Sampurnanand

During the Indian Independence Movement, Sampuranand participated in the Non-cooperation movement. He worked as an editor for Maryada, a Hindi newspaper founded by Madan Mohan Malaviya, and contributed frequently to the National Herald. His political career began in 1922, when he joined the All-India Congress Committee, and was subsequently appointed Minister for Education of Uttar Pradesh. Following India's Independence, Sampurnanand was elected to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly and selected as Education Minister. During his tenure, he devised plans for the establishment of an astronomical observatory at the Government Sanskrit College (GSC) in Varanasi, which in 1974 was named after him as Sampurnanand Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya. Sampurnanand became Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh in 1954, and served for nearly six years, until he was asked to step down following a political crisis in the UP government. Following his resignation, he became Governor of Rajasthan in 1962, where he advocated for the "open prison" system, in which prisoners were allowed to live with family and work.

• Name — Sampurnanand • Order — 2nd • Office — Governor of Rajasthan • 1blankname — Chief Minister • 1namedata — Mohan Lal Sukhadia • Term Start — 16 April 1962 • Term End — 16 April 1967 • Predecessor — Gurumukh Nihal Singh • Successor — Sardar Hukam Singh • Order2 — 2nd • Office2 — Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh • Term Start2 — 28 December 1954 • Term End2 — 7 December 1960 • Predecessor2 — Govind Ballabh Pant • Successor2 — Chandra Bhanu Gupta • Born — 1891 • Birthplace — Benares, Benares State, British India • Died — 10 January 1969 • Place of death — Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India • Party — Indian National Congress • Illustration — Sampurnanand alongside Jawaharlal Nehru, April 1936

• Illustration — Sampurnanand on 1994 stamp of India Sampurnanand was born to a Kayastha family on 1 January 1891 at Benaras (present-day Varanasi) and started life as a teacher. Brought up under the influence of the Benaras ethos, he was a strong votary of traditional culture. He was deeply interested in ancient Hindu culture including Sanskrit and Phalit Jyotish (astrology). His interest in phalit coupled with his academic bent of mind got him interested in astronomy. Babu Sampurnanandji was also an ardent freedom fighter. His jail-mates narrate that while under confinement in jail (as a freedom fighter) Babuji used to entertain them with discussions on astronomy and acquainted them with the night sky. After Independence, Babu Sampurnanandji became Education Minister in the first popular government of Uttar Pradesh. This was instrumental in fulfilling his cherished astronomical dreams and drew up plans for establishing an astronomical observatory with a Time unit at the Government Sanskrit College, Benaras (GSC) (now Sampurnanand Sanskrit University).He sought support and guidance from educationists like Dr. Ishwari Prasad and Nirmal Chandra Chaturvedi,MLC.The later was consulted by him for social welfare schemes too. Dr Sampurnanand was first Chairman of State Lalit Kala Akademi, U.P. which was established on 8 February 1962 under the Department of Culture, Government of Uttar Pradesh as a fully funded autonomous body. Sampurnanand as a CM pushed Hindi (also Cow slaughter ban). As a reformist governor of Rajasthan he promoted the idea of Sanganer's no-bars prison. In this open prison convicts live with their families, go out to work and pay taxes for water and electricity. Sampurnanand believed that State's punishment should not be an act of revenge but rather an act of reformation. Life imprisonment is like a death sentence for a convict as it results in a separation from family and friends. The Rajasthan government started the Sri Sampurnanand Khula Bandi Shivir (open jail), named after the governor, on an experimental basis in 1963.