Dharamsala: Activist, poet, freedom fighter ‘Pahari Gandhi’ remembered in Shahpur

Raghav Guleria

Dharamsala, July 11

A play on the life of Kanshi Ram, known as ‘Pahari Gandhi’, was staged in Shahpur by the Trigarta Vasundhara Rangmanch to commemorate his birth anniversary. It was based on Kanshi Ram’s journey, who, through his poems and songs motivated the youth during Independence. Professor Gautam Vyathith, a renowned pahari writer, was also present on the occasion.

‘The black general’

Kanshi Ram vowed to wear black clothes until the day India achieved its independence. He adhered to his vow until his death on October 15, 1943, and came to be known affectionately as the ‘Siyahposh Jarnail’ (The Black General).

Paying tribute to the state’s freedom fighter

Born in Guranbaad village near Dadasiba in tehsil Dehra of Kangra, Baba Kanshi Ram was conferred the title of ‘Pahari Gandhi’in 1937 by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the then Prime Minister of India. He vowed to wear black clothes until India achieved its independence. The state government acquired Kanshi Ram’s ancestral home in 2017 and decided to convert it into a museum. Vinod, the grandson of Baba Kanshi Ram, while talking to The Tribune, said, “The new structure has been created, though a few additional buildings are still waiting completion,” he said.