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Focused on the Work of NGOs in India & the Unsung Stories of Freedom Fighters.
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www.roughpolish.com
About Us
RoughPolish is a company that mentors and brushes your dimensions and potter your skills to
make you stand/look unique from the crowd. We aim at budding young entrepreneurship
learning minds that wish to cater them with the knowledge of the same with a motive to ensure
you the best of what you expect from us.
RoughPolish is blessed with a young and enthusiastic team that proclaims its spirit and energy.
Values “Polishing your dimensions” is our motto to provide you with the best of our services and
transform you to what you never imagined of.
Vision
To reach out to every individual who has Untouched Hidden Entrepreneurship talent to
explore.
Mission
"The best way to predict the future is to invent it." -Theodore Hook
WHY THIS MAGAZINE? We have launched this edition of our E-Zine to invoke the feeling of Patriotism in each and every
Individual throughout the Year and not just around August 15. We wish and pray for the
betterment of the citizens and the Country as a whole. Keeping in mind that the Social Stigmas of
Society can never win over us because of the existing Positive Pillars of Society like the NGOs
whom we have featured for the same purpose along with the Unsung Freedom Fighters who
happily served the Nation selflessly.
CONTRIBUTIONS
We have received a quick and overwhelming response from the Communication team of each
and every NGO that we have featured. However, we have maintained the originality of the
articles that we have received from the NGOs. Mansi Bhateja and Vartika Shukla have
contributed an article each.
IMAGE CREDITS
COVER IMAGE: MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Watermark Image: MAKE A DIFFERENCE
ENTREPRENEURS = INDEPENDENCE = FREEDOM We Shivam Kapoor & Anurag Tiwari, Co-Founders; Sachin Bansal, CTO, RoughPolish, Appreciate
The Efforts Of Our Young Team Members And Student Ambassadors who have played a crucial
role in organizing IDQ’14 [THE INDEPENDENCE DAY QUIZ] Which engaged more than 10K
Indians compete for the Quiz and Pay a Historical Tribute to Freedom Fighters as Never Before
and we are thankful to all our entrepreneurial family including the Promoters..
Heartiest Congratulations Team!
CORE TEAM
MOHAK DUMRA
VARTIKA SHUKLA | MANSI BHATEJA |LAKSHAY CHAWLA | AAKASH GOEL
STUDENT AMBASSADORS
CHANAKYA KARRA | YAGNASREE GUTTA | SOWMITH YERRAMSETTY | NEHA TIWARI
SAI KRISHNA CHERUKUPALLY | HIMANI ANAND | ARVIND AGRWAL
RISHAB JAIN | UMAMAHESH KARANAM
VISIT US
WWW.ROUGHPOLISH.COM
WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/ROUGHPOLISH
WWW.TWITTER.COM/ROUGHPOLISH
CONTACT US [email protected]
www.roughpolish.com | polishing your dimensions
WHAT YOU’LL SEE INSIDE Exclusive Inspiring Stories & Learning’s From The Leading NGOs
&
THE UNSUNG
FREEDOM FIGHTERS
Make A Difference
HelpAge India
Childline India Foundation
Magic Bus
Its Your Earth (Welfare Association)
The Streisand Foundation
NGO- AN INDEPENDENT VOICE Since India got independence, the misconceptions about purely independent India has been
assimilated by the country entirely. India would have been a better country if the words like social
stigma and stereotypes didn’t exist. As much proud Independence Day makes us by remembering the
freedom fighters and their sacrifices solely for their mother, their country, It bows us down to know
that the social issues, harassment, molestation with the women are still prevailing in the society
decreasing the harmony and developing society dilapidation. There has to be one to block the issues so
as to hamper the effects of the social stigmas. It is when NGO's came into account. From educational
sectors to social issues NGO's are spreading its roots everywhere for the betterment of our country.
Where the Government fails to crusade, NGO's are rapidly taking initiatives to service developments in
each possible sector. When it comes to capacity development they have successfully bridged off the
barriers which lacked growth. The NGO statistics has shown a massive increment in recent years. It is
estimated to have had around 2 million NGO's in India which deals with education growth, women
empowerment, decreasing rate of child labor and unemployment, giving shelters to the orphans and
needy people, increasing the growth rate, giving women equal rights, etc.. There are many NGO's who
works to help unprivileged children by providing well education and to bring a social change in India.
Five top most NGO's that work for education are MAD, HelpAge India, Childline Foundation, Magic Bus.
NGO's have been counterfeited and has faced challenges to legitimacy, but consistently proved how
effective they are in providing the aid to the one who needs the most. The backbone of the society and
the strength of a fallible, they have manifested both. Being a well policy-maker, they are more involved
in local society issues where government doesn't pay any attention. The government always talks
about women safety, women empowerment and self-defence, a question keeps springing up that why
the initiatives are always taken to educate women, but not men to stop harassment, molestation and
rapes? The sessions about self-defence are held, but not about self-control! Prevention is always better
than cure, then why the legal actions or rules are made after the crime has been committed? These
questions do mentally depress/harass a woman. It's high time to wake up the government of India
before it gets too late. If Gandhiji visits us again on earth then he would say, “you are still the same as I
left you: Weak, dependent and imperfect". The colonialism by Britishers and the struggle to assist the
aftermaths by Gandhiji went all in vain and have left a mark of corruption in our Nation.
The rising number of NGO's shows how much the government fails to fulfill the rights of the people
and their leniency. The only matter in which the NGO's lag behind is the lack of resources and money
power. But if they collaborate with the government then they can achieve greater success in
developments. They take up funds, charities, organize campaigns to raise the voice of the fallible and
merely establish the authenticity of its organization which is "an independent voice" of its nation. The
idea of NGO is more coherent than nation’s strategies. If resources are consecrated then NGO's can
take up the tag of being the backbone of the nation.
www.makeadiff.in | www.roughpolish.com
“We must celebrate! Where are we off to?” said Jithin Nedumala after knowing that his friend, Sujith Varkey got
admission into a law school. “Unlike every time, this time I’ve planned of going and celebrating it with children in one of
the shelter homes I know”, Sujith replied and that was how it all started. They visited a poor home named YMCA Poor
Boy’s Home located in the outskirts of Cochin. Contradictory to people’s perception about such children being dejected
and depressed, these kids were vivacious and bursting with energy! The smiles and laughs made these two stay there
right till the evening. After distributing sweets among the children of YMCA, Jithin and Sujith
asked them what they wanted. They were expecting to be asked for more sweets and ice-cream, things that these
children rarely get. Surprisingly, it was something else. The children told them that they would love to receive books to
read. Happy with what they heard, Jithin and Sujith promised that they would be back with books.
True to their promise, they delivered some interesting books to read. Before leaving, they told the children that they
expected them to read them and that they would be back a week later to assess how much reading has taken place. A
week later, they returned to the centre to see the status and they were surprised to note that not only had the children
read the books, they had even written reports on the books they had read. Encouraged with what they have witnessed,
they continued to visit YMCA often, to work with the children. A bond had formed between them. Even while they
continued to work there they began to feel a deep sense of injustice in the way the children were treated. They began
to see for themselves that the children at the home were no different from other children, yet these kids were treated
like second-class citizens, often being treated to leftover food and old, worn out clothes.
While Sujith went on to study at Symbiosis, Jithin continued with these visits. He found out that a large number of
children drop out of school primarily because they did not see any value in continuing to study in the existent system.
