Nanaji Deshmukh
Encyclopedia
Chandikadas Amritrao Deshmukh aka Nanaji Deshmukha (Marathi
: चंडिकादास अमृतराव देशमुख aka नानाजी देशमुख) (October 11, 1916 – February 27, 2010) was a social activist in Bharat/India
. He did exemplary work in the field of education, health and rural self-reliance and has been honored with Padma Vibhushan
title by the Government of India
. He was a leader of Bharatiya Jana Sangh
and also a member of Rajya Sabha
.
of Maharashtra
to Shri Amritrao Deshmukh and Shrimati Rajabai Amritrao Deshmukh. Deshmukh's career was full of strife and struggle. He lost his parents at an early age and was brought up by his maternal uncle.
His family had little money to pay for his tuition fees and books, but his keen desire to learn encouraged him to work as a vendor and sell vegetables to raise money to fund his education. He lived in temples and received a higher education at the prestigious Birla Institute of Technology and Science
in Pilani before becoming an RSS
activist in the nineteen thirties.
Though born in Maharashtra, the fields of his activities were Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Seeing his devotion, the then RSS Sarsanghchalak Shri Guruji sent him to Gorakhpur (U.P) as “Pracharak”. He rose to be the Saha Prant Pracharak of the whome of Uttar Pradesh (which has now become 8 prant of RSS).
'shakha
s'.
In 1940, after Hedgewar's death, many youngsters inspired by him joined the R.S.S. in Maharashtra
. Deshmukh was among those enthused youths who joined the RSS devoting their whole life in service to the nation. He was sent to Uttar Pradesh
as a Pracharak. At Agra
, he met Deen Dayal Upadhyaya for the first time. Later, Deshmukh went to Gorakhpur
as a pracharak where he took great pains to introduce Sangh ideology in the eastern UP. It was not an easy task at that time as the Sangh had no funds to meet even day-today expenses. He had to stay in a Dharmashala but had to keep on changing Dharmashalas as no one was allowed to stay there for more than three days consecutively. Ultimately, he was given shelter by Baba Raghavdas on the condition that he would also cook meals for him.
Within three years, his hard work bore fruits and almost 250 Sangh Shakha
s commenced in and around Gorakhpur. Nanaji always laid great emphasis on education. He established Bharat's first Saraswati Shishu Mandir
at Gorakhpur
in 1950.
When in 1947, the RSS decided to launch two journals Rashtradharma, Panchjanya
and a newspaper called Swadesh
,Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee
was assigned the responsibility of the editor and Deen Dayal Upadhyaya was made the Margdharshak with Nanaji as the Managing Director. It was a challenging task as the organization was hard up for money to bring out the publications, yet it did never dampen their spirits and these publications gained popularity and recognition because of their strong nationalistic content.
Mahatma Gandhi
's assassination led to imposition of ban on the RSS and publication work came to a grinding halt. A different strategy was adopted keeping the ban in mind and Nanaji was the brain behind underground publication work by the RSS those days.
came into being. Deshmukh was asked by Shri Guruji to take charge of Bharatiya Jana Sangh in Uttar Pradesh
as General Secretary. Deshmukh had worked as RSS pracharak in Uttar Pradesh and his groundwork proved of a great help in organizing BJS at the grass roots. By 1957 BJS had established its units at each and every district in Uttar Pradesh and credit for this goes to the Nanaji who had extensively traveled all over the state.
Soon, BJS became a force to reckon with in Uttar Pradesh. In 1967 BJS became the part of United Legislature Party and joined the Government headed by Chaudhary Charan Singh. Deshmukh played a crucial role in evolving the alliance as he enjoyed good relations with Charan Singh and Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia
. He was successful in bringing leaders of different political backgrounds on one platform to give Uttar Pradesh its first non-Congress government.
A political giant, like Chandra Bhanu Gupta, had to face one of the biggest challenges of his political career when Deshmukh outwitted him not once but thrice. On one occasion, he planned a strategy to defeat the Congress nominee and Gupta's favorite in Rajya Sabha. When Gupta himself contested elections from Lucknow in 1957, Nanaji crafted an alliance with socialist groups and helped Babu Triloki Singh in registering an impressive win over Gupta. Gupta faced another embarrassment when he was again defeated at Maudaha in Uttar Pradesh
.
In Uttar Pradesh, BJS gained strength from Upadhyaya's vision, Atal Vajpai's oratory skills and Deshmukh's organizational work and it emerged as an important player in the state politics. Deshmukh always shared good relations not only with his party colleagues but also with his opponents. Gupta, who suffered many defeats at the hands of Deshmukh, yet continued to have great respect for him and called him 'Nana Phadanvis '. His relations with Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia
changed the course of Indian politics. Once he invited Lohia in BJS karaykarta sammelan where he met Upadhyaya for the first time and this association brought the BJS closer to Socialist parties in exposing the Congress and its misrule.
Desmukh actively participated in Bhoodan Movement started by Vinoba Bhave
. By spending two months with Vinoba, he was inspired by the success and appeal of the movement.
