Gita Press and the Making of Hindu India (65 page)

Dhadda said the real intention behind the new legislation was not to secure the physical and mental security of a woman but to ‘arrest the growth of population’. He supported the idea of resorting to artificial birth-control measures, but to justify ‘infanticide is a dangerous idea and needs a serious rethinking’. He asked the votaries of abortion how many women died in the process of getting their child aborted. Using the Gandhian idiom of non-violence, he made a fervent plea that the ‘sanctity of life should not be sacrificed at the altar of trivial selfish goals’.

Gita Press continues its serious engagement against abortion even today. The book
Garbhpat: Uchit Ya Anuchit, Faisla Aapka
(Abortion: Right or Wrong, You Decide) first published in the 1990s by Jain Book Agency, a noted publisher of government Acts, statutes, the Constitution of India and other legal documents, was brought under the aegis of the Gita Press in 2011 and reworked. Penned by Gopinath Aggarwal, author of a series of similar moral texts, the work has gone into thirty- eight editions and sold more than 300,000 copies in its earlier and current versions.

Quoting varied sources in support, from Mahatma Gandhi’s ‘God alone can take life because he alone gives it’ to the Supreme Court’s ‘the foetus is regarded as a human life from the moment of fertilization’, the monograph through illustrations (of poor quality) explains the stages of gradual growth of the fetus inside the mother’s womb.
²⁷
The narrative is laced with tales from the epics, the most common being the story of Abhimanyu learning the art of breaking the circular formation (chakravyuh) of the enemy’s army in his mother’s womb. Such tales are mixed with medical expert opinions and descriptions of the ‘violence’ involved in various methods of abortion.

A contribution by Shailendra Kumar Jain explains the dangers to the mother while aborting the child. These range from haemorrhage to infection, damage to the cervix, perforation of the uterus and perforation of the bowel; the long-term implications are even more serious—impaired childbearing ability, giving birth to stillborn or handicapped children, suffering miscarriages, premature births, low birthweight of child and ectopic pregnancies. Jain refers to Japan’s Nagode Survey of 1968, according to which more than 30 per cent of women who had undergone abortions were found to be suffering from mental problems. Citing a report in the
Hindustan Times
, Jain says that, of the fifty million abortions worldwide, nearly half were illegal and resulted in the death of 200,000 women. Jain also estimates that between six and eight million women become ill for lifetime as a result of undergoing abortion.
²⁸

The book blames the rise in abortion on sex-determination tests being conducted by birth clinics. Aggarwal says prenatal testing began with the intention of detecting chronic illness in the fetus or other abnormal characteristics—it can comprehend seventy-two kinds of chronic and hereditary diseases in a yet-to-be born child and thus helps in their prenatal treatment. But it soon degenerated into sex detection that led to many a girl child being aborted. Aggarwal writes that not only have sex-detection clinics become common throughout the country, but authoritative figures suggest that they are sites of female feticide, 97 per cent of aborted fetuses being female.

The book states that despite specific laws by many states to ban prenatal diagnostic techniques, the scourge has not been arrested as people are getting the sex of their to-be-born child determined in one way or another. Through interviews with doctors, Aggarwal shows how such tests are also not risk-free as there is danger of damage to the fetus and placenta; besides, they do not always give accurate results.

Aggarwal makes a moral pitch for gender equality and tells mothers that a girl child is as much a part of them as a son. Spinning out a long list of great women, including Sita, Rani Lakshmi Bai, Mother Teresa and others, Aggarwal reminds everyone of the saying ‘there is a woman behind every successful man’. He says it is illogical to believe that a male child would take care of his parents in their old age, whereas a girl child would only be a cause for major expenditure on her marriage and dowry. Aggarwal cites cases he knows of where the daughters have taken better care of their old parents than the sons. It is worth noting that the argument of giving equal status to sons and daughters and arguing that a daughter will look after her parents in their old age would not have gone down well with Poddar. He would have considered it as contradicting the tenets of the shastras, and hence blasphemy.

