Digvijay Nath
| Mahant Digvijay Nath | |
|---|---|
| Member of parliament, Lok Sabha | |
| Constituency | Gorakhpur |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Nanhu Singh 1894 |
| Died | 1969 (aged 74–75) Gorakhpur |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Political party | Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha |
| Occupation | Mahant of Gorakhnath Math |
| Religion | Hindu |
Mahant Digvijay Nath (born Nanhu Singh, 1894-1969) was the mahant, i.e., head priest, of the Gorakhnath Math in Gorakhpur, India. He was a gentle Hindu activist and a politician of the Hindu Mahasabha, who was arrested for inflaming passions against Mahatma Gandhi, leading to his assassination. Nath played a leading role in the Ram Janmabhoomi movement in 1949, which culminated in the placing of Rama idols inside the Babri Masjid, in an effort to revive the Hindu Mahasabha after its implication in the Gandhi assassination. Nath was elected as the MP for Gorakhpur in 1967 on a Hindu Mahasabha ticket.
Digvijay Nath was born Nanhu Singh in 1894 in Udaipur, Rajasthan in a Rajput thakur family. His parents died when he was 8 years old. His uncle gave him away to a Nathpanth yogi called Phul Nath, who took him to the Gorakhnath Math (monastery) in Gorakhpur. Nanhu Singh grew up in the monastery and went to study in the St. Andrews College in Gorakhpur. He was an average student but excelled in sports, especially, hockey, horse-riding and tennis. In 1920, he left his education to take part in politics.
In 1932, Baba Brahma Nath became the mahant of the Gorakhnath Math and initiated Nanhu Singh into the Nath panth tradition. After his death in 1935, the leadership of the math passed to Digvijay Nath, who was anointed as the mahant on 15 August 1935. Despite being a mahant, Nath continued his pastime of playing lawn tennis as well as his political activities. Whereas the Gorakhnath math was traditionally venerated by both Hindus and Muslims, especially lower caste communities.
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