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| KAUSHAL KISHORE BHARGAVA |
BASED ON A MEMOIR BY DIPCHAND KHIANRA
DR. KAUSHAL KISHORE BHARGAVA was born in 1896 into an orthodox Brahmin family in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. At an early age he showed religious inclinations and reputedly ran away from home on several occasions to become a holy man (sadhu). He studied at Agra and then went on to earn his Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Allahabad. It was during this time, while still a young man, that he met Professor Pritam Singh who was lecturing at the university. Under the influence of this renowned Bahá’í teacher, he accepted the Bahá’í Faith.
There was at once a change in his life. After obtaining his Master’s degree at the Hindu University of Benares, he received a scholarship from the Indian government to study for his doctorate abroad. This he proceeded to do; but en route to Europe; he stopped off in Haifa and was received by the Master. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá advised him to change his intended field of study, and he became, as a result, a skilled technologist in the sugar industry. On his return to India from the United Kingdom, where he met Shoghi Effendi and Dr. John Esslemont, Dr. Bhargava began his career, and was instrumental in introducing the Bahá’í Faith to many people, including the employees under him and the foreign technologists whom he met in the course of his work. His wife, Shyamdulari Bhargava, a pious and high-minded woman who came from a very orthodox Brahmin family, also became a follower of Bahá’u’lláh.
Dr. Bhargava became a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of India and served on that body for many years. He was fearless in his espousal Of the Bahá’í Cause, even though this brought him the enmity of powerful figures. Yet this audacity also impressed, as in the case of Jawaharlal Nehru. who, having received books and information from Dr. Bhargava, was able to intervene to defend the Bahá’ís from persecution in Kamarhati Village, near Calcutta. Although asked to join the Congress Party, Dr. Bhargava remained staunch in his adherence to Bahá’í principles, and his stand was respected. When his wife died he insisted upon her being accorded Bahá’í burial rites. She was the first Bahá’í from a Hindu background to be buried according to Bahá’í law, though this action caused something of a stir at the time. Occurring as it did at the height of the impassioned riots between Hindus and Muslims, this was a courageous and dangerous act on his part.
Dr. Bhargava was active in speaking tours introducing the Bahá’í Faith to the people of India. He was an excellent speaker who had made a deep study of the Sacred Scripture. He placed great store on prayer; for him the Bahá’í Faith came first and last. On his passing the Universal House of Justice cabled on 20 March 1974:
SADDENED PASSING DR. BHARGAVA. LONG RECORD SERVICE INDIA LOVINGLY REMEMBERED. ASSURE RELATIVES FRIENDS OUR ARDENT PRAYERS SHRINES BESEECH PROGRESS SOUL ABHA KINGDOM.
https://bahai.works/Bah%C3%A1%E2%80%99%C3%AD_World/Volume_18/Essays_and_Reviews
DR. KAUSHAL KISHORE BHARGAVA was born in 1896 into an orthodox Brahmin family in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. At an early age he showed religious inclinations and reputedly ran away from home on several occasions to become a holy man (sadhu). He studied at Agra and then went on to earn his Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Allahabad. It was during this time, while still a young man, that he met Professor Pritam Singh who was lecturing at the university. Under the influence of this renowned Bahá’í teacher, he accepted the Bahá’í Faith.
There was at once a change in his life. After obtaining his Master’s degree at the Hindu University of Benares, he received a scholarship from the Indian government to study for his doctorate abroad. This he proceeded to do; but en route to Europe; he stopped off in Haifa and was received by the Master. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá advised him to change his intended field of study, and he became, as a result, a skilled technologist in the sugar industry. On his return to India from the United Kingdom, where he met Shoghi Effendi and Dr. John Esslemont, Dr. Bhargava began his career, and was instrumental in introducing the Bahá’í Faith to many people, including the employees under him and the foreign technologists whom he met in the course of his work. His wife, Shyamdulari Bhargava, a pious and high-minded woman who came from a very orthodox Brahmin family, also became a follower of Bahá’u’lláh.
Dr. Bhargava became a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of India and served on that body for many years. He was fearless in his espousal Of the Bahá’í Cause, even though this brought him the enmity of powerful figures. Yet this audacity also impressed, as in the case of Jawaharlal Nehru. who, having received books and information from Dr. Bhargava, was able to intervene to defend the Bahá’ís from persecution in Kamarhati Village, near Calcutta. Although asked to join the Congress Party, Dr. Bhargava remained staunch in his adherence to Bahá’í principles, and his stand was respected. When his wife died he insisted upon her being accorded Bahá’í burial rites. She was the first Bahá’í from a Hindu background to be buried according to Bahá’í law, though this action caused something of a stir at the time. Occurring as it did at the height of the impassioned riots between Hindus and Muslims, this was a courageous and dangerous act on his part.
Dr. Bhargava was active in speaking tours introducing the Bahá’í Faith to the people of India. He was an excellent speaker who had made a deep study of the Sacred Scripture. He placed great store on prayer; for him the Bahá’í Faith came first and last. On his passing the Universal House of Justice cabled on 20 March 1974:
SADDENED PASSING DR. BHARGAVA. LONG RECORD SERVICE INDIA LOVINGLY REMEMBERED. ASSURE RELATIVES FRIENDS OUR ARDENT PRAYERS SHRINES BESEECH PROGRESS SOUL ABHA KINGDOM.
https://bahai.works/Bah%C3%A1%E2%80%99%C3%AD_World/Volume_18/Essays_and_Reviews
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