\ SAMVAD संवाद

Magh Purnima, Vik. Samvat 2078, Yugabda 5123:16 February, 2022: SM 3022(For Private Circulation Only)


 1. FESTIVALS: MAHA SHIVARATRI 2. HINDUTVA IS A REFLECTION OF BHARATIYA CONSTITUTION — DR. MOHAN BHAGWAT
3. NATIONAL INTEREST SHOULD BE PRIORITY: DR. BHAGWAT 4. DATTATREYA HOSABALE VISITS INDENTURE MEMORIAL AND SURINAME JETTY MEMORIAL
5. PM MODI UNVEILS 'STATUE OF EQUALITY' 6. WORLD RECORD IN SURYANAMASKAR
7. HSS SURYANAMASKAR YOGATHON 8. MUSICAL PROGRAM CELEBRATING UNITY IN DIVERSITY
9. HSS AND SEWA NEPAL 10. RELIGION CURRICULUM OF CANADIAN SCHOOLS CHANGED TO REFLECT BHARATIYA CONTRIBUTIONS
11. SAUDI ARABIA ORGANISED ITS 1ST YOGA FESTIVAL IN JEDDAH 12. BHARAT-US TRADE CROSSED $100BN-MARK IN 2021
13. EX-KENYAN PM WISHES TO TAKE AYURVEDA TO AFRICA 14. DUBAI STUDENT IS WORLD'S YOUNGEST YOGA TEACHER
15. INLAND WATERWAY FROM PATNA TO GUWAHATI INAUGRATED 16. SANTISHREE DHULIPUDI PANDIT : JNU'S FIRST WOMAN VC
17. OBITUARY: LATA DIDI 18. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN & FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Article: BALASAHEB DEORAS: THE SOUL AND VISION OF DR. HEDGEWAR

 1. FESTIVALS: MAHA SHIVARATRI: Maha Shivratri is a festival celebrated every year on the night between Trayodashi (13th) and Chaturdashi (14th) of Phalgun Krishna Paksha (March 1 this year).  Devotees worship Bhagwan Shiva, observe a strict fast and stay awake throughout the night. It is celebrated as the convergence of the forces of Shiva and Shakti.
There are 12 Jyotirlingas in Bharat, all of which celebrate the festival in a grand fashion.
During Maha Shivratri, thousands of devotees gather at the Ganga Talao, a sacred lake in Mauritius to offer prayers.
Shivratri is also celebrated at Chandranath Dham in Chittagong, and other mandirs across Bangladesh.
The Hindu-Caribbean community offer special jhalls (an offering of milk and curd, flowers, sugarcane and sweets) to Bhagwan Shiva in many mandirs. Maha Shivaratri is a national Holiday in Nepal and celebrated widely in mandirs all over the country, especially in the Pashupatinath mandir.

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2. HINDUTVA IS A REFLECTION OF BHARATIYA CONSTITUTION — DR. MOHAN BHAGWAT:
On February 6, speaking on the topic 'Hindutva and National Integration' at a lecture series organised by Lokmat Media group to mark the golden jubilee of its Lokmat Nagpur edition, RSS Sarasanghachalak Dr. Mohan Bhagwat said that Hindutva is nothing but a true reflection of the Bharatiya Constitution.
Equality, fraternity, justice and liberty in the preamble is reflected in the 5000-year-old tradition and culture of the nation. “All inclusive and all encompassing truth is what we call Hindutva and it is our national identity”, he added. He also said that the world thinks that uniformity is needed for unity, but in our country looking for unity in diversity has been prevalent since ancient times.
