Sahajanand Saraswati
Jun 16 2022 Indian fighters for freedom Sahajanand SaraswatiKnown as a social reformer, Sahajanand Saraswati had a huge number of admirers due to his intellect and appealing personality. He was one of the significant leaders of the peasants of Bihar, on whom a lot of atrocities were being done. His striking intellect was one of the main reasons why he had certain versatility in him. This was the reason he played several roles of being a polymath, sociologist, writer, historian, linguist, grammar, ascetic, politician and majorly, a revolutionary and social activist.
Early life:
He was born on February 22, 1889 in a village called Deva, Dullahpur in the Ghazipur district of Uttar Pradesh. His original name was Naurang Rai, and he was the sixth and the last son in a Brahmin family. He received his education in a primary school and later in German mission high school in English medium.
As a child, he was very much drawn towards religious activities but he always objected those who faked these practices and took to studying religious texts himself. He also studied politics and social affairs very keenly. His career in the political field started when he took a step towards the Indian national congress during the peasant movement in Patna, Bihar and later all over India. He was a true Gandhian and took political schooling under Gandhiji before loyally serving the Congress.
Fallback of the Gandhian principles:
In the year 1920, Sahajanand Saraswati plunged himself into the Nationalist movement hoping to help the peasants with the help of congress. But within 15 years of serving the party, he came across the hypocritical faces of the party people and repelled. Apparently he parted ways with the party in 1934 and declared that the peasants and the landlord themselves would solve the dispute. Sahajanand Saraswati was a Dandi Sanyaasi, and so he used to always carry a cane stick with him. This stick became a symbol of the peasant resistance and uprising.
Establishment of Kisan Sabha and the Civil disobedience movement:
To give his revolution the shape of a formal organization, he established the Kisan Sabha in Patna which was later institutionalized into Bihar Provincial Kisan Sabha (BPKS) in the year 1929. The sabha members were then plunged into the Civil disobedience movement, which gave them no success but a lot experiences inside and outside the jail.
This led to arguments amongst the members and the Congress and ultimately Swami Sahajanand cut himself off from politics entirely. Later on after the formation of the All India Kisan sabha by some Congress Socialists in 1936, Swami Sahajanand Saraswati was elected as the first president. The motto of this sabha was the complete abolition of the zamindari or the capitalist system.
A great revolutionary
His efforts for the peasants continued even after he was an active part in the non co-operation movement and similar other freedom struggles. Sahajanand Saraswati had successfully created an image in the minds of the peasants which earned him a lot of respect and love from them and fear from the landlords. The end of this great revolutionary on June 25, 1950 marked the end of a prolonged struggle, but he continued to live in the hearts of the people of Bihar.