Kanaiyalal Maneklal Munshi facts for kids

Quick facts for kids K. M. Munshi
Munshi in June 1950
2nd Governor of Uttar Pradesh
In office 2 June 1952 – 9 June 1957
Chief Minister	Govind Ballabh Pant Sampurnanand
Preceded by	Homi Mody
Succeeded by	Varahagiri Venkata Giri
3rd Minister of Agriculture
In office 13 May 1950 – 13 May 1952
Prime Minister	Jawaharlal Nehru
Preceded by	Jairamdas Daulatram
Succeeded by	Rafi Ahmed Kidwai
Personal details
Born	(1887-12-30)30 December 1887 Bharuch, Bombay Presidency, British India
Died	8 February 1971(1971-02-08) (aged 83) Bombay, Maharashtra, India
Political party	Swaraj Party, Indian National Congress, Swatantra Party, Jan Sangh
Spouses	Atilakshmi Pathak ​ ​ (m. 1900; her death 1924)​ Leelavati Sheth ​ (m. 1926)​
Children	Jagadish Munshi, Sarla Sheth, Usha Raghupathi, Lata Munshi, Girish Munshi
Alma mater	Baroda College
Occupation	Freedom fighter, politician, lawyer, writer
Known for	Founder of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan (1938) Home Minister of Bombay State (1937–40) Agent-General of India in Hyderabad State (1948) Member of the Constituent Assembly of India Member of Parliament Minister for Agriculture & Food (1952–53)
Writing career
Pen name	Ghanshyam Vyas
Language	Gujarati, Hindi and English
Period	Colonial India
Genre	Mythology, Historical Fiction
Subjects	Krishna, Indian history
Years active	1915-1970
Notable works	Patan trilogy

Kanhaiyalal Maneklal Munshi (born December 30, 1887 – died February 8, 1971) was a very important person in India's history. He was known by his pen name, Ghanshyam Vyas. He was a freedom fighter who worked for India's independence. He was also a politician, a lawyer, and a famous writer from the state of Gujarat.

Munshi wrote many books in Gujarati, English, and Hindi. Before India became independent, he was a part of the Indian National Congress party. After independence, he joined the Swatantra Party. He held many important jobs, like being a member of the group that wrote India's Constitution. He also served as the Minister of Agriculture and Food for India, and later as the Governor of Uttar Pradesh. He also helped start Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, an educational organization, in 1938.

Early Life and Education

Munshi was born on December 30, 1887, in Bharuch, a town in Gujarat State. At that time, India was under British rule. He went to Baroda College in 1902 and did very well in his studies. In 1907, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, scoring top marks in English.

He later received an honorary degree from the same university. In 1910, he got his law degree in Mumbai. After that, he became a lawyer at the Bombay High Court.

One of his teachers at Baroda College was Sri Aurobindo, who greatly influenced him. Munshi was also inspired by other great leaders like Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III, Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel, and Bhulabhai Desai.

Political Journey

Fighting for India's Freedom

Because of Aurobindo's influence, Munshi first became interested in revolutionary ideas. However, after moving to Mumbai, he joined the Indian Home Rule movement in 1915 and became its secretary. In 1917, he became secretary of the Bombay Presidency Association.

In 1927, he was elected to the Bombay Legislative Assembly. But he resigned from his position after the Bardoli Satyagraha movement, following Mahatma Gandhi's advice. He took part in the civil disobedience movement in 1930 and was arrested for six months. He was arrested again in 1932 and spent two years in jail for participating in the movement. In 1934, he became the secretary of the Congress parliamentary board.

Munshi was elected again in 1937 and became the Home Minister of the Bombay Presidency. During his time as Home Minister, he worked to stop riots in Bombay. He was arrested again in 1940 for joining the Individual Satyagraha movement.

As the demand for a separate country called Pakistan grew, Munshi believed in a united India, called "Akhand Hindustan". He left the Congress party in 1941 due to disagreements, but Mahatma Gandhi invited him back in 1946.

Key Roles Before Independence

• Member of the Bombay Legislative Assembly.
• Member of the Working Committee of the Indian National Congress (1930).
• Secretary of the Congress Parliamentary Board (1934).
• Home Minister of the Government of Bombay (1937–1940).