The continuity that characterizes Gita Press’s ideology also extends to its business model. The economics of the organization has not changed much. At present, Gita Press runs primarily on Gobind Bhawan’s cloth business, the income from subscriptions to
Kalyan
and
Kalyana
-
Kalpataru
and from the sale of books, and contributions from patrons and trustees. The newsprint business closed a long time ago. The subscription-based circulation of
Kalyan
is over 200,000 while that of
Kalyana
-
Kalpataru
is over 100,000. In addition, a few thousand copies of these journals are sold at counters in different parts of the country. Facing the fast-changing world in which religion and spiritualism have fallen to the diktats of the market and packaging, Gita Press has refused to change its rules, especially the promise made to Gandhi that it would not accept advertisements. However, Khemka acknowledges: ‘We are not able to get new customers. With limited resources I do not know for how long we will survive.’
²⁹

Khemka’s despondency stems from the battle Gita Press is fighting in a liberal economy, taking small steps to keep pace with new trends in business. In 2012, Gobind Bhawan Karyalaya tested its economic worth through ICRA, a top credit-rating agency. ICRA gave a BB rating to the ‘Rs 8.5 crore of fund-based limits of Gobind Bhawan Karyalaya’, stating that the ‘outlook on the long-term rating is stable’.
³⁰
The rating factored in the ‘modest scale of operations of Gobind Bhawan Karyalaya, subdued profitability on account of non-profit making aim of the society and high working capital intensity due to high inventory days’. The practice of utilizing most of the cash towards capital expenditure has resulted in limited cash balances. In 2013, Gobind Bhawan Karyalaya made a profit of Rs 0.5 million on its operating income of Rs 859.8 million, a slight improvement from the profit of Rs 0.4 million on an operating income of Rs 792.9 million in 2012.

ICRA’s contention that Gobind Bhawan Karyalaya has a stable future may be of some solace to Khemka. Stability stems from its ‘strong presence for almost nine decades with established brand in religious books like Shrimad Bhagwadgita, Ramayana, etc., strong distribution network throughout India and market position supported by limited publications by peers in similar price bands’
.
Although books are sold at negative margins, there is a steady flow of income from other businesses—selling food, cloth and Ayurvedic medicines—which augurs well for the world of Gita Press.

As Gita Press stands within striking distance of a century, the only organization that may be said to parallel its success is the Bible Society. No other publishing house in India has marketed religion so successfully. And despite claiming to maintain a safe distance from politics, Gita Press has regularly taken political stands. Not only has it played a pivotal role in ‘popular efforts to proclaim Hindu solidarity (sangathan), pious self-identity and normative cultural values’,
³¹
as a player in the theatre of Hindu nationalism it has also stood side by side with the majoritarian narrative of the RSS, Hindu Mahasabha, Jana Sangh and BJP at every critical juncture since 1923. And in times of intense communal division,
Kalyan
has exchanged the sobriety of a religious journal for the language of hate and religious identity. The fact that its publications reach even secular Hindu homes adds to the might and mystique of Gita Press. And as Indian politics becomes more polarized with a definite right turn, organizations like Gita Press may get their second wind. If Goyandka and Poddar are watching as their publishing house persists in pursuing its larger goal of protecting and propagating sanatan Hindu dharma, they must indeed be a proud pair.

1. Information on Goyandka and the foundation of Gita Press from Bhagwati Prasad Singh,
   Kalyan Path: Nirmata Aur Rahi
   , Radha Madhav Seva Sansthan, Gorakhpur, 1980, pp. 287–89.
   
2. Details of Bajaj’s speech from B.R. Nanda,
   In Gandhi’s Footsteps: The
   Lif
   e and Times of Jamnalal Bajaj
   , Oxford University Press, Delhi, 2011, pp. 145–47.
   
3. C.A. Bayly,
   Empire and Information: Intelligence Gathering and Social
   Communicatio
   n in India, 1780–1870
   , Cambridge University Press, New Delhi, 1996, pp. 1–9.
   
4. Sumit Sarkar,
   Modern India, 1885–1947
   , Macmillan, New Delhi, 1983, p. 235.
   
5. Vasudha Dalmia,
   The Nationalization of Hindu Traditions: Bharatendu Harishchandra and Nineteenth Century Banaras
   , Oxford University Press, Delhi, 1997, p. 197; Shamsur Rehman Faruqi, ‘A Long History of Urdu Literary Culture, Part I,’ in Sheldon Pollock (ed.),
   Literary Cultures in History: Reconstructions from South Asia
   , University of California Press, Berkeley, 2003, p. 815.
   
6. Harish Trivedi, ‘The Progress of Hindi, Part 2,’ in Pollock (ed.), 2003, pp. 965–66.
   
7. Christopher R. King,
   One Language, Two Scripts: The Hindi Movement
   i
   n Nineteenth Century North India
   , Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 1994, p. 15.
   
