Biography of Rahul Sankrityayan

(April 9, 1843 – April 1963)

Rahul Sankrityayan, one of the greatest minds of the past century, was born on April 9, 1893 in Pandhara in the Azamgarh district of Uttar Pradesh. He was brought up in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. At the age of ten he left his village and family and remained a wanderer almost till the end of his life in April 1963. Sankrityayan was one of the founder members of the Communist Party of Bihar and President of the Bihar Kisan Sabha.

His autobiography is titled My Life Journey. He has written several travel books including "Ghumakkar Shastra', a unique treatise on travelling. Sankrityayan was an Indologist of the highest order. He wrote about one hundred and forty books on all major subjects including history, archaeology, politics, etc. He was honoured with the Sahitya Academy Award in 1958 for his work 'Madhya Asia ka Itihas'. He has written in Bhojpuri as well. Among his famous books are 'Volga Se Ganga Tak', Darshan, Digdarshan'and Himalaya Parichay.