1884 births 1941 deaths 20th-century Indian historians Hindi-language writers Banaras Hindu University alumni Scholars from Varanasi Writers from British India

Early life

Biography

Works

See also

References

Further reading

External links