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3. NATIONAL INTEREST SHOULD BE PRIORITY: DR. BHAGWAT: On February 9, RSS Sarasanghachalak Dr. Mohan Bhagwat attended the millennium birth anniversary celebrations of 11th century saint Sri Ramanujacharya in Bhagyanagar. Speaking on the occasion, he said that one should always prioritise national interest above any other personal interests. He also said that ‘Hindu-hita’ is ‘Rashtra-hita’ and other interests such as language and caste are secondary. This will make us a strong and competent nation, he added. Though there is diversity of region, language, religion in the country, all are children of 'Bharat Mata' and this feeling has to be strengthened.  Sri Ramanujacharya's message was also about equality of all, he added.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan and RSS national executive member Shri Suresh (Bhaiyyaji) Joshi were also present on the occasion.
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4. DATTATREYA HOSABALE VISITS INDENTURE MEMORIAL AND SURINAME JETTY MEMORIAL: The Kolkata Memorial or Indenture Memorial was inaugurated on January 11, 2011 at old Kidderpore Depot located along the Hoogley River in Kolkata. It is a celebration of the pioneering spirit, endurance, determination and resilience of those who left Bharat as indentured labourers from 1834 through 1920.
On February 26, 1873, Lalla Rookh, the first ship carrying indentured labourers, set sail from one of the ghats on River Hooghly in Kolkata for Suriname. In 2015, more than 142 years later, a memorial was inaugurated at the same ghat, now known as Suriname Ghat. The memorial is a representation of ‘Baba and Mai’ or ‘Mai Baap’- a depiction of the male and female indentured workers who had left the Bharatiya coasts to work as labourers in sugarcane plantation. The original ‘Baba and Mai’ monument is in Parimaribo, capital of Suriname, and symbolises the first Bharatiya man and woman to set foot there.
On February 7, RSS Sarkaryavah Shri Dattatreya Hosabale visited the Indenture Memorial and Suriname jetty and paid his respects to the memory of those indentured labourers. On the same day he also visited Syama Prasad Mookerjee Kolkata Port Museum.
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5. PM MODI UNVEILS 'STATUE OF EQUALITY': On February 5, Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi inaugurated a 216-ft statue of Sant Ramanujacharya at Muchintal on the outskirts of Bhagyanagar and highlighted the 11th century saint’s message of equality of all. The statue is made of ‘panchadhatu’, a combination of five metals namely gold, silver, copper, brass, and zinc and is among one of the tallest metallic statues in sitting position. It is mounted on a 54-foot high base building named ‘Bhadra Vedi’. It has floors devoted for a Vedic digital library and research centre, ancient Bharatiya texts, a theatre and an educational gallery detailing many works of Sri Ramanujacharya.
Speaking on the occasion PM Modi said that Sri Ramanujacharya demonstrated that social progress and remaining true to one’s roots can go hand in hand. When we see Ramanujacharya, we realise there is no conflict between progressiveness and antiquity and it is necessary that we connect with our real roots and become aware of our real power, he added.
The statue was inaugurated as a part of the 12-day Ramanuja Sahasrabdi Samaroham, the ongoing 1000th birth anniversary celebrations of Ramanujacharya.
Union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy, Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan and Tridandi Srimannarayana Chinna Jeeyar Swami were present on the occasion.
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6. WORLD RECORD IN SURYANAMASKAR: On the auspicious occasion of the 75th anniversary of Bharatiya Independence, National Yogasana Sports Federation, Kreeda Bharati, Patanjali Yogpeeth, Geeta Parivar and other organisations came together to perform 75 crore Suryanamaskar from January 1 to February 20 in order to promote a healthy lifestyle for all. Till February 7, more than 52 lakh individuals from more than 60 thousand places all across the globe had participated in the event.
In total, close to a billion suryanamaskars were performed, which is a world record. Speaking in a virtual program on February 8, RSS Sarasanghachalak Dr. Mohan Bhagwat said that Suryanamaskar should become part of our daily routine. Baba Ramdev said that more and more people are taking up yogasana as a daily practice. Founder of Gita Parivar Shri Govind Giri Maharaj also spoke on the occasion.
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7. HSS SURYANAMASKAR YOGATHON: Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS) USA organized its annual Health for Humanity Yogathon by conducting Surya Namaskar Yogathon (SNY). The 16th Yogathon began on January 15.
