Pandit Prakash Vir Shastri was a noted Member of the Parliament of India. He was known for his eloquence and forceful oratory style, as well as his mastery of Sanskrit. Shastri was also a recognized leader in the Arya Samaj movement.
Born: December 30, 1923, Ayodhya
Death: November 23, 1977
Pandit
Prakash Vir Shastri (December 30, 1923 – November 23, 1977) was a noted Member
of the Parliament of India (Sansad). He was known for his eloquence and
forceful oratory style, as well as his mastery of Sanskrit. Shastri was also a
recognized leader in the Arya Samaj movement.
Career
Shastri was born on December 30, 1923 as Om Prakash Tyagi (अोउम प्रकाश त्यागी) in
the village of Rehra, in the J.P. Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh, earlier a
part of Mudarabad. He was politically active as a young man, obtaining an M.A.
degree from Agra University, and eventually rising to become Vice-Chancellor of
Gurukul Vrindavan. He earned his Shastri degree from Banaras Hindu University.
In 1958 Shastri was elected to the Lok Sabha as an Independent and until his
death continued to serve as an Independent member, first in the Lok Sabha[1]
and later in the Rajya Sabha. He was elected as a Jana Sangh nominee in
1974.
Oratory style
Known for his eloquence and forceful oratory style as well as his mastery of
Sanskrit, Shastri opposed the official designation of English as the national
language of India. He instead preferred Hindi, the country's classical native
tongue. He was also known for his abilities as a poet, and incorporated his
creative efforts into a number of his more well-known speeches. He was the
first Indian to speak in Hindi at the United Nations Organization, with Atal
Bihari Vajpayee being second.
Religious activism
Shastri was also internationally recognized as a devotee of the Arya Samaj
movement, a branch of Hinduism dedicated to the Vedas.
Shastri proposed the Religious Protection Bill in March 1960 in the Lok Sabha,
which called for the protection of religious minorities in the face of mass
conversions by force occurring across the country at the time. While he was
tolerant towards a wide diversity of religious practices, he shied away from
idolatry in his personal affairs and promoted the work of Swami Dayananda in
his writing.
Train accident[
Shastri was killed in a train accident on November 23, 1977. Shastri gave his
seat to the man sleeping in the bunk below him, a sign of respect in Hindu
culture as the lower bunk is closer to the ground. The man in the bunk above
him survived, while Shastri lost his life. He was survived by his wife and two
children.
Speech compilations
In early 2003, a collection of his parliamentary speeches was compiled for
publication, in part by former Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani.
