Mahavir Prasad Dwivedi, A Maker of Modern Hindi

Author(s): MADAN GOPAL

Source: Indian Literature , MARCH 1972, Vol. 15, No. 1 (MARCH 1972), pp. 27-37
Published by: Sahitya Akademi

Stable URL: http://www.jstor.com/stable/23329796

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 Mahavir Prasad Dwivedi, A
Maker of Modern Hindi

MAD AN GOPAL

The story of the rise of a runaway sepoy's son, Mahavir Prasad

Dwivedi, to the eminent position of 'maker' of modern Hindi,
next only to Bharatendu Harishchandra, is the saga of single
minded devotion to a cause. As editor of Hindi's most presti
gious journal, the Saraswati of Allahabad, for eighteen long years,
he was responsible for the consolidation of the gains initiated
during the era of the Bharatendu. Through this journal that
he edited, he brought about a standardisation of the language
and its grammar, and also did a pioneering job in the use of
Khariboli in poetry, which till the time he came on to the
scene, was dominated by Brajbhasha. Again, it was Dwivedi
who was responsible for attracting the high-brow English
knowing intelligentsia to writing in Hindi. When he left the
scene, Hindi was securely in the saddle.
Mahavir Prasad's father was an ordinary sepoy of the East
India Company. The unit that he served was stationed in
1857 at Hoshiarpur in the Punjab. When the sepoys of his
unit 'mutinied', the British officers shot down most of them.
Only a few got away, and one of these few was Pandit Ram Sahai
Dwivedi, originally of Daulatpur village in Rae Bareilly district.
To save his life, Ram Sahai had jumped into the Sutlej, and was
carried downstream for scores of miles. A few days later,
he touched the bank, and lay there senseless. Then life re
appeared. He sucked grass and leaves for sustenance, and then,
in the garb of a fakir, made for his village and thence to Bombay

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 INDIAN LITERATURE

where he took up a job at ten rupees a month with th

of a Vallabhacharya Sect temple.
Ram Sahai was known for his worship of Hanu
Mahavir. When he was blessed with a son (1864),
him Mahavir Prasad. He himself did not have much of educa
tion. Nor did he realise the value of his scholarly father's
manuscripts in hand which in his house were used as waste
paper. His own family, one of priests, as also his in-laws'
family, was known for scholarship. But Ram Sahai Dwivedi
did not make use of his inheritance. His son, Mahavir Prasad,
did.

Mahavir Prasad was admitted into the village school at

Daulatpur at an early age. He had to learn Urdu. Being
member of a Brahmin family, he learnt Sanskrit at home, as
was expected. At the age of thirteen, he was sent to a school
at Rae Bareilly, 26 miles away. Here he studied elementary
English. He had also to take one classical language. As
Sanskrit was not taught in schools, he had to take up Persian
as an optional subject.
He studied at Rae Bareilly for a year and then at Purva,
Patehpur and Unnao. Soon, however, because of poverty in
the family, studies had to be discontinued- It was poverty again
that forced him to take up a job at fifteen rupees a month at
Ajmer. He felt frustrated and, after a year, went over to
Bombay where his father lived. Here he learnt telegraphy,
wherein he showed promise. He now took up a job in the GIP
Railway as a telegraphist at fifty rupees a month. He now
drew up a code of conduct for himself. It included punctuality,
absolute honesty, conscientious work and, most importantly,
all possible efforts to increase his knowledge. That the pursuit
of the last yielded results is clear from the fact that he learnt
Gujarati and Marathi and a good deal of Engligh too. The
proficiency in English, and in his work, was such that he wrote
a book in English on telegraphy and evolved a new type of
'line clear'. He also learnt, and subsequently took over, the
job of a ticket collector, a plaiter, a goods clerk and a station
master. Dwivedi worked in different capacities at Hoshan
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 A MAKER OF MODERN HINDI

