Sampurnanand was born to a
Kayastha family on 1 January 1891 at
Benaras (present-day
Varanasi) and started life as a
teacher. Brought up under the influence of the
Benaras ethos, he was a strong votary of traditional culture. He was deeply interested in ancient Hindu culture including
Sanskrit and Phalit Jyotish (
astrology). His interest in phalit coupled with his academic bent of mind got him interested in astronomy. Babu Sampurnanandji was also an ardent freedom fighter. His jail-mates narrate that while under confinement in jail (as a freedom fighter) Babuji used to entertain them with discussions on astronomy and acquainted them with the night sky. Babuji had a modern outlook too and in this respect he was a curious mixture of diverse influences. After Independence, Babu Sampurnanandji became Education Minister in the first popular government of
Uttar Pradesh. This was instrumental in fulfilling his cherished astronomical dreams and drew up plans for establishing an astronomical observatory with a Time unit at the Government Sanskrit College,
Benaras (GSC) (now
Sampurnanand Sanskrit University).He sought support and guidance from educationists like Dr. Ishwari Prasad and Nirmal Chandra Chaturvedi,MLC.The later was consulted by him for social welfare schemes too. Dr Sampurnanand was first Chairman of State Lalit Kala Akademi,
U.P. which was established on 8 February 1962 under the Department of Culture, Government of
Uttar Pradesh as a fully funded autonomous body. Sampurnanand as a CM pushed Hindi (also Cow slaughter ban). As a reformist governor of
Rajasthan he promoted the idea of Sanganer's no-bars prison. In this open prison convicts live with their families, go out to work and pay taxes for water and electricity. Sampurnanand believed that State's punishment should not be an act of revenge but rather an act of reformation. Life imprisonment is like a death sentence for a convict as it results in a separation from family and friends. The
Rajasthan government started the Sri Sampurnanand Khula Bandi Shivir (
open jail), named after the governor, on an experimental basis in 1963. ==References==