And he felt that this was one problem to address.
Once Sujith returned home on vacation, Jithin and he discussed the situation with the poor children’s home. They
decided to call a meeting of about 30 friends.
At the end of a fruitful meeting, they made the case for seriously taking action to give the children an opportunity for a
better future. They also explained that volunteering for this project was serious work and any commitments made
would have to be adhered to. The initial plans were simple and straightforward. They were planning to engage the
children for four hours a week (two hours a day, twice a week) out of their busy schedules and believed it was
important to respect the children’s time and make sure the time was productive.
They asked their friends to volunteer and commit two hours of their time each week to teach the children in the poor
children’s home. If they had sufficient volunteers, they could help develop fluency in written and spoken English that
would open up opportunities for these children. It would also help bridge the inequality gap that currently exists in both
education and the opportunities that exist beyond education.
After understanding the problem, twenty of their friends readily volunteered to serve at the YMCA, the Cochin based
shelter home. Thus, in May, 2006, Make A Difference (MAD) was born.
With time, the word spread and more enthusiastic people joined hands. Inputs were taken and more problems were
stated. Hundreds of like minds volunteered and started connecting to each other and working on defining solutions to
these problems.
As of July 2014, MAD is present in 23 cities across India and boasts of one of the largest youth volunteer networks in
the country. Nationally, it runs direct-child projects like Ed Support, Discover Fortify, Propel and an annual project
called ‘Dream Camp’. Adding to that, it has fund-raising projects which helps support the direct-child projects.
Make A Difference is a platform that empowers youth to become change leaders who make positive social impact in
lives of children at risk by empowering children living in orphanages and street shelters to discover their true strengths
and unleash their full potential.
www.helpageindia.org | www.roughpolish.com
HelpAge India – Working with and for senior citizens HelpAge India is a registered national level secular, non-profit organization with its mission “to work for the cause and care of disadvantaged older persons and to improve their quality of life”. Formed in 1978, it voices the concerns of India’s elderly. Currently there are an estimated 100 million elderly in India. HelpAge Advocates for their needs such as for Universal pension, quality health care, action against Elder Abuse and many more at a the national, state and societal level with Central and State governments. It advocates for elder friendly policies and their implementation thereof. The aim is to serve elder needs in a holistic manner, enabling them to live active, dignified and healthier lives. All donations to HelpAge India approved projects are 100% tax exempt under Section 35 AC and 80 GGA of the Income Tax Act.
Programmatic Structure HelpAge India runs various programmes servicing the needs of disadvantaged elderly mentioned here below: Mobile Medical Units (MMU): These are mobile health vans that provide basic healthcare virtually at the doorsteps of destitute elderly. The programme provides over 1.7 million treatments through its 81 MMU vans covering 840 locations across India. The programme has been recognized as Asia's largest Mobile Medical Programme for the elderly. Cataract Surgeries: HelpAge India funds over 30,000 cataract surgeries for needy elderly every year. In most cases, these surgeries help the affected elderly get back to work and earn a living once again, freeing them from financial dependency on anyone, enabling them to live a life of dignity. Cancer and Palliative Care: HelpAge India provides palliative care to end stage patients suffering from Cancer. Last year, over 7500 patients and their families received this help. Agecare/Physiocare centres: Elderly are usually impacted by the onset of arthritis and other related disease; this affects their ability to work and therefore earn their living. HelpAge India supports over16,000 elders in physiocare centres across 22 states. Support a Gran: HelpAge India enables over 30,000 destitute elderly to sustain themselves with regular supplies of food rations, clothing and basic healthcare. This Support-a-Gran programme works across India, enabling these elders live with dignity and independence. Elder Helplines: operate across India in 23 locations attending to calls reporting abuse, abandonment, harassment by family members and others, legal queries and provide rescue services during emergencies. It provides information to elders on access to various elderly schemes so they can live a dignified life. Address problems such as isolation abuse & neglect, facilitate emergency responses and provide linkages with the government, police, referral rescue & relief services. Old Age Homes/Day Care Centres: A roof over their heads is the critical need of the destitute, the sick and the abandoned, the uprooted by disasters and emergencies. This basic care is provided by HelpAge India supporting over 60 old age homes across the country every year. Disaster Relief and Rehabilitation: every disaster impacts the elderly very adversely as they are unable to push for relief packages. HelpAge India has stepped in at every major disaster, delivering specialized relief and rehabilitation measures. These range from floods in the plains of Assam, Bihar, Odisha, UP, Tsunami in Tamil Nadu to earthquakes in Gujarat and J&K and the recent Uttarakhand Floods.
www.helpageindia.org | www.roughpolish.com
Livelihood programmes: income generation schemes enable otherwise needy elders to set up self-help groups to avail micro credit and start commercial enterprises. These help them earn their livelihood and regain their financial independence. Over 3200 such Elder Self Help Groups, covering more than 42,000 elders operate across India. Tamaraikulam Elders Village (TEV): TEV is a unique rehabilitation project situated on the Cuddalore-Puducherry road, Tamil Nadu, built by HelpAge India - NDTV Viewers after the Tsunami in 2004. 100 elder victims of the Tsunami devastation were given a safe place to live in a model elder village which provides health care, professional care, livelihood options and recreational facilities. ADVOCACY HelpAge India reaches 1.2 million elderly through its various interventions. However, that's just one percent of the 100 million elderly in India today. To be able to work for the other 99%, HelpAge India needs far greater resources and consistent support of the society and governments in states and the centre. Raising public awareness and interacting with media, legislators and governments to espouse the elder cause is therefore an essential and continuous activity of HelpAge India Working with Society: Public awareness on elder issues - Building public awareness on the importance of supporting the elder cause is a key objective of HelpAge India. It invites public participation in 'Walkathons' on International day of Elder Persons (IDOP) on 1 October; involves the media in highlighting the evil of elder abuse on ‘World Elder Abuse Awareness Day’ on June 15of each year. Working with the Youth: SAVE (Student Action for Value Education) aims to inculcate care and respect for the elderly through HelpAge India's long standing programme with schools across the country; the HUG (Help Unite Generations) initiative aims at involving college students and young professionals to engage with elders and keep in regular touch with them, providing them companionship in their lonely, later years. Working with Governments: for Elder-friendly Policies and Laws - sensitizing legislators and governments in states and centre has resulted in HelpAge India contributing significantly to the formulation of the National Policy on Older Persons and the enactment of the Maintenance & Welfare of the Parents and Senior Citizens Act (2007). Current ongoing efforts aim at inclusion of age care in school curriculum and the provision for old age pensions; in some states, this pension facility is being introduced though the quantum of pension is still inadequate. Working with Senior Citizen Associations for senior citizens - HelpAge India taps the potential of Senior Citizens in evolving solutions to address their needs; it is currently associated with almost 1000 SCAs across the country. In addition, it holds regular health camps, offers counselling for financial assistance schemes like the Reverse Mortgage scheme and a nationwide helpline service for elders in distress. AdvantAge Card programme: This free of charge benefit card offers discounts from retail associates on various products, services and facilities ranging from health and wellness to holiday homes. It helps card holders to stretch household budgets, especially of those elder citizens living on limited or fixed incomes and, more importantly, encourages elder citizens to be physically active as the card requires their visiting the retail outlets themselves. Currently it has over 1.3 lakh members from over 200 towns and cities in India.
