Sarva Seva Sangh, Varanasi

 Preserve the Gandhian heritage at Varanasi

July 22, 2023 is a red letter day in the history of   Akhil Bharat Sarva Seva Sangh , an institution which carries the heritage of Mahatma Gandhi   formed  soon  after his assassination by a Hindu fanatic. It was on this day the country witnessed the most shameful act of State power which Gandhi looked upon with fear and suspicion that represents violence in a concentrated and organised form. The police force  forcibly entered the premises  of Sarva Seva Sangh in Varanasi, evicted the belongings of the  people who were staying there for decades and  thousands of books and materials  of Sarva Seva Sangh Prakashan  were dumped  outside. The picture of the statue of Mahatma Gandhi filled with dumped  books and materials shows the utter  disrespect of the State machinery to  Mahatma  Gandhi who is not only the Father of  the Nation but also a  universal personality respected all over the world. It was with great shock the people of this country saw the videos and pictures of eviction and news of arrest/detainment  of activists viz. Ram Dheeraj, Arvind Anjum, Nandlal Master, Chandan Pal, Ishwarchand, Anokhe Lal, Rajendra Mishra,  and  Jitendra  who were  desperately trying to save the premises of Sarva Seva Sangh Varanasi .

 

 Akhil Bharat Sarva Seva Sangh has a glorious history and rich heritage. Mahatma Gandhi   wanted to call a meeting of constructive workers engaged in different fields in the country at Sevagram on 2 February 1948 to realise the   goal of real Swaraj which he dreamt.  But he was assassinated on 30 January 1948. However, the proposed conference did take place, after a slight deferment from 11-15 March 1948.  This finally led to the  founding Sarvodaya Samaj  and Akhil Bharat Sarva Seva Sangh. The meeting was attended by 47 persons including stalwarts of the Gandhian movement and freedom struggle.  Acharya Vinoba Bhave, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru and Dr. Rajendra Prasad ,Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad ,  Dr.Zakir Hussain, J.C. Kumarappa, Kakasaheb Kalelkar, Gulsarilal Nanda, Jayaprakash Narayan  and others were present in the meeting.  Thus finally  Akhil Bharat  Sarva Seva Sangh came into existence in April, 1948 after merging five constructive organizations e.g., Akhil Bharat Charkha Sangh, Akhil Bharat Gram Udyod Sangh, Akhil Bharat Go Seva Sangh, Hindustani Talimi Sangh & Mahrogi Seva Mandal.

Sarva Seva Sangh was established in Varanasi through the efforts and guidance of  stalwarts like Acharya Vinoba Bhave, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Lal Bahadur Shastri, and others. In fact Vinoba Bhave felt the dire need for the dissemination of Sarvodaya Literature to spread Gandhi's message while he was travelling in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Thus Sarva Seva Sangh Prakashan, the publishing wing of Sarva Seva Sangh, was established in 1955 during Vinoba Bhave's Bhoodan movement. It was in this premises Jayaprakash Narayan, another popular Gandhian activist, thinker and socialist leader, who established the Gandhi Vidya Sansthan ( Gandhian Instiute of Studies ) in 1960 to bring together Gandhian thought and modern social sciences. JP invited none other than E. F. Schumacher to become the director of the Institute.  It shows the grand vision of JP and pre eminent status of the Institute. The Indian Council of Social Sciences and Research (ICSSR), was providing financial aid to the institute from 1977 onwards.   The dispute started around 2003 due to political inference   and finally the registration of the Institute was cancelled.

 On May 15, 2023, the Institute was taken over by the Government and given to the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, an autonomous institution under the Ministry of Culture, which works as a centre for research in the field of the arts. The forceful takeover by the government made the premises of Sarva Seva Sangh  a  the battle ground for Satyagraha protesting the decision . Soon the Sarva Seva Sangh approached the High Court and on May 16, 2023 the Allahabad High Court directed the Varanasi District Magistrate to examine the land records of the Sarva Seva Sangh and ascertain the ownership of the said property, which is approximately 12.90 acres. The court gave the District Magistrate two-month deadline to ascertain the ownership of the land. On May 29, 2023 Varanasi District Magistrate started the hearing and June 26, 2023 he passed an order, saying that the land belongs to the Northern Railways.On June 27, 2023 a notice pasted on the premises of the organisation by the Northern Railways says, “This is to inform all the encroachers that in continuation of a notice by District Magistrate, Varanasi, on June 26, 2023 that on June 30 at 9 am, Railways officials will take demolition action against the illegal structures built by Sarva Seva Sangh. All of you are informed to vacate the premises.”

On June 28, 2023 the Sarva Seva Sangh approached the Allahabad High Court against the demolition order, praying that it be quashed as the society has three land deeds from 1960, 1961 and 1970 to prove its ownership of the said land.  On July 4, 2023, the Allahabad High Court refused any relief against the order for the demolition of ‘Sarva Seva Sangh ’ in Varanasi. The Division Bench while hearing the petition of ‘Akhil Bharat Sarva Seva Sangh and another’ said that the petitioner should go to the lower court. The Sarva Seva Sangh knocked the doors of the Supreme Court of India. On July 7, 2023 the Supreme Court agreed to hear the plea challenging the decision of the Varanasi district magistrate however no relief was in sight.

  The sale Deed between the Railways and Akhil Bharat Sarva Seva Sangh  was registered in the year 1960  . The agreement took place on 15 May 1960, between the Divisional Engineer of Northern Railway (Lucknow) as a representative of the President of India and the  trustee Radhakrishna Baja of the Sangh . The document clearly mentioned that the plot no. 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 of the railways  was sold at  total price of Rs 23,490  that is at the rate of 2700 per acre to the Sangh It also mentioned that Rs 26,730 was deposited in the State Bank of f India as per  treasury Challan no.17 by the Sangh  towards  the value of property and other items.

This sale deed also has a clear mention that the full transfer of land ownership is being done to All India Sarva Seva Sangh by Vendor i.e. Railways. And in future there will be no claim on the property by the vendor (Railways) nor will he take any action for the eviction of Sarva Seva Sangh from the same land. Every page of this document has the signature of Divisional Engineer and Divisional Superintendent of North Railway (Lucknow). Also signed by Darbanlal Asthana and Prabhash Chandra Banerjee as witnesses. Similarly in the years 1961 and 1970, the Sarva Seva Sangh purchased some more parts of the railway land.

Here it is pertinent to note that this land of Kohna village fort located in Rajghat was also received by the railway from the army in 1941. Then East Indian Railways got this land  from the defence department  by an agreement through its representative military estate officer Allahabad circle. Part of which sold  by the Railways to the Sangh. It is beyond the comprehension of people how  the   land which were  purchased by the  Sarva Seva Sangh  and registered and possessed for decades all of a sudden become  illegal on technicalities and the  so-called procedural lapses. It should be noted that ICSSR and the State Government financially supported the Gandhian Institute of Studies for quite a long time.  

It is largely seen as a deliberate attempt on the part of the government whether it is the State or the Central Government to trample every institution which carries the heritage of Mahatma. It is not just an attack on the thoughts of Gandhi, Vinoba or JP but an attack on the freedom and the dream of a free India for which many persons sacrificed their lives in the freedom movement which ultimately liberated our country from the shackles of British imperialism. 

It is the right time protest against this unjustful act in a peaceful manner and call upon the heads of State and central Governments to intervene in this case and preserve the heritage of Mahatma Gandhi.