Seth Govind Das
Seth Govind Das (1896 – 1974) was a freedom fighter and a distinguished parliamentarian. He belonged to the famous Maheshwari merchant family of Raja Gokuldas of Jabalpur.
He was also a famous Hindi author. He is well known for his support of Hindi as the national language of India. He represented Jabalpur in the Indian Parliament from 1947 to 1974 and came to be called the “father of the Lok Sabha”.
He was a close associate and follower of Mahatma Gandhi. He was jailed in Damoh for eight months, where he wrote four plays ‘Prakash’ (social), ‘Kartavya’ (mythological), ‘Navras’ (philosophical) and a ‘Spardha’(one act play).
If Maharashtra takes pride on Lokmanya Tilak, Punjab for Lala Lajpat Rai, Bihar for Rajendra babu, Uttar Pradesh for producing leaders like Madan Mohan Malviya, Motilal Nehru, Jawarhar Lal Nehru, Gujarat for Sadar Patel then definitely Madhya Pradesh takes pride on producing Mahakoshal Kesari Seth Govind Das ji.
Being born as grand son to Raja Gokuldas, the leading merchant prince of Central Province, Govind Das ji, in course of life deviated from his parental lineage of supporting the British government and plunged into the Indian freedom struggle. Adhering firmly to the Gandhian Philosophy, he became a guiding light for not only the youth of Mahakoshal region but of the entire nation by being part of the national movement from 1920 till India’s rise to independence in 1947.
He went to jail many times and was an active member of the National Congress party. It was here, that Govind Das ji conceived the idea of giving words to his thoughts. While remaining behind bars, in British India jails, for assisting in the party’s work at regional level, he got well versed with all the available literature from politics to religion.
Kaka Sahib, as he was commonly known, rose to prominence when he represented the Mahakoshal region in the Council of State in the year 1923, before independence. Upon independence, he became the member of the Constituent Assembly, the body which wrote and approved the Constitution of India and helped India become a Republic. He remained life long member of Lok Sabha, the Lower House of the Indian Parliament after the formation of the Constitution and also Chaired the Lower House numerous times. Besides this, he was felicitated by members of both the houses during a joint meeting, on completion of 50 years of service to the Parliament.
His contributions to the field of Hindi Literature have earned him a place within well-known littérateurs of his time. His works have found place in the syllabus of various universities and colleges across the nation. These have passed through the critical eye of critically acclaimed writers of the time. For his contribution to the field of literature, he was awarded the ‘Padma Bhusan’ award by the first President of Independent India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad.
Besides this, Rani Durgawati University, Jabalpur (known as Jabalpur University then) awarded him with Doctorate for his literary contribution. While Government of Uttar Pradesh and Rajashthan Sahitya Academy also felicitated Govind Das ji for his contribution to the field of Hindi Literature. His contribution to Hindi literature is in various forms like drama (historical, social, and biographical), poems, travelogue and biographies. His writing bear clear mark to the people who touched his life whether they were simple and normal beings or national figures of the time.
