New Delhi. Many people lost their lives for the freedom of India. No one even knows the names of many freedom fighters, while there were some who even after independence did not get the respect they deserved in the country. Today we will tell you about one such freedom fighter, Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh. If King Mahendra Pratap had wanted, he could have lived his life comfortably with pomp and show, but he rejected the royal pomp and show and jumped into the freedom struggle, taking on the British.
Was born in the royal family of Mursan state
Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh was born on 1 December 1886 in the royal family of Mursan princely state of Hathras, Uttar Pradesh. He was the third son of Raja Ghanshyam Singh. It is said that King Ghanshyam Singh of Hathras later adopted him. His early education took place in Hathras and after that he took admission in MAO (Mohammedan Anglo Oriental) College, Aligarh. He was married to Princess Balbir Kaur of Jind. It is also said that two special trains were run from Hathras to Sangrur for her wedding.
India’s first exile government was formed in Afghanistan
Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh, blowing the trumpet of the country’s independence, went to Afghanistan in the year 1915 and formed India’s first government-in-exile and he was elected the President of this first temporary government of India. Maulana Barkatullah Khan was made the Prime Minister of the exiled government. Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh had traveled to more than 50 countries without a passport, including Switzerland, Japan, Germany, Soviet Union, China, Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey.
Prepared the ground for the country’s independence by living abroad
Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh attended the Kolkata conference of Congress in the year 1906. After this conference, the sole aim of his life became the independence of the country. He took the oath of independence and joined the freedom struggle. It is said that in 1914, Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh met Rajarshi Purushottamdas Tandon and in the same meeting, he took the difficult decision to prepare the ground for the country’s independence by staying abroad. In this way, he remained outside the country for almost 30 years and kept raising the flame of independence.
Land was given for many educational institutions including Aligarh University, BHU
Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh had given his land for Aligarh University. In the year 1909, he also donated his land for Prem Mahavidyalaya in Vrindavan, at that time he also donated five villages. He also donated his land for the country’s famous Banaras Hindu University. Apart from this, King Mahendra Pratap had also given his land for Gurukul Vrindavan, DS College, SV College, Kayastha Pathshala.
Fought elections as an independent after independence, defeated Atal Bihari Bajpayee
Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh returned to India in 1946. After returning to India, he first met Mahatma Gandhi. After this, when the country became independent, Raja Mahendra Pratap became active in politics. However, he did not get along well with Congress from the beginning. In the 1957 Lok Sabha elections, Raja Mahendra Pratap contested as an independent candidate from Mathura and reached Parliament after winning. He defeated Atal Bihari Vajpayee in this election. However, Atal ji had won from Balrampur seat. Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh died on 29 April 1979.
University named after Raja Saheb, thanks to Modi and Yogi
Thanks to PM Narendra Modi and UP CM Yogi Adityanath, a university has been built in the name of Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh in Aligarh. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had announced to build a university in Aligarh in the name of Raja Saheb in the year 2019, after which Prime Minister Modi laid the foundation stone of Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh State University on 14 September 2021.
