Kailash Chandra Pant

Kailash Chandra Pant spent more than sixty years writing, editing and organising for the Hindi language. In 2026 he was named for the Padma Shri in the field of literature and education, from Madhya Pradesh ^[1]. He died a few months later, in July 2026 ^[3][4].

Early years

Pant was born in Mhow on 26 April 1936 ^[2]. He studied at Indore Christian College, where he was a debater, won an all-India elocution contest, edited the college magazine and led its Hindi society ^[2].

His writing began with an article in the magazine Veena and reports on Vinoba Bhave’s Bhoodan Yatra ^[2]. In 1960 he joined Vidya Bhawan in Udaipur and started a quarterly, and from 1962 he wrote for papers in Bhopal including Nav Bharat ^[2]. He founded the monthly Shiksha Pradeep in 1964 and the weekly Jan Dharam in 1977, and was principal of the Panchayat Raj Training Centre in Bhopal ^[2].

Hindi Bhawan

From November 1988 he was secretary, and later general secretary, of the Madhya Pradesh Rashtra Bhasha Prachar Samiti, which runs Hindi Bhawan in Bhopal ^[2]. He turned its literary magazine Akshara from a quarterly into a monthly and was its chief editor for 18 years ^[2]. He started seasonal lecture series, a statewide talent contest for schoolchildren and regular Hindi Diwas honours, and built a guest house for writers ^[2]. He stepped down on 2 February 2026 ^[2].

His books include Kaun Kiska Aadmi and Dhundh ke Aar Paar ^[2]. He received the Vishva Hindi Samman at the World Hindi Conference in Johannesburg ^[2].

Pant died in Bhopal on 31 July 2026, aged 90 ^[3][4].