The months that followed the judgment of Justice Jagmohan Lal Sinha of the Allahabad High Court, setting aside the election of Indira Gandhi
in June 1974, were traumatic. An anti-Indira agitation, led by Jai Prakash Narayan, was gathering momentum.
In the latter half of the year a massive procession, led by Narayan was taken out in Patna. As the procession wended its way through the roads of the state capital, the police made a lathi charge and, it is said, the Sarvodaya leader was the target. The final assault came when Narayan’s supporters were escorting him to safety. One of the supporters sprang to his leader’s protection, covered him and took all the lathi blows on himself. That man was Deshmukh. One of his arms was fractured in this daring effort.
Later, Narayan himself and Morarji Desai
, who became the Prime Minister heading the Janata Party
Government, publicly praised the courage shown by Deshmukh and, as a reward, offered him the Cabinet portfolio of Industry, but Deshmukh spurned the overture. Deshmukh had won in the 1977 election held after revocation of the Emergency with a comfortable margin from Balrampur Lok Sabha
constituency of Uttar Pradesh.
In 1980, when he turned 60, he opted not only from the electoral fray but also politics. He later devoted himself completely to social and constructive work, lived in ashrams and never projected himself.
When Narayan gave the call for "Total Revolution" Deshmukh responded by giving total support to this movement. When the Janata Party
was formed, Deshmukh was one of its main architects. Janata Party stormed into power by sweeping off the Congress.
He was nominated to Rajya Sabha
by the NDA Government in the year 1999 in recognition of his services to the nation.
He did pioneering work towards the anti-poverty and minimum needs programme. Other areas of his work were agriculture and cottage industry, rural health and rural education. Deshmukh assumed chairmanship of the institute after relinquishing politics and devoted all his time to building up the institute. He was also instrumental in carrying out social restructuring programme in over 500 villages of both Uttar Pradesh
and Madhya Pradesh
states of India. He also published the journal “Manthan” (introspection) which was edited by K.R. Malkani for many years.
Deshmukh did a lot of social work in Gonda and Beed — the most backward districts of U.P. and Maharashtra respectively. The motto of his project was: “Har hath ko denge kaam, har khet ko denge paanee”.
He finally settled down at the picturesque Chitrakoot, a holy place on the borders of U.P. and Madhya Pradesh. It was in 1969 that Deshmukh visited Chitrakoot for the first time. He was moved to see the pathetic condition of the society in the karmabhoomi of Sri Ram the place where Ram spent 12 out of the 14 years in exile. He sat by the holy River Mandakini, and resolved to change the face of Chitrakoot during his life-time. While in exile, Ram started working for the upliftment of the downtrodden here. With this important historical and inspiring background, Deshmukh made Chitrakoot the centre of his social work.
He chose to serve the poorest among the poor. He used to remark jokingly that he admired Vanavasi Ram more than Raja Ram and so would like to spend the rest of his life in Chitrakoot among the vanavasis and most backward sections of the society.
He also established Chitarkoot Gramodya Vishwavidyalaya in Chitrakoot- Bharat's first Rural University and was its Chancellor. Nanaji implemented the philosophy of integral humanism to improve the living standard of more than 150 villages of bundelkhand.
(1916–1968). Integral Humanism gave a vision for Bharat that, with an approach to man and his relationship to society that is integral and complementary, could transform Bharat into a self-reliant and compassionate example for the world to follow.
Deshmukh developed a model for the development of rural areas on the basis of Integral Humanism. After initial experiments in Gonda (U.P.) and Beed (Maharashtra), Nanaji finally fine-tuned an integrated program for the development of rural areas that covers health, hygiene, education, agriculture, income generation, conservation of resources, and social conscience, that is both sustainable and replicable. The basis of the project is 'Total transformation through total development with people's initiative and participation'.
The project, called the Chitrakoot Project or the 'Campaign for Self-Reliance', was launched on 26 January 2005 in 80 villages around the Chitrakoot area in the border of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The aim was to achieve self reliance for these villages by 2005. When complete in 2010, the project hopes to make the 500 surrounding villages self-reliant and serve as a sustainable and replicable model for the Bharat and the world.
DRI has association with the following important institutions among others.
The Wadia Group, Apeejay Education Society (AES), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), India Development and Relief Fund (IDRF), Madhya Pradesh Council of Science and Technology (MPCST), India Development Coalition of America (IDCA), Department of Elementary Education (DEE), The Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, Ayurveda Yoga & Naturopathy Unani Siddha and Homoeopathy(AYUSH) and Sewa International (SI)
in 1999.
Former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam has lavished praise on Deshmukh and the organization started by him, the Deendayal Research Institute (an organization of the Sangh Parivar), for giving the nation the litigation-free model he had devised for resolving disputes. The then President said "In Chitrakoot, I met Nanaji Deshmukh and his team members belonging to the Deendayal Research Institute (DRI). DRI is a unique institution developing and implementing a village development model which is most suited for India,". "Apart from all the development activities, the institute is facilitating a cohesive conflict-free society. As a result of this, I understand that the 80 villages around Chitrakoot are almost litigation-free". "The villagers have unanimously decided that no dispute will find its way to the courts. The differences will be sorted out amicably in the village itself. The reason given by Nanaji Deshmukh is that if the people fight among each other, they have no time for development,". "I consider that this model may be propagated in many parts of the country by societal organisations, judicial organisations and government," Kalam concluded.
