Pandit Sundarlal Sharma
PanditSundarlal Sharma was
born 21st December, 1881 at “Chamshur” small village near Rajim
district Raipur He was among the fore fronts of freedom fighter who stood for
social justice, equality and non-violence. He founded “Smitra Mandal” at his
birth place for the sell of indigenous goods.
He was instrumental in founding of
political council at Dhamtari in 1918 and he was responsible for organizing
district level conference in 1919. In 1921 Mahatma Gandhi came to Raipur the
credit for bring him to Chhattisgarh goes to Shri Sundarlal Sharma. In 1929 he
started ‘Canal SatyaGrah’ in the village kandel. He rendered important
contribution in developing political awareness in Chhattisgarh region. He was
deeply influence by Mahatma Gandhi's prgramme of alleviating the plight of the
untouchables and it remained a life long aim of Pandit Sharma.
He got an ashram
and girls school establish for the upliftment of the ‘Harijans’. Home for
orphan at is the result of Pt. Sharma inspiration. Gandhi Ji called Pt. Sharma
as a political master and thus honored the soil of Chhattisgarh. The motto of
Pt. Sharma’s life was “Do not move away from truth in life or death”. The same
motto later on became Gandhi ji’s famous slogan “Do or Die”.
From early child hood Pt. Sharma was
interested in languages and literatures and was keen to acquire knowledge and
proficiency in them. He was particularly very found of poetry and tried his hand
in poetry writing, as early as at the age of thirteenth. Owing to his learning
and knowledge of various languages and literatures, he achieved a prominent
place among the scholars of Rajim and surrounding region by the time he reached
the age of twenty. Being a sensitive person he was very much influence by the
political and social conditions of the period, and was deeply affected by the
plight of the people.
As a result he entered politics and became an active
member of the freedom movement, whereby he had occasion to represent the
erstwhile state of Madhya Pradesh at the national level. He soon came into
contact with the topmost leaders of the period such as Gandhi Ji himself, Pt.
Madan Mohan Malviya, Lala Lajpat Rai, and others with whom he establish long
lasting acquaintances. Pt. Sharma remained in the fore front of freedom movearma remained in the fore front of freedom move
Apart from being in politics, he was
also a social reformers and social evils like casteism, untouchability and
economic exploitation always haunted him and to over come these he advised
people to follow the path shown by Gandhi Ji. For providing economic and social
status to the backward classes, he always put his hand forth. He was a
courageous man and great freedom fighter. His arrest in 1921-22 is considered as
the first arrest in Chhattisgarh pertaining to freedom movement in so far as Chhattishgarh region was concerned ,and
played a very important role during Mahatma Gandhi`s visit Chhattisgarh in the
nineteen twenties.
He died in
1940 leaving behind a legacy of dedicated patriotic fervor and social activism.
For his unique contribution to society he is regarded as ‘Ghandhi of
Chhattisgarh’. As a mark of respect and gratitude to this great son of the soil
this university has been named after him as it humbly puts itself to the task of
propagating his message and teachings, cherishing the values and principles he
stood for, with a view to create a society where social evils as
untochchability, injustice are a thing of the past
Stay Up to Date With Whats Happening