8. ‘
   Ni
   j Bhasha Unnati Ahe, Sab Unnati Ko Mool; Bin Nij Bhasha Gyan Ke
   Mita
   t Na Hiye Lo Sool
   ,’ couplet from Bharatendu Harishchandra, ‘
   Hind
   i Ki Unnati Par Vyakhyan
   ’, 1877, published in
   Bharatendu
   Samagra
   , Hindi Pracharak Publication, Banaras, 2009.
   
9. Alok Rai,
   Hindi Nationalism
   , Orient Longman, New Delhi, 2001, pp.
   
10. Avinash Kumar, ‘Making of the Hindi Literary Field: Journals, Institutions, Personalities (1900–1940)’, Ph.D. thesis, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, 2001.
    
11. Obituary of M.P. Dwivedi by Babu Shyamsundar Das,
    Saraswati
    , February 1939.
    
12. See Ramvilas Sharma,
    Mahavir Prasad Dwivedi Aur Hindi Navjagran
    , Rajkamal Prakashan, Delhi, 1977, pp.183–84.
    
13. Kumar, 2001.
    
14. Trivedi, 2003, p. 961.
    
15. Abhik Samanta, ‘The Gita Press, Gorakhpur: A Discursive Study’, M.Phil. dissertation, Delhi University, 2007.
    
16. Ganesh Damodar Savarkar, ‘
    Sanata
    n Dharma Hi Ekmatr Dharma Hai
    ’ (Sanatan Dharma Is the Sole Religion),
    Hindu Panch
    , 29 November 1928.
    
17. ‘
    Panch Karyalaya Mein Adarsh Veer
    ’ (The Ideal Hero in Panch Office),
    Hindu Panch
    , 4 October 1928.
    
18. Bal Mukund Gupt, ‘
    Marwari Mahashayon Ke Naam
    ’ (To Great Marwaris),
    Bharatmitra
    , 27 February 1904, reproduced in K.C. Yadav (ed.),
    Chhithe Aur Khat
    , Haryana Academy of History and Culture, 2012, pp. 35–39.
    
19. The following arguments are based on Philip Lutgendorf,
    Life of a
    Text
    : Performing the Ramcaritmanas of Tulsidas
    , University of California Press, Berkeley, 1991, p. 423.
    
20. Thomas A. Timberg,
    The Marwaris: From Traders to Industrialists
    , Vikas, New Delhi, 1978, p. 60.
    
21. Lutgendorf, 1991, p. 423.
    
22. Christophe Jaffrelot,
    India’s Silent Revolution
    , Permanent Black, Ranikhet, 2003, pp. 189–99.
    
23. Chandraraj Bhandari ‘Visharad’, Bhramarlal Soni and Krishnalal Gupt,
    Aggarwal Jati Ka Itihas
    , Aggarwal History Office, Indore, 1937, pp. 106–18.
    
24. See for example Bhalchand Modi,
    Desh Ke Itihas Mein Marwari Jati Ka
    Stha
    n
    , published by Raghunath Prasad Singhania, Calcutta, 1939; Rishi Jaimini Kaushik Barua,
    Main Apne Marwari Samaj Ko Pyar Karta
    Hoon
    , Jaimini Prakashan, Calcutta, 1967.
    
25. Satyakam Vidyalankar, ‘
    Pat
    h Pravartak
    ’ (Guide),
    Navneet Hindi Digest
    , November 1971, pp. 93–96.
    
26. Krishna Bihari Mishra,
    Hindi Patrakarita: Rajasthani Aayojan Ki Kriti
    Bhumik
    a
    , Akhil Bhartiya Marwari Yuva Sangh, Delhi, 1999, pp. 21–22.
    
27. Ibid., pp. 17–18.
    
28. Ibid., p. 27.
    
29. Paul Arney, ‘The “Mouth” of Sanatana Dharma: The Role of Gita Press in Spreading the Word’, paper presented at the American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting, Washington DC, November 20–23, 1993.
    
30. Shivpujan Sahay, Editorial Comment in
    Marwari Sudhar
    , Vol. 7, cited in Mishra, 1999, p. 61.
    
31. Sarkar, 1983, p. 157.
    
32. Peter Robb, ‘The Challenge of Gau Mata: British Policy and Religious Change in India, 1880–1916’,
    Modern Asian Studies
    , Vol. 20, No. 2, 1986, pp. 285–319.
    
