Ramdhari Singh Dinkar

About Ramdhari Singh Dinkar

• Ramdhari Singh Dinkar was one of the most prominent modern Hindi poets of India.
  • He is well known as a ‘Rashtrakavi’.
• Birth: He was born on September 23, 1908, in Bihar.
• Early life:  He was born into a poor farming family and faced financial difficulties during his education.
  • Despite these difficulties, he was a brilliant student and studied Hindi, Maithili, Urdu, Bengali and English.
• Later life: He joined Patna College in 1929 during the growing Indian freedom movement.
  • During the freedom struggle, he participated in anti-British protests and wrote patriotic poetry.
  • To avoid trouble with the British, he sometimes published his works under the name ‘Amitabh’.
• Inspiration: His poetry was greatly influenced by Rabindranath Tagore and Muhammad Iqbal.
  • His political thought was greatly shaped by both Mahatma Gandhi and Karl Marx
• Contribution: 
  • His poetry reflected the voice of ordinary people. His famous line “Sinhasan khali karo ke janta aati hai” became a popular slogan. He also criticised caste and class discrimination.
  • His first major poetic work, Vijay Sandesh (1928), was based on the  Bardoli Satyagraha led by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
  • In 1935, his poetry collection Renuka was published, and a copy was presented to Mahatma Gandhi.
    • His poetry was not only nationalistic but also explored important issues such as violence vs. non-violence, war vs. peace, injustice and morality.
  • His famous work Kurukshetra (1946) questioned the idea of non-violence in a world filled with violence and injustice.
  • His other notable works include Urvashi, Dhoop Chhah, Saamdheni, Baapu, Mitti ki Or and Krishna Ki Chaetavani.
  • After Independence, Dinkar continued to question poverty, injustice and exploitation in Indian society and wrote social satires on these issues.
    • In Sanskriti ke Chaar Adhyay (Four Chapters of Indian Culture), he studied the development of Indian culture through major historical influences, including the Aryans, Buddhism and Jainism, Islam and European colonialism.
• Recognition:
  • He received the Padma Bhushan and Sahitya Akademi Award in 1959 and the Jnanpith Award in 1972.
  • He became a Rajya Sabha member in 1952 and later served as Hindi Adviser to the Government of India.
  • A commemorative postal stamp featuring Dinkar was released in 1999 to honour his contribution to India’s freedom struggle.
• Legacy: He passed away in 1974 at the age of 66.