THE CHILDLINE SERVICE IN INDIA
Child/concerned adult dials 1098
Gets connected to aCHILDLINE centre
CHILDLINE team rushes to child within 60 minutes
Child is provided rehabilitation with constant follow-up
The CHILDLINE service, developed and managed by CHILDLINE India Foundation (CIF), is a free 24x7 emergency phone outreach service. Children or concerned adults dial the number 1098, from any phone services in India, and are connected to the CHILDLINE service in their city. The 1098 service is available to all phone service providers across India. CHILDLINE responds in over 25 languages across India.CHILDLINE teams physically reach children within approx. an hour of the call, provide SOS attention and link children in need of care and protection to organisations run by government departments as well as those run by civil society agencies.
Children and youth living alone on urban streets, child labour – especially in the unorganised sector, child abuse, children being victims of the flesh trade, ill treatment of differently-abled children, addiction in children, children in conflict with the law, children in institutions, mental illness in children, HIV/AIDS or other long term diseases in children, children affected by conflicts and disasters or being political refugees, children’s families in crises, female foeticide, undernourishment, illiteracy, trafficking – are among the host of issues plaguing children in India and also represents the range of cases handled by CHILDLINE. Each kind of case requires its own unique protocol to be followed. CHILDLINE works closely with Allied systems- Police, Education and Health departments, Railways and Judiciary in order to resolve cases
Initiated in 1996, CHILDLINE currently operates in 291 cities/towns/districts through its unique social-franchise network of over 540 partner organisations across India, and services over 4.5 million calls a year. As of December 2013, CHILDLINE India has serviced over 30 million calls and directly intervened with over 4 million children.
CHILDLINE is India’s national-level response to the ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Additionally, the CHILDLINE 1098 service receives a special mention in the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act 2000. The Government has requested CHILDLINE to act as a catalyst in bringing together State agencies and voluntary agencies at the local level to ensure implementation of the Act.
CHILDLINE India Foundation,406, Sumer Kendra, 4th Floor, PB Marg, Worli, Mumbai 4000018. India
Phone: 91 22 24952610; Fax: 91 22 24903509; email: [email protected]; Website: www.childlineindia.org.in 24 hr. toll free helpline: 1098
Fb: Childline India Foundation Twitter: CHILDLINE1098
The Government of India cites CHILDLINE as part of services to UN for the United Nations Convention of Child Rights commitments. When the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) came into being in 2006, it recognised CHILDLINE India Foundation as the Nodal Mother NGO for implementing the CHILDLINE model across all districts in India. This has subsequently become the framework for the MWCD-initiated Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS). This scheme of the ministry funds the expansion of CHILDLINE services, and has targeted the end of the 12th Five Year Plan to cover all 600+ districts of India.
www.magicbus.org | www.roughpolish.com
Change, One Child at a Time Fourteen years old Ritu shares her small home in the slums of Tughlakabad with her 7-member family. Like every house in the neighborhood, theirs too is a makeshift hut pulled together using plastic sheets. Given the family's financial situation, that is all they can afford. Her father is working as a driver and mother works as a housemaid, among the lowest-paid jobs in India. Burdened with such levels of poverty, Ritu’s parents did not support her going to school. Consequently, the child was mostly left to fend for herself. “At first glance, you could make out that Ritu was not very well taken care of. She was dirty and unkempt, one of the hundreds of girls who grow up with no future,” says Niraj Kumar from Magic Bus. “As an unschooled girl, she was fated to follow in the footsteps of her mother and become a child bride.” Magic Bus’ program identifies girls-at-risk like Ritu and works with them using a curriculum that makes sure children get education, learn healthy habits, and learn boys and girls have equal rights. When Magic Bus started working in the area, Ritu was among the group of children who would stand on the sidelines, watching. One day, she picked up the courage to talk to the volunteer running the program here. “My parents will not allow me to participate, but I want to be part of the group too,” she said. Magic Bus’ staff approached the parents and held meetings to explain that girls playing and studying is not a bad thing at all, in fact, as a child, Ritu’s right is to learn and grow as well as any boy. Her parents eventually agreed, but on one condition: there should be separate groups for girls and boys. “Our children learn that girls have the same abilities as boys. This was a lesson Ritu learnt herself, as part of the Magic Bus sessions. Within as little as two months, she decided to call for a boys-versus-girls match, at which she invited her parents too,” says Niraj about impact created on Ritu’s life. “Watching all children together on the ground went a long way towards breaking age-old stereotypes about divides along gender lines,” says Niraj. “Ritu explained to her family that nature had not meant for girls to be ‘the weaker sex’ and that given a chance, she could do as well in life as any boy. Her newfound confidence was visible to all, not just her parents but her entire community.” Soon, Ritu became a regular school-goer and an avid learner. With health tips from her Magic Bus mentors, she learnt to take care of her own health and hygiene needs, including basics such as bathing, cutting nails, wearing clean clothes. Ritu is now part of an advanced development program at Magic Bus that teaches her English language and computer skills. Along with her group, she continues to pick up the skills that will one day make her employable and build for herself a poverty-free future. Magic Bus is an Indian non-profit working on breaking the cycle of poverty, one child at a time. “Today, there are still 60 million more Indians living in poverty than 20 years ago; many of these are children and young people,” says Pratik Kumar, Magic Bus’ CEO. “Over the coming decades, without support, this generation will certainly miss out on opportunities for meaningful employment; but also much more – they will miss their chance to fulfil their own ambitions and dreams, the opportunity to build and participate in an India of their choosing, and the rights and opportunities true citizenship affords. This is why Magic Bus equips some of India’s poorest children and young people with the skills and knowledge to grow up and be successful, to move out of poverty, and to take control of their future.” The organization aims to reach at least 1 million children and youth by 2017. To become part of the solution by volunteering, please write to [email protected].
www.facebook.com/ItsYourEarth | www.roughpolish.com
It’s Your Earth ‘It’s Your Earth (Welfare Association)’ or IYE is an NGO registered under section 21 of 1860 Society’s Act that aims at encouraging youth’s involvement towards some serious issues of the society. It aims at serving the nation and as the name suggests, the mother Earth. IYE was initiated by some college students in the NCR (National Capital Region). They started it with a Facebook group around Feb 2011. Its sparks caught fire and it started spreading along the regions around New Delhi (started from Noida). It got registered as an NGO in January 2012.
It aims to encourage the youth to come forward to help in changing the present condition of the nation. It motivates to become self dependent to achieve what is desired. Through college student bodies, it seeks to undertake ‘annual projects’ to make an impact on the common man to make him realize his powers. The IYE believes in action more than words and their works reflect it. There is no place for any 'Excuse' for them, the 'Excuse' of being helpless. Though the country has many NGOs working for social welfare but what makes this organisation unique? The answer is that it’s a non-profit org. carried by the youth that are dependent on themselves to accomplish their aims. They believe in self dependency and are confident and promising in their actions. Pallav Jain Heads as the President of the Foundation, Archit Jain is working as the Secretary and Mayank Jain as the Treasurer.
"As I always say, we are not doing anything different nor are we social workers. We are just doing our part and requesting others to do their part, instead of sitting idle and blaming others (especially the govt.), for not doing their work efficiently."- Words of a team member.