33. Gyanendra Pandey,
    The Ascendancy of the Congress in Uttar Pradesh
    , Anthem Press, London, 2002, p. 97.
    
34. Sandria B. Freitag,
    Collective Action and Community: Public Arenas and
    th
    e Emergence of Communalism in North India
    , Oxford University Press, Delhi, 1990, pp. 208–09.
    
35. Ibid., p. 225.
    
36. M.K. Gandhi in
    Young India
    , 9 April 1931, reproduced in
    Collected
    Work
    s of Mahatma Gandhi
    , Vol. 51, pp. 361.
    
37. Hanuman Prasad Poddar,
    Kalyan
    , Vol. 6, No. 5, 1931, title page.
    
38. Freitag, 1990, p. 235.
    
39. I owe this argument to educationist Krishna Kumar.
    
40. Review of
    Sanatan Dharma Pataka
    in
    Madhuri
    , 1 January 1925, p. 843.
    
41. Dalmia, 1997, p. 7.
    
42. Monika Hortsmann, ‘Towards A Universal Dharma:
    Kalyan
    and The Tracts of the Gita Press’, in Vasudha Dalmia and Heinrich von Stietencron (eds),
    Representing Hinduism
    , Sage, New Delhi, 1995, p. 303.
    
43. Benedict Anderson,
    Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and
    Sprea
    d of Nationalism
    , Verso, London, 2003, pp. 38–39.
    
44. Paul Arney, ‘Gita Press and the Magazine
    Kalyan
    : The Hindu Imperative of Dharma-pracar’, paper presented at the 24th Annual Conference on South Asia, University of Wisconsin, Madison, October 1995.
    
45. Jaydayal Goyandka, ‘
    Dharma Aur Uska Prachar
    ’ (Religion and Its Propagation),
    Kalyan
    , Vol. 2, No. 3, 1927, p. 186. Cited in Arney, 1995.
    
46. Arney, 1995.
    
47. William A. Graham,
    Beyond The Written Word: Oral Aspects of
    Scripture in the History of Religion
    , Cambridge University Press, London, 1987, p. 77.
    
48. Singh, 1980, p. 318.
    
49. Kathryn Hansen,
    Stages of Life: Indian Theatre Autobiographies
    , Permanent Black, Ranikhet, 2011, p. 103.
    
50. Lutgendorf, 1991, pp. 66–67.
    
51. Ibid.
    
52. In the 1931 census, UP had 2,309,000 literates (20.91 lakh male, 2.18 lakh female) that went up to 4,728,000 in the 1941 census (40.97 lakh male, 6.30 lakh female); the literacy rate was higher than in Central Provinces and Bihar.
    
53. Cited in Ulrike Stark,
    An Empire of Books: The Naval Kishore Press and
    th
    e Diffusion of the Printed Word in Colonial India
    , Permanent Black, Ranikhet, 2007, p. 35.
    
54. Stark, 2007, pp. 43–44, 51–52.
    
55. Samanta, 2007.
    
56. Goyandka’s diatribe in
    Kalyan
    is quoted in Monika Freier, ‘Cultivating Emotions: The Gita Press and Its Agenda of Social and Spiritual Reform,’
    South Asian History and Culture
    , Vol. 3, No. 3, July 2012, pp. 397–418.
    
57. Ibid.
    
58. Hind
    u Code: Hindu Sanskriti Ke Vinash Ka Ayojan
    (Hindu Code: A Plan for the Destruction of Hindu Culture),
    Kalyan
    , June 1948, pp. 1110–13.
    
59. Varnashram Swarajya Sangh:
    Antyajan Ke Liye Mandir Pravesh Ka
    Nished
    h Kyon
    (Why Temple Entry Be Banned for Lower Castes),
    Hind
    u Sanskriti Ank
    ,
    Kalyan
    , January 1950, pp. 214–17.
    
60. Arney, 1993.
    
61. Ibid.
    
62. ‘
    Git
    a Press Ke Karyon Ka Sankshipt Vivaran
    ’ (A Short Description of the Activities of Gita Press),
    Kalyan
    , June 1955, pp. 1118–20.
    
63. http://gitapress.org/Pub.htm.
    Accessed on 5 February 2014.
    
64. Arney, 1993 and 1995.
    
65. Chandrima Chakraborty,
    Masculinity, Asceticism, Hinduism: Past and
    Presen
    t Imaginings of India
    , Permanent Black, Ranikhet, 2011, p. 5.
    