gabad, Itarsi, Jhansi, etc. He once proudly stated that h

applied for a job only once in his life. Other jobs came t
His British bosses were happy and he went higher and h
in their esteem. With his rise came a rise in salary t
job at Jhansi was that of a telegraph inspector. At this
where he stayed for five years, he came into contact wit
galis, who taught him Bengali. His last two years at
were,- however, not as happy as his first three; for, wi
change of a boss, there was a change in atmosphere. He
ed with an ease-loving new boss who extracted work fo
twenty hours a day. Dwivedi put up with all this. W
however, the British boss asked Dwivedi to put his junio
sections other than his own also on similar arduous task—to en
that the boss had to do as little as possible—Dwivedi req
him that the instructions be better issued by the boss hi
This enraged the British 'saheb'. There was an altercatio
Dwivedi sent in his resignation from a job that brought
total emoluments of some two hundred rupees a month
British boss had not anticipated this. As Dwivedi was
worker, pressure was brought on him to withdraw the r
tion. His friends also came to persuade him. But he d
yield. He did, however, mention this fact to his wife. A
what rustic woman, she was outspoken. She pressed him
rejection of the friends' plea. 'Does anyone spit and
lick it?' she said. She also told him that the future should
worry him. They had no children, and she would ke
house running even if he got her fifteen rupees a month
must have given Dwivedi assurance and courage. I
case his intents show there was lot that he could do outside
Government service.
While at Hoshangadad, Mahavir Prasad had seen and read
issues of Bhartendu Harishchandra's Kavi Vachan Sudha and
also a journal brought out by Radhacharan Goswami. These
had inspired him. At Jhansi he had written a little poetry
too, but in this he did not get far. He translated John Stuart
Mill's 'Liberty', Herbert Spencer's 'Education', Bacon's essays,
and wrote also for some newspapers and journals, the Hindus

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 INDIAN LITERATURE

than of Kalakankar being one of them. When t

Pracharani Sabha came into being in 1893, Dwive
contributing. Also, while at Jhansi, Dwivedi had
some book reviews. One day a school teacher sho
school reader for the third standard, published by
Press of Allahabad, and pointed out some mistakes
nature. He asked Dwivedi to write something ab
agreed', said Dwivedi, 'and wrote not just a brief
what transpired to be a booklet which was printed
lated.' This booklet brought Dwivedi into contact
tamani Ghosh, the proprietor of Indian Press, who
him to write for the Saraswati, the journal started at
tion of Nagari Pracharani Sabha. Dwivedi wrote
his mark. But Saraswati, obviously, could not pay h
Later, in 1903, when Chintamani Ghosh offere
editorship of the Saraswati, Dwivedi saw that this of
an opportunity to serve literature. He spurned the
friends and well wishers of such assignments as a pr
tary, or to set up a printing press for them. He stu
resolve to serve the cause of literature. And it was in this field
that he made a name for himself.

Tall, hefty, with a raised forehead and white of complexion,

Dwivedi had an impressive personality. His moustaches were
like the disorderly whiskers of a lion, and he had unusually
thick eyebrows. According to one of his friends, there was
something of a retired army commander in the bearing of
Mahavir Prasad Dwivedi. 'You certainly felt that you were
facing a great man, or a scholar.' This was because in him
one saw the qualities of leadership. Self-discipline was his
principal characteristic. Had he embarked on a military
career, says one admirer, he would have gone high enough to
command battle formations. Even in the field of literature,
he reigned supreme as a dictator for some eighteen years and
more, and this through his service to Saraswati.
Dwivedi had himself written, in an autobiographical essay,
that when the news of this appointment as editor came to be