Carmel chapter of HSS USA honoured local yoga instructors for promoting yoga. Suryanamaskar Workshop was conducted at Indiana Avenue School in Iselin, Woodbridge, New Jersey.
HSS Michigan completed a one-of-a-kind marathon of Suryanamaskars lasting 24 hours! An individual or family took up 30 minute slot to perform Suryanamaskars. During the 24-hour period, 145 participants performed 9260 Suryanamaskars.
In Chicago, Hoffman Estates Mayor William B McLeod, State Representative Michelle Mussman and Schaumburg Police Department joined in the Yogathon.
HSS Orlando Shakha Swayamsevaks performed Suryanamaskar at Republic Day celebration organized by Indian American Business Association & Chamber (IABA).
In Germany, Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS) Germany together with the Embassy of Bharat, Berlin and the Consulate General of Bharat in Hamburg, Frankfurt and Münich conducted SNY from January 14 to February 7. More than 200 participants performed more than 50 thousand suryanamaskars during this period.
The Yogathon is also being conducted in other countries including Thailand and UK.
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8. MUSICAL PROGRAM CELEBRATING UNITY IN DIVERSITY: Hindu civilization is the most ancient living civilization in the world and as a result it is also the most diverse in faith, tradition and culture. Yet, there is unity in this diversity which is unique to Hindu civilization. This uniqueness is based on the quote from Rig Veda - “Ekam Sat Viprabahudhavadanti” (Truth is One. Wise people express it in many ways).
To celebrate and showcase this uniqueness of Hindu civilization, HSS UK organised an online musical event ‘EKATMATA’ – dharmic thought of ONENESS IN DIVERSITY - on February 12. It was an international event with audience across the world. Swayamsevak and sevikas - aged 8 to 60 years - from all over UK presented music, songs, dance, poetry and few other forms of art to explain and express the meaning of this concept of Ekatmata. There were 15 performances including bhajans on Ram, Krishna, Shiva, Shakti, Ganapati, Ayyappa, Wahe Guru, Buddha, Mahavir Swami and Mother nature.
The event was also blessed by wise words of Sanyasis, Scholars and experts of all dharmic traditions. Over 800 people viewed this event from 20 countries.
Last year, HSS UK had organised a similar musical event on theme of ‘Shakti’ which was also very well received.
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9. HSS AND SEWA NEPAL: On the occasion of Basant Panchami and Saraswati Puja, several sangh and sewa intitiaves were undertaken in Nepal. Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh HSS Nepal conducted a ceremony of laying the foundation stone for Kesahv Dham karyalay in Viratnagar. On the occasion, HSS Nepal Sahsanghchalak Kalyan Kumar Timilsina and Vishwa Vibhag Sanyojak Shri Saumitra Gokhale emphasized that the karyalay will play a leading role to establish an organized and value based society. Shri Gokhale also attended the bhumi poojan progam of Mahaguru Phalgunanada Hostel in Jhapa district which is being built by Janjati Kalyan Ashram of Nepal.
Global Coordinator of Sewa International Shri Shyam Parande was special invitee in Chitwan District during the foundation stone laying ceremony of ‘Amma Ko Maya Chhatravas’ hostel in Lothar city.
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10. RELIGION CURRICULUM OF CANADIAN SCHOOLS CHANGED TO REFLECT BHARATIYA CONTRIBUTIONS: The school curriculum for kindergarten to grade 6 in the western province of Canada is undergoing major changes which are expected to be in effect from the academic year starting in September 2022. The local Hindu community noted several discrepancies in the initial draft curriculum released in March 2021. The draft curriculum had major errors of omissions, inaccuracies and deficiencies with respect to Hindu culture and ancient Bharatiya civilization. Contributions from ancient Bharatiya civilization were not included in the initial draft under the category of world religions in social studies curriculum of grade-2 which included other religions.
