Saturday, February 2, 2019

KESHAV BALIRAM HEDGEWAR - GREAT HINDU SON OF INDIA


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Keshav Baliram Hedgewar (1 April 1889 – 21 June 1940), also known as "Doctorji" within his organisation, was the founding Sarsanghachalak of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh  (RSS) and a prominent member of the right wing party Hindu Mahasabha. Hedgewar founded the RSS in Nagpur in 1925, with the intention of promoting the concept of a united India rooted in Hinduism ideology. 
Early life
Hedgewar was born  on  Pratipada, Chaitra, Shukla Paksha, Vikram Samvat 1946 (1 April 1889) in a  Marathi  Deshastha Brahmin family in  Nagpur. His parents were Baliram Pant Hedgewar and Revati, a couple of modest means. They were originally from a village called Kandurti in Andhra Pradesh, and Hedgewar's forefathers had moved to Nagpur a few generations back. The couple had six children – three daughters and three sons, Mahadev, Sitaram and the youngest, Keshav. When Keshav was thirteen, both his parents succumbed to the epidemic of plague. His elder brothers Mahadev Pant, and Sitaram Pant ensured that he received a good education.
When he was studying in Neel City High School in Nagpur, he was rusticated  for singing "Vande Mataram" in violation of the circular issued by the then British government. As a result, he had to pursue his high school studies at the Rashtriya Vidyalaya in Yavatmal and later in Pune. After matriculating, he was sent to Kolkata by B. S. Moonje (a member of the Congress who later became the national President of the Hindu Mahasabha) in 1910 to pursue his medical studies. After passing the L.M.S. Examination from the National Medical College in June 1914, he completed a yearlong apprenticeship and returned to Nagpur in 1915 as a physician.
Formation of RSS
Hedgewar actively participated in Indian National Congress in the 1920s, but he became disillusioned with their policies and politics. The outbreak of the Hindu-Muslim riot in 1923 made him ponder over an alternate model of nation-building in India. He was deeply influenced by the writings of Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. He considered that the cultural and religious heritage of Hindus should be the basis of Indian nationhood.
Hedgewar founded RSS in 1925 on the day of  Vijayadashami  with an aim to organise Hindu community for its cultural and spiritual regeneration and make it a tool in getting the country free from foreign domination. 
Hedgewar  insisted  on  the  term 'rashtriya' (national) for his exclusively 'Hindu' organization, for he wanted to re-assert the identity of Hindu with 'rashtriya'. This can be confirmed by the 'prarthana'(prayer) sung at the end of every shakha meeting, along with the slogan of Bharat Mata Ki Jai. Hedgewar created a female wing of the organization in 1936.
His initial followers included  Bhaiyaji Dani, Babasaheb Apte, Nathuram Godse, Balasaheb Deoras, and Madhukar Rao Bhagwat, among others. The Sangh was growing in Nagpur and the surrounding districts. and it soon began to spread to other provinces. Hedgewar went to a number of places and inspired the youths for taking up the Sangh work. Gradually all his associates had begun to endearingly call him 'Doctorji.' 
Upon his urging, Swayamsevaks went to far-off cities like Kashi, Lucknow etc., for their further education and started 'Shakhas' there.
Political activities post formation of RSS
After founding the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in 1925, Hedgewar started the tradition of keeping the RSS away from the anti-British Indian Independence movement. The RSS carefully avoided any political activity that could be construed as being anti-British. The RSS biographer C. P. Bhishikar states, "After establishing Sangh, Doctor Saheb in his speeches used to talk only of Hindu organization. Direct comment on Government used to be almost nil." When the Congress passed the Purna Swaraj resolution in its Lahore session in December 1929, and called upon all Indians to celebrate 26 January 1930 as Independence Day, Hedgewar issued a circular asking all the RSS shakhas (branches) to observe the occasion through hoisting and worship of the Bhagwa Dhwaj (saffron flag), rather than the Tricolor (which was, by consensus, considered the flag of the Indian national movement at that time). 
1930 was the only year when the RSS celebrated 26 January and it stopped the practice from the next year onwards. However, such celebration became a standard feature of the freedom movement and often came to mean violent confrontation with the official police. 
C. P. Bhishikar  states, "In April 1930,  Mahatma Gandhi  gave a call for 'Satyagraha' against the British Government. Gandhi himself launched the Salt Satyagraha undertaking his Dandi Yatra. Dr. Hedgewar decided to participate only individually and not let the RSS join the freedom movement officially. He sent information everywhere that the Sangh will not participate in the Satyagraha. However those wishing to participate individually in it were not prohibited".
Hedgewar emphasized that he participated in the Civil Disobedience movement of 1930 in individual capacity, and not as a RSS member. His concern was to keep the RSS out of the political arena. According to Hedgewar’s biography, when Gandhi launched the Salt Satyagraha in 1930, he sent information everywhere that the RSS will not participate in the Satyagraha. However those wishing to participate individually in it were not prohibited.
Death and legacy
His health deteriorated in later years of his life. Often he suffered from chronic back pain. He started delegating his responsibilities to M. S. Golwalkar, who later succeeded him as  Sarsanghachalak  of  RSS. In January 1940, he was taken to Rajgir in Bihar for the hot-spring treatment. He attended the annual Sangh Shiksha Varg in 1940, where he gave his last message to Swayamsevaks, saying: 'I see before my eyes today a miniature Hindu Rashtra." He died on the morning of 21 June 1940 in Nagpur. His last rites were performed in the locality of Resham Bagh in Nagpur, which was later developed as Hedgewar Smruti Mandir.
Hedgewar was described as "a great son of Mother India" by former President of India Pranab Mukherjee during his visit to Hedgewar's birthplace in Nagpur.
Institutes  named  after  Hedgewar
Shree Keshav Cooperative Credit Society Ltd. Junagadh,  Gujarat.
Dr. Hedgewar Institute Of Medical Sciences & Research (Dhimsr) Amravati
Dr. Hedgewar  Shikshan  Pratishthan  Ahmednagar
Dr. K. B. Hedgewar High School Goa
Dr. Hedgewar Aarogya Sansthan, Karkardooma, New Delhi, Delhi 110032
Hedgewar Hospital, Aurangabad.





























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