Kanaiyalal Maneklal Munshi Biography 
Kanaiyalal Maneklal Munshi, popularly known as Kulpati Dr. K. M. Munshi was a great personality from Gujarat in the 20th century. Known as a freedom fighter and Gujarati writer, he was also an activist, politician and educationist. As an educationist he is best known for establishing Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, an educational trust, in 1938, which has now expanded to 119 centres in India, 7 centres abroad and 367 constituent institutions. It’s one of the leading school education institutions across the country. He was also a barrister and an eminent jurist. A lawyer by profession, he later turned to literature and politics. He was an ardent fan of Sardar Patel. Munshi served as the Governor of Uttar Pradesh from 1952 to 1957.
K. M. Munshi was born on 30 December 1887 in Bharuch town in Gujarat. He schooled at R.S Dalal High School at his hometown and later studied at Vadodara. Sri Aurobindo Ghosh was one of his teachers at college. He was deeply influenced by great leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Maharaja Sayaji Rao Gaekwad, Sardar Patel and Bhulabhai Desai and later took part in Freedom struggle movement. Though he joined the Swaraj Party in between, he returned to Indian National Congress in 1930 following Salt Satyagraha. He also took part in Quit India Movement and many other freedom struggle movements and got arrested many times.
But later he didn’t support the idea of separate nation for Muslims and he left non-violence principles to support the idea of a civil war. He believed in a united nation of Hindus and Muslims - Akhand Hindustan. After Indian independence he served as a diplomat and served many administrative positions. He was a committee member which drafted the Constitution of India under the chairmanship of B. R. Ambedkar. In the late 1950s he moved to Swatantra Party. He played a significant role in the renovation of Somnath Temple.
As an educationist, he has started Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan and played a significant role in the development of Bhavan's College, Hansraj Morarji Public School, Rajhans Vidyalaya, Rajhans Balvatika etc. He was a prolific writer and journalist who started a Gujarati monthly called Bhargava. As a writer, he was known for choosing fictional historical themes. Prithvi Vallabh, Krishnavatara, Rajadhiraj, Prithvivallabh, Svapnadishta, Lopamudra, Jay Somanth etc are a few among his noted works.
Published: N/A
Updated: February 27, 2016