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 A MAKER OF MODERN HINDI

known, there was consternation in some circles, for

known to be naughty and proud and sat on a perch w
he criticised authors and publishers and different or
too. Several people told Chintamani Ghosh that D
very proud and troublesome. Temperamental as he w
warned Ghosh that he would fall out with the empl
"stage a Mahabharat' within a year. 'You have com
grave mistake,' they told Ghosh. Their forebodin
wrong. Says Dwivedi: 'There never was an occasi
eighteen years of service of Saraswati when we diff
Ghosh carried out his part of the commitment and
Neither failed the other, and neither faltered.' 'In fact',
added Dwivedi, 'Ghosh Babu gave me a testimonial when he
said, "Of all Indian editors whom I have known, only two
have been punctual, devoted and consious of their responsibi
lities. They were Ramananda (Chatterji) and Mahavir
Prasad Dwivedi."'
Chintamani Ghosh respected Dwivedi immensely. According
to an eyewitness account by a writer from Arrah, who
was on a visit to the Indian Press, he saw an imposing
Brahmin going out of Ghosh's room, with Ghosh himself follow
ing him with a bundle belonging to the visitor. The peon,
flabbergasted, followed the boss empty-handed. Ghosh had
insisted on carrying the bundle for the visitor. This respect
was obviously born out of Dwivedi's devotion to Saraswati and
his conscientious work.
When Dwivedi accepted the editorship of Saraswati in 1903,
he, as was usual with him, laid down a code of conduct for
himself. This included r (1) observe punctuality; (2) take all
possible steps to win the confidence of the employers; (3) always
place the interest of the readers above his own; and (4) never
to stray from the path of truth, justice and equity.
From what can be gleaned through what he wrote, the aims
that he set for himself included: the elevation of the people's
moral fibre; an increase in the readership of the journal; draw
ing the attention of readers and contributors to the mistakes
in grammar and in usage of Hindi, and the need to correct
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 INDIAN LITERATURE

them; introduction of readers with what was hap

over the world; an increase in the reader's knowledg
literature; and popularisation of words from the trea
of Sanskrit and English, so as to enrich Hindi.
Dwivedi was not himself a writer of great ability.
tribution was more in bringing about a standardisati
language. When he came to the helm of affairs in Sa
there was no concept of the uniformity of language
writing in the Devanagari script could claim to be
irrespective of the injuctice done to syntax or idiom
stood as an umpire to contemporary prose in the sam
H.W. Fowler or A.T. Quiller-Couch stood in regard to
English. There were controversies about the pro
particles, inflexions and declensions. It is amusin
refer to all these, because the language is now con
standardised. The credit for this goes squarely to
Prasad Dwivedi who stood firm, a solitary figure ins
the correct use of words and idioms. His articles in Saraswati
led to controversies, which brought in the veteran Balmukund
Gupta, Govind Narain Misra, etc.—and, in fact, all writers of
the age.
Apart from his contribution to perfecting and chiselling the
language of Hindi people, Dwivedi is also known for his en
couragement to the use of Khariboli for Hindi poetry. Even
before he took over the editorship of Saraswati, he had written
in 1901 in the same journal that poetry should be in the spoken
language of the people.
A contributory factor for whole-hearted devotion to Saraswati
and the achievement of goals that it stood for was the fact that
Dwivedi had no family encumbrances. He regarded all
up-and-coming writers as his own, needing his guidance and
help. Also, his wife was a healthy influence on him. As we
have seen, she told him to reject pleas for withdrawing his
resignation. Again, says Dwivedi, temptations were offered
to him by friends who encouraged him to write books. He
wrote some. When these did not make a success, the same
friends suggested sex as the theme of his books. He agreed,
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 A MAKER OF MODERN HINDI

secured many English books and wrote two books on se

Hindi. His friends praised his efforts, and he built cas
in the air of living in comfort. Somehow, his wife cam
know about the whole thing, read the books and was furio
She scolded him. The books were locked up, never to see t
light of day. Dwivedi, in retrospect, praised his wife's attem
to ensure that he had not gone astray. No wonder, on
death by drowning in the Ganges (she was perhaps a me
case), he had a marble bust of hers installed outside his ho
His neighbours felt outraged, but Dwivedi stood firm.
For one with little education in English, Dwivedi's comm
of the English language was good. Here is what he wrot
English) about a special issue of the Máhabodhi Society
journal: '...Buddhism was born in this country, and we
Hindus recognised its founder as the ninth incarnation of the
Almighty God. But we had almost totally forgotten the great
leader and his ennobling teaching. It is entirely due to the
lifelong efforts of the Great Departed Soul (Revd. Deva Mitra)
that we have now begun to know something of the soul-eleva
ting doctrine of Buddhism. ..I had once occasion to read an
English version of the Quran. It gave me little consolation.
I then ordered certain books on Buddhism : (1) "Lalit Vistar",
(2) "Buddha Charita", (3) "Saundarnand", (4) "Light of
Asia", and (5) Beak's "Buddhist Records". These books gave
me a very good idea of Buddhism and its founder. Of all of
them, the Sanskrit books at (2) and (3) gave me indescribable
pleasure. Although they are not with me now, some portions
thereof made so vivid an impression upon my mind that I can
repeat by heart even at this distance of time (about forty years)
... .These books are the work of Ashva Ghosh. This great
poet and master teacher flourished even before Kalidas. He
was a renowned preacher of Buddhism. He left behind him
several valuable works on Buddhism. Some of them, though
lost for ever in India, have been rendered in Chinese and Japa
nese and are found in those countries. If you will read—nay
study—the above two Sanskrit books carefully, I am sure yow
will be as much benefited as I have been.' , , \

