Ramavriksha Benipuri (, 23 December 1899 – 9 September 1968) was an independence activist, socialist leader,

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...

and

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 ...

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

Bhumihar Bhumihar, also locally called Bhuinhar and Babhan, a Hindu Indian caste system, caste mainly found in Bihar (including the Mithila (region), Mithila region), the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, the Bundelkhand region of Madhya ...

family in the Indian state of

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

. 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 th ...

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 ...

in 1934. He served as the president of

Patna Patna (; , ISO 15919, ISO: ''Paṭanā''), historically known as Pataliputra, Pāṭaliputra, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, ...

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, municip ...

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 or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...

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

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, the United Provinces, the Bombay P ...

. 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 States of India, State government in the Indian system of government. From each constituency, the ...

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 ''syndic ...

Member of

University A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

(Now

Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar Bihar University Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar Bihar University, (abbreviated as BRABU) also known as B.R. Ambedkar Bihar University, is a state university located in Muzaffarpur. Established in 1960, the university has 37 constituent colleges and offers a range of ...

Muzaffarpur Muzaffarpur () is a city located in Muzaffarpur district on the banks of Burhi Gandak River, Burhi Gandak river in the Tirhut division of the Indian state of Bihar. It serves as the headquarters of the Tirhut division, the Muzaffarpur distri ...

. 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 in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic movement to ...

. He was also a journalist of

Hindi Literature Hindi literature () includes literature in the various Central Indo-Aryan languages, also known as Hindi, some of which have different writing systems. Earliest forms of Hindi literature are attested in poetry of Apabhraṃśa such as Awad ...

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 Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or dire ...

Writing career

Benipuriji's first writing was published in Pratapa of

Kanpur Kanpur (Hindustani language, Hindustani: ), originally named Kanhapur and formerly anglicized as Cawnpore, is the second largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Uttar Pradesh after Lucknow. It was the primary ...

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 was established in 1863 during the British Raj. It offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses in science, arts and commerce as well as some vocational courses like ...

with his friends and lifelong colleagues Ganga Sharan Singh and Pandit Ramnandan Mishra. 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 Bihta, Patna, Bengal Presidency – 1988) was a member of the Rajya Sabha, the Upper House of the Parliament of India, for three terms (1956–1962 and 1962–1968 from Bihar, and then a nominated member in 1968� ...

, 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 Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

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 legends, he was ...

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

Ashoka Ashoka, also known as Asoka or Aśoka ( ; , ; – 232 BCE), and popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was List of Mauryan emperors, Emperor of Magadha from until #Death, his death in 232 BCE, and the third ruler from the Mauryan dynast ...

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:

In the freedom movement

Benipuri was a close associate of

Jayaprakash Narayan Jayaprakash Narayan Srivastava (; 11 October 1902 – 8 October 1979), also known as JP and ''Lok Nayak'' (Hindi for "People's leader"), was an Indian politician, theorist and Indian independence activist, independence activist. He is mai ...

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, applied during the British India period. It was a legislative council act passed by the Imperial Legislative Council in Delhi on 18 March 1919 ...

and participated in 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

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 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 19 ...

. At the 50th session of the All India Congress Committee held at Faizpur 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, Pandit Ramnandan Mishra, and Shaligram Singh on 9 November 1942 keeping the prisoners engaged in Diwali Celebration.

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 The prime minister of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Union Council of Ministers, Council of Ministers, despite the president of ...

Chandra Shekhar Chandra Shekhar (17 April 1927 – 8 July 2007), also known as Jananayak, was an Indian politician and the prime minister of India, between 10 November 1990 and 21 June 1991. He headed a minority government of a breakaway faction of the Janata ...

. The main speakers included litterateur Namwar Singh and journalist Prabhash Joshi. Namwar Singh described Benipuri as only the second litterateur who preferred to associate his name with that of his village. Prabhash Joshi ranked Benipuri with Makhanlal Chaturvedi and Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi, 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 state-owned publishing house, headquartered in Delhi, India, founded in 1957 as an autonomous body under the Ministry of Education of the Government of India. NBT publishes reading material in several Indi ...

, 1994

Editing and critical

Vidyapati Vidyapati ( – 1448), 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 and ...

Ki Padaavali *

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

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 off ...

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 Literary critics from British India