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{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2018}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|honorific-prefix =
|name = HN Kunzru
|image =
|alt =
|caption =
|birth_date = {{birth date|1887|10|1}}
|birth_place = [[Allahabad]]
|death_place = [[Agra]], [[Uttar Pradesh]], India
|restingplace =
|birthname =
|citizenship = Indian
|nationality =
|party = Independent
|otherparty = National Liberal Federation
|spouse = Senapati
|partner = 
|relations =
|children =
|residence =
|alma_mater = [[Agra College]], [[London School of Economics]]
|occupation = Public figure
|profession =
|cabinet =
|committees =
|portfolio =
|religion =
|order = [[Rajya Sabha]]
|office =
|term_start = 1952
|term_end = 1964
|alongside = 
|vicepresident =
|viceprimeminister =
|deputy =
|lieutenant =
|monarch =
|president =
|primeminister = [[Jawaharlal Nehru]]
|taoiseach =
|chancellor =
|governor =
|governor-general =
|succeeding = 
|predecessor =
|successor =
|constituency =
|majority =

|order2 = Indian Council of World Affairs
|office2 = President (corporate title){{!}}President
|term_start2 = 1948
|term_end2 = 1975
|predecessor2 = [[Tej Bahadur Sapru]]
|successor2 = [[Sardar Swaran Singh]]

|order3 = [[Indian School of International Studies]]
|office3 = President (education){{!}}President
|term_start3 = 1955
|term_end3 = 1970

|order4 = [[Bharat Scouts and Guides]]
|office4 = National Commissioner
|term_start4 = 1952
|term_end4 = 1957
|predecessor4 = Incumbent
|successor4 = Justice [[Vivian Bose]]
}}

'''Hridya Nath Kunzru''' (1 October 1887– 3 April 1978) was an [[Indian freedom fighter]] and public figure. He was a long-time Parliamentarian, serving in various legislative bodies at the Provincial and Central level for nearly four decades. He was a member of the [[Constituent Assembly of India]] (1946–50) that drew up the [[Constitution of India]].<ref name=rajan>{{cite journal|last=Rajan|first=M.S|title=Pandit Hriday Nath Kunzru, A Memoir|doi=10.1177/097492847803400401|journal=India Quarterly|date=October 1978|volume=34|issue=4|pages=441–456}}</ref> He was also keenly interested in international affairs and co-founded the Indian Council of World Affairs and the [[Indian School of International Studies]].

==Early life and education==
Kunzru was the second son of [[Kashmiri Pandit]] Ayodhya Nath Kunzru and his second wife Jankeshwari. He was born at [[Allahabad]] on 1 October 1887. Even though he had got married in 1908, his wife died in 1911 during [[childbirth]], followed by the death of the child six months later. This was a turning point in his life and he resolved to dedicate his life to public service.<ref name=Gurtu>{{cite web|last=Gurtu|first=G. K.|title=From Kunjargaon to Agra: The Great Kunzru Family of Agra|url=http://vitasta.org/pdf/Vitasta1999-2000.pdf|work='Kashmiri Pandits : A Cultural Heritage|publisher=Lancer Books|access-date=19 August 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120901015019/http://vitasta.org/pdf/Vitasta1999-2000.pdf|archive-date=1 September 2012|df=}}</ref> He did his matriculation in 1903 and F.A. in 1905 from Agra College. He passed his B.A. examination in 1907 from [[Allahabad University]]. Subsequently, he left for the [[London School of Economics]] in 1910 where he completed a B.Sc in Political Science.<ref name=sharga />

==Political philosophy==
Pandit Kunzru started his political career in the Congress, but left and formed the National Liberal Federation along with other moderates such as [[Tej Bahadur Sapru]] and [[Madan Mohan Malaviya]]. He became its President in 1934.<ref name=rajan /> The National Liberal Federation was a loose conglomeration of high-minded individuals and Kunzru remained true to that tradition, standing for his first election, and every election after, as an Independent candidate.<ref name=Gurtu /> His vigorous support of non-governmental organisations, was also linked to the liberal philosophy that government should not be all powerful in a democracy.<ref name=rajan /> Many of his interventions in the Constituent Assembly Debates were also to reduce the power of government over the people.<ref>{{cite web|title=CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY OF INDIA – VOLUME XI|url=http://parliamentofindia.nic.in/ls/debates/vol11p11.htm|work=Debates of the Constituent Assembly|publisher=Parliament of India|accessdate=19 August 2012}}</ref>

