“Vanvasis are cultural community of Bharat. They are quite different from the tribal communities of the world. They are inseparable part our society since centuries. They are also very obedient citizens of the country,? said noted kathakar Mata Kanakeshwari Devi. She was speaking at the national convention of Akhil Bharatiya Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram at Kayavarohan in Vadodara Gujarat on September 30. Kayavarohan is the holy place where sage Vishwamitra had performed tapasya for long. A total of 427 delegates including 59 women workers participated in the convention which concluded on October 2. More than 2000 workers from 17 districts of Gujarat also participated in the inaugural ceremony of the convention.
Mata Kanakeshwari further added that it is not enough to say that our culture is holy and great, we must always be ready to protect it. Shri Mahendrabhai Arya, chairman of Vedic Cotton Ltd., Ahmedabad, was the chief guest and Shri Bhulabhai Patel, a prominent social worker of Vadodara, was the special guest at the opening ceremony. Both the dignitaries expressed their high opinion about the constructive work of Kalyan Ashram. Shri Suwalal Jain, a marble merchant of Surat, welcomed delegates and dignitaries as chairman of the reception committee.
Honouring Mata Kanakeshwari Devi with a shawl and a coconut, Kalyan Ashram president Shri Jagdevram Oraon said the presence of a woman saint at the function is very inspiring for all Kalyan Ashram workers. He appealed to the workers to spread the Kalyan Ashram work in all the Vanvasi districts and talukas of the country. He also released a compact disk of songs. Shri Oraon emphasised on increasing the number of full-time workers.
Mata Kanakeshwari Devi and Shri Bhulabhai also released a book, 1857 Movement and Vanvasis, written by Dr P.D. Sapre, former general secretary of Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram and Shri Shivbrat Mohanty. Dr Sapre presented a brief introduction of the contribution of Vanvasi youth in the freedom movement of the country.
Presenting the annual report, Kalyan Ashram general secretary, Shri Gunvant Singh Kothari said a total of 12,78 service projects at 9826 places of the country are being run by a total of 1365 workers including 370 female workers. He said an all India competition of Vanvasi athletes would be held at Amravati (Maharashtra) from December 25 to 28 this year. He said village development workers of the Kalyan Ashram are working in 263 Vanvasi villages. They constructed and repaired 2715 tanks and wells in different districts. A total of 495 Self Help Groups are also functioning in various parts of the country. Shri Kothari said the Kalyan Ashram has decided to organise an all India Mahila Sammelan in Ranchi (Jharkhand) in the last week of December 2008. Joint general secretary Shri Kripa Prasad Singh stressed upon economic development of Vanvasis and gave information about rural-based industries, cottage industries and water harvesting.
Sah Sarkaryavah of RSS Shri Bhaiyaji Joshi, organising secretary of Kalyan Ashram Shri Somayajulu and veteran Sangh Pracharak Shri Madhubhai Kulkarni also inspired the workers in different sessions. Shri Chandulal Adme, a retired IAS, marked the contribution of organisations like Adim Jati Seva Mandal and Kalyan Ashram for the development of Vanvasis. Shri Adme himself belongs to the Mandala district of Madhya Pradesh.
The convention also adopted three resolutions. In the first resolution it demanded that the family, which has been living in forest for three generations, should have the right to get a patta of land and registry of papers should be made in the name of both husband and wife. In the second resolution the convention demanded that the land in Vanvasi areas should not be acquired for SEZ. In case no substitute, there should be a provision that the Vanvasis are provided with land for land and not monetary compensation. The third resolution was regarding the participation of Vanvasi youth in the 1857 freedom struggle. (FOC)
