# Madan Mohan Malaviya (मदन मोहन मालवीय)

**Madan Mohan Malaviya** (मदन मोहन मालवीय; 25 December 1861 – 12 November 1946), widely remembered by the honorific **Mahamana** ("great soul"), was an Indian educationist, lawyer, journalist, and nationalist leader who founded [Banaras Hindu University](https://www.edgepedia.org/banaras-hindu-university) and served four times as president of the [Indian National Congress](https://www.edgepedia.org/indian-national-congress).<sup>[1](https://malviya.org/mahamana)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[2](https://bhu.ac.in/aboutus/)</sup> He worked across education, journalism, law, and public life in late-colonial India, and was awarded the [Bharat Ratna](https://www.edgepedia.org/bharat-ratna), India's highest civilian honor.<sup>[1](https://malviya.org/mahamana)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[3](https://www.drishtiias.com/hindi/daily-updates/prelims-facts/birth-anniversary-of-pandit-madan-mohan-malaviya)</sup>

| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born / died | 25 December 1861, Allahabad; 12 November 1946<sup>[1](https://malviya.org/mahamana)</sup> |
| Honorific | Mahamana ("great soul"), the name by which he is widely remembered<sup>[1](https://malviya.org/mahamana)</sup> |
| Signature institution | Founded Banaras Hindu University in 1916, working with supporters including Annie Besant; established by the B.H.U. Act 1915<sup>[2](https://bhu.ac.in/aboutus/)</sup> |
| Congress presidencies | 1909, 1918, 1932, and 1933; the last two were elections to presidencies of sessions disrupted by bans and arrest<sup>[1](https://malviya.org/mahamana)</sup> |
| Legislative career | Member of the Imperial Legislative Council for 11 years (1909–1920); had Devanagari script accepted in British-Indian courts<sup>[3](https://www.drishtiias.com/hindi/daily-updates/prelims-facts/birth-anniversary-of-pandit-madan-mohan-malaviya)</sup> |
| Chauri Chaura defense | Took up the brief of 225 men sentenced to death in the Chauri Chaura case and saved the lives of 153 of them<sup>[4](https://vishwakosh.marathi.gov.in/29011/)</sup> |
| Honor | Bharat Ratna<sup>[3](https://www.drishtiias.com/hindi/daily-updates/prelims-facts/birth-anniversary-of-pandit-madan-mohan-malaviya)</sup> |

## Early life and education

Malaviya was born in Allahabad (now [Prayagraj](https://www.edgepedia.org/prayagraj), Uttar Pradesh) on 25 December 1861 into a poor Shri Gaud Brahmin family.<sup>[4](https://vishwakosh.marathi.gov.in/29011/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[5](https://bharatdiscovery.org/india/%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%A6%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%B9%E0%A4%A8_%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%B2%E0%A4%B5%E0%A5%80%E0%A4%AF)</sup> His father Brijnath and grandfather Premdhar were scholarly men versed in traditional learning; because Brijnath earned a living reciting stories from the Ramayana and [Mahabharata](https://www.edgepedia.org/mahabharata), Malaviya's mother Monadevi pawned her jewelry to pay the fees of the government school where the bright boy learned English.<sup>[4](https://vishwakosh.marathi.gov.in/29011/)</sup>

Family finances shaped his first career. He wanted a postgraduate degree in Sanskrit, but in July 1884 he had to take a job as a teacher at the Government High School in Allahabad.<sup>[6](https://www.hindirasayan.com/pandit-madan-mohan-malviya-biography-hindi/)</sup> His first recorded public appearance came in 1886, when he attended the Indian National Congress session in Calcutta in the company of Pandit Aditya Ram Bhattacharya.<sup>[7](https://zenodo.org/records/18139815)</sup>

## Journalism

Malaviya entered public life through Hindi journalism.<sup>[8](https://kamalsandesh.org/hi/mahamana-pandit-madan-mohan-malaviya-2/)</sup> From 1885, while holding his teaching post, he edited *Indian Union*, a small local paper.<sup>[4](https://vishwakosh.marathi.gov.in/29011/)</sup> In 1887 he left teaching to edit *Hindustan*, a paper belonging to Raja Kalakankar.<sup>[4](https://vishwakosh.marathi.gov.in/29011/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[9](https://bedhindiarticles.blogspot.com/2022/06/pt-madan-mohan-malviya.html)</sup> After returning from the Congress's Bombay session, Raja Rajpal Singh appointed him editor of *Hindustan*; within a year the paper's popularity grew and it became a daily.<sup>[4](https://vishwakosh.marathi.gov.in/29011/)</sup> He also contributed to the editing of *Indian Opinion*, the newspaper of the Congress leader Pandit Ayodhyanath, while studying law.<sup>[6](https://www.hindirasayan.com/pandit-madan-mohan-malviya-biography-hindi/)</sup>

Later papers carried his influence further. He worked with the newspapers *Abhyudaya* and *The Leader*, an English-language daily of Allahabad that became a leading nationalist paper in the United Provinces.<sup>[1](https://malviya.org/mahamana)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[10](https://anantamias.com/madan-mohan-malviya/)</sup> From 1924 until 1946 he was associated with the *Hindustan Times*, published from Delhi.<sup>[11](https://www.mahashakti.org.in/2017/12/Biography-and-Essay-of-Mahamana-Madan-Mohan-Malaviya.html)</sup>

