Hari Singh Gour

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Trinity College, Dublin

Sir Hari Singh Gour

Indian Constitution (popularly known as the Simon Commission),[1] and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.[2]

Early years

Hari Singh Gour was born on 26 November 1870 to a poor family near

rupees per month which enabled him to attend a night school in Sagar. He belonged to the Rajput community.[3]

Later, with the help of another scholarship he went to Jabalpur to undertake further studies. Mathematics was his favourite subject and for this he received a special prize. In Jabalpur, he went for his matriculation but he failed in the first time as he was deeply disturbed as someone stole his gold ring which he brought by saving 10 rupees from all his scholarships. But the second time he passed out with good marks. He passed his Intermediate examination from Hislop College, Nagpur, a free church institution, standing first in the whole province.

Education

When he was 18 years old, Hari Singh Gour went to the

LL.D. he learned that the scholarship which the competition awarded was not given to foreigners, especially "blacks," as Indians were referred to by the British. As he came first in the competition, the scholarship ended up not being awarded to any one. He faced similar treatment in other situations and academic competitions, however he never let this unfair treatment by the British discourage him. Instead, he began to write poetry. He came to be known in literary circles as a promising poet, becoming acquainted with the likes of George Bernard Shaw. He wrote a book of poetry entitled Stepping Westward and Other Poems due to which he became somewhat of a celebrity and was thereby selected a Member of the Royal Society of Literature.[citation needed
]

He was admitted as a

LL.D. in 1908.[4]

After his time at

Vice-Chancellor.[citation needed
]

Career

On his return to India he became a successful lawyer in

Bill of 1923 showed him to be a reformer thinking ahead of his time. Gour was not only a progressive scholar; he demonstrated such forward thinking in his personal life as well. He married Olivia, daughter of Balwant Singh of Bhandara. Gour was knighted
in 1925. The first bill for the abolition of untouchability was introduced in 1921 by Hari Singh Gour.

By his determination and industry combined with a gift of oratory, Gour rose to an eminent position in the political scene. He became a Leader of the

Bill
in 1933. He was a Member of the
Constituent Assembly
that framed India's Constitution.

On good governance

Gour focused on the importance of skill Administration and good governance and it could very well be reflected not only in his writings but in his conduct as well. As a lawyer and revenue officer in Jabalpur District Court in 1893, he successfully managed to dispose of 300 pending cases in one year only. His book on Hindu law references 500 books and more than 7,000 cases.

Indian Penal Code

The

Governor-General. Since that time, the Indian Penal Code had come to be the law of the land, with its amendments and modifications. However, the Indian Penal Code retained very severe means of punishment
. Gour vehemently opposed such measures, stating:

No civilized country today imposes such heavy sentences as does the [Indian] Penal Code. Heavy sentences have long gone out of fashion in England and the order of sanctity and perfection attaching to the Penal Code should not deter indigenous legislatures to thoroughly revise the sentences, bringing them into conformity with modern, civilized standards.

The Indian Penal Code was "draconian in its severity with regard to punishment," according to Gour, who firmly believed that solitary confinement as a form of punishment under Section 73 of the Indian Penal Code lacked rational basis. Solitary confinement had been abolished in England and Gour claimed that it would be in keeping with the civilised culture of India to wipe out this kind of punishment.

Age of Consent Bill

The 1891

Bill was passed to raise the age of consent
within marriage to 13 for girls in 1925.

In March 1928, Gour, who had always been a steadfast proponent of age of consent bills, appealed to the importance of realising standards of modern clinical psychology and pointed out the emotional problems of early marriage, such as the incidence of polygamy as grooms grew up and decided they desired more compatible partners, possible occurrence of suicide and early death, and generally marital unhappiness for both partners.

In 1929, his book, Sprit of Buddhism, was published.

Legacy

Hari Singh Gour on a 1976 stamp of India

Gour was also an

University of Sagar
.

The

Indian Posts and Telegraphs Department issued a commemorative stamp of Dr. Hari Singh Gour on 26 November 1976. The Madhya Pradesh Council of science and technology provides Dr. Hari Singh Gour State Award in the field of social science.[5]

Selected works

  • The Transfer of Property in British India: Being an Analytical Commentary on the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 as Amended ..., Published by Thacker, Spink, 1901.
  • The Law of Transfer in British India, Vol. 1–3 (1902)
  • The Penal Law of India, Vol. 1–2 (1909)
  • Hindu Code (1919)
  • India and the New Constitution (1947)
  • Renaissance of India (1942)
  • The Spirit of Buddhism (1929)
  • His only Love (1929)
  • Random Rhymes (1892)
  • Facts and Fancies (1948)
  • Seven Lives (1944)
  • Letters from Heaven
  • Lost Soul
  • Passing Clouds

See also

Further reading

  • The Great Indian Patriots, by P. Rajeswar Rao. Published by Mittal Publications, 1991. v.1.
    ISBN 81-7099-280-X
    . Page 251

References

  1. ISBN 978-81-7648-256-1
    .
  2. University of Sagar
    .
  3. ^ Buckland, Charles Edward (1906). Dictionary of Indian Biography. Sonnenschein.
  4. ^ "Gour, Harpasad Singh (GR889HS)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  5. ^ "National & State Awards" Archived 30 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine, mpcost.nic.in. Accessed 17 January 2023.

External links

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