Initiation of the IYE welfare organisation:
The team had a great desire to help the mankind. There were many ups and downs in their thoughts before they had started to implement it. This oscillating of the thoughts is phenomenal. One needs immense courage to even start to bring about a change in any system. They believed that criticizing or blaming the authorities is worthless; we need to step forward to bring about changes by ourselves, if they don’t occur on their own. People regret for not being powerful enough but its team marked those words as an ‘Excuse’ and believed that a common man has immense powers with which he can change the whole world. These feeling let them implement what they had desired for, i.e. "Be the change you wish to see in the world". The team formed a group on the social networking site, Facebook, with the same name and started adding people. The foundation of the group is becoming stronger day by day. A military man to a team member - "I serve the nation at the border. It’s not like that, that only we have the opportunity to serve the nation. We serve on borders but a common man is expected to serve the nation being within, it’s of the same importance as our work". These words inspired him to take a step forward. "We visualize an initiative as a milestone in the process of a change. If an initiative has been taken; we need to develop it, spread it and turn it into reality."
Their on-going Projects are: Red Life Saving Project 'Jeevan', Cloth Donation (Sneh) & Environmental Care (Hariyali) and many other beautiful projects that benefit the Mankind and Nature.
www.sfcc.streisands.org | www.roughpolish.com
Streisand Foundation
Streisand Foundation was set up in 2008 with the intention of serving the community and making
the world beautiful for all concerned.
We started off with education related projects where we sponsored some of the less privileged to
afford world-class education and then started a vocational skill training center which enabled
hundreds of individuals and their families to move up the poverty line in a short span of 90 days.
We started supporting artists to sell their works by creating an art store and today we have the
pride of selling top class art works of over 500 artists from across the globe and supporting the
livelihood of not only these artists but their dependents as well.
Streisand Foundation then started the process of preserving, protecting and promoting Indian Art
and Culture. Besides organizing events and exhibitions, we would also renovate old historical
structures which had traditional and heritage value.
Recently Streisand Foundation has launched Sattvik Cooling classes where we are teaching
traditional ways of cooking and are training people about how one has to manage and be aware of
the right emotions, hygiene, safety, raw material input and cooking methods to produce food that
is healthy for body, mind and soul.
From September 2014, we are launching online and offline programs under the banner of
Conscious Living Center (CLC), where the idea is to educate people of all age groups about the
value systems and art of conscious living so that all can set their goals and priorities according to
their ultimate purpose in life and lead a happy, contended and blissful life.
We also publish books by enlightened personalities who are making all efforts to make the art and
science of life easy for all of us to understand and live. We have currently Srimad Bhagavad Gita
translated in English with commentaries relating to today’s context and people by Swami B G
Narasingha, and is available for anyone to read for free at our location in Indiranagar, Bangalore
and is given free with every Rs.500 donation towards the Foundation.
We urge people from all walks of life and age group to join us in our endeavor to make this world a
better place for ourselves and future generations. Just write to us at [email protected] and
we will revert back to you.
Wheeling Happiness Foundation
“Learning is finding out what you already know.
Doing is demonstrating that you know it”
Teaching is reminding others that they know just as well as you do.
You are all Learners, Doers, Teachers
Richard Bach in Illusions
The Wheeling Happiness Foundation is the proverbial first step of a thousand mile journey. A beginning that
promises a million new beginnings for those who feel they have reached a dead-end in their lives due to some
disability. A brain-child of Deepa Malik, whose chest-below paraplegia couldn’t deter her from achievements
that even few able-bodied, would dream of. Her indomitable spirit and incessant hard work got national
recognition when she was conferred with the Arjuna Award in 2012, an honor reserved for the exceptional few
in the country. Wheeling Happiness symbolizes the eternal power of one’s’ will’ that can keep the wheels of life
rolling. It is about believing in possibilities, about inspiring others and being inspired in turn and above all it is
about the power of doing good and sharing the goodness unequivocally.
The Wheeling Happiness Foundation is a helping hand that reaches out to the differently abled who are in need
of physical, materiel, financial and emotional support. Generating its resources through fund-raising events,
donations, supporting grants and voluntary contributions, Wheeling Happiness stands strong and supportive
beside those in need of help irrespective of their age, social status, type of disability or geographic location
within our country. The concept of Wheeling Happiness is to support, guide and inspire those in need to not just
become independent and self-reliant but to even go beyond in inspiring others to grow and achieve beyond the
usual expectations. And with someone as exemplary and inspiring as Deepa Malik herself leading from the front,
the Foundation holds the promise of limitless possibilities as a support system for the differently abled.
A disability is not just the absence of or the inability to use a limb or limbs. A majority of us live straddled by
invisible handicaps in our attitude, values and actions without ever mustering enough courage and resolve to
break through and live free. Converting the disability into ability is where people like Deepa Malik come to the
fore. Such people are a living proof of the power of choice. And also a proof of what proper support and inner
determination can overcome. People like her believe in pushing the barriers imposed by her disability, pushing
long and hard enough till that becomes a habit. That repeatedly attempting the impossible or at least the ‘very
difficult’ and gliding past it is not just possible but expected and to be considered ‘normal’.
The Wheeling Happiness Foundation takes the pledge of not just helping the differently-abled to stand proud
and independent but shall strive to help them become an example for the ordinary at what the extraordinary
can really be.
Why I am proud to call myself an Indian "The government isn't working for us"
"I don't want to live in a country like this"
"There are so many problems in our country"
These are some common statements we can listen to in our day to day lives. A major section of our nation
has something or the other to complain about our motherland. There are many who think that India shall
always remain a developing country. They are full of rage and anger but apparently are not putting it to
any use.
Today when my country celebrates its 65th year of independence, I would love to say, "Yes, I am an Indian". Why celebrate this day? Ask those lives that were lost to earn the free air you breathe today. After a century of slaughter and torment by a foreign power, our country earned its independence. Not to forget the battles fought for it and the loved ones lost.
The gift of our forefathers, the independence is what we celebrate today by hoisting the tricolour and
listening to the speech if the Prime Minister from the Red Fort.
Being one of the ancient countries of the world, India has a rich and way too old history. It has seen the
rise and fall of great empires, religions, communities and people. The cultural heritage of India is richer
than any other country you can ever think of. It is not only the wealth of India for which it was known as
the Golden Bird, but also because of the glorious past it has had.
Mark Twain once said, "India is, the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother
of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grandmother of tradition. Our most valuable and
most instructive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only."
Sanskrit, the original language of India is the mother of all other languages. Mathematical and astrological
theorems that are used widely in the world have their roots in India. The Ayurveda technique is the first
form of doctorial education in the world. The discovery of America by Christopher Columbus was actually
an accident. He set out to find India because just like the entire world, he was lured by its enormous
wealth. Such is the greatness of my country.
Not only is India the biggest democracy and the seventh largest nation but it has the world’s third largest
standing army comprising about 1.1 million men in uniform. I bet that surely is something to be proud of.
Today we are living in a free country. We have a Democratic government. In fact, we are the biggest
democracy in the world. But 68 years ago, the scenario was completely different. People were forced to
change their religion, they could not choose the leaders of their country. Even their farms were not their
own. Practically, they had no free will at all. No matter how chaotic the situation of the government
system might appear to be now, but you know we have the right to elect, re-elect and kick out the
government we want to.
The world has recognised my country as an emerging economic power. In about 50 years from now I see it
becoming the all in all power of the world. It already is the fourth largest economy in the world in terms of
purchasing power parity (considered to be more relevant than GDP).
