Ramdhari Singh Dinkar

Ramdhari Singh Dinkar

Ramdhari Singh 'Dinkar' (रामधारी सिंह 'दिनकर') (September 23, 1908 – April 24, 1974) was an Indian Hindi poet, essayist and academic, who is considered as one of the most important modern Hindi poets. He remerged as a poet of rebellion as a consequence of his nationalist poetry written in the days before Indian independence. His poetry exuded veer rasa, and he has been hailed as a Rashtrakavi ("National poet") on account of his inspiring patriotic compositions. As a mark of respect for him, his portrait was unveiled in the Central Hall of Parliament of India by the Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh on his centenary year, 2008.

Dinkar initially supported the revolutionary movement during the Indian independence struggle, but later became a Gandhian.He was close to prominent nationalists of the time such as Rajendra Prasad, Anugrah Narayan Sinha and Braj Kishore Prasad. However, he used to call himself a 'Bad Gandhian' because he supported the feelings of indignation and revenge among the youth. In Kurukshetra, he accepted that war is destructive but argued that it is necessary for the protection of freedom.

Dinkar was three times elected to Rajya Sabha, and he was the member of this house from April 3, 1952 CE to January 26, 1964 CE, and was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1959. He was also the Vice Chancellor of Bhagalpur University (Bhagalpur, Bihar) in the early 1960s.

During The Emergency, Jayaprakash Narayan had attracted a gathering of one lakh people at the Ramlila Grounds and recited Dinkar's famous poem: Singhasan Khaali Karo Ke Janata Aaati Hai (Devanagari: सिंहासन खाली करो कि जनता आती है; "Vacate the throne, for the people come").