Prakash Vir Shastri

Prakash Vir Shastri (30 December 1923 – 23 November 1977) was a Member of the Parliament of India (Sansad) and was also a leader in the Arya Samaj movement.

Prakash Vir Shastri
Member of Parliament in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha
In office
1958–1977
Personal details
Born30 December 1923
Rehra, Uttar Pradesh
Died23 November 1977
Uttar Pradesh
Political partyIndependent
ResidenceUttar Pradesh

Career

Shastri was born to Dalipsingh Tyagi on 30 December 1923 in the Rehra village of Moradabad district[1] (now in the Amroha district) of Uttar Pradesh. 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 Sampurnanand Sanskrit University.[2] 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[3] and later in the Rajya Sabha.[4] He was elected as a Jana Sangh nominee in 1974.[2]

Oratory style

Shastri opposed the official designation of English as the national language of India. He instead preferred Hindi.[5]

Religious activism

Shastri was also internationally recognised as a devotee of the Arya Samaj movement, a branch of Hinduism dedicated to the Vedas.[6]

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.[7]

Train accident

Shastri was killed in a train accident on 23 November 1977. He was survived by his wife and two children.[8]

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.[9]

gollark: Well, there's a claimed demand but apparently nobody used them during their existence.
gollark: The community may have a different distribution of opinions wrt. their best interests than the staff.
gollark: That doesn't mean they'll accurately represent it.
gollark: I don't hate you. I dislike some of your policies.
gollark: Bad system.

References
  1. "4th Lok Sabha: Profile". Lok Sabha. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  2. "Bioprofile". Lok Sabha website. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  3. "Government Member Roster - Fourth Lok Sabha Member Roster". Archived from the original on 26 September 2007. Retrieved 6 May 2007.
  4. Election Commission of New Delhi (1962). "Key Highlights on General Elections, 1962 to the Third Lokh Sabha" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 July 2007. Retrieved 6 May 2007.
  5. Alok Bhallia. Movement Against English as Official Language.
  6. Brigadier Chitranjan Sawant, VSM (22 February 2002). "The Triumph at Tankara". Aryasamaj Online Database. Retrieved 6 May 2007.
  7. Poonam I. Kaushish (4 June 2006). "Religious Conversions and Religious Freedom". The Assam Tribune. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 6 May 2007.
  8. "Parliament Proceedings". Indian Government. 30 November 1977. Retrieved 6 May 2007.
  9. "Photograph of L. K. Advani releasing a compilation of Prakash vir Shastri's parliamentary speeches". 23 February 2003.
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