VIJAY SINGH PATHIK

Vijay Singh Pathik  - 

The Indian freedom fighter Vijay Singh Pathik is better known as Rashtriya Pathik. Among the revolutionary Indians, he was the first to light the torch of freedom against British rule. It is believed that his father took an active part in the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 and was arrested multiple times in the process. An early inspiration to be a freedom fighter came from his grandfather, Inder Singh, who was Prime Minister (Diwan) of Malagarh principality during the fight for independence in the Bulandshahr district in 1857.

Originally, he was not known as Vijay Singh Pathik. Following his arrest in connection with the Lahore conspiracy case, 1915, he changed his name to Vijay Singh Pathik. He joined the revolutionary organization while he was still a teenager, long before Mahatma Gandhi's Satyagraha movement. It was such a successful non-cooperation movement that Lokmanya Tilak wrote a letter to Maharana Fateh Singh to request that he comply with the demands of the Bijoliya agitators. The movement was studied by Mahadev Desai, the secretary of Mahatma Gandhi. In his research, he came across Pathik as one of the fighters for a united Rajasthan and had spoken with Nehru and Patel about the issue. Todgarh's Tehsil Building was converted into a special jail for him as a result of this movement.

Equal rights for men and women were also a priority for him. His work as a writer, poet, and journalist was well known in Hindi. He was the editor of the Rajasthan Kesari and the Naveen Rajasthan publications. By his initiative, the Nav Sandesh, the Rajasthan Sandesh, and the Hindi weekly were launched in Ajmer. Also worth mentioning are his works Ajay Meru (novel), Pathik Pramod (collection of short stories), and Pathikki Kavitaon Ka Sangrah.

Janki Devi, a widowed teacher, became his wife in 1930. After he had been married for one month, Pathik was arrested. His wife managed the expenses by giving tuition to the children. His praise came from Mahatma Gandhi who once said, "Pathik is a worker, others are just talker.". "He is a soldier both brave and impulsive." He was described by Shri Shiv Charan Mathur as the great revolutionary who led Rajasthan to its awakening in its independence. 

Contribution of Vijay Singh Pathik in various movements:

Bijolia Kisan Andolan / Bijolia Kisan Andolan: 

The Bijolia farmer movement was led by Vijay Singh Pathik in 1916, and the Vidya Pracharani Sabha was founded there. He built a library, a school, and an arena under the Vidya Pracharini Sabha. Political activities took place in these centres later. Kisan Panchayat Board, the central committee of the Kisan Panchayat, began setting up branches in every village after its founding. The board was headed by Manna Lal Patel who formed a 13-member committee to direct the movement under his leadership. Rajasthan Seva Sangh and Rajputana Madhya Bharat Sabha later supported this movement. Vijay Singh Pathik expanded the reach of this movement by taking it to other parts of Udaipur and building a strong peasant movement in Begun, Parsoli, and Bhinder.

His work was honoured by the Government of India with the issuance of a postage stamp. As a result of his leadership, the Bijolia movement has long been regarded as the first peasant Satyagraha in India. 

India lost a beloved son on 28th August 1954, who served the nation until the very end.