Story of BHU: A man’s shoes also contributed to the establishment of Banaras Hindu University (BHU). You may find this strange to hear, but it is the truth. You might be wondering what anyone’s shoes have to do with the establishment of the university and who was that person? So let us tell you that these shoes belonged to the Nizam of Hyderabad, who is said to be the richest and most miserly man in the world. When Malviya ji asked for donations from this Nizam for the establishment of the university, he threw his shoes at Malviya ji.
What happened to Malviyaji?
This is around 1919-20. Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya ji was asking for donations from the kings and emperors of the entire country to build BHU. The turn came of Nizam Osman Ali Khan of Hyderabad. Nizam was the richest person in the world at that time, but he was also on top in miserliness. As soon as Malviya ji talked about donations, Nizam Saheb got angry. He said – ‘I am a strict Muslim, I will not give a single penny to a Hindu University’. Malviya ji explained – ‘Maharaj, here ‘Hindu’ means the people of India. Children of every religion and caste will study.’ That’s it, the Nizam got angry. He took off his leather shoes and threw them towards Malviya ji and said – ‘Get out of here’.
Malviya ji picked up his shoes and…
Malviya ji remained calm. He picked up his shoes and left. Malviya ji reached the banks of Hussain Sagar Lake in the middle of Hyderabad city and started bidding for Nizam’s shoes. When the Nizam came to know about this, he became enraged. He sent a threat to Malviya ji – ‘Put Malviya in jail’. Malviya ji replied smilingly – ‘Maharaj, you have given me the shoes but the university will not be built with the shoes. Thought of auctioning it in your state itself, I will get a good price here. Wazir explained to the Nizam – ‘Sir, he has been the President of the Congress. The British also respect him.’ Ultimately the Nizam had to bow down. Didn’t give money, but promised to build staff quarter in BHU campus. Later in 1939, a donation of one lakh rupees was also sent. Even today that quarter is famous by the name of Hyderabad Staff Quarters.
At that time there were only 5 universities
In the beginning of the year 1900, there were only 5 big universities in India – Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, Lahore and Ahmedabad. All these were created by the British, their intention behind this was only to prepare clerks, but when these universities started producing nationalists, Lord Curzon got scared and took all the universities under direct British control. Malviya ji could not tolerate this. He thought – We need our own university where Indian culture and modern science are taught and children should not go abroad. Children used to forget their culture when they went abroad. This thing used to bother them a lot.
King of Kashi had donated the entire land.
The King of Kashi donated the land for the university. It is said that when Malviya ji met him to donate land, the King of Kashi placed a condition – I will give him as much land as he can measure on foot by sunset. Malviya ji kept walking the whole day and the entire BHU campus, which is as big as it is today, was donated. The campus of BHU Varanasi is spread over 1,300 acres i.e. 5.3 square km. This land was donated by the then Kashi King Prabhu Narayan Singh in 1916.
India’s first such university opened in 1916
The BHU bill was passed in the Imperial Legislative Council on 22 March 1915. Then the university opened on 4 February 1916. This was India’s first residential and teaching university. Rest of the universities only conducted examinations and did not teach. Dr. Annie Besant also had full support.
Where did the money come from?
Malviya ji asked for donations from every royal family from Amritsar to Darbhanga, Jodhpur. Common people also donated as per their capacity. Many buildings are still named after kings. Malviya ji himself remained Vice Chancellor for 20 years.
BHU: Real Mini India
Here Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians and Parsis all studied together and lived in the same hostel. Scholarship was given on the basis of merit. Great people like Bhupen Hazarika, Harivansh Rai Bachchan, CNR Rao, Jayant Narlikar, Jagjivan Ram, Ram Manohar Lohia were students here.
Everything was here – from Sanskrit to aviation.
Malviya ji started studies in science, engineering, medicine, music, art, agriculture, mining, aviation. The campus had its own flying club and airstrip. A separate women’s college was built for girls. This was a revolutionary step at that time. There was also a lot of emphasis on sports and gym.
Malviya ji’s dream is still alive
Malviya ji left this world on 12 November 1946. He could not see the country becoming independent, but the BHU which he established is still the most beautiful combination of tradition and modernity. Next time when you pass by Hyderabad Quarter in BHU campus, you will definitely remember this story of a pair of shoes. Today this university has made lakhs of children doctors, engineers and scientists.