As a child, you must have sometime in your life written an essay on this beautiful country starting with
'India is a land of contrasts and diversities, it is not just a statement. India, as a matter of fact is the most
vibrantly cultured nation on the globe. From Kashmir to Kanyakumari and from Gujarat to Assam, you can
find various cultures coexisting with each other as one. The phrase 'Unity in Diversity' must have definitely
been framed for India. People here have a thousand differences but one thing remains constant. We are all
Indians.
When we talk about the third world, education plays a vital role. Though our country is not cent percent
literate till now but the ones born and educated from our country have spread across the continents and
have earned laurels. About 60% staff in NASA is of Indian origin. In whichever field you name there are a
lot of Indian achievers.
India is the number one nation in cricket. Master blaster, Sachin Tendulkar, the greatest cricketer that has
ever lived, belongs to India. He has the most world records in cricket due on his name, that are nowhere
close to be broken.
Moving on, talking about the people that live here, I would say that they are the few people left on the
planet that still have a big heart. An evidence of this is that India has never attacked any country. We
forgive and forget. Most of the people here are generous and loving. We always try to maintain cordial
relations with other countries in the world even if they don't deserve it due to their past actions. We
welcome anyone who comes here and are always ready to help anyone to the best of our capabilities.
Next to oxygen and water the basic need of a human is food. In India, you not just find food but a simply
delicious and mouthwatering cuisine. The variety of food items made here is more than anywhere in the
world. The best advantage of having a diverse culture and vast range of communities is the variance in
dishes found here.
Also, India has the greatest movie making industry, known as Bollywood, in the world. The Indian
Bollywood industry has given the world some of the greatest acting talents and the iconic movies ever.
Indian movies are sold, watched and appreciated all across the world.
Yes, I was born in a country like that. I have lived here and i have cherished each moment of my life that I
have spent here. Yes, I am proud to call myself an Indian.
We have come a long way in the years bygone and I have hope to see my country stand at power and even
beyond the superpowers of today. We the youth are the power of the nation. We, you and I, can become
the change makers and turn the tables. We have the capability to regain the stature of the Golden Bird.
I agree we face a lot of challenges that hinder and hamper our growth as a nation but I firmly believe that
no war is won until you fight it. Every dark cloud has a silver lining and the night is the darkest just when
the sun is about to rise.
Jatindra Nath Banerjee (Niralamba Swami)
Jatindra Nath
Banerjee (Niralamba Swami)
was one of two
great Indian nationalists and
freedom fighters - along
with Aurobindo Ghosh (Sri
Aurobindo) - who
dramatically rose to
prominence between 1871
and 1910. But the
metamorphosis of both
these persons from great
active freedom fighters to
great yogi and guru was no
less dramatic. Aurobindo
Ghosh became Sri
Aurobindo and Jatindra Nath
Banerjee became Niralamba
Swami. He was born on
November 19, 1877
at Channa
village in Burdwan district.
His father, Kalicharan
Banerjee, worked as a
government official at
Bangaon of Jessore district (now North Twenty Four Parganas) of
Bengal. His early education was completed at the village school.
While at college, Jatindra Nath (Jatindra Nath Banerjee) began
developing interest in political activities of India. He was drawn
towards radical and revolutionary methods of attaining independence.
He felt that revolutionary methods were necessary to attain
independence and he became the first to preach the adoption of
revolutionary methods for attaining Independence.
For using revolutionary methods, a large army was needed and so
martial training of countrymen was essential. So Jatindra Nath left his
studies halfway in search of martial training. He tried to get himself
enlisted in the British army but did not succeed.
Having failed to enlist himself in the British army, Jatindra Nath began
wandering in search of a job. He reached Baroda.At Baroda he met
Aurobindo Ghose Sri Aurobindo. Aurobindo was highly impressed by
his robust health and helped him in finding a job in the Baroda army.
In the year 1897, Jatindra Nath joined the Baroda army as a bodyguard
of the king of Baroda. He also became an associate of Aurobindo.
Aurobindo began devoting energy towards national activities.
When Anushilan Samity was formed at Kolkata, Aurobindo sent a
request to Jatindra Nath to join the organization. So Jatindra Nath left
his job in Baroda to join Anushilan Samity. He became one of its
prominent members.
Jatindra Nath's father did not like the fact that his son had left his
studies and that he had involved himself in anti-British activities. To
divert his son's attention towards family matters, he married him off.
But still Jatindra Nath became more deeply involved in the freedom
movement of the country.
The Alipore bomb case and repression of all revolutionary activities in
Bengal forced Jatindra Nath lose interest in the nationalist activities.
He went back to his native village. (Channa village)Soon he was
married off by his parents to Hiranmoye. He died on September 5,
1930.
CHARAN SINGH
Charan Singh was born in
a Jat family in 1902 in
village Noorpur of Hapur
District in Uttar Pradesh.
Charan Singh entered
politics as part of
the Independence
movement.
In February 1937 he was
elected Chhaprauli (Baghpa
t) to the Legislative
Assembly of Uttar Pradesh
(United Provinces) at the
age of 34. In 1938 he
introduced an Agricultural
Produce Market Bill in the
Assembly which was
published in the issues of
The Hindustan Times of
Delhi dated 31 March 1938.
The Bill was intended to
safeguard the interests of
the farmers against the
rapacity of the traders. The
Bill was adopted by most of
the States in India, Punjab being the first state to do so in 1940.
Charan Singh followed Mahatma Gandhi in non-violent struggle for
independence from the British Government, and was imprisoned
several times. In 1930, he was sent to jail for 6 months by the
British for contravention of the salt laws. He was jailed again for
one year in November 1940 for individual Satyagraha Movement. In
August 1942 he was jailed again by the British under DIR and
released in November 1943.
After independence, he became particularly notable in the 1950s
for opposing and winning a battle against Jawaharlal Nehru's
socialistic and collectivist land use policies, for the sake of the
Indian Farmer, which endeared him to the agrarian communities
throughout the nation, particularly in his native Uttar Pradesh.
Charan Singh opposed Jawaharlal Nehru on his Soviet-style
economic reform. Charan Singh was of the opinion that cooperative
farms would not succeed in India. Being a son of a farmer, Charan
Singh opined that the right of ownership was important to the
farmer in remaining a cultivator. Charan Singh's political career
suffered due to his open criticism of Nehru's economic policy.
Charan Singh left the Congress party in 1967, and formed his own
political party, Bharatiya Kranti Dal. With the help and support of
Raj Narain and Ram Manohar Lohia, he became Chief Minister of
Uttar Pradesh in 1967, and later in 1970. In 1975, he was jailed
again, but this time by then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi,
daughter of his former rival Nehru. She had declared the state of
emergency and jailed all her political opponents. He served
as Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister in the Janata
government headed by Morarji Desai.
Charan Singh died on 29 May 1987. He was survived by his wife,
Gayatri Devi and five children. His son Ajit Singh is currently the
president of his political party Rashtriya Lok Dal. Ajit Singh has
three children. His grandson Jayant Chaudhary was elected to 15th
Lok Sabha from Mathura.
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Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed
Delhi Government High School. He attended St. Stephen's
College, Delhi, and St Catharine's College, Cambridge. He was
called to the Bar from the Inner Temple of London and began
legal practice in the Lahore High Court in 1928.