Hindu community members who noticed these issues started spreading awareness among the community and engaged with the authorities through various options available to provide feedback. Apart from this, one group of Hindus in southern Alberta started an online petition and another Hindu organization in central Alberta conducted a car rally to spread awareness about this issue. It got considerable coverage in the media and attention from the government. Several other peaceful awareness campaigns were conducted across the province.
Many Hindu organizations joined this activity which turned into a collective movement. There were dialogues with the education board in a series of meeting.
Though the community representatives were able to successfully convince the bureaucratic officials, final decision was not possible without the involvement of cabinet members of the provincial government.
The Hindu community members spanned across the province, approached their respective MLAs and many other ministers including the minister of Education for their support in this issue. A series of in-person and online meetings were held.
As a result of the collective effort of 40 different Hindu organizations over a 9 month period, the Hindu community was able to make their voices heard by the government. The government has released a new blueprint of Social Studies that address the concerns raised by the Hindu community of Alberta.
The newly released blueprint includes the introduction of all the world religions including Hinduism alongwith other religions in the same grade (grade 5) and removed the early introduction of a few religions in grade 2. The new blueprint also includes the contributions from ancient Indian civilization.
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11. SAUDI ARABIA ORGANISED ITS 1ST YOGA FESTIVAL IN JEDDAH: On January 29, more than 1,000 individuals from across Saudi Arabia flocked to Juman Park in King Abdullah Economic City to take part in the country's inaugural yoga festival organised by the Saudi Yoga Committee. People ranging from age of ten to sixty years attended the event which included a variety of games, yoga techniques and the art of mindfulness.
The attendees had the opportunity to practice yoga, see various performances, observe yoga studio demonstrations and learn about the services they offered. There were nearly eight hours of teaching and lectures by Saudi and international yoga specialists during the one-day event.
The head of the Saudi Yoga Committee, Nouf Marwaai was amazed by the number of visitors and the enthusiastic, positive response. She underlined the benefits of yoga in daily life and said that they wanted to promote yoga to families and encourage it in the country. “We want Saudis to start their day with yoga, which does not take more than 20 minutes a day, which anyone can easily spare”, she added.
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12. BHARAT-US TRADE CROSSED $100BN-MARK IN 2021: In a sign of deepening economic relationship between Bharat and the United States, bilateral trade in goods between the two countries crossed $100 billion mark in 2021, making it the largest volume of goods trade in a calendar year in Bharat-US economic history.
According to figures released by the US Census Bureau, Bharat-US bilateral goods trade was worth $113.391 billion from January to December 2021. Bharat exported goods worth over $73 billion and imported goods worth a little over $40 billion dollars.
Bharat’s principal goods exports to the US are precious and semi-precious stones, drugs and pharmaceuticals, petroleum products, cotton fabrics, garments, marine products, iron and steel products, electrical equipment and auto components. And its primary import was crude oil. Bharat also imports pearls, coal, chemicals, gold, paper and precious stones from the US.
Top US economist Lawrence H Summers spoke about how Bharat can become an economic superpower and listed the country's strengths and also the challenges that it faces. He was speaking at the 19th edition of the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit.
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13. EX-KENYAN PM WISHES TO TAKE AYURVEDA TO AFRICA: Bringing glory to Bharat’s traditional forms of medical therapy, former Prime Minister of Kenya Raila Odinga lauded the Ayurvedic treatment his daughter received from Kerala stating that it helped her gain her eyesight back.
He informed that his daughter had a brain haemorrhage and got operated on in Nairobi and later in South Africa around three years ago, but she was unable to regain her eyesight. Learning about the Ayurvedic therapy in Cochin, Kerala, Odinga arrived in Bharat where his daughter was successfully treated.
Odinga expressed his desire to take the Ayurvedic treatment to Africa and use their indigenous plants for therapeutics.
