Swami Keshwanand

Swami Keshwanand (1883-1972) was an Indian freedom fighter and social reformer.

Early Life

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Swami Keshwanand

Born at village Magloona in Sikar district of present-day Rajasthan in 1883, Swamiji, whose actual name was Birama, was the son of Thakarsi, a penurious camel-driver, and his wife Saran. The family were Hindu and belonged to the Dhaka gotra and the Jat caste. When Birama was five, his family left Magloona for the nearby town of Ratangarh. Thakarsi, who used to escort prosperous Seths (Businessman) from Ratangarh to Delhi on his camel, died in 1890 when Birama was seven. This put paid to Birama's already slim chances of gaining an education; it is said that for a prolonged period, his mother had perforce to move from place to place in search of shelter and fodder for her animals. Mother and son finally settled at village Kelania in present-day Sri Ganganagar district in 1897. However, this was not the end of their misfortunes: Rajasthan was then headed for one of its periodic famines. By one account: "There was no vegetation left on the ground. There was no drop of water. All the animals died for want of fodder. People survived on grasses and the bark of "Khejri" trees. Even that also became scarce. There was nothing like governance. The ruling Samants were least bothered for the poor people....". It was in these circumstances that Birama’s mother Saran died in 1899 at village Kelania.

Education

The famine of 1899 forced the 16-year-old Birama to leave the desert region and move to Punjab in search of livelihood. Circumstances had induced in him an ineffable spiritual quest. He approached Mahant Kushaldas of the Udasin sect, to whom he expressed the desire to learn Sanskrit, in order to be able to study the higher Hindu scriptures from primary sources. Noting that Birama belonged to the Jat caste, who were customarily precluded from studying the higher scriptures or even the liturgical Sanskrit language, Mahant Kushaldas advised him to become a sannyasi, or renunciate, which would render him eligible to learn Sanskrit. Accordingly, Birama became a sannyasi in 1904, was inducted into the Udasin sect, and commenced his education at the Sadhu Ashram Fajilka, a Hindu seminary located in Punjab. He learnt the Hindi and Sanskrit languages and the Devanagri and Gurmukhi scripts at the Ashram. At the Kumbha Mela held at Prayag in 1905, Mahatma Hiranandji Avadhut conferred on Birama the new name "Swami Keshwanand".

The Freedom Fighter

The Jalianwalla Bagh Massacre of 1919, which caused a profound impact on the collective psyche of the Punjab, left Swami Keshawanand profoundly moved. He started attending the meetings of the Indan National Congress, joined the Indian Independence Movement under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, and participated in the non-cooperation movement, for which was imprisoned for two years (1921-1922) at Ferozepur. In 1930, he was given charge of Congress activities in Ferozepur district. He was again arrested the same year, but was soon released persuant to the Gandhi-Irwin pact.

The Educationist

Swami Keshwanand, an orphan, illiterate, nomadic man who never received formal education, was the founder of more than 300 schools, 50 hostels and innumerable libraries, social service centers and museums. In 1911, within a few years of his initiation into the Udasin sect as a sannyasi, swami Keshawanand started the “Vedant Pushp Vatika” library within the precincts of the Sadhu Ashram Fajilka. The following year, he started a Sanskrit school at the same place. In 1932, swami Keshwanand was made director of the Jat School, Sangaria, which was at the verge of closure for want of funds. He went from village to village to collect funds, and was successful in averting the closure of the school, which was renamed Gramothan Vidyapith, Sangaria in 1948. Within the precincts of this school, swami Keshwanand developed a museum with a valuble collection of rare documents, paintings and antiques, thus initiating the idea of conservation in a profoundly backward area. The students of the school, aided by the local community, undertook a large-scale, successful project to green the precincts of the school, which is located in one of the most arid regions of India. Gramothan Vidyapith, Sangaria has become an inspiration for educationists far and wide.

Propogation of Hindi

Swami Keshwanand felt that the knowledge of the Hindi language is a must to keep the country united and to educate the public about nationality. Swami’s own mother-tongue was of course Hindi, and he somehow felt that forcing people from other parts of India to learn that language would aid national unity. He started his programme of spreading Hindi by founding, in 1920, a Hindi forum, the ‘Nagari Pracharini Sabha’, at Abohar in the Ferozepur district of Punjab. This forum was later renamed “Sahitya Sadan, Abohar”. In 1933, he started a press named “Deepak” at Abohar, which published material in Hindi language that was distributed either free or at a very nominal price. He organized the 30th All India Hindi Sahitya Sammelan at Sahitya Sadan, Abohar, in 1941. Swami Keshwanand was a longtime member of the Hindi Sahitya Sammelan, Allahabad. He either himself wrote, or arranged for the translation into Hindi, of around 100 books. At immense effort over the course of eleven years, he arranged for the publication of the Hindi edition of the book “History of Sikhs” in 1954. In 1942, he was honoured with the “Sahitya Vachaspati” for his pains in propogating his own mother-tongue to other people.

The Social Reformist

He had deep understanding of society in the desert region. He tried all his life with full devotion to remove social evils like untouchability, child marriage, woman illiteracy, indebt ness, poverty, backwardness, intoxication, dissipation, bad customs etc. An idea about his visionary and logical thoughts can be had from the book he has published- “Maru Bhumi Seva Karya” in Hindi. In this book he has explained the peculiarities of the Desert region, identified the problems and suggested proper solutions.

Swami Keshwanand, born in a Jat Hindu family, Sadhu of Udasi sect propagated by Srichandji, son of Sikh guru Nanakdevji, was a unique example of communal harmony. He organized celebrations in honour of Sikh, Bisnoi, Namdhari and Jain gurus. Gramothan Vidyapith, Sangaria being adjoining to Pakistan felt the heat of 1947 division of the country. He got admitted the wounded Muslims in hospitals and arranged food and shelter for them.

He was imprisoned several times in satyagraha movements of Mahatma Gandhi. He was presented “Abhinandan Granth” by the chief minister of Rajasthan on March 9,1958. He was first elected to the Rajya Sabha of India in 1952 and was re-elected to the House in April, 1958. He remained member of Rajya Sabha till 1964. He died on September 13,1972 at Delhi.

Department of Posts, Government of India, has issued a commemorative postage stamp on "India's Struggle for Freedom" on Swami Keshwanand on August 15, 1999.

Reference

Saran, D.C., Swami Keshwanand. Jaypal Agencies, Agra,1985 (in Hindi)