==Career highlights==

===As a parliamentarian===
He became a member of the Legislative Council of the United Provinces (1921–26),and subsequently in the [[Central Legislative Assembly]] (1926–30), the Council of States (1936), the Provisional Parliament (1950–52) and the [[Rajya Sabha]] (1952–64).

Kunzru headed two expert committees set up to look into the Railways, the first established in 1944 to amalgamate the various railway companies the existing into the [[Indian Railways]]. He also chaired the Railway Accidents Committee set up in 1962. He was Chairman of the Committee established in 1946 that recommended the establishment of a cadet corps which ultimately took shape as the [[National Cadet Corps (India)|National Cadet Corps]] in 1948. He headed another Committee that recommended the establishment of the [[National Defence Academy]]. He was a member of the [[States Reorganisation Commission]] from 1953 to 1955.<ref name=rajan /> He was widely traveled and was part of Parliamentary and other delegations to many countries, including South Africa, the United States, Japan, and Pakistan. He also chaired the Pacific Conferences of 1950, 1954, and 1958 organised by the [[Institute of Pacific Relations]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Participants List of the USA Council of the IPR|url=http://dspace.wul.waseda.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/2065/33669/4/KenkyuShiryoShirizu_1_Dai2Sho.pdf|accessdate=19 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140429050216/http://dspace.wul.waseda.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/2065/33669/4/KenkyuShiryoShirizu_1_Dai2Sho.pdf|archive-date=29 April 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===As an educationist===
Kunzru was instrumental in promoting the study of International relations in India. He helped set up the Indian Council of World Affairs and the [[Indian School of International Studies]], using his influence and contacts to raise funds amounting to Rs. 600,000 to build Sapru House, the headquarters of the Indian Council of World Affairs.<ref name=Vivekanandan>{{cite journal|last=Vivekanandan|first=B.|title=A Tribute to Life and Work of Professor M.S. Rajan|journal=International Studies|date=12 April 2012|volume=47|issue=2–4|pages=99–111|doi=10.1177/002088171104700403}}</ref>
At various times, he was a member of the Senate and Executive Council of the [[Benares Hindu University]], [[University of Delhi]], [[Allahabad University]], and the Sri Ram Institute, Delhi. In recognition of his work, he was conferred honorary degrees by many of these universities.<ref name=sharga/> He was a member of the University Grants Commission for 12 years from 1953 to 1966 and served as its Chairman for a brief period in 1966.<ref>{{cite web|title=Former Commission Members|url=http://www.ugc.ac.in/subpage/Former-Commission-Members.aspx|publisher=University Grants Commission|accessdate=18 August 2012}}</ref>

===Other accomplishments===
He was one of the founders of [[India]]n [[Scouting]], and served as the first National Commissioner of the [[Bharat Scouts and Guides]]. He joined the [[Servants of India Society]], founded by [[Gopal Krishna Gokhale]] in 1909 and became its life President in 1936. He was also the first President of the [[Children's Film Society, India|Children's Film Society]].<ref name=sharga>Sharga, Dr. B.N. (2008). ''Dr. Hriday Nath Kunzuru: A Great Patriot and Selfless Worker'' in S. Bhatt, J.N. Kaul, B.B. Dhar and Arun Shalia (ed.) ''Kashmiri Scholars Contribution to Knowledge and World Peace'', Delhi:A.P.H. Publishing, {{ISBN|978-81-313-0402-0}}, pp.39–53</ref>

He was part of the preparatory Committee that established the [[India International Centre]] and one of its five original Life Trustees.<ref>{{cite web|title=History of the India International Centre|url=http://www.iicdelhi.nic.in/?q=node/61|publisher=India International Centre|accessdate=21 August 2012}}</ref> He was also a part of the [[State Reorganisation Commission]].

