A Journal of Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwavidyalaya

nationalism into literature; society, and
political organizations; touring the land,
visiting villages to do so. Putting his writing
skill to the best possible use, that of serving
his motherland; Expressing the agonised
cry of the people gripped in the clutches
of foreign domination; delving deep into
religious theology and compelling it to
serve the motherland, erasing his identity
completely. In order to highlight the
importance of the people and organizations
in order to immortalize them”.Such brilliant
writers and dedicated social activists have
almost been forgotten. Neither are their
books available, nor do people discuss
them. With the exception of Devi Prasad
Verma who had edited and published some
of his essays and a collection of short
stories, no other writer had ventured into
this field. Sapre museum in Bhopal is trying
to keep alive his memories. Similar to
the group of writers belonging to the
Bhartendu age, Madhav Rao Sapre was
also a literary journalist. Being a journalist,
he was vigilant and sharply aware of the
burning problems of society. Being
exceptionally daring, he had the courage
to express his views boldly. Consequently,
he was exposed to and became a victim
of British policy of suppression, during
his tenure as the editor of the Hindi weekly
‘Kesari’. He was arrested on 22nd August,
1908. His book ‘Swadeshi Movement and
Bycott’ published in 1906 was banned.
In order to evade detection, and again
becoming a victim of British policy of
suppression sapreji wrote articles under
different names, some of the names that
he used were : Madhavdas Ramdasi, Trimurti
and Trivikram Sharma.
His writing tenure was not a very long
one (1900-1920). His articles were
published in many prestigious journals and
magazines. A study of his essays reveals
the depth and pervasiveness of his
knowledge and wisdom.His essays on
various topics ranging from politics, history,
economics, sociology, psychology to
science surprise and startle his readers.
Keeping in mind the decline of Hindi prose
at that time, Madhav Rao Sapre was one
of those rare literary personages who
successfully tried to introduce Hindi
language as the medium of expression in
Social Science. Sapreji was basically a
Marathi. His ancestors were from Konkan
region who had migrated to Madhya
Pradhesh and settled there. He was born
in a village Pathari in Damoh district on
19th June 1871. Being born in a Hindi
speaking belt, he adopted Hindi as his
language and all his life, tried to promote
it. His family living under the pressure
of financial constraints, he was compelled
to complete his education with the help
of scholarship, cherishing a deep rooted
desire to serve the society and the nation,
and to contribute to the growth of literature.
After completing his education, he took
a vow not to enter a government job
and kept his promise. He rejected two
offers of government job. He did not live
January-March 2012 :: 11