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ABOUT BHARATIYA VIDYA BHAVAN Home OUR FOUNDER GOVERNING BODY BHAVAN'S KENDRAS AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS YEARS OF GROWTH

KULAPATI MUNSHI New
He Scaled Many Peaks of Excellence

by Shri H.N.Dastur

 

Shri H.N.Dastur, Bhavan's Executive Secretary gave a heart warming extempore speech on Kulapati Munshi on July 14, 2012 at Bhavan's Bangalore Kendra.


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COMMEMORATIVE STAMP

Indian Post issued a COMMEMORATIVE STAMP on Dr. K.M Munshi on December 30, 1988. The stamp depicts K.M. Munshi and a tree, symbolising his interest in the Van Mahotsav. The First Day Cover (FDC, which are issued with every COMMEMORATIVE STAMP) shows him against the background of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.

Munshi Stamp

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CHRONOLOGY

Dates and Events of Munshi's Life

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PHOTO GALLERY

Glimpses of the Multifaceted Personality Kulapati K.M.Munshi

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KULAPATI K. M. MUNSHI

K. M Munshi

India will once again be acknowledged as the vishwa guru - a superpower that embodies the ideals of vasudhaiva kutumbakam - the global family.


Kulapati Kanaiyalal Maneklal Munshi, had a humble origin. He was born at Broach (Gujarat) on December 30, 1887, to Tapibehn and Maneklal. He completed his school and collegiate education, the latter in Baroda where he had Sri Aurobindo as one of his teachers (1902). Sri Aurobindo's inspiring writings in Yugantar, Bande Mataram and Karmayogi were read by Munshi avidly.
Munshi entered the legal profession in 1913 in Mumbai. With a flourishing practice at the Bar, he was, however, drawn to politics, first to Dr. Annie Besant and later to Mahatma Gandhi. Under the latter's leadership, he participated in the Salt Satyagraha in 1930 and was imprisoned for six months; later in 1932, he was sentenced to two years' rigorous imprisonment.
Munshi's public career began with his entry into the Bombay Legislative Council in 1927 and reached its zenith in the Constituent Assembly (1946-50). As a member of the Drafting Committee of the Indian Constitution, he contributed substantially to the provisions relating to the minorities, the official language and the judiciary. He was an advocate of Hindi as the official language but was against linguistic fanaticism. He was a lover of English language and literature and harboured no hatred of the English as a race. As one who believed in the unity of India with a strong Centre, and as legal adviser to some State rulers, he played a decisive role in the integration of States; he favoured Police Action in Hyderabad as the Indian Agent there in 1948.
Dr. Munshi as Minister in the State of Bombay (1937-39) and at the Centre (1950-52), initiated many salutary measures in the fields of law and order, education and agriculture. He was a great lover of Sanskrit and a champion of its cause. One of the first institutions he set up was the Mumbadevi Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya; this was followed by the Sanskrit Vishwa Parishad.
In spite of his pre-occupation with the legal profession and manifold public activities, Munshi found time to produce an uninterrupted stream of stories, novels, plays and essays. Munshi’s works in Gujarati are characterised by volume, variety and vigour and include Social Plays, Social Novels, Short Stories, Historical Romances and Drama, Puranic Dramas and Novels and many more. Equally varied in theme are his books in English. They range from political polemics to philosophy.
Dr. Munshi, in his individual capacity, earned a name for himself as 'a Dynamic Builder'. The institutions he has founded cover a wide range-agriculture, care of destitute children, education, literature and the arts, publication of books etc. He was associated with several journals in Hindi, Gujarati and English. He was an ardent advocate of social reform and opposed casteism and untouchability.
The reconstruction of the much desecrated Somnath temple in 1948, in the teeth of opposition from some national leaders, was at once a reflection of his faith in God and Dharma and zeal for worthy causes.
The Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, which Dr. Munshi founded in 1938, was the crowning glory of a life dedicated to noble causes and great purposes. He looked upon the Bhavan as an instrument for translating into reality his vision of an India unshaken by the 'technological avalanche' and rooted in the values of an immemorial culture that, while not denying worldly joys, aspires for the life of the spirit. It was under the ageis of the Bhavan that he gave a concrete shape to his view of history from a national perspective and the 11-volume History and the Culture of the Indian People was the result.
Apart from Bhavan, Dr. Munshi was also founder of many other Institutions such as Hansraj Morarji Public School, Mumbai, Children's Aid society, Mumbai, Somnath Temple Trust etc. etc.
Above all, Dr. Munshi was a humanist. He was a man of religion but not a religious fanatic. Modern in his outlook, he looked to the past to strengthen the cultural roots of the present. He was, as he chose to describe himself, 'a sea shell thrown up by the mighty flood of Indian renaissance.'
The end of Dr. Munshi, the man who was an institution in himself, came on Feb. 8, 1971, when he was 84.


The name became synonymous with reverence
... of the people's own inner vision.


DR. K. M. MUNSHI - A SHINING STAR

by R. Venkataraman

 

In the Galaxy of eminent men of India, Kanhaiyalal Maneklal Munshi is a shining star that still beckons humanity to the path of duty and dharma.

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MUNSHIJI - THE MAN AND HIS MISSION

by S. Ramakrishnan

 

The Bhavan and Kulapati Munshi are synonymous. The Bhavan, his lengthened shadow, is the vibrant symbol of the continuing modern Indian renaissance which Raja Ram Mohan Roy pioneered in Bengal in the 19th century.

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Books by K. M Munshi

Just a glimpse of some of the prominent books authored by Munshiji.

ગુજરાતી

  • જય સોમનાથ
  • પાટણની પ્રભુતા
  • ગુજરાતનો નાથ
  • રાજાધિરાજ
  • પૃથિવીવલ્લભ
  • અડધે રસ્તે
  • સીધાં ચઢાણ
  • સ્વપ્નસિદ્ધિની શોધમાં
  • ગુજરાતની કીર્તિગાથા

English

  • Bhagavad Gita and Modern Life
  • The Creative Art of Life
  • The End of an Era : Hyderabad Memories
  • Glory that was Gurjar Desa
  • Gujarat and its Literature
  • Krishnavatara (Vol 1-7)
  • Kulapati’s Letters
  • Pilgrimage to Freedom (Vol 1-2)
  • Somanatha, the Shrine Eternal

हिंदी

  • आधे रास्ते
  • सीधी चढ़ान
  • स्वप्न सिद्धि की खोज में