He met Jawaharlal Nehru in England in 1925. He joined the
Indian National Congress and actively participated in the
Indian freedom movement. In 1942 he was arrested in the
Quit India movement and sentenced to 3 1/2 years'
imprisonment. He was a member of the Assam Pradesh
Congress Committee from 1936 and of AICC from 1947 to 74, and
remained the Minister of Finance, Revenue and labour in
the 1938 Gopinath Bordoloi Ministry. Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed
was born on 13 May 1905,
at the Hauz Qazi area
of Old Delhi, India. His
father, Col. Zalnur Ali
Ahmed, was the
first Assamese person to
have an M.D. (Doctor of
Medicine) degree and also
the first one from North-
East India. His mother was
a daughter of the Nawab
of Loharu.
Ahmed's grandfather,
Khaliluddin Ali Ahmed,
was from Kacharighat
near Golaghat, Assam, and
hailed from a well-known
Assamese Muslim family.
Ahmed was educated at
the Government High
School in Gonda
district, Uttar Pradesh, and
matriculated from the
After Independence he was elected to the Rajya
Sabha (1952–1953) and thereafter became Advocate-
General of the Government of Assam. He was elected on
Congress ticket to the Assam Legislative Assembly on two
terms (1957–1962) and (1962–1967).
Subsequently, he was elected to the Lok Sabha from
the Barpeta constituency, Assam in 1967 and again in 1971.
In the Central Cabinet he was given important portfolios
relating to Food and Agriculture, Cooperation, Education,
Industrial Development and Company Laws.
Picked for the presidency by the Prime Minister, Indira
Gandhi, in 1974, and on 20 August 1974, he became the
second Muslim to be elected President. He is known to have
issued the proclamation of emergency by signing the papers
at midnight after a meeting with Indira Gandhi the same day.
He used his constitutional authority as head of state to allow
her to rule by decree once Emergency in India was
proclaimed in 1975. He is well known among Indian
diplomats for his visit to Sudan in 1975 where the whole
town showed up to see him. He was the second Indian
president to die in office, on 11 February 1977. Today his
grave lies right across Parliament of India, next to Sunhari
Masjid, at Sansas chowk, in New Delhi.
Sri Krishna Singh
Sri Krishna Singh (21
October 1887 – 31 January
1961), known as Dr.
S.K.Singh, Sri
Babu and Bihar Kesari was
the first Chief Minister of
the Indian state
of Bihar (1946–61).
Along with the
nationalists Rajendra
Prasad and Anugrah
Narayan Sinha, Singh is
regarded among the
"Architects of Modern
Bihar". "Barring the war
years (Second World War
1939–1945), Sinha was
chief minister of Bihar from
the time of the first
Congress Ministry in 1937
until his death in 1961.He
led Dalit’s entry into the
Baidyanath Dham temple
(Vaidyanath Temple,
Deoghar), reflecting his
commitment to the
upliftment and social
empowerment of dalits. He was the first Chief Minister in the
country to abolish the zamindari system.
Singh first met Mahatma Gandhi in 1916 at Central Hindu
College, Benares and later at Shah Muhammad Jubair's house in
December, 1920. At Munger, he vowed to work relentlessly to
free India from the British rule. He gave up practicing law in 1921
to take part in Gandhi's non-cooperation movement.
He was arrested for the first time in 1922 at Jubair's house and
Congress Seva Dal was declared illegal. For this he was known
as Bihar Kesari by the people. He was released from jail in 1923
and on the day of Tulsi Jayanti performed in the play Bharat
Darshan at Central School, Kharagpur. In the same year he
became member of All India Congress Committee.
In 1930, Sinha played an important role in the Namak
Satyagrah at Garhpura. He suffered severe scalding injuries to his
hands and chest while being arrested, was imprisoned for six
months and then was again arrested and imprisoned for two
years during Civil Disobedience movement. He was released
after Gandhi–Irwin Pact and again started with his nationalist
work and work with the Kisan Sabha. On 9 January 1932 he was
sentenced to two years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs.
1,000. He was released from Hazaribagh Jail in October, 1933. He
was involved in relief and rehabilitation after the 1934 Bihar
earthquake. He was the President of Munger Zila Parishad from
1934 to 1937. In 1935, he became member of the Central
Assembly.
As the former Prime Minister of Bihar he attended the Simla
Conference and also became the member of Constituent
Assembly of India which framed the Constitution of India.
Singh served Bihar continuously from 1946 until his death on 31
January 1961 at the age of 73. In 1978, the Ministry of
Culture established a science museum called Srikrishna Science
Centre. The biggest conference hall in Patna, Shri Krishna
Memorial Hall is also named after him.
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Janaki Devi Bajaj
Janaki Devi Bajaj (January 7,
1893 - May 21, 1979) was
an Indian independence
activist who was jailed for
participating in Civil
Disobedience Movement in
1932.
She was born in 1893
in Jaora in Madhya
Pradesh in a
Vaishnva Marwari family in
India and married
to Jamnalal Bajaj who was a
leading industrialist, who
founded the Bajaj Groupin
1926. Along with
participating in the freedom
struggle movement, she also
took up khadi n spinning on
charkha, worked for women
upliftment, goseva and the
betterment of the lives of
harijans and their temple
entry in 1928. After
independence she worked
with Vinoba
Bhave on Bhoodan
movement.
With other ornaments Jankidevi put on a golden chain (Tagdi) under
the waist. In those days, wealthy men too had the practice of wearing
tagdi and other types of chains, etc. Women were particular in
observing the custom. At the instance of Jamnalalji, Jankidevi stopped
wearing a tagdi when she was thirteen and stopped the custom in her
house too. Then a day came when Bapu told all the Ashram sisters to
stop wearing ornaments. In 1921, Jamnalalji then wrote to Jankidevi
informing her of Bapu's direction not to wear any ornaments.
She kept the letter in front of her and took off all her ornaments. She also took off the anklet, which even the poorest of the poor Marwari woman has in her foot right until her death.
She wholeheartedly accepted her husband's dictum that 'gold represents the devil... gives rise to jealousy...' and distanced herself from rich living. She also freed the idol of God in her temple of all gold and precious stone ornaments.
In the year 1930, when Gandhiji decided to go to Dandi to perform satyagraha by making salt, Jankidevi sent her eldest son Kamalnayan at a tender age of 15 years to take part in the movement. Jankidevi took the responsibility of the Vile Parle camp to herself and won over everybody including the educated and the uneducated, women and people speaking different languages. One day she was woken up at 5 in the morning and was asked to address the volunteers proceeding ahead. She said in a spirited voice.
The Satyagraha agitation again became sharper when the second round table conference, which was held in 1931, failed. Jankidevi's zeal was unbounded. Her extraordinary influence enabled her to collect a number of women ready to go to jail at a short notice. She was imprisoned for six months and the unperturbed Jankidevi spent the time in Wardha and Nagpur jails. She showed her will-power by calling the prison as a king's abode. It also showed her capacity to face every circumstance and adversity with determination.
She was conferred Padma Vibhushan the second highest civilian award
in 1956. She published her autobiography titled, Meri Jivan Yatra in
1965 and died in 1979. Many educational institutions and awards have
been set up in her memory, including Janaki Devi Bajaj Institute of
Management Studies and 'Jankidevi Bajaj Gram Vikas Sanstha'
established by Bajaj Electricals.