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14. DUBAI STUDENT IS WORLD'S YOUNGEST YOGA TEACHER: Reyansh Surani was only nine months old when he learned breathing techniques and asanas. Yoga became a part of his daily routine at the age of four. After completing 200 hours of yoga teacher training in Bharat at the age of nine, Reyansh officially broke the Guinness World Records for being the world's youngest certified yoga instructor. The 4th grader is now spreading the culture of yoga and meditation among his classmates and teachers at GEMS Modern Academy and giving yoga classes to around 50 students every week.
Reyansh said that with support from his parents and school, he aims to inspire the UAE community to take up yoga .
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15. INLAND WATERWAY FROM PATNA TO GUWAHATI INAUGRATED: On February 5, Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways and AYUSH, Sarbananda Sonowal, flagged off an inland waterway vessel MV Lal Bahadur Shastri from Patna to Guwahati. The vessel, carrying 200 Metric Tonnes of food grains, started its journey from Patna and headed for Pandu in Guwahati. It will travel via Bangladesh to reach the destination by early March 2022.
This historic feat will usher in a new era of growth for all the states of Northeast Bharat as the waterways will cut through the landlocked access and provide economical, swift and convenient transportation for the businesses and people of the region.
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16. SANTISHREE DHULIPUDI PANDIT : JNU'S FIRST WOMAN VC: Professor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit from Savitribai Phule Pune University has become the first woman vice-chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University. Prof. Santishree will succeed former VC of JNU Professor M Jagadesh Kumar.  
The Ministry of Education has said that Prof. Pandit has been appointed as the new VC for a 5-year tenure. This is the first time that a woman will be presiding in the office of this prestigious University. 
Born in St Petersberg, Russia (USSR), on July 15, 1962, Professor Pandit has been in the teaching field since 1988. She has been in the research field since 1985. She is a member of several prestigious organisations such as the Indian Association of American Studies, the All India Political Science Association, the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, the Indian Secular Society etc.
She has also authored books like ‘Parliament and Foreign Policy in India’ (1990) and ‘Restructuring Environmental governance in Asia-Ethics and Policy’ 2003.
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17. OBITUARY: LATA DIDI - On February 6, Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar passed away at the Breach Candy hospital in Mumbai. She was 92. Her mortal remains were consigned to flames at Shivaji Park in Mumbai with full state honours. The government announced a two-day "state mourning" and the national flag flew at half mast on February 6 and 7. Also, there was no official entertainment during this period. Many state governments also declared a public holiday as a mark of respect to her.
Born on 28th of September in 1929, Lata Mangeshkar who was fondly called 'Lata Didi' was one of the greatest playback singers in the country. She was born in a musical family to Pandit Deenanath Mangeshkar and Shevanti Mangeshkar. Her father was a well-known Marathi musician and theatre artiste. She was first tutored by her father and later appeared as a child artiste in several of his plays.
The icon, who presented generations with unbridled joy through her songs, has been Bharat’s favourite voice ever since her debut in the 1940s.
Renowned personalities from various fields have expressed their deepest condolences on the loss of the iconic singer.
Rashtrapati Shri Ram Nath Kovind said that Lata-ji’s demise was heartbreaking for him as well as millions of people the world over who found expression of their innermost emotions in her vast range of songs, rendering the essence and beauty of Bharat.
Pradhan Mantri Shri Narendra Modi said that Lata Didi’s songs brought out a variety of emotions and she has left a void in our nation that cannot be filled. He added that the coming generations will remember her as a stalwart of Indian culture, whose melodious voice had an unparalleled ability to mesmerise people.
In his condolence message, RSS Sarasangahchalak Dr. Mohan Bhagwat said that Lata Didi was the living embodiment of ‘shuchita’ and ‘sadhana’ and it was reflected in all aspects of her life. She has set before us an ideal example of a ‘safal’ and ‘sarthak’ life and her demise is a great loss to all of us.
Global leaders, diplomats and music lovers all across the globe also extended their condolences on her demise.
