PRIME MINISTER RELEASES BOOK ON "DR.
HEDGEWAR"
The Prime Minister,
Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee released a book on the life of Dr. Keshav
Baliram Hedgewar, a great nationalist, social reformer and founder
of the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS). The Deputy Prime Minister,
Shri L. K. Advani was the Chief Guest and the RSS Sarsanghachalak,
Shri K. S. Sudershan, the Guest of Honour. The Minister of Information
& Broadcasting, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad presided over the
function organized at Vigyan Bhavan and attended by several Union
Ministers, Chief Ministers and Members of Parliament and senior
leaders of the RSS.
The Information
& Broadcasting Minister, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad said on
the occasion that ideological differences should not come in the
way of giving proper recognition to all great persons who contributed
towards the building of the modern India. Nobody’s contribution
should be berated on the basis of the narrow points of view.
Shri Prasad said
the book has been published under the ‘Makers of Modern India
Series’, which is being pursued in a very transparent and objective
manner without discrimination with anybody. The biographies of
other leaders including Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia, C. N. Anadurai,
Morarji Desai, Ch. Charan Singh, Sheikh Abdullah, Veer Sarvarkar,
Bhagat Singh, Dr. Shayama Prasad Mookerjee and E. M. S. Nambodripad
are being published by the Publications Division in this series.
Shri Prasad said
that the dedication of Dr. Hedgewar towards Indian culture and
national identity was incomparable. He said, Dr. Hedgewar’s ideology
and works would continue to motivate and guide the patriotic people
for generations to come. The author of the book, Prof. Rakesh
Sinha said that the evaluation of Dr. Hedgewar’s contribution
towards nation building had been an extremely difficult task.
He said that it took him several years to research the material
and put it together into a biography.
The Makers of
Modern India is an important series published by the Division
wherein the important information about lives and works of great
sons of the nation are published. The book has 21 chapters and
runs into about 225 pages containing all the important incidents
of his life. The book encompasses the glimpses of Dr. Hedgewar’s
idealism, morality, fearlessness, truthfulness and his principled
adherence to his belief. It also tells about his commitment to
the cause of country’s independence, cordial relations with Gandhiji,
cooperation with Congress, his efforts to maintain a distance
from extremism. The book will prove to be a valuable asset in
the study of the hitherto untouched aspects of the country’s freedom
movement.
Dr. Hedgewar
was a simple man but had a great personality. From his childhood,
his mind had been rebelling against the foreign rulers. From the
early years of his life, he set out with his associates to work
for the independence of the country. The fearlessness with which
he defied the British rule and its judicial system is a unique
example in itself. Dr. Hedgewar obtained his medical degree but
did not take up his profession as he had taken a vow to serve
the country and the society. He was full of humility, truthfulness
and had a dynamic personality who performed important task of
inculcating the sense of pride in the countrymen. In the short
span of 51 years he achieved many important tasks including organizing
a big cadre of RSS. He was not after fame and believed in constantly
working away from the glare of publicity. He discouraged the people
wanting to write about him, this is why there is not much literature
available about him. Perhaps, this is the reason why there is
lack of proper understanding amongst the people about Dr. Hedgewar
and RSS – the organization set up by him. The author of the book
Shri Rakesh Sinha says that he has tried to fill in this gap by
writing this book.