Remembering Purushottam Tandon

Purushottam Das Tandon, freedom fighter from Uttar Pradesh, was a staunch supporter of Hindi as the national language and devoted a major part of his energies for the propagation and development of its literature. He was called ‘Rajarshi’ by Mahatma Gandhi because of his austerity and detachment from selfish possessions.

Purushottam Das Tandon, freedom fighter from Uttar Pradesh, was a staunch supporter of Hindi as the national language and devoted a major part of his energies for the propagation and development of its literature. He was  called ‘Rajarshi’ by Mahatma Gandhi because of his austerity and detachment from selfish possessions.

In 1961, the government conferred on him Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award. The Indian Posts & Telegraphs Department honoured him by issuing a commemorative stamp.

Born in Allahabad on August 1, 1882 as a Punjabi Khatri, Tandon was deeply religious.

He had significant influence over the religious sect called the Radha Soamis and he emphasised the essential oneness of Hindu-Muslim culture despite obvious differences.

Purushottam Das graduated from the Muir Central College, Allahabad and later did his Law and Master’s degree in History. He entered the legal profession in 1906 and joined the Bar of the Allahabad High Court in 1908 . He gave up legal practice in 1921 to devote full time for public service. He joined the Indian National Congress in 1899. In 1906, he represented Allahabad at the All India Congress Committee. He was associated with the committee that studied the Jalianwala Bagh massacre in 1919 and was also involved in the activities of the Servants of the People Society and the Lok Sevak Sangh.

During his active participation in the freedom struggle, he was arrested several times. In 1921, he was arrested for participating in the Non-Cooperation movement. He and Jawaharlal Nehru were arrested even before Mahatma Gandhi returned from the Round Table Conference in London in 1931.

In 1918 Tandon established the Allahabad District Peasants Committee to develop the condition of poor farmers and successfully led the ‘No Tax’ campaign in 1930 which was appreciated by Jawaharlal Nehru.

He was believed to be a protégé of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. He contested unsuccessfully against Pattabhi Sitaramayya in 1948 for the post of President of the Congress Party but contested successfully against Acharya Kripalani and presided over the Congress session at Nasik in 1950.

His contribution was notable in the field of organising Kisan Sabhas to secure the cooperation of the peasantry for the cause of independence. He served as the President of the Bihar Provincial Kisan Sabha in 1934. He also served as the Speaker of the UP Legislative Assembly for 13 years, from July 31, 1937 to August 10, 1950.

In 1946, he was elected to the Constituent Assembly of India. He was also elected to the Lok Sabha in 1952 and Rajya Sabha in 1956. He was closely associated with many institutions including the Hindi Sahitya Sammelan and the Rashtrabhasha Prachar Samiti.

He and K.M. Munshi were among those who strongly opposed religious propagation and conversion of people from one religion to another. They vehemently argued in the Constituent Assembly for condemnation of religious conversion.

On June 12, 1947, the Congress Working Committee passed a resolution accepting the Partition of India.

When the same was ratified on June 14, by the AICC, Tandon expressed his dissenting voice. On that occasion, he said: "Acceptance of the resolution will be an abject surrender to the British and the Muslim League. The admission of the Working Committee was an admission of weakness and the result of a sense of despair. The partition would not benefit either community -- the Hindus in Pakistan and the Muslims in India would both live in fear."

He regarded the knowledge of the ancient cultural heritage of the country as essential for the education of students. He favoured the view of imparting education through the mother-tongue. His contribution to the cause of Hindi is really crucial and he brought Hindi to the forefront through the Hindi Prachar Sabhas. However, Mahatma Gandhi and other leaders advocated the adoption of Hindustani, a mixture of Hindi and Urdu as the national language.

His insistence on the usage of Devanagari script and his attitude towards Sanskritisation or making the language more formal came in for criticism. His persistence on the usage of numerals of Devanagari script over the international system and his debates in the Constituent Assembly on adoption of Hindi as the official language annoyed Dravidian leaders. His stand became all the more perplexing since he held the view that mother-tongue was the perfect medium of instruction.

The life of Purushottam Das Tandon is a saga of courage and sacrifice for the national cause. As a staunch believer in Ahimsa, he started using rubber chappals to avoid the usage of leather. He retired from active public life after 1956 due to indifferent health, though he continued to do constructive work. He passed away on July 1, 1962.

Article by: V. N. Gopalakrishnan
Source: Bhavan's Journal July 2011
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