Ram Ratan Bhatnagar

Bhatnagar was born on 14 January 1914 in the city of Rampur, British India. After his initial education at Rampur he proceeded to Lucknow to study English literature where he came in close contact of poet ‘Nirala’ and was influenced by his writings.

Later he moved to the University of Allahabad for studies and research in Hindi literature where he came in contact with eminent poets and writers like Sumitranandan Pant, Mahadevi Varma and Ram Kumar Verma. In 1951 he moved to the University of Sagar where Acharya Nand Dulare Bajpai was the head of the Hindi Department.

After further studies, he became a Master of Philosophy (English) at the University of Lucknow (1937), Master of Philosophy (HindI) at the University of Allahabad (1939) and Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Allahabad (1948) where his main focus of research was the rise and growth of Hindi journalism. He was awarded Doctor of literature at the University of Sagar in 1972.[1]

Bhatnagar wrote books on literary criticism and essays on current topics. After joining the Hindi Department of the University of Saugor as Assistant Professor in 1951 he taught there until 1976 when he retired as a Professor. He died on 13 April 1992.

Bhatnagar established himself as independent and enlightened critic of Hindi literature. His critique on the works of the eminent writers of his time is reflected in his published works. Little is known about his capabilities as a poet because many of his works are not yet published, however his ability is reflected in the collections of poems that have been published.