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THE WINDS OF CHANGELittle Kamal had transformed into a docile, but determined, happy, young bride, Lakshmi. Who in turn, metamorphosed into a visionary lady who was soon to bring in a change, a silent revolution, which would open a new vista for oppressed womanhood. Vatsala, Lakshmi’s younger daughter, was interested in education but there were no girls’ schools at Wardha then, Lakshmi realized that it affected not only her own daughter but numerous other girls who were keen to study. A solution had to be found, which would work on a long-term basis. Lakshmi’s untiring efforts resulted in laying the foundation of the first girls’ school at Wardha which is now well established and known as, ‘Kesarimal Girls School’. She searched for dedicated teachers and arranged their accommodation in her own house. Venutai Kalamkar and Kalinditai Patankar were the first teachers of the school; they paved the way for women literacy at Wardha. Soon Venutai and Kalinditai were like members of Kelkar family. It was start of the work which later knit the country into a joint Samiti family. Lakshm was turning into a calm, serene and mature woman. She realised, that the horizon of a woman was much wider than being bound to the domestic duties. It was important for her to acquire as many talents as possible, to develop her personality into a multidimensional one. Hence, she encouraged the girls to learn the skills like swimming and cycling. At a later stage, she herself learnt cycling. She began participating in the ‘Prabhat Pheris’ and the spinning programmes at Sevagram. Every day, after the evening prayer meeting, some excerpts were read from the ‘Harijan’, and were followed by question-answer sessions. One day, Bapu spoke about the role of the feminine power in the process of social development. He said, "Bharat can truly prosper and regain her lost glory only if every woman of this country takes a vow to be Sita. If every woman becomes Sita, the character of the country would change for better, Hence, I request every woman that she should strive to build the qualities of sanctity, devotion, self confidence, dedication, motivation and spiritual strength, which are the hallmarks of Sita". A young girl present there stood up and questioned, "Bapu, why do you ask only women to become Sita? Why don’t you ask men to turn themselves in Ram?" It seemed that she had voiced the query in every woman’s heart. Why were men being left out of following any ethical code? Bapu smiled at the query and calmly replied, "Beti I won’t ask the men to become Ram." "Why?", the girl questioned. ‘My dear daughter, Ram is made only through the inspiration of Sita. If women become Sita, there would be no need to try and change men into Ram. Women would automatically inspire them to be Ram". That day, when Lakshrni returned from the meeting, Bapu’s words were echoing in her mind. She realised that there was a deep meaning in Bapu’s words. They inspired her to re-read the Ramayan with a new perspective. In those days it was common belief that women should not read the sacred scriptures like Ramayan and Mahabharat. Some believed that even keeping these holy books at home led to quarrels. Hence, it was very difficult for Lakshami to get hold of these epics. Finally, she managed to get Shreedhar’s Ramvijay’. On reading it, she was motivated to read all the versions of Ramayan. Soon, she had made a deep study of all of them. She worried about the problem of abduction of women, which has continued to plague the society, since the days of Ramayan. How could such incidents be stopped? Who would give such women their proper place once again in the society? These questions worried Lakshmi constantly.One day some people who had come from Nagpur, began discussing the plight of the women vendors in the orange market. These women purchased the oranges from the brokers. However, most of the time they had no money, so the fruits were taken on credit, the credit couldn’t be repaid most of the time and the debt kept piling. The agents exploited the situation and physically abused and molested the young daughters and daughter-in-laws of the vendors in lieu of the debt. Such women were considered by the society as tainted and impure, especially as most of the brokers were from the Muslim community. The girls had to suffer the consequences of the deeds for which they were not responsible in the least. Although, the dedicated workers of Hindu Mahasabha, like Dr Munje, strived to get justice for these women, yet the society refused to accept them. Lakshmibai was restless when she heard about the plight of these unfortunate women. Why should they undergo physical, mental and social torture, when they were the innocent victims of the circumstances? How could one heal their wounded mind? As Lakshami