Hindustani Seva Dal and Mahatma Gandhi

[Prof. Dr. Yogendra Yadav]

Prof. Dr. Yogendra Yadav

Senior Gandhian Scholar

Gandhi Research Foundation, Jalgaon, Maharashtra, India

Contact No. – 09404955338, 09415777229

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Mailing Address- C- 29, Swaraj Nagar, Panki, Kanpur- 208020, Uttar Pradesh, India

 

 

Hindustani Seva Dal and Mahatma Gandhi

 

 

 

The Hindustani Seva Dal is hereby recognized as the Central Volunteer Organization of the Congress, working directly under the authority of the Working Committee or such person or persons as it may appoint in this behalf, and with the following functions: (a) It shall act as a duly authorized institution for the training of officers and instructors. (b) It shall enroll and train recruits in Karnatak, or such other place as may be determined by the Working Committee from time to time and these will form a permanent Central Corps for officers’ training and will be liable to serve wherever necessary. It may also have training centres and camps for officers and instructors in other suitable places. (c) It shall lend the services of officers and instructors for provinces at the latter are expense. (d) It shall have power to form volunteer corps in provinces wherever so required by Provincial Congress Committees. 2. All Provincial Congress Committees are hereby authorized and required to form duly recognized volunteer corps. 3. No such corps shall be recognized unless all the members are members of the Congress and conform to the Congress creed and whose officers are holders of certificates from the Hindustani Seva Dal. 4. No volunteer board or corps not previously recognized by the Working Committee shall work in any Congress province in the name of or on behalf of the Congress. 5. Jawaharlal Nehru is appointed the member in charge on behalf of the Working Committee of the said central volunteer organization of the Congress and N. S. Hardikar, the organizing secretary thereof and they will serve during the pleasure of the Working Committee. The member in charge shall frame rules of the said organization so as to bring it in conformity with this resolution of the Working Committee, and shall define the duties and qualifications of officers and members of volunteer corps provided that such rules shall take effect after being first sanctioned by the Working Committee and on the acceptance by the All-India Board of the Hindustani Seva Dal of this resolution. N. S. Hardikar, Congress leader from Karnatak: associated with the Hindustani Seva Dal, a volunteer crops; elected to Rajya Sabha in 1952 and re-elected in 1956

Mahatma Gandhi wrote, “Dr. Hardiker has sent me the programme of the work to be done by the Karnatak Branch of the Hindustani Seva Dal. I take the following from the copy before me: The organizers and workers of the Karnatak Branch of the Hindustani Seva Dal met at the Dal Office, Hubli, on the 13th, 14th and 15th October, 1926, with Mr. Hoskoppa Krishnarao in the chair and after full discussion passed the following resolutions regarding the future programme of work to be undertaken by them: Resolution 1: This meeting of the organizers and workers of the Karnatak Dal resolves that they should concentrate their attention on the following programme: (a) To sell khaddar worth Rs. 40,000 (forty thousand) in Karnatak within seventy-two appointed days beginning from the 1st of February 1927 to the 13th midnight of April 1927 (including the National Week), under a scheme to be settled finally by Dr. Hardiker and Mr. Hoskoppa Krishnarao, in consultation with Mahatma Gandhi, Sjts. G. B. Deshpande and S. V. Kowjalgi. Note: The commencement of work under this item has to be postponed to 1st February, 1927, in view of the Assam Congress necessitating the Dal’s concentrated activities at Gauhati during the preceding period commencing from the middle of November. This is a good khadi programme. The Dal will have done well if it is carried out. Let me point out from my own experience and that of co-workers that khadi work will not flourish unless the principal workers know the science of ginning, carding, spinning and can distinguish between the different varieties of cotton and know genuine khadi from the spurious article. Khadi work to succeed evokes all the best that is in one. I shall watch the progress of the programme with considerable interest. There was another resolution passed by the Dal inviting me to visit the Province next year during the sale days. I should not give much credit to the volunteers if they expect to sell only 40,000 worth of khaddar with me as one of the sellers. The members should know that I put a fairly high price on my presence. They will have to put before me a more attractive programme than they have prepared if they are to draw me. And they must know that I am but one bride with many suitors to please. And as I do not believe in polyandry, the winner will have to offer a tempting dowry. It would be well for them therefore not to build any hope on my going to Karnatak early next year.” 1

Mahatma Gandhi wrote, “In the Prem Mahavidyalaya creation of Raja Mahendra Pratap has a proud record and is one of the very few pre-non-co-operation institutions that were created and have lived without Government aid, recognition or affiliation. Like all such undertakings it has had to pass through many vicissitudes but has come out scathe less through them all. Recently it celebrated its anniversary. Dr. Ansari presided on the occasion. The report before me states that “the proceedings began with a takli demonstration and hoisting of the national flag by Dr. Ansari and singing of the flag-song by the volunteers of the Hindustani Seva Dal followed by Vande Mataram.” 2 Mahatma Gandhi wrote, “With reference to your enquiry I am sorry I have not got the repatriation rules regarding indentured labourers at the Assam Tea Plantations but you are likely to have them either from Pt. Banarsidas Chaturvedi, Vishal Bharat, Calcutta, or Servants of India Society, Poona.” 3

