An Indian freedom fighter and diplomat, he was from Padari a village in Unnao. As a poet he composed the mahakavya, Krishnayana (transl. Journey of Krishna). He became the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh after Ravi Shankar Shukla.[3]
Living an Era: India's March to Freedom (part one of memoirs, covering the period up to 1947)
The Nehru Epoch: From Democracy to Monocracy (part two of memoirs, critiquing the time from 1947 to 1964)
The Post Nehru Era: Political Memoirs (third and concluding part of memoirs, showing India in the post Nehru era up till the 1980s)
The search for Lanka (famous for proposing the thesis that Ramayana's Lanka was in Madhya Pradesh instead of Sri Lanka)
His memoirs became controversial as they included a letter from Vallabhbhai Patel to Mishra dated to July 1946 criticising Nehru for "Juvenile Mistakes". Congress members questioned authenticity of the letter as well as Mishra's motives and timing of revelation.[citation needed]
He was also active in the struggle for Indian independence and went to jail for the cause, for the first time aged 19 in 1920.[citation needed]