read the chapter about ‘the Abduction of Sita’ in Rarnayan, realization dawned that in spite of having the most valiant husband like Ram, and a brave and protective brother-in-law like Lakshaman, Sita was still abducted. Then, who was there to protect the helpless and discarded women of the orange market? If Sita managed to protect her honour, it was only due to the self confidence and moral strength, neither her husband, nor Lakshman or the vast army was of any help to her. Hence, it was most important that women should be motivated to increase their spiritual strength. Why just the women, in fact the spiritual strength was the need of the day for the entire Hindu community, which did not retaliate even when Swami Shradhanand was murdered! The Hindus had to wake up from the centuries long slumber. Umabai often told her, "Lakshmi, why do you think so much? How can we women change the destiny of the society? We are helpless cogs in the wheel of social customs. Forget about such impossible dreams and channelise your energy to make the children into better citizens". Yet, such talk could not dissuade Lakshami from her path. At last, Lakshmi had a glimpse of light in the seemingly unending dark tunnel. It came from the most unexpected direction. Her sons paved the way. One day Manohar asked her, "Ma, please give me money. I want to buy a ‘dand’ (a wooden stick used for exercising and body-building)". Padmaar and Dinkar echoed after him, "Yes Ma, we also want to buy a dand". "But why?" Lakshmi askei, "are you going to fight with the people?". "No, Ma. We go to Shakha of R.S.S. (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) there they teach us how to march with the dand and even how to use it as a weapon.", Manohar replied. Dinkar added, "Ma, if anyone comes to fight with us, we shall beat him with our dand and shoo him off". He also imitated the action much to.the amusement of everyone. Lakshmi fulfilled their desire. Soon, she noticed a very remarkable change in her sons; they seemed more disciplined, patriotic and obedient. The house echoed with the patriotic songs and words like ‘Hindu’, ‘Hinduism’ and ‘Hindustan’. Soon, she realised that there was no need to grope in the dark. She had found the path of reforms and social change for which she was yearning. It was essential to create in the heart of every woman, the pride for ancient glorious Hindu culture. Sangh Shakha could not be restricted to men alone. Women were also an integral half of the society, and it was essential to collect them under a single banner. Around this time, Lakshmibai read about a horrifying rape case in the newspapers. A woman, who was with her husband, was molested on the road by some goons, and the passers by as well as her husband were silent spectators of this gory episode. Lakshmibai was seething with anger. She realised that women would have to become physically, mentally and spiritually strong. Women would have to be united to fight against the injustices of the society. The only ray of hope seemed to be the training in the Shakha. Vatsala, how would you like learning the use of lathi." Lakshmi asked her daughter. Vatsala was excited. She asked her brothers to teach her. But, they refused saying, "We shall have to ask for the permission first". One day, Manohar said, "Ma, tomorrow we shall be returning home late. We have to visit the house of every swaymsevak to inform about the visit of our most respected Sarsanghachalak, our head, Dr. Hedgewar. He wants to meet the guardians of all swayamsevaks". "When, and where is this meeting scheduled?’, Lakshmi asked. "Ma" Manohar was surprised. "are you planning to come there?. ‘Oh, Ma", Padmakar added quickly, "They’ve called the guardians; that is the father, brother or the uncles and not the ladies". "None of the swayamsevaks mothers would be present", Dinkar added. Lakshmibai replied firmly, "I don’t know about others, but I am your guardian, so I shall be coming there". Manohar conceded to his mother’s will. "I shall go and ask our chief incharge, Appaji Joshi". Appaji granted the permission Lakshmi expressed her desire to meet Dr. Hedgewar. The meeting was arranged at Appaji’s residence. Lakshmi was a bit nervous and hesitant. She worried about giving voice to all that was going in her mind. However, Dr. Hedgewar’s calm and serene personality and patient hearing encouraged Lakshmi to open her heart. She expressed that the work of revitalization and awakening should not be limited to men, but the women should be equal partners in it. Lakshmi quoted Swami Vivekanand, where he had expressed that an eagle can fly only when both the wings are equally strong. Men and women are both the wings of the society. Unless both were strong, the society will not progress properly; the nation belongs equally to both men and women. How can it progress