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18. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN: Pravas: Visitors:  Atul Singh - USA;  Adrish Brahmadatta - Thailand

 

19. FOOD FOR THOUGHT: “Do what is right at a given moment and leave it behind.” ― Ramana Maharshi -GoTop

JAI SHRI RAM

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BALASAHEB DEORAS: THE SOUL AND VISION OF DR. HEDGEWAR
VIRAG PACHPORE 

Madhukar Dattatraya Deoras, popularly and fondly known as Balasaheb Deoras, was a direct product of the first RSS Shakha started by its founder Dr. Keshav Baliram Hedgewar. Or we can say that he was the quintessential product of the organizational process initiated by Dr. Hedgewar to consolidate the Hindu society. Balasaheb came in contact with Dr. Hedgewar at the tender age of 11 and remained glued to the RSS ideology till he breathed his last in 1996 June. His life was the dedication and commitment to the mission personified.
Balasaheb Deoras was born to Dattatreya Krishnarao Deoras and Parvatibai on Nag Deepavali, i.e. December 11, 1915 as per Gregorian calendar. Balasaheb was the third Sarsanghchalak of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). He was amongst the first batch of swayamsevaks who had joined the first RSS shakha started by Dr. Hedgewar at ‘Mohite Wada’ in Nagpur. Balasaheb was groomed by none other than the founder of the RSS himself and that is probably one of the reasons that millions of swayamsevaks who had never seen Dr Hedgewar found reflection of the RSS founder in Balasaheb. Along with Balasaheb, the first batch of swayamsevaks included Keshav Rao Vakil, Triambak Shiledar, Pralhaad Ambekar, Bapu Diwakar, Narhari Parakhi, Baliram Yerkuntvar, Madhav Rao Muley and Eknath Ranade. Later his younger brother Bhaurao Deoras also joined the RSS. Eleven-year old Balasaheb was their undisputed leader and his fellow swayamsevaks looked up to him right from the beginning though Ranade was one year and Muley was three years elder to him. Later Ranade and Mule both became General Secretaries (Sarkryavah) of the RSS and played a stellar role in the expansion of the organization.
By the time RSS was founded in 1925, the Deoras family had shifted back to Itwari Mohalla in Nagpur. Balasaheb was studying in sixth grade when he joined the first RSS shakha. His enthusiasm was infectious and he brought in many of his friends to the RSS shakha where Shamrao Gadge was their instructor (Gana Shikshak). This bunch of young school going boys used to play games and listen to the tales of bravery told by Gadge. After sometime Balasaheb made his younger brother Bhaurao also join the RSS. They were always together and very close to each other.
Since his early days Balasaheb was dead against the practice of untouchability. He even told his mother to treat his fellow swayamasevaks who came from the so-called ‘lower’ castes, as she treated him to which she readily agreed. Later he spoke against the social evil at his famous discourse in Pune’s famous ‘Vasant Vyakhyanmala’ insisting that “untouchabilty must go and go lock, stock and barrel”.
This statement is considered to be one of the milestones in the history of the RSS as it guided the organization in fighting the demon of caste based discrimination with a renewed vigor. During the 21-year tenure of Balasaheb as the Sarsanghchalak, he relentlessly campaigned against caste based discrimination and untouchability. It also points to a personality trait of Balasaheb that he believed in challenging the status quo.
Balasaheb was an organizer par excellence and Dr. Hedgewar was quick to identify this important trait of his personality. He slowly started delegating certain authorities to Balasaheb starting from a “Mukhya Shikshak” of a shakha to “Karyawah of Nagpur” to “Mukhya Shikshak of an RSS Training Camp in Pune. Dr Hedgewar had done this with a purpose. He knew that to expand the RSS work, the organization needed large number of full-time workers (‘Pracharak’) and Balasaheb was the ideal person to prepare youngsters to take up this cause. He had once told Dr. Hedgewar, “A ‘model’ Shakha is that from where large number of youth comes out ready to serve the society by devoting all their time.”
