Pandit Shyam Sunder Surolia (25 August 1920 – 20 July 2001) was an Indian freedom fighter since 1934. Then a 14-year-old child, he raised his voice against the feudal powers of the state of

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...

.Surolia, Aayush; ''Sahabsar Se Mukundgarh, Ek Yatra'' pp. 132–136, 175, 177, 183–184, 189.''

Dainik Bhaskar ''Dainik Bhaskar ''is India's largest Hindi-language daily newspaper owned by the Dainik Bhaskar Group. According to Audit Bureau of Circulations, it is ranked 3rd in the world by circulation and is the largest newspaper in India by circul ...

: Emerging Brands Rajasthan'' pp. 10–11, 34–47.Surolia Group
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Early life

In 1939 he was sentenced by the

Kushtia Kushtia ( bn, কুষ্টিয়া) is a city in the Khulna Division of southwestern Bangladesh. Kushtia is the second largest municipality in Bangladesh and the eleventh largest city in the country. The second largest city in Khulna div ...

district court to six months in a juvenile home in

Chuadanga Chuadanga ( bn, চুয়াডাঙ্গা) is a prosperous city in the western part of Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and depe ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million pe ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

for the offence of making bombs along with other young revolutionaries, highly moved by the ideals of nationalism and freedom struggle. In 1942, he became an active member of the Praja Mandal (Democratic Council) and the only elected member of the Town committee of

Mukundgarh Mukundgarh is a small city and a municipality in Nawalgarh tehsil Jhunjhunu district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is part of Shekhawati region. It lies a few kilometres from Nawalgarh. Geography Mukundgarh is located at . It has an av ...

. He carried the wave of freedom struggle started by Indian freedom fighters such as

Mohandas K. 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- ...

and

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...

to the neighbouring areas of Nawalgarh,

Jhunjhunu Jhunjhunu is a city and capital of Jhunjhunu district in the state of Rajasthan. This city is in the northern state of Rajasthan, India and the administrative headquarters of Jhunjhunu District. History Jhunjhunu is a very old and historic ...

and

Dundlod Dundlod is a town in Nawalgarh tehsil Jhunjhunu district of Rajasthan in India. It is situated in the Shekhawati region of Rajasthan. Its old name was 'Shivgarh'. Best known for its fort and havelis. It is also known as 'Education town'. It is ...

among many other towns, often single-handedly but also in association with compatriots.

Work for the society

He was an active social servant and worked for the poor. His advent into politics was solely for this purpose. He served as the Chairman of the Mukundgarh Municipality from 1960 to 1963. Later, from 1966 to 1985, he also served as the President of the Mukundgarh Town Congress Committee. He came in close contact with the leading social workers like Basant Lal Murarka and Bhagirath Mal Kanodia which further enlightened his spirit for social services. He started the Harijan Development Programme immediately after taking over as the Chairman of the Mukundgarh Municipality. He ensured the admissions of the

Dalit Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold varna system of Hinduism and were seen as forming a ...

students into schools. He also ensured that the benefits of various government schemes like scholarship, hostel facilities etc. for the wards of the down-trodden segment of the society. This was the time when the

untouchability Untouchability is a form of social institution that legitimises and enforces practices that are discriminatory, humiliating, exclusionary and exploitative against people belonging to certain social groups. Although comparable forms of discrimin ...

system was in vogue. At that time, it was considered a

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 ( ...

do nothing for the neglected lower caste people. He was inspired by the ideals of

and dedicated his life for the upliftment of the down-trodden, despite the severe resistance from his own caste and other high caste people.

Work as town committee chairman

During his time as Mayor, Mukundgarh was a very small municipality compared to the District Headquarters of

and Nawalgarh. Due to his relentless efforts, the water works, telephone and the electricity system was first set up there and the bigger towns and municipality could get the same only after it. He implemented several long lasting works in Mukundgarh. He sanctioned the setting up of water supply systems, electrification of households, telephone system for better communication, concrete cement road in the main market, connectivity of the Mukundgarh town with the Mukundgarh ''mandi'' (community shop) and railway station which ushered in the overall growth of the town and opened several new vistas for future development and sustainable source of income for the Mukundgarh Municipality per se.

Educational work and qualifications

He had a vast knowledge of

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominalization, nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cul ...

and

astrology Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Di ...

. He was exponent of the

Vedas upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute th ...

, Shrimad Bhagvad Gita and Niti Shastra. His erudition in all these had earned him the epithet of

Shastri Shastri or Shastry is a Brahmin surname. The word ''shastri'' translates to 'scholar'. It is derived from Sanskrit and means one who is proficient in the Shastras (Ancient Indian Texts). Notable people with the surname include: Shastri * Anant ...

. He had been the Founder of the All India Astrology Research Centre at Jaipur and remained the President throughout his life. He had also been associated with a large number of educational institutions due to his inclination towards creating a newer educated generation next.

Personal life

He was married to Draupadi Devi Surolia in 1959, and the couple have four children, Sarla Mukesh, Rajesh Pratibha Surolia, Sanjeev Parul Surolia, and Sarita Vinay. He had started a small distribution firm in 1967, which had a good amount of annual turnover. Later the business was transferred to his youngest son after his demise.

Late life and death

He was very popular in Mukundgarh and the nearby areas and people used to come to him for sorting out all kind of disputes amicably. The entire district administration and the politicians used to visit him only due to his charismatic personality and traits. He used to be popularly called as ''Shyamji'' in the area.

Death

He remained an active social worker till his death. He died on 20 July 2001, after a brief illness. As he was a freedom fighter, the state of Rajasthan honoured him with

State funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of Etiquette, protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Surolia, Shyam Sunder 2001 deaths 1920 births Banaras Hindu University alumni Prisoners and detainees of British India People from Jhunjhunu district Indian socialists Indian independence activists from Rajasthan Indian civil rights activists Indian Hindus Marwari people Gandhians Indian anti-poverty advocates