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 INDIAN LITERATURE

Despite his ability to express himself well in English, Dwiv

intensely disliked Indians leaving their own language a
making use of English, especially the Hindi knowing pe
writing in English. Here is what he remarked to a friend w
wrote him a letter in English: 'That two persons being clos
related to each other, and being natives of the same provin
and speaking the same mother tongue should correspond in
language of an island six thousand miles away is a specta
for gods to see! Such an unnatural scene is possible only in
wretched country like India.'
And it is significant that Mahavir Prasad Dwivedi was amo
the pioneering editors who made special efforts to draw
Hindi many of the people who commanded some name
English, like Ganga Nath Jha, A.N. Jha, G.S. Bajpai, Har Da
Lajpat Rai, K.P. Jayaswal, Sri Prakasa, etc.
Dwivedi was a voracious reader. At Jhansi he had arrange
for special permission to borrow books from the library of
British Officers' Club. He read whatever came his way, incl
ding such books as on veterinary science!
Banarsi Das Chaturvedi has told us that, during one of his visit
to Dwivedi, the latter used to discuss with him the books t
he had read. Once, he says, Dwivedi asked him: 'Have
you read Utopia?' Chaturvedi replied in the negative. Dwi
vedi then asked Chaturvedi about a few more books. The
reply was again in the negative. Dwivedi was displeased.
'How do you pass all your time, then?' he asked. 'You don't
seem to do any reading whatsoever. You must devote at least
two hours for self-education.'
On another occasion, he was critical. 'It seems', he said,
'that the young men of today do not do much reading. All
that they read is limited to the Hindustan Times or Leader. You
see my collection of books. In it you will find copies of even
Government of India Acts. I did not write on politics. And
yet I considered it absolutely necessary .to read much on poli
tics to keep myself posted.' This is what he advised. 'Perhaps
you have heard of Prof. Sylvain Lévi, the French indologist.
At the age of seventy he used to do much reading. .. If you cannot

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 A MAKER OF MODERN HINDI

do anything else, get the last four year's reports of the Agr
District Board and peruse them. You will see how much i
their revenues, and what percentage they spend on the rura
areas. You will also know what's happening in your distric
Perhaps there are a few schools, but there are no arrangemen
for the care of their health and for sanitation.'
Dwivedi's personal life was austere. He had a mania for
the full utilisation of any piece of paper. Most of his editorial
notes were written on wrappers, or flaps of newspapers received
by him. Even small pieces of worn out paper, rejected or waste
paper, were used for writing the most serious thoughts publish
ed in his column.
Inactivity of any sort made him furious. He would work
himself up and say, 'Oh India, it is largely because of inactivity —
and, of course, because of some actions of our previous lives —
that you are languishing, and the story of your one-time glory
has become only a legend. With worldly knowledge and use
of science, the USA and Europe have left you behind... Arise,
my countrymen, wake up and learn how to strive hard. Don't
boast of your paSt achievements. Rather, work hard to further
improve your lot.'
And such was Dwivedi's devotion to the paper he edited that
once, when he was taken ill with an enlarged liver and the
doctors warned him of the danger to his life, Dwivedi was
perturbed and hurried to send matter to the press for three
issues. If, Dwivedi said to himself, the doctor's warning comes
true, the journal ought not to miss its schedule, or its issues
delayed even by a single day, or the proprietors forced to come
out with an apology for delayed publication because of the death
of the editor. Within three months, he reckoned, it should be
possible to select and instal a new editor.
Such being his devotion, he could certainly assert his rights
as editor. One of the founder editors of Saraswati, Babu Shyam
Sunder Das, we are told, once sent him an article to be publish
ed 'without any change whatsoever'. There was an inad
vertent slip. Dwivedi marked it in red and returned the article
saying that it would be possible to use it only if it were correct

