Vijay Singh Pathik

Vijay Singh Pathik alias Bhoop Singh Gurjar (1882–1954), popularly known as Rashtriya Pathik, was born in a Gurjar family in Village Guthawali,7th Km.stone on Bulandshahr-Saidpur road, District Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh, India. His father's name was Hamir Singh Gurjar and mother's name Kamal Kunwari. His name was Bhoop Singh Gurjar, but after being implicated in the Lahore conspiracy case in 1915, he changed his name to Vijay Singh Pathik. His grandfather's sacrifice in the struggle of 1857 in Bulandshahr district, affected him deeply to be freedom fighter and rovolutionist. His father also took active part in the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857. Vijay Singh Pathik was among the first revolutionaries from the state who lit the torch of freedom movement in the state. Much before Mohandas K. Gandhi initiated the Satyagrah movement, Pathik experimented during the Bijolia’s Kisan agitation. His descendants now live in Delhi.

He joined revolutionary organisation in his teenage and took active part against British rule in India. Pathikji’s non-cooperation movement was so successful that Lokmanya Tilak wrote a letter to Maharana Fateh Singh to meet the demand of the Bijoliya agitators. Mahatma Gandhi sent his secretary Mahadev Desai to study the movement. It was Pathikji who fought for the cause of united Rajasthan and had taken up the issue with Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel. He was jailed for having led the Kisan agitation in Bijoliya. The Kisan Panchayat, Mahila Mandal and Yuvak Mandal invited Pathik to come and lead them.Women of Mewar started to get respect from their folk men. Pathik made people feel that women and men equality is necessary to develop a prosperous society.

Pathik was a great patriot and freedom fighter. As author Indira Vyas said, "He would prefer to end his life rather than to bow down the flag. He also wrote the famous flag song which was very popular during that period."

Being Indian Revolutionary and Satyagrahi, he was also very well known Hindi Poet, writer and journalist. He was the editor of Rajasthan Kesari, and Naveen Rajasthan. He also started his own independent Hindi weekly, the Rajasthan Sandesh and the Nav Sandesh from Ajmer.

He expressed his views through Tarun Rajasthan, Hindi weekly too. He popularly had known as Rashtriya Pathik.

As writer also he made impact through some of his well known books -Ajay Meru ( novel), Pathik Pramod (collection of stories), Pathikji ke Jail ke Patra, Pathik ki Kavitaon Ka Sangrah etc. He was also appointed as the President of the Rajputana and Madhya Bharat Provincial Congress.

Even Rastrapita Mahatma Gandhi said about him Pathik is a worker, others are talkers. Pathik is a soldier, brave and impetuous...

The Government of India issued a postage stamp to pay tribute to him.

Pathikji died in Ajmer in 1954, when Rajasthan state is formed.

The Vijay Singh Pathik Smriti Sansthan chronicles the contributions of Pathikji.