Balasaheb did his education from the famous Morris College of Nagpur and passed LLB exam in first division. He was very practical and down to earth person. He played a very important role in getting the ban imposed on the RSS in the aftermath of Gandhi murder in 1948.
The then Congress government acting in full vengeance, banned the organization, incarcerated its leaders and swayamsevaks, and arrested thousands of them who performed “Satyagraha”. The entire situation was so grim that the future of the RSS looked dark with no silver lining of hopes.
In such a difficult situation, it was Balasaheb and some of this colleagues who worked hard under the guidance of the then Sarsanghchalak Late M. S. Golwalkar alias Sri Guruji to get the ban lifted. Balasaheb was a great motivator and easily approachable to common swayamsevaks besides being open to any question. He would even answer the pettiest question from any swayamsevak until he is satisfied. ..pg8
After the demise of Dr. Hedgewar in June 1940, Sri Golwalkar Guruji was appointed as Sarsanghchalak to lead the RSS. He with the help of Balasaheb and his team of workers, took the RSS to the centre—stage of the contemporary Indian socio-political situation. He was well aware of the capacity of Balasaheb and never hid his appreciation for Deoras.
Balasaheb was the most pragmatic leader of the RSS which was branded as most revivalist, obscurantist and regressive organization by its left and secular critics. Unlike the Congress he made it clear that no memorial of any RSS chief except its founder Dr. Hedgewar and his predecessor Golwalkar Guruji would be erected.
Deoras had a clear vision of the mission of Hindu consolidation and the day-to-day politics. Once, after the formation of the Janata Party government post emergency, former Prime Minister Chandrasekhar, who was then Janata Party president, said that ABVP and BMS should work as front organizations of the party. Balasaheb replied to his suggestion saying that “all trains leaving New Delhi Station need not start from Platform No. 1”. But the same Balasaheb allowed the erstwhile Jan Sangh leaders of the Janata Party to keep ‘safe distance’ from the RSS to avoid any further organizational crisis in the wake of the issue of ‘duel membership’ raised by some of the socialist constituents of the Janata Party.
Balasaheb is and will be remembered in future for his lasting contribution to the RSS and to the society at large. He was the man who added the dimension of social service to the RSS mission and a created a formal structure to carry forward the various service activities across the country, especially in the remote and inaccessible areas. During the birth centenary of RSS founder Dr. Hedgewar he announced the creation of “Sewa Vibhag” within the RSS and launched 5000 service projects. Today, the RSS and inspired organizations runs lakhs of such multi-faceted service projects all over the country ranging from health to education and from bio-farming to village development.
His passion and commitment for equitable and harmonious society (Samajik Samarasata) inspired many a swayamsevak to launch the movement to bring people of different hues to resolve the problems of the caste system and achieve the common goal of social harmony.
He was at the centre of the Ram Janmabhumi movement and events like ‘Ekatmata Yatra’ and ‘Ram Shila Pujan’ that preceded this great movement. The Ram Janmabhumi movement has changed the total polital, social narrative in India bringing all the sections of the Hindu society together and ending the dynasty rule besides bringing Hindutva to the political centre stage of contemporary Indian politics. He saw an RSS swayamsevak Atal Bihari Vajapayee to become the Prime Minister of this country before he breathed his last in Pune.
He also raised his voice against the division of Indian society as majority and minority. When the Janata Party government under Morarji Desai was about to set up the Minority commission, Deoras suggested that instead of Minority Commission the government should constitute a Human Rights Commission. He considered Muslims and Christians as part of the Indian Society and hence to categorize them as minority would be disastrous for the social health he believed.
Post-emergency he took lead in starting a meaningful dialogue with the Muslims and Christians and even allowed their entry into the RSS. The mission that he started is now being taken ahead under the aegis of the Muslim Rashtriya Manch (MRM).
His personal assistant late Srikant Joshi once commented that if Golwalkar Guruji was described as ‘heart’ of Dr. Hedgewar, Balasaheb was his “soul and Vision”. (www.newsbharati.com    08-Dec-2021)  
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