K. Kamraj
Kamraj was born on July 15,
1903, in a family of traders at
Virudunagar (tamil nadu). His
real name was Kamakshi
Kumaraswamy Nader but was
affectionately shortened to
Raja by his mother, Sivakami
Ammal.
His father, Kumarswamy
Nader, was a coconut
merchant. Kamaraj was
enrolled at the local
elementary school, the
Nayanar Vidyalaya but was
later shifted to the high school
Kshatriya Vidyalaya.
Unfortunately his father died
within a year of Kamaraj's
enrollment in school.
Kamaraj's mother sold all
jewelry except her earrings
and deposited the money
with a local merchant and
cared for the entire family on
the monthly interest that the
money earned. Kamaraj was
not a good student in school
and dropped out when he was
in the sixth grade. When he entered mainstream public life he felt
handicapped and realized the importance of a good education. He
educated himself during his periods of imprisonment and even learned
English from his co-worker.
Kamaraj joined as an apprentice in his maternal uncle Karuppiah's cloth
shop after dropping out of school. He would slip out from the shop to join
processions and attend public meetings addressed by orators like Dr.
Varadarajulu Naidu and George Joseph. His relatives frowned upon
Kamaraj’s budding interest in politics. They sent him to
Thiruvananthapuram to work at another uncle's timer shop. Even there
Kamaraj participated in the Vaikom Satyagraha led by George Joseph, of
the Congress, against the atrocities of the higher caste Hindus on the
Harijans. His elders had him called back home and pressured him to
marry. Kamaraj resolutely refused to bow to the dictates of his elders.
At the age of 16, Kamaraj enrolled himself as full-time worker of the
Congress. He participated in inviting speakers, organizing meetings and
collecting funds for the party. He also participated in the march to
Vedaranyam led by Rajagopalachari as part of the Salt Satyagraha of
March 1930.
Kamaraj was arrested and sent to Alipore Jail for two years. He was
twenty seven at the time of arrest and was released in 1931 following the
Gandhi-Iriwn Pact. Kamaraj was implicated in the Virudhunagar Bomb
Case two years later. Dr. Varadarajulu Naidu and George Joseph argued
on Kamaraj's behalf and proved the charges to be baseless. Kamaraj was
arrested again in 1940 and sent to Vellore Jail while he was on his way to
Wardha to get Gandhiji's approval for a list of satyagrahis.
While still in jail, Kamaraj was elected Chairman to the Municipal Council.
Nine months later upon his release, Kamaraj went straight to the
Municipality and tendered his resignation from his post. He felt that "one
should not accept any post to which one could not do full justice."
On October 2, 1975, Gandhi Jayanti, Kamaraj awoke from his afternoon
nap feeling uneasy. His housekeeper, Vairavan, rang up his physician.
While he was on his way out, Kamaraj said, "Vairavan, put out the lights
when you go out." K. Kamaraj died that day. He was honored with the
highest civilian honor, the Bharat Ratna, posthumously in 1976.
Kartar Singh Sarabha
Kartar Singh Sarabha, a Ghadr
revolutionary was born in
1896 in the village of Sarabha,
in Ludhiana district of the
Punjab in the house of
Mangal Singh, a well-to-do
farmer (Jutt).
In 1912, when he was barely
16 years old he sailed for San
Francisco (U.S.A), and joined
the University of California at
Berkeley, enrolling for a
degree in chemistry. His
association with Nalanda club
of Indian students at Berkeley
aroused his patriotic
sentiments and he felt
agitated about the treatment
immigrants from India,
especially manual, worker
received in the United States.
When the Ghadr party was
founded in mid-1913 with
Sohan Singh, a Sikh peasant
from Bhakna village in
Amritsar district, as president and Hardyal as secretary, Kartar Singh stopped his
university work, moved in with Har Dyal and became his helpmate in running the
revolutionary newspaper Ghadr (revolt). He undertook the responsibility for
printing of the Gurmukhi edition of the paper. He composed patriotic poetry for it
and wrote articles. He also went out among the Sikh farmers and arranged
meetings at which he and other Ghadr leaders made speeches urging them to
united action against British. At a meeting at Sacremento, California, on 31
October 1913, he jumped to the stage and began to sing: "chalo chaliye desh nu
Yuddha karen, eho aakhiri vachan te farman ho gaye" (come! let us go and join
the battle of freedom; the final call has come, let us go!" Kartar Singh was one of
the first to follow his own call.
Kartar Singh left the United States on 15 September 1914, nearly a month ahead
of the main body of Sikhs who were to follow. He returned to India via Colombo.
As far as armaments, Kartar Singh and his associates succeeded in manufacturing
bombs on a small scale at Jhabeval and later at Lohtbaddi, both in Ludhiana
district, Kartar Singh organized and participated in raids on the villages of
Sahneval and Mansuran in January 1915, in order to procure funds for the party.
In February 1915, following the disclosures made by a police informer, Kirpal, who
had surreptiously gained admittance into the party. Kartar Singh, Jagat Singh of
Sursingh and Harnam Singh Tundilat escaped to Kabul. All three however came
back to Punjab to continue their work. They were seized on 2 March 1915 at
Wilsonpur, in Shahpur district, where they had gone to incite the troops of the
22nd Cavalry.
The trial of arrested leaders in the Lahore conspiracy cases of 1915-1916
highlighted the role of Kartar Singh Sarabha in the movement. His defense was
just one eloquent statement of his revolutionary creed. He was sentenced to
death on 13 September 1915 and he received the hangman's noose on 16
November 1915 Singh his favorite patriotic song. A statue of Kartar Singh, erected
and the city of Ludhiana commemorates his legendary heroism. He has also been
immortalized in the fictional account Ikk Mian Do Talwaran by the famous Punjabi
novelist, Nanak Singh.
He soon became the symbol of martyrdom and many were influenced from his
bravery and sacrifice. Bhagat Singh, another great revolutionary of Indian
freedom, regarded Kartar Singh as his guru, friend and brother. He was sentenced
to death by hanging. He wrote a popular song which he would sing and it is said
that he died singing it.
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Shivram RajGuru :
Shivaram Hari
Rajguru (August 24, 1908 –
March 23, 1931) was
an Indian revolutionary from
Maharashtra, known mainly
for his involvement in the
murder of a British police
officer.
Shiv Ram hari Rajguru was
born in 1906 into an average
middle class Hindu Brahmin
family at khed in pune
district, India. He came to
Varanasi at a very early age
where he learnt Sanskrit and
read the Hindu religious
scriptures. He had a good
memory and learnt by heart
the "Laghu Siddhant
Kaumudi". He loved physical
exercises and was associated
with a number of such
associations. He had great
admiration for Shivaji and his
guerilla tactics.