66. I owe this line of inquiry to a suggestion from historian Ulrike Stark.
    
67. Charu Gupta, ‘Articulating Hindu Masculinity and Femininity: “Shuddhi” and “Sangathan” Movements in United Provinces in the 1920s’,
    Economic and Political Weekly
    , Vol. 33, No. 13, 26 March–3 April 1998, pp. 727–35.
    

1. Monika Hortsmann, ‘Towards a Universal Dharma:
   Kalyan
   and the Tracts of the Gita Press’, in Vasudha Dalmia and Heinrich von Stietencron (eds),
   Representing Hinduism: The Construction of Religious
   Traditio
   n and National Identity
   , Sage, New Delhi, 1995, pp. 294– 305.
   
2. As described by Rishi Jaimini Kaushik Barua,
   Main Apne Marwari
   Sama
   j Ko Pyar Karta Hoon
   , Jaimini Prakashan, Calcutta, 1967, Vol. 7, p. 1296.
   
3. Hanuman Prasad Poddar’s interview to Gambhirchand Dujari for a biography that got published partially as
   Shri Bhaiji: Ek Alaukik
   Vibhuti
   ,
   Rasa-Siddha Sant Bhaiji Shri Hanuman Prasad Poddar Aur
   San
   t Pravar Sethji Shri Jaydayalji Goyandka Ka Jivan Darshan
   , Gita Vatika Prakashan, Gorakhpur, 2000. The manuscript is in the collection of Harikrishna Dujari. Also see, Bhagwati Prasad Singh,
   Kalya
   n Path: Nirmata Aur Rahi
   , Radha Madhav Seva Sansthan, Gorakhpur, 1980. These are the sources for the details of Hanuman Prasad Poddar’s life provided in this section.
   
4. Bhalchand Modi,
   Desh Ke Itihas Mein Marwari Jati Ka Sthan
   , published by Raghunath Prasad Singhania, Calcutta, 1939, pp. 739– 40.
   
5. See Jayeeta Sharma,
   Empire’s Garden: Assam and The Making of
   Indi
   a
   , Permanent Black, Ranikhet, 2011.
   
6. Abhik Samanta, ‘The Gita Press Gorakhpur: A Discursive Study’, MPhil dissertation, Delhi University, 2007.
   
7. Suhas Chakravarty,
   Raj Syndrome
   , Penguin, New Delhi, 1995.
   
8. Sumit Sarkar,
   Modern India: 1885–1947
   , Macmillan, New Delhi, 1983, p. 75.
   
9. Karmendu Shishir,
   Navjagrankalin Patrakarita Aur Matwala
   , Anamika Prakashan, Delhi, 2012, p. 330.
   
10. Francesca Orsini,
    The Hindi Public Sphere 1920–1940: Language and
    Literatur
    e in the Age of Nationalism,
    Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2002, p. 442.
    
11. ‘
    Samayi
    k Vichar Pravah
    ’ (Contemporary Thought),
    Saraswati
    , November 1931, p. 563.
    
12. Sumit Sarkar,
    The Swadeshi Movement in Bengal
    , Permanent Black, Ranikhet, 2010, p. 221.
    
13. Singh, 1980, pp. 84–85.
    
14. Madan Mohan Malaviya to Poddar, 25 May 1935. Poddar Papers.
    
15. Sarkar, 2010, p. 226.
    
16. Singh, 1980, pp. 90–91.
    
17. Calcutt
    a Samachar
    , 22 July 1916. NMML, Microfilm Section.
    
18. Calcutt
    a Samachar
    , 24 July 1916. NMML, Microfilm Section.
    
19. Native Newspapers Report, Bengal, 1916. NMML.
    
20. Medha M. Kudaisya,
    The Life and Times of G.D. Birla
    , Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2003, p. 37.
    
21. Report of the Sedition Committee, 1918, p. 66. Poddar Papers.
    
22. Barua quoted in Kudaisya, 2003, p. 36.
    
23. Kudaisya, ibid., p. 35.
    
24. Sarkar, 2010, p. 83.
    
25. Poddar’s interview to Akhil Bharatvarshiya Marwari Sammelan, 1955. Poddar Papers.
    
26. B.V. Paradkar, ‘
    Sat
    i Bhagwati
    ’,
    Kalyan
    , November 1938.
    
27. Summation of narrative about the conspiracy culled from Poddar Papers, Prabhu Dayal Himmatsingka’s account of the incident in the commemorative volume on Poddar (1971), extracts from James Campbell Ker,
    Political Trouble in India, 1907–1917
    , Oriental Publishers, Delhi, 1917, and Barua as cited in Kudaisya, 2003.
    
