Short Essay on Acharya Vinoba Bhave in English

Vinayak Narhari Bhave, popularly known as Acharya Vinoba Bhave was a great freedom fighter, an eminent social reformer, a staunch follower of Gandhian principles and ideals and a great human rights activist. He was born on September 11, 1895 AD at Gogoda in Kolaba district of Maharashtra. His father was Narhari Shambhu Bhave who was a textile engineer in Baroda (now Vadodara). He took keen interest in the works and philosophy of saints and poets of Maharashtra and studied many books at an early age. He also read many books in Sanskrit. These readings largely shaped the philosophical and ideological structure of his mind.

Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy and principles immensely inspired him. He met Gandhiji in 1916 and became his disciple. He started living at Gandhiji’s ashram to imbibe his principles and ideals in reality. He gave his support and contributions to the Khadi movement and other reformative missions of Mahatma Gandhi at the ashram. He launched ‘Maharashtra Dharma’, a monthly Marathi journal in 1923 to spread his ideas among people. Being a true disciple of Mahatma Gandhi, Vinoba Bhave took an active part in the Non-cooperation movement and Swadeshi movement. He raised voice against the British rule only on the Gandhian principles of truth and non-violence. He was put behind bars in 1932 in Dhulia under the charges of conspiring against the cruel British rule. It was Vinoba Bhave who was declared the first individual Satyagrahi by Mahatma Gandhi in October 1940 AD.

In 1951, Vinoba Bhave launched the Bhoodan Move Vinoba Bhavement (charity of land movement) with an objective to persuade major landowners to give up claims on some part of their lands in favour of landless labourers and peasants so that they could be able to earn their living easily. He visited various parts of the country to persuade landlords for land charity and got great success in it. Thousands of acres of land got transferred to many landless peasants through this movement in non-violent means. He also started an anti-cow slaughter movement. In brief he dedicated his entire life for the country and society. He passed away on November 15, 1982 AD.

Some Important Points

No:1. Vinoba Bhave set up an ashram at Pavanar and then settled there.

No:2. ‘Swarajya Sastra’, ‘Geeta Pravachana’ and ‘Teesri Shakti’ or The Third Power were great books written by Acharya Vinoba Bhave. He also had great command over many languages like Sanskrit, Marathi, Hindi, English, Urdu and Gujarati.

No:3. He was the first Indian to be decorated with the Ramon Magsaysay award, generally referred to as Nobel Prize of Asia, in 1958.

No:4. He was also awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1983 AD posthumously.

No:5. He was declared the first Satyagrahi of Gandhiji’s Individua l Satyagrah a i n 1940 .

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