NYPL RESEARCH LIBRARIES 3 3433 06727968 1 MINEJ Jkesentcb to i , :;H,V YORK ICLIBTUP.Y AND tUUNDATIONS Dedicated to the Memory of Thf L;ite Sarclar Dayal Sinuh Majithi.i, of tkf gteatnt benefactors of lint ;nv>nMrr. PUNJAB'S EMINENT HINDUS Being Biographical and Analytical Sketches of Twenty Hindu Ministers, Judges. Politicians. Educationists and Legislators of the Punjab by some well-known Writers of this Province EDITED SY N. B. SEN Editor, "The Literary Star," Lahore. Author of "Thoughts of Shakespeare," etc. NEW BOOK SOCIETY PUBLISHERS. POST BOX 47. LAHORE. PRICK Kt'PKKS TEN. t . PUNJAB'S EMINENT W THF MW YU(U PVBLlf LIBRARY 403398B ' A.-TI - f> t uf t ALPHABETICAL LIST OF CONTENTS Personality. Author. Page. CHHOTU RAM, Chowdhri Sir, ... Mr. M.L. Bhardwaj. 13 GANESH DUTT, Goswami, ... Prof. Wadhawa Ram 17 GANGA RAM, the late Sir, ... Mr. B.P.L. Bedi. 24 GOKUL CHAND NARANG, Dr. Sir, ... Pt. Ram Lai Tara. 34 GOPAL DAS, R. B. Lala, ... N. B. Sen. 44 HANS RAJ, the late Mahatma, ... Prof. Sri Ram. 48 IIAR DAYAL, the late Dr. ... Mr. Dharm Vir. 57 HARKISHEN LAL, the late Lala, ..'. Mr. K. L. Gauba. 71 JAI LAL, Rai Bahadur Sir, ... Lala Ganpat Rai. 77 KRISHNA KISHORE, D. B. Diwan, ... Prof. K. M.Dogra. 81 LAJPAT RAI, the late Lala, ... Prof.D.C.Sharma. 85 MANOHAR LAL, Dr. Sir, ... Mr. M.L. Bhardwaj 93 MUKAND LAL PURI, R. B. Lala, ... N. B. Sen. 99 NARENDRA NATH, D. B. Raja, ... .V. B. Sen Tara. 103 PARMANAND, Bhai, ... Pt. Ram Lai Tara. 109 RAM SARAN DAS, R. B. Lala, ... Mr. P. D. Sag at. 116 RAM TIRATH, the late Swami, ... Pt. Ram Lai Tara. 121 SHADI LAL, The Right Hon'ble Sir, ... .V. B. Sen. 127 SHRADDHANAND, the late Swami, ... Prof. Lai Chand. 131 TEK CHAND, Bakhshi Sir, N. B. Sen. 147 1 ALL RIGHTS OF REPRODUCTION AND TRANSLATION RESERVED BY THE PUBLISHERS. Printed at The Insurance l'i M. Mi Li-nil Ui-jil, I.uhoiv. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. NAME. FACING PAGE. 1. Sir Chhotu Ram 13 2. Goswami Ganesh Dutt ... ... ... 17 3. Sir Ganga Ram ... 24 4. Sir Gokul Chand Narang ... ... ... 34 5. R. B. Gopal Das 44 6. Mahatma Hans Raj ... ... 48 7. Dr. HarDayal ... 57 8. Lala Harkishen Lai ... ... ... 71 9. SirJaiLal ... 77 10. D. B. Krishna Kishore 81 11. Lala Lajpat Rai ... ... ... 85 12. Sir Manohar Lai 93 13. R. B. Mukand Lai Puri ... 99 14. Raja Narendra Nath ... 103 15. Bhai Parma Nand ... ... 109 16. R. B. Ram Saran Das 116 17. Swami Ram Tirath ... ... 121 18. Sir Shadi Lai 127 19.SwamiShraddhanand ... ... ... 131 20. Sir Tek ChanJ 147 Biography The great lesson of biography is to show what man can be and do at his best. A noble life put fairly on record acts like an inspiration to others. Biographies of great, hut especi- ally of good men are most instruc- tive and useful as helps, guides, and incentives to others, Some of the best are almost equivalent to gospels, teaching high living, high thinking, and energetic action, ti their own and the world's good. Samuel Smiles. Biographer As it often happens that the best men are but little known, and consequently cannot extend the usefulness of their examples a great way, the biographer is of great utility, as, by communicating such valuable patterns to the world, he may perhaps do a more extensive service to mankind than the person whose life originally afforded the pattern. Fielding. THE Nh-W VORK PU LlC I :. I,EXOX AND , I-UU'DATIONS R I HIM'l - I 'Ih* Hon'ble C h Sir hliutu Ram. Ki K H . H A LL.B., Minmtr. Punjub Cjnverniueiit. Sin Gfifwiu, 31am. (By Mr. M. L. Bhardwaj ) Sir Chhotu Ram, our Minis- father and the village money-lender, ter for Development, is a singularly the latter gave the punkah-cord dynamic personality. From his to the former with instructions youth he has been an irreconcil- to cool the bania's perspiring bulk. he able protagonist of the rights and This incensed Chhotu Ram and interests of zamindars and the insisted with success that the bania's leader of a crusade against the son, who happened to be present, money-lending classes in particular should pull the punkah. On another and non-agriculturists in general. occasion the youth who was to be- come the Punjab's Development \Yhat factors made him a crusa- Minister was told to sit at the foot der ? Plebeian ancestry gave him a of the bania's charpoy before the desire for universal human better- business talk commenced. And it his sureness of touch in deal- was bania of his