India After Independence

Jawaharlal Nehru driving a tractor with Munshi and Rajkumari Amrita Kaur. (From right to left, Munshi wore goggles and a Gandhi cap)

After India gained independence, Munshi was part of several important committees. These included the Drafting Committee, which helped write India's Constitution. He suggested that certain progressive rights should be part of the Fundamental Rights in the Constitution.

Munshi, along with Sardar Patel and N. V. Gadgil, visited the Junagadh State to help stabilize it after it joined India. In Junagadh, Patel announced that the historic Somnath temple would be rebuilt. After Patel's death, Munshi became the main person driving the renovation of the Somnath temple, even though some leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru had concerns.

Munshi was also appointed as a special representative (Agent-General) to the princely state of Hyderabad State. He served there until Hyderabad joined India in 1948. He was also on the committee that chose the Flag of India in August 1947.

Besides being a politician and educator, Munshi cared about the environment. In 1950, when he was the Union Minister of Food and Agriculture, he started the Van Mahotsav (Forest Festival). This festival encourages planting trees to increase forest cover. Every year in July, people across India celebrate Van Mahotsav by planting millions of trees.

Munshi served as the Governor of Uttar Pradesh from 1952 to 1957. In 1959, he left the Congress Party and helped start the Swatantra Party. This party believed in a strong economy with more freedom for businesses and private property rights. The party became quite successful for a while.

In 1964, he led a meeting to establish the Vishva Hindu Parishad, a Hindu nationalist organization.

Important Roles After Independence

• Member of the Constituent Assembly of India and its drafting committee (1947–1952).
• Union Minister of Food and Agriculture (1950–1952).
• Agent General to the Government of India, Hyderabad (1948).

Academic and Educational Work

Munshi had a dream of creating an institution to spread his ideas since 1923. On November 7, 1938, he founded Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in Andheri, Bombay, along with Harshidbhai Divatia and his wife Lilavati Munshi. Later, he also started the Mumbadevi Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya to teach Sanskrit and ancient Hindu texts in traditional ways.

Besides founding Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Munshi helped establish several schools and colleges. These include Bhavan's College, Hansraj Morarji Public School, Rajhans Vidyalaya, and Panchgani Hindu School. He was also a Fellow of the University of Bombay, where he worked to ensure regional languages were properly represented. He also helped start the department of Chemical Technology at the university.

He served as Chairman of the Institute of Agriculture, Anand (1951–1971). He was also a trustee of the Birla Education Trust (1948–1971) and chairman of the Sanskrit Vishwa Parishad (1951–1961).

Global Efforts

Munshi was one of the people who signed an agreement to create a meeting for drafting a world constitution. This led to the first-ever World Constituent Assembly, which worked to write a "Constitution for the Federation of Earth".

Literary Career and Works

Munshi, using his pen name Ghanshyam Vyas, was a very productive writer. He wrote in Gujarati and English and became one of Gujarat's most famous literary figures. He started a Gujarati monthly magazine called Bhargava. He was also a joint-editor of Young India. In 1954, he started the Bhavan's Journal, which is still published today by the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. Munshi was the President of the Gujarati Sahitya Parishad and the Hindi Sahitya Sammelan [hi].

Munshi was known for his historical novels in Gujarati. His famous Patan trilogy includes Patan-ni-Prabhuta (The Glory of Patan), Gujarat-no-Nath (The Lord and Master of Gujarat), and Rajadhiraj (The King of Kings). Other notable works include Jay Somnath (about the Somnath temple) and Krishnavatara (about Lord Krishna). He also wrote many important works in English.

Two movies were made based on K.M. Munshi's novel Prithivivallabh. The first was in 1924, and the second was by Sohrab Modi in 1943. In 1948, he wrote a book about Mahatma Gandhi called Gandhi: The Master.

Works in Gujarati and Hindi

His works include:

Works in English

Personal Life

In 1900, K. M. Munshi married Atilakshmi Pathak, who passed away in 1924. In 1926, he married Lilavati Munshi (born Lilavati Sheth).

Memorials and Honors

• A school in Thiruvananthapuram is named after him: Bhavan's Kulapati K.M. Munshi Memorial Vidya Mandir Sapthat.
• A postage stamp was released in his honor in 1988.
• The Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan gives an award called "The Kulapati Munshi Award". This award recognizes people who have done excellent service to society in special fields.
• A boys' hostel at The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda in Vadodara, Gujarat, is named K. M. Munshi Hall.