Mahatma Gandhi gave message to Hindustani Seva Dad, “I expect the volunteers of the Hindustani Seva Dal to stand by their pledge of non-violence under every conceivable circumstance.” 4  Mahatma Gandhi gave message to Hindustani Seva Dad, “Camping for Congress volunteers should mean greater dedication, greater self-purification, greater service of the poor, greater skill in hand-spinning and carding, greater skill in dealing with repairs to various machines required for spinning, ginning, carding, etc.; and above all, greater regard for truth and ahimsa. A Congress volunteer in camp should mean cleaning up of surrounding villages.” 5

Mahatma Gandhi wrote, “The Hindustani Seva Dal stands for the service of India. Till now whenever I heard the term ‘Servant of India’ it used to rouse great fear in my heart, because the rulers of India style themselves as ‘Servants of India’. These so-called ‘Servants of India’ can never in reality be what they call themselves. They are the servants of the British Empire and it is an impossibility to serve the British Empire and at the same time serve India. I can assure you, you can do no service to India if you try to follow the workings of these so-called ‘Servants of India’. You have to develop a desire for real service which these people totally lack. If on acquiring power you begin to cruelly enforce your authority on the people how is it possible to serve the people?” 6 Mahatma Gandhi wrote, “It is decidedly wrong on my part to think that I shall be able to serve India better if I become King of India. This was exactly the state of affairs at one time in the political life of France and people used to employ the most cruel and drastic means to remove their opponents from the political field. But the workers of the Hindustani Seva Dal should work with Peace and Truth as their foundation.” 7

 Mahatma Gandhi spoke, “ At a special session of the Hindustani Seva Dal Conference held. . . in the Jinnah Hall a resolution was adopted confirming the decision of the Central Board of Volunteers to dissolve all the organizations of the Dal and handing it over to the Working Committee of the Congress. Mahatma Gandhi opened the Conference and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the Congress President, presided. . . . Mahatma Gandhi . . . said that the Conference was meant not to write the epitaph of the Seva Dal as Mrs. Naidu who was asked to preside but could not do so owing to her departure to Hyderabad had said in her letter. On the contrary, it was meant to make the Seva Dal stronger. The Congress now wanted to bring the Dal under its direct control because it felt that the time had come when it should organize all the volunteers in the country and bring them under its own control. Proceeding, he said: The fight we carried on last year impressed upon me the need for training and discipline among the volunteers. The volunteers that we got as the struggle proceeded had not the required training. Although we gained much by that struggle we also suffered in certain respects. You might not know it. But I know it better. Although I was behind the bars of Yeravda I was getting newspapers and I could see what was going on in the country from day to day. It is but natural, when there is mass awakening. But if there is no discipline many evils are sure to creep in. It did happen like that in the last struggle. The volunteer organizations are in fact the very soul of the Congress. The very existence of the Congress depends on them, because they are the army of the Congress. Of course our army is to be non-violent. We have adopted a new way. Our army is not to bear arms. Nor have we to make use of ammunitions. The Congress has decided to save India by that new weapon. We have already achieved considerable success by following that way. And we mean to achieve more. But our success depends on our non-violent army of volunteers. If they do not save India, if instead of saving they themselves destroy it, if instead of being the apostles of non-violence they themselves become the votaries of violence, how can we expect to succeed in our struggle? Although I was behind the bars of Yeravda I was getting newspapers regularly and I could see what was going on. I felt that if we want to use the Seva Dal for our purpose we must effect certain changes and make it more useful for our work. It is to bring about that change that we have met here. That is the object of this Conference. Those who have been serving the Seva Dal or helping it in other ways need not be sorry for this change because this change is for the good of the Seva Dal. It is for the good of the country. It is to conserve all that was good in the Seva Dal and to put new life into it. We expect that the changes will strengthen the Dal and make it more useful for the service of the country. The Working Committee had decided to entrust the work to Dr. Hardikar and Pandit Jawaharlal. The Committee expects very good results from this new arrangement. We require the services of the Seva Dal in every case. At present we are living in peace time. Whether the Truce is followed by a permanent peace or whether we have to start the struggle again we require the services of the Dal. As I said it is our army and we have to maintain it. I must admit that so far I did not take any great interest in the work of the Seva Dal although I consider myself always a good soldier and am keenly interested in such matters. I hope that this new arrangement will immensely enhance your strength. I wish it is so. That is my blessing to you on this occasion if I can give any blessing.” 8

 

References:

 

1. Young India, 11-11-1926
2.   Young India, 8-3-1928
3. LETTER TO UNDER-SECRETARY, HINDUSTANI SEVA DAL, November 8, 1929
4.   The Hindu, 29-3-1930
5.   The Bombay Chronicle, 9-5-1931
6.   The Bombay Chronicle, 12-6-193
7.   The Bombay Chronicle, 12-6-1931
8.   The Bombay Chronicle, 10-8-1931