## Law and the Chauri Chaura defense

After the Bombay session Malaviya resigned the editorship of *Hindustan* and began studying law; he qualified and practiced as a lawyer from 1892 to 1909 without letting public work suffer.<sup>[4](https://vishwakosh.marathi.gov.in/29011/)</sup>

His most consequential legal work came after the [Chauri Chaura incident](https://www.edgepedia.org/chauri-chaura-incident), the episode whose suppression helped end the Khilafat and non-cooperation movements. A total of 225 people had been sentenced to death in the case; Malaviya took up their brief and saved the lives of 153 of them.<sup>[4](https://vishwakosh.marathi.gov.in/29011/)</sup>

## Political career

Malaviya remained with the moderate wing of the Congress, avoiding confrontation while campaigning against the partition of Bengal and promoting swadeshi, the use of domestic goods.<sup>[4](https://vishwakosh.marathi.gov.in/29011/)</sup> He became Congress president in 1909, and in the same year gained entry to the [Imperial Legislative Council](https://www.edgepedia.org/imperial-legislative-council), where he firmly opposed the Press Act, the Seditious Meetings Act, and the recruitment of indentured labor for overseas employment.<sup>[4](https://vishwakosh.marathi.gov.in/29011/)</sup> He served on the council for 11 years, from 1909 to 1920.<sup>[3](https://www.drishtiias.com/hindi/daily-updates/prelims-facts/birth-anniversary-of-pandit-madan-mohan-malaviya)</sup>

**Opposition to communal electorates.** When Lord Morley presented the Morley-Minto reform scheme in 1908, Malaviya praised its positive aspects but strongly opposed its provision for communal representation, the separate electorates organized by religion.<sup>[12](https://www.malaviyamission.org/AboutMahamana/Intrepid-Freedom-Fighter-Detail.php?id=2)</sup> At the 1886 Calcutta session the Congress had already appointed him secretary of its provincial political association and of its standing working committee.<sup>[12](https://www.malaviyamission.org/AboutMahamana/Intrepid-Freedom-Fighter-Detail.php?id=2)</sup>

He was elected Congress president again in 1918, and in 1932 and 1933; a biographical account published by the Mahamana Malaviya Mission distinguishes election to the last two presidencies from actually presiding, because those sessions were disrupted by government bans and arrests.<sup>[1](https://malviya.org/mahamana)</sup> In 1910 he proposed that Hindi be made the national language of India.<sup>[13](https://bhu.ac.in/Images/files/Pragya.pdf)</sup>

## Founding of Banaras Hindu University

The founding of Banaras Hindu University (BHU, काशी हिन्दू विश्वविद्यालय) in [Varanasi](https://www.edgepedia.org/varanasi) is his most enduring institutional legacy. The university itself identifies Malaviya as its founder in 1916, working through close cooperation with figures such as Dr. [Annie Besant](https://www.edgepedia.org/annie-besant), who viewed it as "the University of India"; it was established by parliamentary legislation, the B.H.U. Act 1915.<sup>[2](https://bhu.ac.in/aboutus/)</sup> The project had a longer gestation: the first proposal for establishing the university was accepted in 1904 at a meeting chaired by Kashi Naresh Prabhunarayan Singh.<sup>[13](https://bhu.ac.in/Images/files/Pragya.pdf)</sup>

His aim was a university where Hindu religion and culture would be taught alongside advanced instruction in technology and science, extending India's ancient gurukul tradition in a modern form.<sup>[11](https://www.mahashakti.org.in/2017/12/Biography-and-Essay-of-Mahamana-Madan-Mohan-Malaviya.html)</sup> He emphasized the study of Sanskrit at BHU and encouraged the teaching of Hindu scriptures such as the Vedas, the [Upanishads](https://www.edgepedia.org/upanishads), and the [Bhagavad Gita](https://www.edgepedia.org/bhagavad-gita) together with modern subjects.<sup>[14](https://hindi.hindutone.com/famous-hindus/pandit-madan-mohan-malaviya-champion-of-education-and-hindu-renaissance/)</sup> A historian of Indian education describes the vision as one in which India's ancient intellectual heritage would coexist with modern scientific knowledge, nurturing scholarship along with character, patriotism, and public service.<sup>[15](https://www.informaticsstudies.org/informatics/article/view/808)</sup>

## Educational philosophy and legacy

Malaviya held that a person can properly fulfill duties and rights only when educated, and he saw education itself as nation-building.<sup>[16](https://library.bjp.org/jspui/bitstream/123456789/407/1/madan%20mohan%20malviya.pdf)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[10](https://anantamias.com/madan-mohan-malviya/)</sup> His faith in Hindu culture was a defining feature of his life; a BHU commemorative essay records that all his activities, whether political, social, or educational, rested on religion, while noting that nothing in this was communal in character.<sup>[13](https://bhu.ac.in/Images/files/Pragya.pdf)</sup> Historian V. C. Sahu, as cited in a Hindi reference work, describes Malaviya, a supporter of [Hindu nationalism](https://www.edgepedia.org/hindu-nationalism), as seeking to break the bonds of caste in the country.<sup>[5](https://bharatdiscovery.org/india/%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%A6%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%B9%E0%A4%A8_%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%B2%E0%A4%B5%E0%A5%80%E0%A4%AF)</sup>

