Banarsidas Chaturvedi
Banarsidas Chaturvedi was a Hindi-language writer, journalist and recipient of Padma Bhushan awarded by Government of India in 1973. He was born on 24 December 1892 in Firozabad in the North-Western Provinces of British India and died on 2 May 1985. He was a literary bridge between nationalism, social reform, and the global Indian experience. As an active participant in India's cultural renaissance and political awakening, he forged strong relationships with leading intellectuals, reformers, and fellow writers of his time. These friendships and collaborations not only shaped his thought and prose but also left a lasting mark on Hindi literature and Indian public life.
Early life
Banarsidas Chaturvedi was born on 24 December 1892 in Firozabad, Uttar Pradesh, India. He was the son of Pandit Ganeshilal Chaube, a village schoolteacher. He married Chhabili Devi Chaturvedi in 1912.He entered education in 1900 and passed his FA examination in 1913. He was granted a scholarship from Chaube Boarding House, run by Raja Jai Kishan Das, in Agra. He passed FA in English with first class honours but could not continue to college education due to financial constraints. He topped his class and was awarded by Madan Mohan Malviya. His first article 'Svavlamban' was published in Navjeevan magazine in 1912.
He started teaching at a Government High School in Farrukhabad for a monthly salary of Rs.30. Later, he became a teacher at Daly College in Indore. Simultaneously, the annual session of the Hindi Sahitya Sammelan was held in Indore under the presidency of Mahatma Gandhi. At that time, Chaturvedi came into contact with Gandhi and prominent literary figures. As a journalist, he considered Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi his role model.
Chaturvedi gave an interview to Doordarshan about his life and works. It is available in Prasar Bharti Archives.
Career
Chaturvedi's journalism career began with the editorship of the magazine Vishal Bharat. The late Ramananda Chatterjee, who owned Modern Review and Vishal Bharat, was impressed by Chaturvedi's service and dedication. While living in Calcutta, he became acquainted with prominent national leaders. He had a special interest in issues facing overseas Indians, causing him to become favored by Mahatma Gandhi, C.F. Andrews, and Srinivasa Sastri — leaders deeply connected with issues faced by the Indian diaspora.Chaturvedi went to Shantiniketan with C.F. Andrews. From there, per Gandhi's suggestion, he became a teacher at Gujarat Vidyapith in Ahmedabad, though he did not stay there for long, giving up teaching in 1920. He transformed Vishal Bharat into a monthly magazine rich in literature and general knowledge. Works by leading writers of the time were published in its columns.
After leaving Vishal Bharat, Chaturvedi began editing Madhukar from Tikamgarh.
Abolition of Indentured Labour (Coolie) System
Banarsidas became interested in the plight of indentured labourers of Indian origin in Fiji where he spent several years. He wrote extensively about the predicament of Indians in Fiji. With the intervention of Reverend C. F. Andrews, the system of indentured labour in Fiji was formally ended in 1920.He inspired writing of a book to capture the suffering of Indian in Fiji "My Twenty-One Years in the Fiji Islands ", originally authored in Hindi by Totaram Sanadhya, an Indian indentured laborer who spent 21 years in Fiji. Upon returning to India in 1914, Sanadhya collaborated with Hindi writer and journalist Banarsidas Chaturvedi to publish his experiences. Chaturvedi played a crucial role in editing and disseminating the book, which became a significant document in the movement to abolish the indenture system. The book provides a firsthand account of the hardships faced by indentured labourers known as in Fiji, detailing the exploitation, abuse, and resilience of these workers under British colonial rule. It was instrumental in raising awareness in India about the plight of indentured laborers abroad and contributed to the eventual abolition of the indenture system in 1920.
An English translation titled My Twenty-One Years in the Fiji Islands; and, The Story of the Haunted Line was published by the Fiji Museum in 1991. Banarsidas Chaturvedi's collaboration with Totaram Sanadhya ensured that the voices of indentured laborers were heard, making the book a vital resource for understanding this chapter of colonial history.
Lifelong Friendship with C.F. Andrews
Though different in background, Banarsidas Chaturvedi and C.F. Andrews shared a deep belief in truth, nonviolence, and human dignity. They built a model of cross-cultural partnership long before it became common in post-colonial discourse.Shortly after "Fiji Mein Mere Ikkis Varsh" was published in 1917, Reverend C. F. Andrews wrote the English introduction to the book's translated version, framing it for international audiences and policy makers. Banarsidas Ji met C.F. Andrews in Prayagraj in 1915, soon after Andrews returned from his fact-finding mission to Fiji concerning indentured Indian laborers.
Andrews praised Sanadhya's courage and Chaturvedi's editorial efforts. He also lobbied the British government using the book as evidence in his campaigns. The work of Andrews and Chaturvedi helped build public pressure on the British Indian government. In March 1917, after sustained campaigns, the Indian indenture system was officially abolished. The ban on new unfair labour agreements came first, and by 1920, the system was entirely dismantled.
