Tyagmurti Goswami Ganeshdutt
A commemorative postage stamp on the Birth Anniversary of Tyagamurti Goswami Ganesh Dutta Ji, a propagator of Sanatana Dharma :
Issued by India
Issued on Nov 2, 1987
Description of Designs : The 60 P. stamp has been designed at India Security Press, Nashik Road. The first day cover has been designed by Shri R.N. Pasricha and the cancellation by Mrs. Alka Sharma.
Type : Stamp, Mint Condition
Colour : Single colour
Denomination : 60 Paise
Overall size : 3.91 x 2.90 cms.
Printing size : 3.55 x 2.54 cms.
Perforation : 13 x 13
Paper : Indigenous Un water–marked P.G. Matt Coated suitably calendered gummed stamp paper
Number Printed : 10,00,000
Number per issue sheet : 35
Printing Process : Photogravure
Printed : India Security Press
Name : Goswami Ganesh Dutt
Born on Nov 2, 1889 at Chiniot, Jhang district, Punjab, British India [now in Pakistan]
Died on Jun 10, 1959 at Haridwar, Uttarakhand, India
About :
- Goswami Ganeshdutt was born to Goswami Mulchand and his wife Nihaldevi on 2nd November 1889 at Chiniot in Jhang District, Punjab. Educated at the Oriental College in Lahore, he worked briefly as a lecturer in a village. But even before he completed his education, he had taken a vow to wear coarse cloth and eat one meal a day, an austere life which later earned him the title of ‘Tyagmurti’. He was fascinated by the ascetic tradition of saints, the “Sant Parampara”, and in later years, by the ‘advait’ philosophy of Swami Ram Tirth.
- In 1923 he became a disciple of Madan Mohan Malviya, the Founder of the Sanatana Dharma Sabha, and was made its General Secretary. Becoming the guiding spirit behind the Sabha, he dedicated his life to various aspects of social work, like upliftment of women and the protection of Harijans.
- He promoted Hindi and Sanskrit through Schools and Colleges. He started a number of educational and other institutions like the Sanatana Dharma Sabha, Sanatana Dharma Schools and Colleges, Sanatana Dharma Mahavir Dals and Shakti Dals, cattle shelters, dharamshalas, dispensaries, orphanages and ashrams all over north and north-west India. The Sabha suffered a severe setback when most of its institutions were left in Pakistan due to the partition. Goswami Ganeshdutt was however not deterred. He established camps providing food, clothing and medical aid to the displaced persons.
- He supported Mahatma Gandhi’s campaign against untouchability and encouraged harmony between various communities. He started a number of newspapers like the ‘Vishwa Bandhu’ and ‘Amar Bharat’. His relentless efforts resulted in the establishment of over 1000 educational and over 600 religious institutions of which the most famous are the Birla Mandir at Delhi, the Geeta Bhavan at Hardwar and the Sapta Rishi Ashram near Hardwar where Goswami Ganeshdutt breathed his last on 10th June 1959.