At Varanasi, he came in contact with revolutionaries. He joined the movement and became an active member of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Army (H.S.R.A). Rajguru had fearless spirit and indomitable courage. He was a close associate of Chandra Shekhar Azad, Sardar Bhagat Singh and Jatin Das and his field of activity was U.P and Punjab, with Kanpur, Agra and Lahore as his headquarters. Rajguru was a good shot and was regarded as the gunman of the party. He took part in various activities of the revolutionary movement, the most important being Saunder's murder. Lala Lajpat Rai, an eminent nationalist leader and popular amongst the revolutionaries, was fatally wounded in a police lathi- charge on 20 October 1928, while leading a procession against the Simon Commission, and died on 17 November 1928. The revolutionaries planned to avenge Lalaji's death by killing the Police Superintendent, Scott and the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Saunders who were responsible for the lathi charge leading to the death of Lalaji. Chandra Shekhar Azad, Shiv Ram Rajguru, Bhagat Singh and Jai Gopal were deputed for the work. On 17 December 1928, while Saunders came out of his office and started his motor- cycle, he was shot dead in front of the police headquarters at Lahore by Rajguru. Azad shot dead Channan Singh, a Head Constable, who wanted to chase the three revolutionaries. All of them escaped through the D.A.V. College compound: The same night posters of the HSRA declaring Saunders is dead. Lalaji is avenged were put up throughout the city of Lahore. On 20 December, Rajguru left Lahore disguised as Bhagat Singh's servant, who travelled in a first class compartment with the wife and the young son of the revolutionary Bhagawati Charan. He left Bhagat Singh at Lucknow and went underground. Rajguru was arrested at Poon on 30 September 1929 and a revolver with fourteen cartridges was recovered from a box where he was sleeping. The Government started a case against sixteen persons (including Rajguru), known as the Lahore Conspiracy Case. Judgement was delivered on 7 October 1930, Sardar Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru were sentenced to death and the other accused were awarded various terms of imprisonment. The whole nation was awakened and the names of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev became as popular as that of Mahatma Gandhi. Rajguru along with his two comrades was hanged in the Lahore jail in the evening of 23 March 1931 and their bodies were burnt under police supervision. At the time of his martyrdom, Rajguru was hardly twenty- three years of age.
Rashbehari Bose
Rashbehari Bose, born on May 25, 1886, was a revolutionary leader
against the British Raj in India and was one of the
key organizers of the Ghadar conspiracy.
Rash Behari Bose got hold
of a well-known
revolutionary novel called
"Ananda Math (Abbey of
Bliss)" written by noted
Bengali novelist, poet and
thinker, Bankim Chandra
Chatterjee. He read
nationalistic speeches by
orator and revolutionary,
Surendranath Banerjea,
and Swami Vivekananda. In
Chandernagore, his teacher
Charu Chand, a man of
radical ideas, inspired Rash
Behari along revolutionary
lines.
Though interested in
revolutionary activities
from early on in his life, he
left Bengal to shun
the Alipore bomb case trials of (1908). At Dehradun he worked as a
head clerk at the Forest Research Institute. There,
through Amarendra Chatterjee of the Jugantar led by Jatin
Mukherjee(Bagha Jatin), he secretly got involved with the
revolutionaries of Bengal.
Following the attempt to assassinate Lord Hardinge, Rash Behari
was forced to go into hiding. The attempt was made on 12
December 1912 after Lord Hardinge was returning form the Delhi
Darbar of King George V. HE was attacked by Vasant Kumar
Vishwas a disciple of Amrendar Chattarjee, but he missed the
target and failed. Bose was hunted by the colonial police due to his
active participation in the failed assassination attempt (actually
Bose's aim was to prove to the world that Indians do not accept the
subjection of his country to foreign rule by consent, but by force of
military power, which was successful. Otherwise he had no
personal enmity with Lord Hardinge) directed at the Governor
General and Viceroy Lord Charles Hardinge in Delhi. He returned to
Dehra Dun by the night train and joined the office the next day as
though nothing had happened. Further, he organized a meeting of
loyal citizens of Dehradun to condemn the dastardly attack on the
Viceroy.
During the flood relief work in Bengal in 1913, he came in contact
with Jatin Mukherjee in whom he "discovered a real leader of
men," who "added a new impulse" to Rash Behari's failing
zeal. Thus during World War I he became extensively involved as
one of the leading figures of the Ghadar Revolution that attempted
to trigger a mutiny in India in February 1915. Trusted and tried
Ghadrites were sent to several cantonments to infiltrate into the
army. The idea of the Jugantar leaders was that with the war raging
in Europe most of the soldiers had gone out of India and the rest
could be easily won over. The revolution failed and most of the
revolutionaries were arrested. But Rash Behari managed to escape
British intelligence and reached Japan in 1915.
Rash Behari Bose was the founding father of Indian National Army (Azad Hind Fauz) that Subhash Chandra Bose capitalized on later. 21stJanuary is the Death Anniversary of Rash Behari Bose.
Jayaprakash Narayan
the ‘State Public Matriculation Examination’ and won a District merit scholarship to Patna College.
Jayaprakash Narayan popularly
referred to as JP or Lok
Nayak (Hindi for "people's hero"),
was an Indian independence
activist, social reformer and
political leader.
Jayaprakash Narayan was born on 11 October 1902 in the village of Jai Prakash Nagar, Gariba Rai Ke Tola, Sitabdiara, U.P Ballia, India. He came from a Kayastha family. He was Harsu Dayal Srivastava and Phul Rani Devi’s fourth child. His father Harsudayal was a junior official in the Canal Department of the State government and was often touring the region. While in school, Jayaprakash read magazines like Saraswati, Prabha and Pratap, books like Bharat- Bharati, and poems by Maithilsharan Gupta and Bharatendu Harishchandra which described the courage and valour of the Rajput kings. Jayaprakash also read the Bhagwad Gita. His essay, “The present state of Hindi in Bihar” won a best essay award. He excelled in school and by 1918 completed school and undertook
In October 1920, Narayan was married to Braj Kishore Prasad’s
daughter Prabhavati Devi, a freedom fighter in her own right. At the time
of marriage, Jayaprakash was 18 years and Prabhavati was 14 years of age,
which was a normal age for marriage in that period. After their wedding,
since Narayan was working in Patna and it was difficult for his wife to stay
with him, on the invitation of Gandhi, Prabhavati became an inmate at the
Ashram of Gandhi. Jayaprakash, along with some friends, went to listen to
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad speak about the Non-cooperation movement
launched by Gandhi against the passing of the Rowlett Act of 1919. The
Maulana was a brilliant orator and his call to give up English education was
“like leaves before a storm: Jayaprakash was swept away and momentarily
lifted up to the skies. That brief experience of soaring up with the winds of
a great idea left imprints on his inner being”. Jayaprakash took the
Maulana’s words to heart and left Patna College with just 20 days
remaining for his examinations. He joined the Bihar Vidyapeeth, a college
run by the Congress.
After exhausting the courses at the Vidyapeeth, Jayaprakash decided to go
to America to pursue his studies. At age 20, Jayaprakash sailed aboard the
cargo ship Janus while Prabhavati remained at Sabarmati. Jayaprakash
reached California on October 8, 1922 and gained admission to Berkeley in
January 1923. To pay for his education, Jayaprakash picked grapes, set
them out to dry, packed fruits at a canning factory, washed dishes, worked
as a mechanic at a garage and at a slaughter house, sold lotions and
accepted teaching jobs. All these jobs gave Jayaprakash an insight
regarding the difficulties the working class faced. Jayaprakash was forced
to transfer to Iowa State when fees at Berkeley were doubled. He was
forced to transfer to many universities thereafter. He pursued his favorite
subject, sociology and received much help from Professor Edward Ross,
the father of Sociology.
Narayan died in Patna, Bihar, on 8 October 1979, three days before his
77th birthday, due to effects of diabetes and heart ailments. In March
1979, while he was in hospital, his death had been erroneously
announced by the Indian prime minister, causing a brief wave of national
mourning, including the suspension of parliament and regular radio
broadcasting, and the closure of schools and shops.
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