Shri Shankar Rao Tatwawadi, International Co-ordinator of the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh, in his Indian Ocean tour of Mauritius, Reunion, Madagascar and Seychelles, was received at ?Le Chateau de Reduit,? the State House, previously the official residence of colonial governors. The President of the Republic of Mauritius, Sir Anerood Jugnauth, received Shri Tatwawadi. The President came to know of the different types of activities conducted by the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh in Mauritius and in 40 different countries actively involved in the Sangh work.
Visibly charmed by the discipline and positive contribution of swayamsevaks, the President alluded to the Mauritian model, the Sewa Samiti of the Bissoondoyal brothers in the forties. The Sewa Samiti under the leadership of Professor Basdeo Bissoondoyal had galvanised the Hindus for decades on end into adopting sober living, pride in their own culture, shunning de-regulated lives and, in so doing, led the country to self-discipline and self-respect. The eminent visitor briefed the President, Sir Anerood Jugnauth, on the existence of 350 shakhas outside Bharat and active work in 40 countries, out of a total of 150 countries having known Indian settlement. He presented to the President books on the founder of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Dr Keshav Baliram Hedgewar entitled The Epoch Maker, a title that kindled. His Excellency'sinterest in knowing more of the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh.
Viewing the other book presented to him, Inspirer of a New Era on the second Sarsanghachalak Shri M.S. Golwalkar, the President of the Republic, remarked: ?It is a book worth reading.? With an avalanche of information put before him, he became inquisitive and asked, ?Is Sangh progressing?? It was a historic meeting between two eminent persons, the President of the Republic of Mauritius and a much-learned polyglot, Shri Tatwawadi, a leader with impressive credentials with his post-doctoral studies in USA, and who spoke effectively a suave and charming English, Hindi and Marathi at public gatherings there. Earlier Shri Tatwawadi, the Reader of Pharmaceutics and Head of Department at the Banaras Hindu University, who had retired earlier to the retirement time to serve the HSS cause, paid his respects to the 83-year-old Shri Baldeo Doomunji, the first Sanghchalak of the Mauritius Swayamsewak Sangh, at Long Mountain.
It is a village retaining the nostalgia of the contribution of Indian sepoys, fighting alongside British soldiers and defeating the French. Consequently, the remarkable contribution of these sepoys in the battle earned them the opportunity to hoist the British flag at the peak of Long Mountain. Shri Baldeo Doomun remains in history the pioneering Mauritian to hold the Bhagwa Dwaj of the Sangh and lead the organisation forward at a time Madhav Da was Pracharak in the island. After all, he was groomed in the hard school of the Bissoondoyal brothers, in the Sewa Samiti, an emanation of the revivalist movement, Jan Andolan, that heralded the coming of all Hindus together! Shri Doomunji spoke with full vigour to recount the episodes of his life as a member of the Sewa Samiti. ?B. Ramlallah, later Editor of Mauritius Times, and Mohabeer Foogooa, later parliamentarian, formed part of the group pedalling bicycles to far-off areas, like Lalmatie, to participate in the Great Awakening called Jan Andolan,? he said. It all seemed to him, as if it was only a day before that the Bissoondoyal era had existed, so precise and detailed was his description. The first Sanghchalak of Mauritius Swayamsevak Sangh felt his bosom full of genuine pride when he revealed the participation of his three grandsons in the historical route march of the Sangh organised in the streets of Port-Louis, only a month earlier. His son, a product of the Mauritius Swayamsevak Sangh and particularly of Madhav Da, the Pracharak, has succeeded in bagging LL.B and LL.M degrees, another acquisition to honour the family!
In his round of goodwill meetings, he sat over a cup of tea with Raj Meetarbhan, Editor of L?Express, one of the most-circulated papers in Mauritius, and the subject broached was about the deplorable state of Hindu youth. ?I do not totally lose hope,? said Tatwawadi, ?it is happening almost everywhere. The younger generation is cut off from Hindu values. When international terrorism with fundamentalist attitude prevails, then liberal attitude suffers.? In short, he said, the unrest in the world as a result of conflicting tendencies makes one think of resolving this problem into something positive. Tolerance needs to replace intolerance, sharing with others as a better approach instead of having everything for oneself, and in the same line of thinking, love and affection to the weak and needy instead of indifference to them. (FOC)
