Known for his immense contribution to the Indian Independence struggle, Madan Mohan Malaviya is most fondly remembered as the founder of the world-renowned Banaras Hindu University. While people know about the man, what’s largely unknown is an incident that occurred between him and the richest Indian Nizam—the Nizam of Hyderabad, that paved the way for the foundation of Banaras Hindu University.

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In 1916, Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya went pillar to post to raise funds for starting a university. From rich traders to filthy rich landlords, everyone flatly Malaviya got no for an answer everywhere he went. He then made his way into the court of the Nizam of Hyderabad, who was touted as the richest man in the world back then. Dimissing Malaviya’s request for funds, the Nizam grew furious and said, "How dare you come to me for funds and that too for a Hindu University?" Following his insulting roar, the Nizam took off his footwear and flung it at Malaviya.

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What happened next is nothing short of rock and roll history in modern-day terms. Malaviya, instead of feeling insulted and leaving the court, picked up the Nizam’s shoe and came up with a brilliant idea—he put up the shoe for auction. Since it was a shoe that belonged to the royalty, many rich people came forward to buy it. The news reached the Nizam in no time and he thought it would be an insult if his footwear were to be bought by someone who was not as rich as him.

Meanwhile, the bids went through the roof! Nizam instructed his men to disguise as rich men, attend the auction, and buy the shoe back “for as much amount as possible”. The men did the same and if the legends are to be believed, a huge sum of money was paid. This money was eventually used by Malaviya to set up the Banaras Hindu University.

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The life lesson here is that Malaviya took hold of the situation he was in and squeezed an opportunity out of it. He didn’t wait for opportunity to walk his way; he walked in, slammed the door and announced his arrival.

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