Their collaboration directly contributed to this historical outcome. Both men remained committed to uplifting marginalised voices long after the system ended. They often exchanged letters and met in Delhi, Calcutta, and Santiniketan, where Andrews was closely involved with Tagore's Visva-Bharati. The collaboration between Chaturvedi and Andrews is a shining example of how words, empathy, and ethical journalism can dismantle oppressive systems. Their friendship stands as a beacon of intercultural solidarity in India's long journey toward justice and independence.
Andrews died in Calcutta in 1940, revered across India as "Deenbandhu".
Preservation of Regional Dialects (Janpad Andolan)
The term "Janpad Andolan" refers to a cultural and literary movement aimed at recognising and promoting regional languages and folk traditions within India. Banarsidas Chaturvedi's contributions to this movement laid the groundwork for this historical movement. The Janpad Andolan gained momentum through the efforts of scholars like Prof. Rajendra Ranjan Chaturvedi, who is known for his work in promoting regional languages and folk traditions. He has acknowledged the influence of Banarsidas Chaturvedi in shaping his perspectives.Initial research on regional dialects of Hindi was done in Institute of Oriental Studies in Moscow University.
Banarsidas ji worked with Rahul Sankrityayan, Bahadur Shah Agrawal to nurture and support Janpad movement. He promoted local dialect literature and preservation of regional vocabulary by creating regional language dictionaries. He patronised writers and poets in Awadhi language like Ramai Kaka and Banshidhar Shukla, Bhojpuri Language writer Uday Narayan Tiwari, Garhwali language Writers, Ram Iqbal Singh Rakesh of Maithili, and many writers of Bundeli, Magahi, Braj Bhasha etc.
Collaboration with Hindi writers and journalists
Banarsidas Chaturvedi's legacy is not limited to his own essays or journalistic work. It is equally found in the network of writers and thinkers he nurtured, collaborated with, and debated. His friendships with Mahadevi Verma, Harivansh Rai Bachchan, Ramdhari Singh Dinkar, Hazari Prasad Dwivedi, Jainendra Kumar, Rahul Sankrityayan,Atal Bihari Vajpayee and others indicate that for him Hindi literature was not only a cultural expression, but a national mission.Banarsidas Chaturvedi interacted with Munshi Premchand during literary conferences in the 1920s and 1930s, especially the Hindi Sahitya Sammelan in Kashi in 1922. Both focused on realism, social critique, and rural India.
Banarsidas ji praised Premchand's courage for writing "Godaan", and in turn, Premchand respected Chaturvedi's journalism. Their works were often discussed in journals like Madhuri and Vishal Bharat, which Chaturvedi helped edit.
Banarsidas ji and Mahadevi Verma met at the Prayag Mahila Vidyapeeth in the 1930s and again during literary meets in Allahabad, where both lived and worked. Both were involved with Chand and Vishal Bharat magazines and supported women's education and rural reform. Banarasi Das ji reviewed her essays and helped promote her prose writings at a time when she was primarily known for poetry.
He frequently visited Santiniketan between 1930 and 1940, often at the invitation of C.F. Andrews and Tagore. He gave lectures on Hindi journalism and diaspora and interacted with Tagore's circle, including Kshitimohan Sen and Leonard Elmhirst. These visits cemented Chaturvedi's role as a cultural ambassador between Hindi writers and the Bengali Renaissance movement.
Banarsidas ji considered Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi his role model. Both were journalists committed to truth and justice. In late 1921, Banarsidas ji visited Kanpur, where he and Vidyarthi held several long conversations about editorial ethics, the responsibility of a nationalist press, and the role of vernacular journalism in shaping public consciousness. He worked briefly with Pratap, Vidyarthi's newspaper in Kanpur, around 1921–22, contributing fiery columns on caste oppression and colonial injustices. During 1921–1922 period, Banarsidas ji contributed to a series of essays and reports published in Pratap, focusing on the condition of rural peasants under zamindari oppression, the plight of Indian laborers in Burma and Fiji and the cultural neglect of Hindi-speaking communities by colonial authorities.
These essays stood out for their emotive realism and Gandhian moral voice, complementing Vidyarthi's own editorials. Banarsidas Ji also helped organise local Hindi writers and poets in Kanpur and Prayagraj to write politically conscious pieces for the newspaper.
After Vidyarthiji was killed in 1931 during communal violence in Kanpur, Banarsidas ji wrote a widely cited tribute titled "Ek Satyagrahi Patrakar Ki Mrityu". Vidyarthi's martyrdom deeply shaped Chaturvedi's writing in the 1930s and 1940s, especially on communal harmony and non-violent activism.
He also forged close friendship with Rahul Sankrityayan Hazariprasad Dwivedi Ramdhari Singh 'Dinkar' Harivansh Rai Bachchan, Jainendra Kumar Kamta Prasad guru. He was both a participant and a facilitator—a bridge between writers, movements, and ideologies, always grounded in his belief that literature must serve truth, justice, and human dignity.
Banarsidas ji regularly met his literary friends at Hindi Sahitya Sammelans and All India Hindi Writers' Conferences.