Rambriksh Benipuri

2022-01-15T14:40:00Z

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{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2018}}
{{Short description|India Writer}}
{{Infobox writer 
| name = Ramavriksha Benipuri
| image = रामवृक्ष बेनीपुरी.jpg
| imagesize =
| alt = Ramavriksha Benipuri
| caption =
| pseudonym =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = 23 December 1899
| birth_place = Benipur Village, [[Muzaffarpur]], Bihar, India
| death_date = 9 September 1968 (aged 68)
| death_place = Muzaffarpur, India
| occupation = {{flatlist|
* Freedom fighter
* socialist leader
* editor
* writer
* dramatist
* essayist
* novelist
* politician
}}
| nationality = Indian
| citizenship =
| education = 10
standard
| alma_mater =
| period =
| genre =
| subject =
| movement = Kisan Mahasabha, Quit India Movement, Janaue Todo Abhiyaan
| notableworks = Ambpali, Patiton Ke Desh Mein, Genhu Aur Gulab, Maati Ki Muratien, Zanjeerein Aur Deewarien, Vijeta, Shakuntala etc.
| spouse =
| partner =
| children = Dr. Prabha Benipuri
| relatives = [[Shyam Sunder Das]]
| awards = Lifetime Achievement Award For Contribution In Literature From Rashtra Bhasha Parishad
| signature =
| website =
| portaldisp =
| ethnicity =
| influences =
| influenced =
}}

'''Ramavriksha Benipuri''' ({{audio|Rambriksha.ogg|pronunciation}}, 23 December 1899 – 9 September 1968) was a freedom fighter, [[Socialist Leader]], [[editor]] and [[Hindi literature|Hindi]] writer. He was born in a small village named Benipur in Muzaffarpur district in a [[Bhumihar Brahmin]] family in the Indian state of [[Bihar]]. He had spent nine years in prison for fighting for India's independence.<ref name="Rai 1995">{{cite book
| first = Ram Bachan
| last = Rai
| title = Ramvriksh Benipuri
| publisher = [[Sahitya Akademi]]
| year = 1995
| isbn = 81-7201-974-2
| page = 66
}}</ref> He was the founder of [[Bihar]] [[Congress Socialist Party|Socialist Party]] in 1931 and [[Congress Socialist Party]] in 1934. He served as the president of [[Patna]] [[District]] [[Indian National Congress|Congress]] [[Committee]] of [[Indian National Congress]] from 1935 to 1937 during the [[1937 Indian provincial elections]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=कुछ मैं कुछ वें|publisher=Anamika Publishers And Distributors Pvt Ltd|isbn=9788179755198|location=New Delhi}}</ref> He was elected as the [[Member of the Legislative Assembly (India)]] from Katra North in 1957. In 1958, he was elected as the [[Syndicate]] Member of [[Bihar]] [[University]] (Now [[Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar Bihar University]]), [[Muzaffarpur]].

Ramvriksha Benipuri hailed from [[Muzaffarpur]] in Bihar and took active part in the [[Indian freedom movement]].<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://pib.nic.in/archieve/lreleng/l0999/r140999.html
|title=Special Postage Stamps on Linguistic Harmony of India
|work=Latest PIB Releases
|date=September 1999
|access-date=26 September 2008
|publisher=Press Information Bureau of the Government of India
}}</ref> He was also a journalist of [[Hindi Literature]] 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]].<ref>{{cite book
| first = Sisir Kumar
| last = Das
| title = A History of Indian Literature
| publisher = [[Sahitya Akademi]]
| year = 2006
| isbn = 978-81-7201-798-9
}}</ref>

==Writing career==
Benipuriji's first writing was published in Pratapa of [[Kanpur]] in 1916.<ref name="Jha 2014">{{cite book
| first = Sureshwar
| last = Jha
| title = Gems of Mithila
| publisher = Mithila Sanskrit Post Graduate Study & research Institute (Publication Director – Dev Narain Yadav)
| edition = 2014
| oclc=895247051
| pages = 241–249
}}</ref> Since then, till the attainment of Independence of India, his was a life of political activities and struggle.<ref name="Jha 2014"/> In 1928–29, Benipuri established Yuvaka-Ashram in front of [[Patna College]] in [[Patna]] with his friends and lifelong colleagues [[Ganga Sharan Singh (Sinha)|Ganga Sharan Singh]] and [[Pandit Ramnandan Mishra]].<ref name="Jha 2014"/> In 1929, Benipuri started the publication of Yuvaka, a Hindi monthly from this organization, under his editorship.<ref name="Jha 2014"/>

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.<ref name="Srivastava 2015">{{cite book
| first = N.M.P.
| last = Srivastava
| title = Anguish, Protest and Surcharged Nationalism: A Study of the Proscribed Literature in Colonial Bihar (1912–47)
| year = 2015
| publisher = Directorate of Bihar State Archives, [[Government of Bihar]], Patna
| edition = 2015
| isbn = 978-93-81456-36-1
| pages = 378–79
}}</ref>

