Pandit Hriday Nath Kunzru was born on 1st October, 1887 at Agra, the son of Pandit Ajudhia Nath, a top-ranking lawyer of his time and a leading figure of the early days of the Indian  National  Congress.

He was educated at the University of Agra and Allahabad and at the London School of Economics.

Under the inspiration of Gokhale, he joined the Servants of India Society. As its President for 42 years  he contributed to public life, fighting against the caste system, untouchability and other social evil, supporting divorce and the succession rights of Hindu women. Interested in education, he was associated with the Universities of Allahabad and Delhi, the Banaras Hindu University, the Kashi Vidyapeeth and the Aligarh Muslim University. He established  the Indian Council of World Affairs at Sapru House, New Dehi, which ran the School of  International Studies, later taken over by the Jawaharlal Nehru University.

In pre-independence politics, he was a Liberal, seeking to achieve self-government within the Commonwealth by constitutional means rather than  by violent or non-violent mass agitation. He broke away from the Congress in 1920 along with other moderates to form the National  Liberal  Federation.

As a member of the State and Central Legislative, he proved himself a distinguished parliamentarian. He was concerned about the Indianisation of the Civil Services and the armed forces, the treatment of Indian settlers abroad and industrialisation in the pre-independence days.

In  the  post-independence  period  he  took great interest in foreign affairs seeking genuine non-alignment. He believed in India's integrity based on the willing cooperation of the units. As a member of the  States Reorganisation Commission he made valuable suggestions in safe­ guarding the interests of linguistic minorities. Critical of what he believed was an appeasement policy towards China, he advocated the building of military strength, so that India could play  its proper  role in world  affairs.

He did commendable work as General Secretary, Sewa Samiti, Allahabad, President of the U.P. Harijan Sewak Sangh and Chairman of the Railway Enquiry  Committee. He never aspired for recognition or to any ministerial office, even declining to accept the title of Bharat Ratna. He passed away on 3rd April, 1978.

Source : Information Folder issued by Indian Posts & Telegraph Department, Government of India