Kundan Lal Gupta (1893 – 1966) was an Indian businessman,

freedom fighter A freedom fighter is a person engaged in a struggle to achieve political freedom, particularly against an established government. The term is typically reserved for those who are actively involved in armed or otherwise violent rebellion. Termi ...

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

and founder of

Kundan Vidya Mandir Kundan Vidya Mandir, also known as Kundan Vidya Mandir Senior Secondary School (abbreviated to KVM) is a co-educational senior secondary education, senior secondary school with 2 campuses in Ludhiana. It was founded in 1941 by freedom fighter, K ...

, one of the first girls' schools in

Ludhiana Ludhiana () is the most populous Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab.164.100.161.224 http://164.100.161.224 › filesPDF Ludhiana State: Punjab Business & Industrial Centre, Tier 2 1 ... The city has an estima ...

Early life

Kundan Lal was born in the year 1893 in Ludhiana, Punjab, to a Patwari father. He completed his BSc degree from Government College,

Punjab University, Lahore The University of the Punjab (UoP) is a public research university in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Founded in 1882, its international influence has made it one of the most prestigious universities in South Asia; being the oldest and largest publ ...

, in pre-partition India. He was directly admitted to the Provincial Civil Service in 1915 and appointed as a Sub Divisional Magistrate in

Nagpur Nagpur (; ISO 15919, ISO: ''Nāgapura'') is the second capital and third-largest city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is called the heart of India because of its central geographical location. It is the largest and most populated city i ...

. In 1920, he met

Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a pr ...

during the

non-cooperation movement Non-cooperation movement may refer to: * Non-cooperation movement (1919–1922), during the Indian independence movement, led by Mahatma Gandhi against British rule * Non-cooperation movement (1971), a movement in East Pakistan * Non-cooperatio ...

launched by the

Congress Party The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement t ...

. Resigning from PCS he returned to Ludhiana and started a number of Business ventures including the Kundan Wood Factory.

Freedom Fighter

In 1926 Kundan Lal joined the

to support Indian independence and hosted the landmark All India States People Conference Ludhiana, in February 1939, better known as the “Ludhiana Session” which was attended by Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru and P. Sitaramayya.

Philanthropy

With India's independence in 1947, Kundan Lal turned his attention to educating a generation of Indians. He started a charitable trust, Shri Kundan Lal Trust, and donated most of his assets to it. He started

in 1941, initially as a girls-only school, and converted it to a co-educational school around 1958. Kundan Vidya Mandir now boasts of 2 Campuses in Ludhiana and Kundan International School in Chandigarh.

Humanitarian

On a trip to

Vienna, Austria Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, for a medical procedure in 1938 he saw the plight of

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

under

Hitler's Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

tyranny and helped rescue 14 Jews out of Austria.

Personal life

He had five children with his wife, Saraswati. He died in 1966 at the age of 73 from a heart attack.

References

{{Authority control Indian rebels 1893 births 1966 deaths