His influence continued through institutions after his death. The Mahamana Malaviya Mission, founded on 9 April 1978 at a national convention of BHU alumni in New Delhi, works to propagate his ideals and carry forward the educational and cultural campaign he began.<sup>[17](https://malaviyamission.org/Malaviya-Mission/History.php)</sup> At BHU itself, the Malaviya Centre for Value Research opened in 1991, inspired by his educational philosophy and life ideals.<sup>[18](https://bhu.ac.in/Images/files/Mulyavimarsa-2019-20.pdf)</sup> More than a century after BHU's establishment, scholarly assessments treat the university as a living embodiment of his model of higher education, one that integrated cultural preservation, knowledge creation, libraries, and national development.<sup>[15](https://www.informaticsstudies.org/informatics/article/view/808)</sup> A full scholarly study of his political career, Jagannath Prasad Misra's *Madan Mohan Malaviya and the Indian Freedom Movement* ([Oxford University Press](https://www.edgepedia.org/oxford-university-press), 2016), examines whether his career changed Indian politics or exploited existing forces of change, drawing on public documents and the private papers of other leading nationalists.<sup>[19](https://academic.oup.com/book/7556)</sup>

## References

1. [Madan Mohan Malaviya: Life and Reading Guide, malviya.org](https://malviya.org/mahamana)
2. [About Banaras Hindu University, bhu.ac.in](https://bhu.ac.in/aboutus/)
3. [पंडित मदन मोहन मालवीय की जयंती, Drishti IAS](https://www.drishtiias.com/hindi/daily-updates/prelims-facts/birth-anniversary-of-pandit-madan-mohan-malaviya)
4. [मालवीय, पंडित मदनमोहन, मराठी विश्वकोश प्रथमावृत्ती](https://vishwakosh.marathi.gov.in/29011/)
5. [मदनमोहन मालवीय, भारतकोश](https://bharatdiscovery.org/india/%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%A6%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%B9%E0%A4%A8_%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%B2%E0%A4%B5%E0%A5%80%E0%A4%AF)
6. [मदनमोहन मालवीय जीवन परिचय, Hindi Rasayan](https://www.hindirasayan.com/pandit-madan-mohan-malviya-biography-hindi/)
7. [पंडित मदन मोहन मालवीय एक बहुआयामी व्यक्तित्व, Zenodo](https://zenodo.org/records/18139815)
8. [‘महामना’ पं. मदन मोहन मालवीय, कमल संदेश](https://kamalsandesh.org/hi/mahamana-pandit-madan-mohan-malaviya-2/)
9. [पं० मदन मोहन मालवीय, bedhindiarticles](https://bedhindiarticles.blogspot.com/2022/06/pt-madan-mohan-malviya.html)
10. [Madan Mohan Malaviya: Biography, BHU Founding and Role in National Movement, Anantam IAS](https://anantamias.com/madan-mohan-malviya/)
11. [महामना मदन मोहन मालवीय की जीवनी एवं निबंध, महाशक्ति](https://www.mahashakti.org.in/2017/12/Biography-and-Essay-of-Mahamana-Madan-Mohan-Malaviya.html)
12. [Mahamana Madan Mohan Malaviya, Malaviya Mission](https://www.malaviyamission.org/AboutMahamana/Intrepid-Freedom-Fighter-Detail.php?id=2)
13. [महात्मा मदन मोहन मालवीय जी का जीवन-दर्शन, BHU Pragya PDF](https://bhu.ac.in/Images/files/Pragya.pdf)
14. [पंडित मदन मोहन मालवीय: शिक्षा के प्रणेता, Hindi Hindutone](https://hindi.hindutone.com/famous-hindus/pandit-madan-mohan-malaviya-champion-of-education-and-hindu-renaissance/)
15. [Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya: Architect of India's National Education and Knowledge Heritage Management, Informatics Studies](https://www.informaticsstudies.org/informatics/article/view/808)
16. [पं. मदन मोहन मालवीय, BJP library PDF](https://library.bjp.org/jspui/bitstream/123456789/407/1/madan%20mohan%20malviya.pdf)
17. [Mahamana Madan Mohan Malaviya Mission: History](https://malaviyamission.org/Malaviya-Mission/History.php)
18. [मालवीय मूल्य अनुसंधान केन्द्र, BHU Mulyavimarsa 2019-20](https://bhu.ac.in/Images/files/Mulyavimarsa-2019-20.pdf)
19. [Jagannath Prasad Misra, Madan Mohan Malaviya and the Indian Freedom Movement, Oxford University Press](https://academic.oup.com/book/7556)

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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Politics and government › Government and public administration › Politicians and government officeholders (biographies) › North Indian politicians › Uttar Pradesh politicians*

*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*

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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license