Dr. Hedgewar was a skilled organizer

India’s best Vishal, social worker and founder of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Dr. Keshavrao Baliram Hedgewar was born on Chaitra Shukla Pratipada of Yugabd 4991 in a poor Vedpathi family of Nagpur. Dr. Hedgewar ji’s father’s name was Shri Balram Pant and mother’s name was Revati Bai. Hedgewar ji’s childhood was spent in poverty, but even in that environment of poverty, he was interested in exercise, wrestling, running sticks etc. Seeing the Union Jack hoisting on various buildings in his childhood, he used to think that the Hindu flag of our India is saffron only because the lives of Lord Ram and Krishna, Shivaji, Maharana Pratap all have been completed under the umbrella of this flag and here A plan to throw down the Union Jack began to form in his heart.

Keshav did his early education at the English School, Neil City, where he threw the sweets distributed on Queen Victoria’s 60th birthday into the dustbin. At the time of the coronation of King Edward VII of England in 1901, people were very sad to celebrate. His parents died in 1902 due to the plague epidemic. Hedgewar ji’s elder brother was of short temper due to which he left the house and started living with his friends. He started the work of collecting money for Lokmanya Tilak’s letter and also helped in opening a shop of indigenous goods. On 19 September 1905, the British government divided Bengal, which caused widespread protests across the country. The whole of India echoed with the slogan of Vande Mataram. Keshav tried to remove the British flag from the Nagpur fort and put up a saffron flag. When the inspector came to the school, the students raised slogans of Vande Mataram. Within a few days, Keshav became famous in Nagpur by the name of Tilak. Keshav passed the tenth examination in 1906. He started doing tuition and job in a school for his studies. In 1908, the British government put spies behind Keshav.
He came to Calcutta in 1910 to come in contact with big revolutionaries. After school, he used to contact other students. During the riots in Calcutta in 1910, he formed a Sushruva Dal. Here Keshav came in contact with Anushilan Samiti and prominent revolutionaries. Where Keshav lived, a spy followed him. On suspicion, he was searched and many evidences were found, after which he changed his costume. In 1913, he served the people a lot in the flood of Damodar river. Received the title of LL & Sons on September 2 and returned to Nagpur with the title of Doctor. Keshav, who became a doctor from 1915 to 1920, remained very active in national movements. He was always active in migration, meeting, meeting etc. He was always ready to kindle the aspiration of complete freedom in the youth.
After the plague spread again in Nagpur, his brother died and then he decided to do national work by remaining unmarried for the rest of his life. Dr. Keshav used to enthusiastically participate in Ganeshotsav and used to deliver motivational speeches. He also participated in the Home Rule Movement. People used to arrange money and weapons for the revolution. Dr. Keshav established the Rashtriya Utsav Mandal and Sharad Purnima was celebrated at his house. In 1919, he participated in the Lahore Congress, on 31 July the non-cooperation movement started. Dr. Keshav went to Pondicherry to meet Yogiraj Arvind. In 1920, he became the head of the Seva Dal in the Congress session of Nagpur.

Dr. Keshav ji opposed the Khilafat movement and said that it would prove fatal for the country. The government banned his speeches for a month and then he was sentenced to one year in prison. After one year, when he was released from prison, the public welcomed him at every place. Meanwhile, one and a half thousand Hindus were killed in the Mopla incident and twenty thousand Hindus were converted to Islam. Property worth three crores was destroyed. In 1923, the then British government had prohibited the procession of Ganapati from passing in front of the mosque and the Muslims protested against going to Dindi, then Dr. Organized the Dindi Satyagraha. That Satyagraha was very successful. From 1922 to 1925, Keshav was involved in the work of the Hindu Mahasabha. This year can be called a period of intense brainstorming in his life. Meanwhile, Veer Savarkar sent out from jail in 1922 itself after writing an investigative book called Hindutva. In 1924, unity councils were formed and many leaders expressed their views. On this occasion, revolutionary Lala Hardayal said that for the bright future of the Hindu nation, Shuddhi Sangathan and Afghanistan’s merger in India is necessary. Dr. Keshav, with his talent, invented a new method of branch, different from the methods of doing public work that were prevalent at that time. This disciplined method had amazing ability to give permanent rites. On Vijayadashami day of 1925, Dr. Keshavrao Baliram Hedgewar announced the establishment of the Sangh and later in a meeting on April 17, 1926, the name of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh was decided. In the naming meeting of the Sangh, he explained that the organization of Hindus in India would only be called national. It cannot be called communal. Any work of Hindus should be considered as national only. After the establishment of the Sangh, Dr. Sahib kept the saffron flag as his Guru. Every year on the day of Guru Purnima, it should be worshiped and offered Dakshina. Hedgewar ji asked the volunteers to wear the uniform of the Sangh. The working method of the Sangh developed gradually and many things were added to it from time to time. The traditional festivals of Vijayadashmi, Makar Sankranti, Varsha Pratipada, Gurupurnima and Rakshabandhan were selected to be celebrated by the Sangh branches. Along with these five traditional festivals, Dr. Saheb also popularized the sixth festival of Hindu Samrajya Divas and kept it in front of the volunteers and the society that what the Sangh wants to do.
In 1936, Shankaracharya of Nashik honored Keshav with the title of Rashtra Senapati. Dr. Keshav visited different regions and states of India for the development and expansion of the Sangh. Organized many meetings and programs. In 1935 and 1936, he worked tirelessly. A few days later he came to Nashik where he got double pneumonia. On February 6, 1940, he was taken to Rajgir. After some time he came to Poona and then to Nagpur where his health again deteriorated. Illness increased and he died on 21 June 1940.

Doctor ji always stayed away from party politics. He had a clear idea that there can be no other politics than the attainment of independence for a dependent nation. It is the natural duty of every Hindu to carry forward the work of the great man who made the work of the Sangh successful on the strength of his gratitude. Helping to make it a reality will be of great benefit to the Hindu and the nation. Doctor ji has shown the way to worship the deity in the form of society in daily life.

Mrityunjay Dixit