28. Native Newspapers Report, Bengal, 1916, citing a report in
    Dainik
    Basumat
    i
    of 18 July. NMML.
    
29. Ashutosh Lahiry’s interview to Raghunath Prasad Singhania for a book on the role of Marwaris in the freedom struggle. Poddar Papers.
    
30. D.P. Mandelia,
    G.D. Birla: A Superb Master Sculptor
    , cited in Kudaisya, 2003.
    
31. Political Department Records (Special Intelligence Branch), Government of Bengal. Poddar Papers.
    
32. Ibid.
    
33. Report on the meeting of the Marwari Association,
    The Statesman
    , Tuesday, 8 August 1916. NMML, Microfilm Section.
    
34. Th
    e Oxford Encyclopaedia of the Music of India
    , Sangit Mahabharati and Oxford University Press, Mumbai and New Delhi, 2011, Vol. III, p. 788.
    
35. B.K. Birla to Poddar, 6 October 1955. Poddar Papers.
    
36. Questionnaire by G.S. Ghurye and R.V. Athaide. Poddar Papers.
    
37. Dhananjay Keer,
    Lokmanya Tilak: Father of the Indian Freedom Struggle
    , S.V. Kangutkar, Bombay, 1959, pp. 428–29.
    
38. Gandhi to Poddar, 16 May 1935. Poddar Papers.
    
39. Rajmohan Gandhi,
    The Good Boatman: A Portrait of Gandhi
    , Viking, 1995, p. 362.
    
40. Rajmohan Gandhi,
    Mohandas: A True Story of a Man, His People and an
    Empir
    e
    , Penguin-Viking, New Delhi, 2006, p. 366.
    
41. Telegram from Gandhi to Poddar, 16 June 1932. Poddar Papers.
    
42. Rajmohan Gandhi, 2006, p. 310.
    
43. Request dated 18 June 1932. Poddar Papers.
    
44. Press communique sent by Poddar. Poddar Papers.
    
45. Gandhi’s letter dated 21 July 1932 from Yerwada jail,
    Collected Works of
    Mahatm
    a Gandhi
    , Vol. 56, p. 226.
    
46. Gandhi to Poddar, 2 August 1932. Poddar Papers.
    
47. Narandas Gandhi to Poddar, 3 August 1932, from Satyagraha Ashram Udyoga Mandir, Sabarmati. Poddar Papers.
    
48. Rajmohan Gandhi, 2006, p. 370.
    
49. Ibid., p. 373.
    
50. Poddar to Gandhi, Kartik Shukla 1, Samvat 1989 (1932). Poddar Papers.
    
51. Navjivan
    , 9 October 1921.
    
52. Navjivan
    , 12 December 1920.
    
53. Navjivan
    , 17 April 1921.
    
54. In the Ramayana, Sabari was a tribal woman devotee of Rama and fed him fruits, tasting them first to check that they were good. While Lakshman chided Rama for eating the ‘impure’ fruits, Rama blessed Sabari for her act of devotion.
    
55. Gandhi’s letter to Poddar, 5 November 1932.
    Collected Works of
    Mahatm
    a Gandhi,
    Vol. 57, pp. 339–40.
    
56. Poddar to Anand Puri, 8 July 1956. Poddar Papers.
    
57. Poddar to Prabhashankar Gupt, Kartik Shukla, 1988 (1931). Poddar Papers.
    
58. Poddar to Gandhi, date not clear, 1937. Poddar Papers.
    
59. Gandhi to Poddar, 18 February 1937.
    Collected Works of Mahatma
    Gandhi
    , Vol. 70, p. 420.
    
60. Jamnalal Bajaj to Poddar, 4 October 1940. Jamnalal Bajaj Papers, NMML.
    
61. Poddar to Jamnalal Bajaj, undated. Jamnalal Bajaj Papers, NMML.
    
62. Hindu Mahasabha Papers, NMML.
    
63. Kudaisya, 2003, p. 270.
    
64. Manuscript of Poddar’s biography, most likely compiled by Shyamsundar Dujari. Poddar Papers.
    
65. Weekly Report on Political Activities, for the week ending 15 July 1949, No. 28. CID Archives, Lucknow.
    
66. Weekly Report on Political Activities, for the week ending 2 September 1949, No. 35. CID Archives, Lucknow.
    
67. Poddar’s statement to the press, 24 March 1928. Poddar Papers.
    
68. Text of Poddar’s speech at the Tenth Marwari Aggarwal Mahasabha Meeting, Bombay, published by the Reception Committee and printed by Gita Press, 1928. Poddar Papers.
    