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 INDIAN LITERATURE

ed and submitted agäin. Shyam Sunder Das recognise

mistake, and, valuing his self-respect, he did not resubm
(He never wrote for the journal so long as Dwivedi was a
helm of affairs.)
Young Maithili Sharan Gupta, we are told, started send
his poems to Dwivedi. Came back a piece of advice: 'I
to publish in the Saraswati only those poems that are couc
the spoken language (Khariboli).' And when, a little
Gupta persisted and sent Other poems, came this sharp r
der : 'We are not perfect. There are two ways to mak
verses readable: hard work or concentration of thought.
don't want to adopt either way. Your only aim seems
to write something— anything — and to get it published.
poem... was apparently written in such hurry that I h
devote four hours to correcting it. Take, for instance, th
first verse .. .The use of (so and so) words seems to conv
shall now publish this poem in Saraswati. For the fu
however, you should give up all thoughts of getting your
in print elsewhere. We shall publish whatever we like
those we don't, should not be placed with any other jour
or even shown to anyone. Rather, you should keep them u
lock and key.'

Dwivedi had served the Government for about twenty y

He had served literature for about eighteen years. He now
decided to spend the rest of his life for the service of the rural
community which constituted about seventy per cent of India's
population and contributed so much to our welfare. In his
village of Daulatpur, Dwivedi was a friend, philosopher and
guide to countless people, especially the poor. He was the
Sarpanch and dispensed justice. He helped all and sundry
with whatever he received from the Indian Press, Allahabad
and many indeed were the recipients of his favours. Dwivedi's
services were praised by all, and, unlike the practice of those
times, the Indian Press of Allahabad decided to give Dwivedi
a pension of fifty rupees a month.
In the last days, in reply to a letter written to him by B.D.

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 A MAKER OF MODERN HINDI

Chaturvedi about his financial difficulties, he wrote frankly

'I have not taken one paisa that was not my due honestly
You have-seen how simply I live, artd-what sort-of a house
keep... You have seen my little house at Kanpur too. Whatev
I have saved through simple living I have spent on charities
have helped many in getting education. Some of them ar
graduates or MAs. I did all that my father would have wishe
me to do and a "shradhha" at Gaya, feast for Brahmins, cha
ties, a house and a well sunk for the good of the community
Last year, when the last woman of my family died, I arrange
for the last rites, and distributed one thousand rupees in cha
ties to the poor. I have already given away my Kanpur collec
tion of books to the Nagari Pracharani Sabha. Six mont
ago, I sent another wagon-load of books from here. Another
two wagons are yet to be sent. As you already know, I ha
given the Sabha a thousand rupees in cash too and the litt
that is still left with me is now to be given to the Bañaras U
versity, with whom I am now corresponding.' (Dwivedi gave
stipends worth Rs. 6,400 to poor students.)
There was, of course, much more that he bequeathed to th
nation — not only 32 volumes of writings or his contribution
Saraswati but also the training his writing had given to scor
of writers. This is recognised by all.
According to one assessment, 'Modern Hindi literature is a
direct consequence of Dwivedi's efforts. The galaxy Of Hindi
consists not only of the sun and moon but also many bright
stars: Surdas, Tulsi Das, Padmakar, etc. Mahavir Prasad Dw
vedi was different. He was like a dark cloud that came and
showered knowledge on the garden of Hindi literature, and
made it ever green.' *
According to another, Bharatendu Harishchandra ma
boli prose forceful and effective, and injected new life in
Mahavir Prasad Dwivedi injected poetry into the harsh co
the vocabulary of Hindi and made it musical as it w
Bharatendu and Dwivedi were two karmayogis who in
new blend in prose and poetry. Through hard work
tion, the two endowed Khariboji literature with some
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