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By Pramod Kumar
“Those who criticise our concept have to do a lot of introspection. We are here to solve the problems that the society is faced with. Doctorji did not ask for anything from the volunteers except for an hour daily devoted to service of the society. Motivate people for the service of the nation. Think, what maximum we can do for the country. We have a clear picture for the future of our country. It has been given to us by our forefathers,” said H.V. Seshadri, the veteran Sangh Pracharak. He was speaking at the concluding session of the general body meeting of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidya Bharati, the largest educational institution of the country. Held at Karamsad in Gujarat from April 7 to 9, a total of 296 delegates from all the states of the country participated in the meeting.
Shri Seshadri called upon the delegates to wipe out the curse of corruption from the face of the country. “Shri Guruji´s brith centenary is just a year ahead. Let us dedicate our life to achieve what Guruji had dreamt of. It is a difficult task, but not impossible. We need change and we have the guidance for our onward march, so let us make the best use of it and achieve what the great leaders had dreamt of,” he said. Sahsarkaryavah Suresh Soni was also present in the meeting.
Speaking on the occasion, Kailashpati Mishra, Governor of Gujarat, praised the work being done by the Vidya Bharati in rebuilding the nation. “In the Vidya Bharati system one can see concern, commitment, dedication, and above all, a vision for a glorious future,” he maintianed.
Addressing the delegates, Swami Ramdas Maharaj described the Vidya Bharati work as “a ray of hope for the entire nation.” Expressing his satisfaction over the Macaulayan model being replaced with the rishi parampara model, he described it as a silent revolution. He exhorted the delegates to help small children in developing simple habits of Indian culture, like saying suprabhatam, bhojan mantra and other such simple practices of samskaras.
Brahmedev Sharma, organising secretary of Vidya Bharati, who is popularly known as Bhaiji, emphasised the need for organising more satsangs where the members of the community, parents and teachers should come together to discuss problems and find solutions. “Schools should become the centres of social and cultural change. They should act as a catalyst to bring together good ideas and practices of the yesteryears and that of the modern age,” he opined.
The newly elected vice president of Vidya Bharati, Dinanath Batra informed that an all India sports meet will be held between November 27 and November 30 at Gwalior and the training programme for the officials will be held at Shishu Mandir, Gwalior from May 19 to 28. He said that an All India athletes meet would be held in Satna (Madhya Pradesh) from December 26 to 28. Shri Batra also pointed out that there would be a Vanvasi students meet at Ranchi in which 10,000 Vanvasi boys and girls are expected to participate. Stating that the Vidya Bharati was not lagging behind in any field, he informed that six of its young athletes were going to represent the country in the Asiad.
The President of India, Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was full of praise for the work the Vidya Bharati has been doing. He visited one of our schools in Kerala and was very impressed to see what was going on there. Now many advanced countries like the UK, USA, Australia and Germany are studying the system of education imparted in our schools, he pointed out.
Election of new president and other office bearers of Vidya Bharati also took place at the meeting. Dr P.K. Mahadevan of Kerala was unanimously elected president for the next three years.
The new team of Vidya Bharati
Guide: Lajja Ram Tomar; president: P.K. Mahadevan; vice presidents: Devendra Pratap Singh and Dinanath Batra; Secretary: Shantanu Raghunath Shende; Joint secretaries: Narendrajit Singh Raval and Yatindra Kumar Sharma; Organising secretary: Brahmdev Sharma; Joint organising secretary: Prakash Chandra; Treasurer: Raj Krupal; Vidwat Parishad president: Dr Devendra Pratap Singh; Vidwat parishad vice president: Dr Purushottam Chaturvedi; Vidwat parishad sanyojika: Sushri Indumati Katdare.
