Chirag Paswan pays tribute to BHU founder Madan Mohan Malaviya
Synopsis
Union Food Processing Minister Chirag Paswan paid tribute to Bharat Ratna Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya on his death anniversary on 12 November, honouring the founder of Banaras Hindu University as a great educationist, social reformer and freedom fighter.
Key Takeaways
Chirag Paswan , Union Food Processing Minister and LJP (Ram Vilas) chief, posted a tribute to Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya on 12 November 2026 .
Malaviya founded Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi in 1916 , combining modern education with Indian classical values.
He was a freedom fighter, social reformer and journalist who passed away on 12 November 1946 .
The Government of India posthumously awarded him the Bharat Ratna , the nation's highest civilian honour.
BHU observes annual commemorative events on the death anniversary each year.
On the death anniversary of one of India's most consequential educationists, Union Food Processing Minister Chirag Paswan paid homage on Thursday, 12 November to Bharat Ratna Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, the visionary who built Banaras Hindu University from the ground up.
Posting in Hindi on X, Paswan wrote: 'शत शत नमन' — a hundred salutations — to Malaviya, describing him as a 'great educationist, social reformer and freedom fighter' and the founder of Banaras Hindu University (BHU).
Who was Madan Mohan Malaviya?
Few figures in modern Indian history wore as many hats as Malaviya. Born in 1861, he was at once a journalist, lawyer, parliamentarian, freedom fighter and, above all, a builder of institutions. His crowning achievement was the establishment of Banaras Hindu University in 1916 in Varanasi — a central university designed to blend rigorous modern education with the deep currents of Indian classical thought and Hindu cultural values. The institution he built now stands among India's foremost universities, with hundreds of thousands of alumni across every field of national life. The Government of India posthumously awarded him the Bharat Ratna, the country's highest civilian honour, in recognition of that legacy.
A legacy that outlasted the freedom movement
Malaviya passed away on 12 November 1946 — just months before the independence he had spent decades working toward. His death anniversary falls at a moment when BHU itself stands as living proof of his conviction: that a free India needed its own intellectual foundations, not borrowed ones. Every year, the BHU community marks the day with commemorative events on campus in Varanasi.
For Indian political leaders across the spectrum, paying tribute on this date has become a part of the annual rhythm of public commemoration — a moment to reconnect the present with the generation that built the country's institutions before the country itself existed.
Point of View
Nationalist and cultural — making him a touchstone across ideological lines. For a ruling-coalition minister like Chirag Paswan, the gesture reinforces the NDA's consistent positioning around pre-independence icons associated with Indian civilisational identity. The annual rhythm of such tributes also reflects how India's political class actively curates the republic's founding memory, keeping pre-independence figures in public consciousness. Malaviya's BHU, still a living institution, gives the tribute an unusually concrete resonance beyond mere symbolism.
NationPress
12 Nov 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya?
Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya was a freedom fighter, social reformer, journalist and educationist who founded Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi in 1916. He was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour.
When did Madan Mohan Malaviya die?
Madan Mohan Malaviya passed away on 12 November 1946 , just months before India's independence in 1947.
Why is Banaras Hindu University significant?
Banaras Hindu University, established in 1916 in Varanasi , is one of India's premier central universities. It was founded by Malaviya with the vision of combining modern academic learning with Indian classical thought and Hindu cultural heritage.
What did Chirag Paswan post about Malaviya?
On 12 November 2026, Chirag Paswan posted in Hindi on X, offering 'shata shata naman' — a hundred salutations — to Malaviya on his death anniversary, describing him as a great educationist, social reformer and freedom fighter.
What is the Bharat Ratna awarded to Madan Mohan Malaviya for?
The Bharat Ratna was awarded posthumously to Madan Mohan Malaviya in recognition of his extraordinary contribution to Indian education through the founding of Banaras Hindu University and his lifelong work as a freedom fighter and social reformer.