69. Hari Shankar Dwivedi and Vishnu Hari Dalmia (eds),
    Sant Shri
    Jaidaya
    l Dalmia Smriti Granth
    (Jaidayal Dalmia Commemorative Volume), published by Harishankar Dwivedi, New Delhi, n.d., p. 13.
    
70. Ibid., pp. 126–29.
    
71. Ibid., pp. 156–57.
    
72. Ibid., pp. 152–53, quoting letters from Poddar to Jaidayal Dalmia, Sravana Shukla 14, 1989 (1932), and 1 October 1933.
    
73. Poddar to Ram Krishna Dalmia, Ashwin Shukla 1988 (1931), reproduced in
    Saras Patra
    compiled by Shyamsundar Dujari, Gita Vatika Prakashan, Gorakhpur, 2005, pp. 59–60.
    
74. Dwivedi and Dalmia, n.d., p.16.
    
75. Ibid., pp. 14–15.
    
76. Dwijendra Tripathi,
    The Oxford History of Indian Business
    , Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2004, p. 195.
    
77. Poddar to Bajaj, 26 November 1939. Jamnalal Bajaj Papers, NMML.
    
78. Poddar to Bajaj, 15 December 1939. Jamnalal Bajaj Papers, NMML.
    
79. Tripathi, 2004, p. 195.
    
80. Neelima Dalmia Adhar,
    Father Dearest: The Life and Times of R.K.
    Dalmia
    , Roli Books, New Delhi, 2003.
    
81. Ram Krishna Dalmia to Poddar, 11 November 1969. Poddar Papers.
    
82. R.K. Dalmia to Poddar, 27 April 1970. Poddar Papers.
    
83. Jaidayal Dalmia to Poddar, 2 August 1970. Poddar Papers.
    
84. The nine companies being inquired into were Dalmia Jain Airways Ltd, Dalmia Jain Aviation Ltd (later known as Asia Udyog Ltd), Lahore Electric Supply Company Ltd (later known as South Asia Industries Ltd), Shapurji Broacha Mills Ltd, Madhowji Dharamsi Manufacturing Company Ltd, Allenberry & Co. Ltd, Bharat Union Agencies Ltd, Dalmia Cement and Paper Marketing Co. Ltd (later known as Delhi Glass Works Ltd) and Vastra Vyavasaya Ltd. Dalmia Dadri Cement Ltd was later added to the list.
    
85. Report of the Commission of Inquiry (Inquiry on the Administration of Dalmia–Jain Companies), Department of Commerce & Industry, 1963, p. 1.
    
86. Nasir Tyabji, ‘Of Traders, Usurers and British Capital: Managing Agencies and the Dalmia Jain Case’, in S.R. Hashim, K.S. Chalapati Rao, K.V.K. Ranganathan and M.R. Murthy (eds),
    Indian Industrial
    Developmen
    t and Globalisation: Essays in Honour of Prof. S.K. Goyal
    , Academic Foundation, New Delhi, 2008, pp. 109–30.
    
87. Report of the Commission of Inquiry, 1963, p.71.
    
88. Ibid., p. 73.
    
89. Ibid., p. 72.
    
90. Ibid., p. 75.
    
91. Ibid., p. 83.
    
92. Ken Auletta, ‘Citizens Jain: Why India’s Newspaper Industry is Thriving’,
    The New Yorker
    , 8 October 2012, pp. 52–61.
    
93. Poddar to Lal Bahadur Shastri, 16 March 1965,
    Saras Patra
    , 2005, pp. 140–41.
    
94. Seth Govind Das to Poddar, 14 December 1935. Poddar Papers.
    
95. Vimla Thakkar’s letters to Hanuman Prasad Poddar, 11 January 1959 and 17 January 1959. Poddar Papers.
    
96. http://natnagarsitamau.com/english/history_sitamau.html.
    Accessed on 5 November 2013.
    
97. Godbole to Poddar, 1 January 1935. Poddar Papers.
    
98. Godbole to Poddar, dt3 November 1935. Poddar Papers.
    
99. Godbole to Poddar, 18 August 1936. Poddar Papers.
    
100. Swami Sahajanand Saraswati,
     Mera Jivan Sangharsh
     , edited by Avadhesh Pradhan, Granth Shilpi, New Delhi, 2000, p. 248.
     
