BJP leader Jamal Siddiqui, who is also the head of the minority wing of the party, has addressed President Droupadi Murmu, requesting her to consider granting Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, head of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which is currently celebrating its centenary, the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award in India.
Siddiqui wrote in his letter that Hedgewar was not only a great freedom fighter but also a nation-builder and that awarding the Bharat Ratna would not only provide the youth with ideals of nationalism and service, but would also ensure that the contributions of Hedgewar to the nation would not be undervalued.
Born in 1889, Hedgewar was immensely influenced by revolutionary leaders like Bagha Jatin, Prafulla Chaki and Barindra Ghosh as a medical student in Calcutta (now Kolkata). He first became a member of Anushilan Samiti, a revolutionary body that operated in the fight for independence in India. Hedgewar, inspired by the call of national unity and unselfish service, proceeded to establish the RSS on Vijayadasami Day in 1925.
Siddiqui emphasised the active involvement of Hedgewar in the freedom movement, saying that he had been imprisoned by the British government several times. He served a one-year jail term in 1921 on a charge of sedition as a result of his speeches at Katol and Hinganghat. He was later sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment in 1930 in relation to the Jungle Satyagraha, but never gave up, and he made his most famous statement when he declared, “India belongs to Indians, we demand full independence.”
Though Hedegewar died in 1940, Siddiqui observed that his thought and the institution he established still affect the socio-political life in India. Siddiqui believed that the award of Bharat Ratna to Hedgewar would not just be honouring his own efforts and sacrifices, but also would motivate generations of swayamsevaks who have dedicated their lives to serve the country without self-interest.
Click Here for Chhattisgarh News
Click Here for Entertainment News