Freedom fighter Sudhakar Chaturvedi no more

Gandhian, freedom fighter and centenarian scholar Pandit Sudhakar Chaturvedi passed away in the early hours of Thursday.

According to sources, 122-year-old Pandit Chaturvedi passed away in his sleep at his residence in Jayanagar 5th Block where he was living with his family and grandchildren.

Known for his keen insights on Vedic texts, he was bestowed with the title Chaturvedi for his treatise on Vedas. Sources close to his family told DH that he hailed from Kyatsandra on the outskirts of Tumakuru and later migrated to Bengaluru on account of his father Krishna Rao’s job with the education department.

At the tender age of 10 years, Pandit Chaturvedi went to Haridwar to join the Gurukula Kangadi for further education as per his father’s wish. Influenced by the works of Swami Shraddananda at the Gurukula, he, soon after the formal education, became a journalist. During his stint as a journalist, Chaturvedi is said to be an eye-witness of the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh Massacre in Amritsar.

Influenced by Gandhiji’s thoughts on non-violence, Chaturvedi plunged into freedom struggle and due to his in-depth knowledge and proficiency over Hindi despite being a South Indian, he became close to Gandhiji and often referred to as ‘postman’ of the Mahatma.

Gandhiji often consulted Chaturvedi while writing to Viceroys. He also spent 12-years in jail for his active involvement in the freedom struggle. His adopted son Aryamitra has served as District Commissioner in various parts of Karnataka. The last rites of Pandit Chaturvedi were perfomed by the family at Chamarajpet crematorium on Thursday evening.

Devoted to reading and studying classical works all through his life, Pandit Chaturvedi has written over 50 books in Kannada, English, Sanskrit and Hindi. He had also assisted in publishing 'Veda Taranga' and 'Veda Prakasha' monthly magazines. He was also presented with Karnataka Rajyotsava Award by the state government.