Madan Mohan Malaviya: Mahamana

A trial court sentenced 172 people to death for the Chauri Chaura violence. One lawyer’s appeal cut that number to 19.

Madan Mohan Malaviya. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

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Modern Indian History · ModHist0318

Madan Mohan Malaviya: “Mahamana”

Lawyer, journalist, educationist, four-time Congress President

25 Dec 1861

Born in Allahabad

Later trains as a lawyer, graduating in 1891, and builds a career at the Allahabad High Court.

1909

First INC Presidency

Leads the Indian National Congress for the first of four terms — also 1918, 1932, and 1933.

1916

Founds Banaras Hindu University

Leads a multi-founder effort, with Annie Besant among the key backers; serves as its vice-chancellor from 1919 to 1938.

1923

Saves 151 lives on appeal

Argues the Chauri Chaura appeal at the Allahabad High Court, cutting 172 death sentences down to 19.

One life, several arenas

Malaviya built a university, led the Congress four times, and personally argued a life-or-death legal case — few freedom-movement figures spanned that range.

📑 Contents

1A University, Four Presidencies, and a Life-Saving Appeal
2A Journalist First, Then a Newspaper Baron
3Test Yourself
4Two Round Table Conferences, One Divergent Legacy
5A Birth Anniversary Remembered

A University, Four Presidencies, and a Life-Saving Appeal Need to Know

Core Life and Career

Birth Madan Mohan Malaviya was born on 25 December 1861, in Allahabad. He is widely known as “Mahamana” (“great soul”), a title reportedly given to him by Rabindranath Tagore.
BHU He led the founding of Banaras Hindu University in 1916, alongside key backers including Annie Besant. He served as its vice-chancellor from 1919 to 1938.
Congress President He served as President of the Indian National Congress four separate times: 1909, 1918, 1932, and 1933.
Round Table Conferences He attended the First Round Table Conference in London (1930-31), though Congress itself boycotted it and Gandhi was not present. He also attended the Second Round Table Conference (1931), where Gandhi represented Congress in person.
Bharat Ratna He was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour, on 24 December 2014.

A Journalist First, Then a Newspaper Baron Good to Know

Law and Journalism

Legal Career and Journalism

Legal Career Malaviya trained as a lawyer, graduating in 1891. He built a formidable legal career, first at the Allahabad district court, then at the Allahabad High Court.
Chauri Chaura Appeal After the 1922 Chauri Chaura incident, a trial court sentenced 172 people to death. Malaviya returned to legal practice and, together with Krishna Kant Malaviya, argued the appeal at the Allahabad High Court. It cut this to just 19 confirmed death sentences, saving 151 lives. See ModHist0325 — The Chauri Chaura Incident, 1922 for the full story.
Journalism Before entering full-time politics, Malaviya was already a major journalist. He edited the Hindi weekly Hindustan, then founded his own Hindi weekly, Abhyudaya, in 1907.
The Leader In 1909, he co-founded the English-language newspaper The Leader, together with Motilal Nehru. The partnership was short-lived; the two split within a year, over editorial control.
Hindustan Times In 1924, along with Lala Lajpat Rai, M.R. Jayakar, and G.D. Birla, Malaviya helped acquire The Hindustan Times. He chaired it until his death in 1946.

Test Yourself

Two Round Table Conferences, One Divergent Legacy Great to Know

Politics and Legacy

Hindu Mahasabha and Legacy

Hindu Mahasabha Malaviya founded the all-India Hindu Mahasabha in 1915, at Haridwar during the Kumbh Mela. Its roots trace back further, to an earlier 1909 Punjab Hindu Sabha.
Later Divergence Under Malaviya’s own leadership, the Hindu Mahasabha stayed moderate and broadly aligned with Congress. Its later trajectory, under V.D. Savarkar’s presidency from 1937, moved toward a more explicitly Hindu-nationalist politics, and diverged sharply from Congress.
Multilingual Range His range as a journalist spanned multiple languages, both Hindi and English. That breadth was unusual for a single figure of that era.
Unmatched Range In one lifetime, Malaviya founded a full university and led a national political party four separate times. He also personally argued a major life-or-death legal case. Few figures of the freedom movement matched that range.
Death and Legacy He died on 12 November 1946, less than a year before independence. His most visible legacy, BHU, remains one of India’s premier universities today.
The Incident Itself The Chauri Chaura case Malaviya argued grew out of a real violent incident. See ModHist0325 — The Chauri Chaura Incident, 1922 for the incident and trial in full, and ModHist0207 — Bhagwan Ahir for its chief organiser.

A Birth Anniversary Remembered Current Affairs

Recent Tributes

Recent Anniversaries

25 December 2025 Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to Malaviya on his birth anniversary. In a social media post, Modi credited him with “awakening national consciousness,” alongside driving social reform. (Source: All India Radio).
25 December 2023 On the occasion of Malaviya’s 162nd birth anniversary, the Prime Minister released the “Collected Works of Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya.” This was published under his official title, “Pandit.” (Source: PMIndia)

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