===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.<ref name="Srivastava 2015"/> He was assisted by [[Ganga Sharan Singh (Sinha)]], Ambica Kant Sinha and Jagdish Narayan in its publication.<ref name="Srivastava 2015"/> Devoted to 'strength, courage and culture', Yuvak was edited, printed and published by Rambriksh Benipuri from the Patna Yuvak Ashram.<ref name="Srivastava 2015"/> It was printed at the Searchlight Press.<ref name="Srivastava 2015"/> Yuvak was the official organ of the ''Patna Yuvak Sangh'' founded in 1927 by Manindra Narayan Roy, a journalist of ''The Searchlight''.<ref name="Srivastava 2015"/>

''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.<ref name="Srivastava 2015"/> Its writings had a clear impact of Marxism as its contributors were political elites, avowed nationalists and Marxist revolutionaries.<ref name="Srivastava 2015"/>

===As a Playwright===
Ramvriksha Benipuri stands in a class apart as a playwright.<ref name="Datta 1976">{{cite book
| editor= Datta, Kali Kinkar
| title = The Comprehensive History of Bihar Volume – III, Part – II
| publisher = Kashi Prasad Jayaswal Research Institute, Patna
| edition = 1976
| isbn = 81-89785-02-8
| pages = 511–512
}}</ref> He wrote ''Ambapalai'' during his detention in the Hazaribagh Central Jail.<ref name="Datta 1976"/> 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''.<ref name="Datta 1976"/> Benipuri had a forceful pen and was a prolific writer.<ref name="Datta 1976"/> Main attraction of Benipuri's plays lies in his way of writing.<ref name="Datta 1976"/> There is a delightful mixture of romanticism and idealism in his plays.<ref name="Datta 1976"/>

===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.<ref name="Datta 1976"/> 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.<ref name="Datta 1976"/>

===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 [[Ambapali|Ambipure]] who adopted and converted to [[Buddhism]] after meeting [[Gautam Buddha|Buddha]]. Likewise ''Netradaan'' (that is, Gift of Eyes), another drama, is based on a historical legend involving [[Ashoka]] and his son Kunal.

He was also a distinguished playwright.<ref name="Rai 1995"/>

A stanza from one of his famous poems, ''"Shahido – tumhari yaad me"'' goes like this:
{{quote|"Hey, the Martyrs of August Revolution,

We shall forever keep the flag high

For which thy hath given the lives;

We shall always esteem the path of martyrdom

Sanctified by the blood of the supreme sacrifice."|}}<ref>{{cite book
| first = Sumanta
| last = Niyogi
| title = Essays on Modern History (7.The 1942 Movement in Bihar – A stanza from the Hindi poem, "Shahido – tumhari yaad me", composed by Ramvriksha Benipuri, the eminent Hindi poet, and an active participant in the 1942 movement, published in the Dainik Janata, Patna, 9th August 1951; translated into English by the author.)
| publisher = Janaki Prakashan
| year = 2010
| isbn = 978-81-907634-5-5
}}</ref>

The eminent [[Hindi]] 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:<ref>{{cite book
| first = Lata Singh
| last = Biswamoy Pati (ed.)
| title = Colonial and Contemporary Bihar and Jharkhand (Chapter 7. Lata Singh, ''Nationalism in Bihar, 1921–22: Mapping Resistances'' quoting Suresh Sharma (ed.) ''Benipuri Granthavali'', vol. IV, 1998, p.38)
| publisher = [[Primus Books]]
| year = 2014
| isbn = 978-93-80607-92-4
| page = 264 (at p. 127)
}}</ref>
{{quote|''When I recall Non-Cooperation era of 1921, the image of a storm confronts my eyes. From the time I became aware, I have witnessed numerous movements, however, I can assert that no other movement upturned the foundations of Indian society to the extent that the Non-Cooperation movement did. from the most humble huts to the high places, from villages to cities, everywhere there was a ferment, a loud echo.''|}}
[[File:JP,_Lohia_&_Benipuri_at_Kisan_Sabha_CSP_Patna_Rally,_August_1936.jpg|thumb|Benipuri (right) at Kisan Sabha CSP Patna rally, August 1936]]

