When Purushottam Das Tandon and Nehru Ji deteriorated with Gandhi, know what was the real reason for the language dispute?

There were many heroes in the freedom struggle of India who dedicated their lives to the independence of the country. One of these was Rajarshi Purushottam Das Tandon, who is known for his simple life and tremendous love for Hindi. He was not only a freedom fighter, but also a social reformer, journalist and sharp speaker. Although Tandon had good relations with Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, he also had serious differences with these two leaders on many issues. Today we will tell you some stories about the life of Purushottam Das Tandon, which you rarely heard. Purushottam Das Tandon, born in a Khatri family of Prayagraj, was born on August 1, 1882, in a middle -class Khatri family in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. He completed his law studies and began practicing in the Allahabad High Court in 1908. But in 1921, on the call of Gandhiji’s non -cooperation movement, he gave up his advocacy and jumped completely into the freedom struggle. Toothon received the title ‘Rajarshi’ (Confluence of King and Sage) for its simplicity and sacrifice. He was a strong supporter of Hindi and his efforts to make it the national language were unique. In 1961 he was awarded ‘Bharat Ratna’ with India’s highest civil honor. Purushottam Das Tandon was of a sacred nature. His long beard, ordinary Khadi Kurta and Old Dhoti made him representative of ordinary Indians. His honesty was such that once the ration of his home was over due to a lack of wheat and rice, he refused to buy grains from black marketing and ordered the guests to serve cooked potatoes. Purushottam Das Tandon, the role of Tandon in the freedom struggle, has joined the Indian National Congress since 1899. In 1905 he adopted Swadeshi in a movement against the division of Bengal and boycott of foreign goods. In 1919 he was a member of the Congress Committee to investigate the murder case of Jallianwala Bagh. At Gandhiji’s request, he participated in the Satyagraha against the Rowlatt Act and went to jail several times. In 1930 he was arrested in Basti during the civil disobedience movement. He arranged farmers and laborers in Uttar Pradesh. In 1933 he became the president of the Bihar region Kisan Sabha and leaded a movement for the rights of farmers. Tandon is credited with the victory of the congress in the Uttar Pradesh election in 1937. He became a MLA from Allahabad and later elected to the speaker of the meeting. His hard work and leadership strengthened the congress. The differences between Tandon and Gandhiji on the issue of Hindi were a mixture of respect and differences between Tandon and Gandhiji. Gandhiji respected him by calling him ‘Rajarshi’. But the biggest difference between the two was about the issue of Hindi vs Hindustani. Gandhi, Nehru and Rajendra Prasad were in favor of making Hindustani (mixture of Hindi and Urdu) the national language, because they believed it would promote the Hindu Moslim unit. But Tandon was strongly against it. He believed that only Hindi could represent the cultural identity of India. In 1949, when the demand for national language was raised in the Constitutional Assembly, Tandon Hindi and Devanagari Scripture strongly advocated. In the debate on December 11-14, 1949, Hindi received 62 votes and Hindustani received 32 votes. Eventually, Tandon’s hard work paid off and Hindi gained the status of official language. The relationship between Nehru and Tandon, Tandon and Jawaharlal Nehru’s relationship was also up and down. Nehru regarded Tandon as conservative and common, especially because of his passionate support and opposition to the division of the country. When Tandon became the presidential candidate of Congress in 1950, Nehru openly opposed him. He wrote a letter to Tandon, saying that his election would be harmful to the country. Nevertheless, Tandon was elected president with the support of Sardar Patel. But under the pressure of Nehru he had to resign in 1951. Toothon opposed the distribution of India. Purushottam Das Tandon was one of the few leaders who strongly opposed the division of India. In 1947, when the Working Committee accepted Mountbatten’s distribution plan, Tandon described it as a surrender to the British and the Muslim league. He believed that further struggle for United India should be done, even if it took time. He did not participate in the Independence Day celebration on August 15, 1947, as the sadness of the division haunted him. Rajarshi Purushottam Das Tandon was a person who dedicated his life to the service of the country and Hindi.