101. Radheshyam Banka,
     Parikar Malika
     , Vol. II, Hanuman Prasad Smarak Samiti, Gita Vatika, Gorakhpur, 2013, pp. 20–21. Banka does not give details of Golwalkar’s article but cites it verbatim.
     
102. Copy of Poddar’s letter to Govind Ballabh Pant, undated (1950s). Poddar Papers.
     
103. Poddar’s letter to Sampurnanand, 1959. Poddar Papers.
     
104. Paul R. Brass,
     An Indian Political Life: Charan Singh and Congress
     Politics
     , 1937
     –
     1961
     , Sage Publications, New Delhi, 2011, pp. 254–68.
     
105. Sampurnanand’s letter to Poddar, 28 August 1967. Poddar Papers.
     
106. Poddar to Ramnath Goenka, 6 July 1969,
     Saras Patra
     , 2005, pp. 65–66.
     
107. Poddar’s appeal to vote for Goenka in the 1971 election, undated. Poddar Papers.
     
108. Poddar’s letter to an unnamed person, undated. Poddar Papers.
     
109. Singh, 1980, p. 477.
     
110. Lee Siegel,
     Sacred and Profane Dimensions of Love in Indian Traditions as
     Exemplifie
     d in the Gitagovinda of Jayadeva
     , Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 1990, p. 3.
     
111. Irene Wolfington to Poddar, 21 December 1965. Poddar Papers.
     
112. G.D. Birla to Poddar, 1 August 1941. Poddar Papers.
     
113. G.D. Birla to Poddar, 9 August 1941. Poddar Papers.
     
114. Poddar to Gulzarilal Nanda, 9 March 1965. Poddar Papers.
     
115. Undated letter from Irene to Swami Chakradhar. Poddar Papers.
     
116. Poddar’s undated letter (probably of June 1965) to Irene. Poddar Papers.
     
117. Irene’s undated letter, presumably her reply to Poddar. Poddar Papers.
     
118. Siobhan Lambert-Hurley,
     The Heart of a Gopi: Raihana Tyabji’s
     Bhakt
     i Devotionalism as Self-Representation
     , Loughborough University, Leicestershire, 2013, pp. 1–19.
     
119. Ibid.
     
120. Gandhi to Raihana, 3 June 1927,
     Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi
     , Vol. 38, p. 491.
     
121. Gandhi to Raihana, 4 January 1931, 25 January 1931 and 10 October 1932,
     Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi
     , Vol. 50, p. 462; Vol. 51, p. 64; Vol. 57, p. 207.
     
122. Gandhi to Raihana, 3 June 1927.
     Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi
     , Vol. 38, pp. 491–92.
     
123. Lambert-Hurley, 2013, also Ved Mehta,
     Mahatma Gandhi and His
     Apostles
     , Penguin Books, Harmondsworth, Middlesex, 1976, p. 211 cited in Lambert-Hurley.
     
124. Ibid.
     
125. Ibid.
     
126. Ibid.
     
127. Poddar to Raihana Tyabji, 18 November 1939. Poddar Papers.
     
128. Raihana Tyabji to Poddar, 21 November 1939. Poddar Papers.
     
129. Poddar to Raihana Tyabji, 28 November 1939. Poddar Papers.
     
130. Raihana Tyabji to Poddar, 7 December 1939. Poddar Papers.
     
131. Poddar to Raihana Tyabji, 16 December 1939. Poddar Papers.
     
132. Lambert-Hurley, 2013.
     
133. http://www.swarthmore.edu/library/friends/ead/5267nile.xml.
     Accessed 29 May 2014.
     
134. Th
     e Times of India
     , 19 May 1975.
     
135. Jaydayal Goyandka to GD Birla, undated. Poddar Papers.
     
136. Samanta, 2007.
     
137. A ritual among Hindus in which balls of meal, flour or rice, are offered to the spirits of ancestors during a particular fortnight in a year. Carrying out this ritual in Gaya is considered most auspicious.
     
138. The accounts of Poddar’s visions are taken from Dujari, 2000, and from the complete manuscript of Poddar’s life by Dujari that is part of the Poddar Papers.
     
139. Dujari, 2000, pp. 85–87.
     
140. Poddar to Ramjivan, 29 June 1964. Poddar Papers.