if half its population, that is the women, remain weak dependent and do not fulfill their responsibilities? There were many more meetings and discussions between the two, at times in Nagpur and sometimes in Wardha itself. Dr. Hedgewar became an elder brother, guide and philosopher for Lakshmi. She also gave a new directions and a larger dimension to Dr. Hedgewar’s philosophy. She made him realise the significance of the dormant woman power and how essential it was to evoke and channelise it for the national and social welfare. Finally, Dr. Hedgewar came to a conclusion. He told Lakshmi, "Lakshmibai, I fully agree with you. It is essential to inculcate the right values in women and train them for the service of the nation. However, I do feel that the women’s organisation should be separate and their field should also be different from that of men. As you know, I have no experience or knowledge about the ladies. So, I won’t be able to do justice to such an organisation. Are you willing to shoulder the responsibility of organising the ladies and bringing them together under a single banner?" Lakshmi didn’t hesitate even for a moment, "Doctorji, I shall strive to the best of my ability to fulfill this responsibility. I am hopeful that with your able guidance and Almighty’s blessings. I would be successful in this venture. In case I fail, it would be due to my own short-comings." Dr. Hedgewar explained to Lakshmi, "Lakshmibai, your task is of national importance. You will have to work with utmost dedication but, you shall be doing a task for which all the Hindus and the entire nation will be proud of you". Days were spent in discussion regarding the structure of the organisation, its objectives, working etc. Once these details were finalised they deliberated over the name that should be given to the organisation. Dr. Hedgewar suggested that as the organisation would have its own independent entity parallel to RSS, it should have a different name from the RSS, however, the name should be such that both the organisations will have the same initials. Finally, after much brain-storming, they decided that ‘Rashtra Sevika Samiti’ (R.S.S.) would be the right name. As the words, ‘Hindu’ and the ‘Rashtra’ or the nation, have the same connotation, the word, Rashtra was more suitable and had wider dimensions. This was an epoch-making event. Lakshmi’s joy knew no bounds. At last, she had an opportunity to give a concrete shape to her dreams. No doubt, the task was a very tough one, but she had the zest and fervour to attain the impossible. It was decided that the Samiti would not copy the Sangh in its working. Yet, care was to be taken that inspite of being autonomous; the ideology of the Samiti would be parallel to that of the Sangh. Mutual co-ordination between the two was also essential. Lakshmi decided to instill a new thought process into the society to inspire the women towards a new ideology. We suffered from lack of confidence due to continuous bondage or British Rule. Our values and culture were considered inferior to the so-called western ideology. Lakshmi was determined to instill the pride for nationalistic values in the hearts of women. She told the women, "Sewa or service is the primary duty of a woman. So far, the woman has served the family. Now, you have to widen the horizons of your service. You have to dedicate yourself for the service of the nation. Service is a difficult task. It calls for sacrifices, dedication and utmost devotion towards duty. The service has to be done selflessly. The nation means the society, its traditions and its culture. You have to conserve it, strengthen it and nurture it. No single person can do this task alone. So we have to be united under the auspicious of the Samiti, follow its ideology and discipline." Venutai, Kalinditai and Lakshmibai went from door-to-door, meeting the ladies, convincing them about the importance of the Samiti work and the need for them to become the ‘Sevika’ and actively participate in it. Their enthusiasm was unique, some had never heard of such an idea of dedicating oneself to the ‘national service’. They willingly joined hands. The number of sevikas kept swelling each day. After a lot of deliberation, it was decided that the day of ‘Vijyadashmi’ would be the right one to launch the Rashtra Sevika Samiti. Vijayadashmi is the day of victory of the mother Goddess Durga, when she conquered the demonic evil forces. Similarly, to free the nation from the clutches of the demonic forces of slavery, and the social evils, the mother-power or the women had to come forward and contribute their might. No other day could be as suitable for the inauguration of the Samiti, as the Vijayadashmi day. The courtyard of Shri Pathak, of Wardha, was to become the work place of the Samiti.
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