ment ; acquaintances that the ing with the masses. He had his father who recommended genius awakened by the urge to young man should not take up struggle for justice against, the forces higher studies, since an elementary for a of intrigue. And his principal education was good enough weapon in this struggle has been his Jat. gift of what his friends call eloqu- ence and his enemies mob-oratory. These incidents seem trivial enough in themselves but the fact From early life he has been, a that Sir Chhotu Ram still remem- ' bania-hater.' He wrote a bitter bers them is proof of the deep im- article in his college magazine on they created. When he " pression How best to improve village life became a lawyer and started prac- and in this he bitterly attacked the tice in Rohtak, he came in touch money-lender. He also contributed with the realities of life as it obtain- a series of articles to an English ed for the Jats and the money- newspaper on the same subject. lending classes. When he saw the fate suffered by zamindars at the non-Zamin- Small incidents in his family hands of well-educated he had a definite revul- life that of a peasant proprietor- dar officers, laid the foundation of this bitter- sion of feeling. He still remembers for the ness, which amounts almost to an ex-parte decree possession hatred. At one business meeting of 200 bighas of land passed against educated non-zamin- between the young Chhotu Ram's a minor by an .: 1 HI- ' in hi-> : While uiHf-mittinu :piin-hip of Jat rights, Sir mce his assumption of ministerial resj . nubility. ' studied the life of the under-'. ' .inn -Jats. \YiVn I qi ' - t he )'! 'ir, he most emphatically replied : md for . i in . Iv.tm tin under-dog every time. My mis- .:i-d in l;fe i- to equalise burdens <1 a Wlrle ill BCb equally .mumy human ' beini'- is p"-^ible." !1 has given n. r. i the legis':itive rnt pirit. sures th:.t he his sponsored. l!ut mumtv his life .n still remains the .1 _;ht I it i unlik- his the : peasantry Th i. Sir i U'IK-UI !\ mi a rill to !i prove ceit.un in tinctive sh -s th.tt . il influence in :h.uacteristic i-t the the than tnv : his: province nature. \\'h-n the \.iriou- menN c.f which he is constituir<l i>muted into .1 politiciMi . once decided to ch ini- the composite result was bom d t > [hts of the Jat, Chi remarkable personality, unique : took DP hi* indeed amonjj hi^ c -. He th a /- ich . a Congressman. \\ hen ii when : : he bewail lif, n l\'-'':it.ik as ;i lav. yi-i r member of the ind a work .!) uel : the l< i:il autono J.it community, he started .1 v.e.-kh nemies because r called the "Jat Gazette" : his faith in his which he himself edned t'r"in 1916 :nism>j. !I< is to 1HJ4. Through thi= paper he t! iter." I le nbhors suit trie ft political etlucation to !.ticians who .irr tii'- b.ickwiud Jats. In 1916 he i H- ' s in j>o>itive joined the Congre-- ,nu! becamt 'he deter mi i j.i presulent . District ("on;. .. s them detics Comn i ei i : : ': , He the cult ] ongresj \\ilh him only to the educated and his ad. t" i ' i th<- \ t> n'kv. aul lid, could ii"t alVord to ; on ! : uts. 1 le himself . ; the Congress in . \\hen the resolution ' v. m. : fd. I 1' I'l NJAB'S KM1NENT HINDUS 15 did not believe in non-C3-operati<>n the basis of community of economic and defiance of law or non-payment interest. The Unionist party, he of taxes. Before he -left the Con- asserts, would have solved half the gress, he was one of those whose problem if it had not been opposed names were recommended by the in its efforts by vested interests. district authorities for deportation, They had to accept communalism in but higher officers did not endorse the services because they could not the recommendation as they thought entirely ignore the existence of it would lead to disturbances in the communal feelings. district. He d',es not believe in socialism, His political goal for Jndia is which contemplates the complete Dominion to be attained elimination of the Status, by private capitalist ; constitutional means, but he insists but he insists <-n complete and effi- on the existence of me ins for pre- cient control of the private capital- serving independence before it is ist. Th< State, he declares, must achieved. He does not believe in take part in industries, but prefer- non-violence, and although he ad- ably in combination with the capi- mits that the Congress is chieflys talist.