==In the freedom movement==
Benipuri was a close associate of [[Jayaprakash Narayan]] and a leading light of the [[Congress Socialist Party]].<ref name="Srivastava 2015"/> He took active part in the agitation against the [[Rowlatt Act]] and participated in the [[Non-cooperation movement]] launched by [[Mahatma Gandhi]] in 1920.<ref name="Srivastava 2015"/> He was an active member of the Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee, a member of the [[Indian National Congress]], one of the founder members of the Bihar Socialist Party and a member of the working committee of the [[Congress Socialist Party|All India Congress Socialist Party]].<ref name="Srivastava 2015"/> He had also been the President of the Bihar Provincial Kisan Sabha and the Vice-President of the [[All India Kisan Sabha]].<ref name="Srivastava 2015"/> At the 50th session of the All India Congress Committee held at [[Faizpur]] in 1937 he moved a resolution on the abolition of Zamindari.<ref name="Srivastava 2015"/> Again, it was Benipuri who helped [[Jayaprakash Narayan]] escape from the Hazaribagh Central Jail along with [[Yogendra Shukla|Jogendra Shukul]], Suraj Narayan Singh, Gulali Sonar, [[Pandit Ramnandan Mishra]], and Shaligram Singh on 9 November 1942 keeping the prisoners engaged in Diwali Celebration.<ref name="Srivastava 2015"/>

In Hazaribagh Central Jail, he initiated a campaign " Janaeu Todo Abhiyaan" (Breaking of the [[Upanayana]] threads) against [[Casteism]]. As Upnayan threads are the symbol of upper castes epesically [[Brahmin]] and [[Zamindar]].

==Homage==
[[File:Rambriksh Benipuri 1999 stamp of India.jpg|thumb|Benipuri on a 1999 stamp of India]]
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.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://pib.nic.in/archieve/lreleng/l0999/r140999.html
|title=Special Postage Stamps on Linguistic Harmony of India
|work=Latest PIB Releases
|date=September 1989
|access-date=4 May 2008
|publisher=Press Information Bureau of the Government of India
}}</ref>

==Centenary celebrations==
The chief guest on the occasion of the birth centenary of Benipuri held in zonal railway training centre at [[Muzaffarpur]], held under the auspices of railway ministry, was the former [[Prime Minister of India]] [[Chandra Shekhar]].<ref name="The Times of India">{{cite news
| url = http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1313913553.cms
| title = Dictatorship threatening Indian democracy: Chandrashekhar
| work = [[The Times of India]]
| date = 20 December 2001
| access-date = 3 April 2009
}}</ref> The main speakers included litterateur Namwar Singh and journalist [[Prabhash Joshi]].<ref name="The Times of India"/> Namwar Singh described Benipuri as only the second litterateur who preferred to associate his name with that of his village.<ref name="The Times of India"/>

[[Prabhash Joshi]] ranked Benipuri with [[Makhanlal Chaturvedi]] and [[Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi]], who were both contemporary writers and journalists as well.<ref name="The Times of India"/> 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."<ref name="The Times of India"/>

==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.<ref name="Jha 2014"/> The light is very near and therefore the darkness has increased.<ref name="Jha 2014"/> The writer wants to say that the darkness would disappear within a short time and a new rising light would come out.<ref name="Jha 2014"/>
There are 16 such sketches in the collection.<ref name="Jha 2014"/> Benipuri tries to search out a new society, a new way of living and a new culture.<ref name="Jha 2014"/>
* '''Kaidee Ki Patni'''-1940
* '''Maate'''
-1941-45
* '''Gehun Aur Gulaab'''- 1948–50
It was published in 1950.<ref name="Jha 2014"/> 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"''.<ref name="Jha 2014"/>
* '''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]], 1994

===Editing and critical===
* '''[[Vidyapati]] Ki Padaavali'''
* '''[[Bihari (poet)]] satsai Ki Subodh Teekaa'''

===Biography===
* '''[[Jayaprakash Narayan]]''' 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]]

==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'', [[Sahitya Akademi]], 1995, {{ISBN|81-7201-974-2}}.
*Raśmi Caturvedī, ''Rāmavr̥ksha Benīpurī ke rekhācitra, eka adhyayana'', Sāhitya Nilaya, 2005.
*Indu Prakash Pandey, ''Hindi Literature: Trends & Traits'', Firma K. L. Mukhopadhyay, 1975.

== References ==
{{Reflist|2}}
{{Commons category|Rambriksh Benipuri}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benipuri, Rambriksh}}
[[Category:Hindi-language writers]]
[[Category:Indian male dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:Indian male short story writers]]
[[Category:Journalists from Bihar]]
[[Category:Indian male journalists]]
[[Category:Indian literary critics]]
[[Category:Indian socialists]]
[[Category:Indian independence activists from Bihar]]
[[Category:People from Muzaffarpur district]]
[[Category:Poets from Bihar]]
[[Category:1899 births]]
[[Category:1968 deaths]]
[[Category:Hindi dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian poets]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:Indian male poets]]
[[Category:Indian male essayists]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian short story writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian essayists]]
[[Category:Dramatists and playwrights from Bihar]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian male writers]]
[[Category:Members of the Constituent Assembly of India]]
[[Category:Prisoners and detainees of British India]]

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Rambriksh Benipuri