CM Yogi pays tribute to BHU founder Madan Mohan Malaviya
Synopsis
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath marked the death anniversary of Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya on 12 November, honouring the Bharat Ratna-awarded freedom fighter and Banaras Hindu University founder for his lifelong contributions to education, nation-building, and Indian cultural preservation.
Key Takeaways
CM Yogi Adityanath paid tribute to Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya on his death anniversary, 12 November 2026 .
Malaviya founded Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi in 1916 , blending modern education with Sanskrit and Indian cultural studies.
He was awarded the Bharat Ratna posthumously in 2015 by the Government of India.
Malaviya was a prominent freedom fighter and served as president of the Indian National Congress four times.
BJP leaders, especially UP chief ministers, routinely commemorate Malaviya as a symbol of nationalist education and cultural preservation.
On the death anniversary of one of India's most consequential educationists, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath paused to honour the man who built a university out of a civilisational vision — Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, founder of Banaras Hindu University and recipient of the nation's highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna.
Posting on 12 November 2026, CM Yogi wrote in Hindi: 'Mahan swatantrata senani, Kashi Hindu Vishwavidyalaya ke sansthapak, 'Bharat Ratna' Mahamana Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya ji ki punyatithi par vinamra shraddhanjali.' — 'Humble tribute on the death anniversary of great freedom fighter, founder of Banaras Hindu University, 'Bharat Ratna' Mahamana Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya.' He added that Malaviya's contribution to nation-building, the spread of education, and the preservation of Indian culture — a life dedicated wholly to these causes — 'will remain unforgettable forever.'The man who built a university from an idea
Madan Mohan Malaviya founded Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in 1916 in Varanasi, conceiving it as a space where rigorous modern scholarship would coexist with Sanskrit learning and Indian cultural heritage. The institution was his life's signature project — the physical proof that a colonised people could build world-class learning on their own terms. Today, BHU stands as one of India's largest residential universities and a continuing monument to that founding conviction. Beyond the campus gates, Malaviya was a titan of the freedom movement — a four-time president of the Indian National Congress and a lawyer who argued tirelessly for Indian civil rights. The government of India conferred the Bharat Ratna on him posthumously in 2015, acknowledging a life that shaped both the institutional and cultural sinews of the republic.A tribute with a consistent political grammar
CM Yogi's commemoration sits within a well-established pattern: BJP leaders, particularly those holding office in Uttar Pradesh, regularly mark Malaviya's death anniversary with public tributes. The framing — nation-builder, guardian of Indian culture, champion of education — maps closely onto the party's broader emphasis on pre-independence Hindu and nationalist figures as touchstones of public memory. For a chief minister who also heads the Gorakhnath Math in Gorakhpur, the tribute carries an additional register: a nod from one religious-institutional leader to another across the decades. The Varanasi connection deepens it further. BHU sits in the same ancient city that CM Yogi's government has repeatedly centred in its cultural and development agenda, making Malaviya not just a historical figure but a living reference point for policy identity in the state.A freedom fighter, an institution-builder, a cultural custodian — Malaviya's legacy refuses to fit a single frame, which is precisely why leaders across the spectrum keep reaching for it.
Point of View
Anchoring the BJP's cultural nationalism in the authority of a figure broadly respected across ideological lines. By consistently invoking Malaviya's legacy of 'cultural preservation' alongside nation-building, the party weaves its own governance narrative into a pre-independence lineage that predates partisan contestation. For a Uttar Pradesh government that has placed Varanasi at the centre of its cultural and infrastructural identity, BHU's founder becomes a recurring symbolic resource. The tribute also reflects how BJP-ruled states increasingly deploy institutional anniversaries and death anniversaries of nationalist figures as soft-power moments in their public communication strategy.
NationPress
12 Nov 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya?
Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya was a prominent Indian freedom fighter, educationist, and Congress leader who founded Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi in 1916. He was awarded the Bharat Ratna posthumously in 2015.
When did Madan Mohan Malaviya found Banaras Hindu University?
Madan Mohan Malaviya founded Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in 1916 in Varanasi, with the vision of combining modern education with Indian cultural and Sanskrit studies.
When was Bharat Ratna awarded to Madan Mohan Malaviya?
The Bharat Ratna was conferred posthumously on Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya in 2015 by the Government of India.
Why does CM Yogi pay tribute to Malaviya every year?
CM Yogi Adityanath, like other BJP leaders, marks Malaviya's death anniversary on 12 November to honour his contributions to education, freedom struggle, and Indian cultural preservation — themes central to the party's public messaging.
What is the death anniversary date of Madan Mohan Malaviya?
Madan Mohan Malaviya's death anniversary, known as his punyatithi, is observed on 12 November each year.