==Honours and awards==
* Kunzru was nominated for the highest Indian civilian award, the [[Bharat Ratna]], in 1968 but he declined, citing his opposition to such honours in a Republic, which he had first voiced during the Constituent Assembly debates.<ref name=Vivekanandan />
* He was honored on a [[postage stamp]] of India in 1987.<ref>{{cite web|title=India- 87 : PANDIT H.N.KUNZRU|url=http://www.ebay.in/itm/India-87-PNDIT-H-N-KUNZRU-60-P-FDC-STMPD-FOLDER-26109-/130811322342?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_203&hash=item1e74f65fe6|accessdate=1 March 2013}}</ref>
* The Defence Affairs Study Centre established in Pune in 1972 under his patronage was renamed as the Kunzru Centre in 1980 after his death.<ref>{{cite web|title=Kunzru Centre: About Us|url=http://www.kunzrucentre.org/aboutus1.htm|publisher=Kunzru Centre|accessdate=18 August 2012}}</ref>
* The [[Indian School of International Studies]] began a series of annual lectures named after him, which continues to this day.<ref>{{cite web|title=Kunzru Lectures 2008|url=http://www.jnu.ac.in/Academics/Schools/SchoolOfInternationalStudies/Making%20SIS%20visible/KunzruLectures/Poster2008.pdf|publisher=JNU|access-date=18 August 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130302062341/http://www.jnu.ac.in/Academics/Schools/SchoolOfInternationalStudies/Making%20SIS%20visible/KunzruLectures/Poster2008.pdf|archive-date=2 March 2013|df=}}</ref>
* His honorary degrees included LL.D. (from [[Allahabad University]]), D. Litt. (from [[Aligarh Muslim University]]),and D.L. (from [[Benares Hindu University]])<ref>{{cite web|title=Former Members of the Rajya Sabha|url=http://rajyasabha.nic.in/rsnew/pre_member/1952_2003/k.pdf|publisher=Parliament of India|accessdate=19 August 2012}}</ref>

==Personal life==
The novelist [[Hari Kunzru]] is Pandit Kunzru's great grand nephew.<ref>{{cite web|last=Kunzru|first=Hari|title=I'm all three — 'ari, Haah-ri and Hari|url=http://www.tehelka.com/story_main.asp?filename=col013004hari.asp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040317082804/http://www.tehelka.com/story_main.asp?filename=col013004hari.asp|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 March 2004|publisher=Tehelka|accessdate=19 August 2012}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* ''Scouting Round the World'', [[J. S. Wilson|John S. Wilson]], first edition, Blandford Press 1959 p. 245
* {{cite book|last=Bhatt|first=general ed. S.|title=Kashmiri Pandits : a cultural heritage|year=1995|publisher=Lancers Books|location=New Delhi|isbn=978-8170950530|edition=1. publ.}}

{{s-start}}
{{succession box |title= [[Bharat Scouts and Guides|National Commissioners of the Bharat Scouts and Guides]] |before= first incumbent |after= Justice [[Vivian Bose]] |years=1952–1957}}
{{succession box |title= [[Bharat Scouts and Guides|National Commissioners of the Bharat Scouts and Guides]] |before= Professor [[Madan Mohan (Scouting)|Madan Mohan]]|after=Mrs. [[Lakhshmi Mazumdar]]|years=1960–1964}}
{{s-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kunzru, H. N.}}
[[Category:Scouting pioneers]]
[[Category:1887 births]]
[[Category:1978 deaths]]
[[Category:Kashmiri people]]
[[Category:Indian Hindus]]
[[Category:Scouting and Guiding in India]]
[[Category:Rajya Sabha members from Uttar Pradesh]]
[[Category:Members of Central Legislative Assembly of India]]
[[Category:Members of the Constituent Assembly of India]]

H. N. Kunzru - Revision history

->Wiki2abc at 12:39, 1 November 2021