Pyarelal Nayyar (1899–1982) was the personal secretary of

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

in his later years. His sister Sushila Nayyar was the personal physician to Mahatma Gandhi. He received his B.A. from

University of Punjab 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 ...

and quit his M.A. studies 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 ...

of 1920.

Freedom Struggle

Pyarelal was active in the freedom struggle, in the footsteps of Gandhi. He participated in the Salt March to Dandi in 1930. Pyarelal was portrayed by

Pankaj Kapur Pankaj Kapur (born 29 May 1954) is an Indian actor who has worked in Hindi theatre, television and films. Recipient of a Filmfare Award and three National Film Awards, his most acclaimed film roles include that of Inspector P.K. in '' Raakh'' ...

in the

Richard Attenborough Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough (; 29 August 192324 August 2014) was an English actor, film director, and Film producer, producer. Attenborough was the president of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and the British Acade ...

film ''

Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British ...

'' (1982). Then personal secretary to Pyarelal, Dewan Vasdev Khanna (1923–2010), played a key role with Richard Attenborough in completing a script for film "Gandhi", which attained world fame.

Post Gandhi

Nayyar continued his literary work on Gandhi until his last days. Nayyar held privately a large cache of personal papers that belonged to Gandhi which were only brought into public domain only in 2007.

Writings

He has biographical books on Mahatma Gandhi, on which he was assisted by Dewan Vasdev Khanna (1923–2010). Dewan Vasdev Khanna assisted Pyarelal Nayyar till 1980, before moving to United States of America. Following is a partial list: #The Early Phase, (Vol. I) #Mahatma Gandhi: The Discovery of Satyagraha – On the Threshold, (Vol. II) #Mahatma Gandhi: The Birth of Satyagraha, (Vol. III) #Mahatma Gandhi: Satyagraha at Work, (Vol. IV) #Mahatma Gandhi: India Awakened, (Vol. V) #Mahatma Gandhi: Salt Satyagraha – The Watershed, (Vol. VI) #Mahatma Gandhi: Preparing For Swaraj, (Vol. VII) #Mahatma Gandhi: Final Fight For Freedom, (Vol. VIII) #Mahatma Gandhi: The Last Phase, (Vol. IX) #Mahatma Gandhi: The Last Phase, (Vol. X) Note: Vol. IV to VII were completed by Sushila Nayyar.

References

External links

A picture of Pyarelal with Gandhi
1982 deaths Gandhians 1899 births Panjab University alumni Indian independence activists {{India-writer-stub