Praising Deshmukh for his single-minded devotion to the uplift of the people, Kalam said “What the octogenarian leader was doing at Chitrakoot should be an eye-opener for others.”
for medical research. His body was sent by road up to Satna
, Madhya Pradesh, and hundreds of people and local residentsa accompanied this last procession to Satna. From Satna, his body was carried by a chartered plane to New Delhi. In New Delhi, his body was kept for few hours at Keshav Sadan (Delhi headquarters of the Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh), and after that the body was donated to AIIMS
Marathi language
Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
: चंडिकादास अमृतराव देशमुख aka नानाजी देशमुख) (October 11, 1916 – February 27, 2010) was a social activist in Bharat/India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. He did exemplary work in the field of education, health and rural self-reliance and has been honored with Padma Vibhushan
Padma Vibhushan
The Padma Vibhushan is the second highest civilian award in the Republic of India. It consists of a medal and a citation and is awarded by the President of India. It was established on 2 January 1954. It ranks behind the Bharat Ratna and comes before the Padma Bhushan...
title by the Government of India
Government of India
The Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...
. He was a leader of Bharatiya Jana Sangh
Bharatiya Jana Sangh
The Bharatiya Jana Sangh existed from 1951 to 1980, whereupon it was succeeded by the Bharatiya Janata Party, one of India's largest political parties...
and also a member of Rajya Sabha
Rajya Sabha
The Rajya Sabha or Council of States is the upper house of the Parliament of India. Rajya means "state," and Sabha means "assembly hall" in Sanskrit. Membership is limited to 250 members, 12 of whom are chosen by the President of India for their expertise in specific fields of art, literature,...
.
Early childhood
Deshmukh was born on October 11, 1916 in Kadoli, a small town in the Parbhani DistrictParbhani District
Parbhani district earlier also known as Prabhavatinagar, is one of the eight districts in the Marathawada region of Maharashtra State of India. The district had a population of 1,527,715 of which 31.76% were urban as of 2001...
of Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
to Shri Amritrao Deshmukh and Shrimati Rajabai Amritrao Deshmukh. Deshmukh's career was full of strife and struggle. He lost his parents at an early age and was brought up by his maternal uncle.
His family had little money to pay for his tuition fees and books, but his keen desire to learn encouraged him to work as a vendor and sell vegetables to raise money to fund his education. He lived in temples and received a higher education at the prestigious Birla Institute of Technology and Science
Birla Institute of Technology and Science
Birla Institute of Technology & Science, is a private university located in Pilani, Rajasthan, India. BITS Pilani is considered one of the most prestigious and selective universities in India...
in Pilani before becoming an RSS
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or National Patriotic Organization), also known the Sangh, is a right-wing Hindu nationalist, paramilitary, volunteer, and allegedly militant organization for Hindu males in India...
activist in the nineteen thirties.
Though born in Maharashtra, the fields of his activities were Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Seeing his devotion, the then RSS Sarsanghchalak Shri Guruji sent him to Gorakhpur (U.P) as “Pracharak”. He rose to be the Saha Prant Pracharak of the whome of Uttar Pradesh (which has now become 8 prant of RSS).
As an R.S.S. volunteer
Deshmukh became inspired by Lokamanya Tilak and his nationalist ideology, as well as showing an acquired interest in social service and activities. His family was in close contact with Dr. Keshav Baliram Hedgewar who was a regular visitor to Deshmukh's family. He could discern potential in Nanaji and encouraged him to attend RSSRashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or National Patriotic Organization), also known the Sangh, is a right-wing Hindu nationalist, paramilitary, volunteer, and allegedly militant organization for Hindu males in India...
'shakha
Shakha
A shakha , is a Hindu theological school that specializes in learning certain Vedic texts, or else the traditional texts followed by such a school. An individual follower of a particular school or recension is called a ...
s'.
In 1940, after Hedgewar's death, many youngsters inspired by him joined the R.S.S. in Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
. Deshmukh was among those enthused youths who joined the RSS devoting their whole life in service to the nation. He was sent to Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
as a Pracharak. At Agra
Agra
Agra a.k.a. Akbarabad is a city on the banks of the river Yamuna in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, west of state capital, Lucknow and south from national capital New Delhi. With a population of 1,686,976 , it is one of the most populous cities in Uttar Pradesh and the 19th most...
, he met Deen Dayal Upadhyaya for the first time. Later, Deshmukh went to Gorakhpur
Gorakhpur
Gorakhpur is a city in the eastern part of the state of Uttar Pradesh in India, near the border with Nepal. It is the administrative headquarters of Gorakhpur District and Gorakhpur Division. Gorakhpur is one of the proposed capitals of the Purvanchal state which is yet to be formed...
as a pracharak where he took great pains to introduce Sangh ideology in the eastern UP. It was not an easy task at that time as the Sangh had no funds to meet even day-today expenses. He had to stay in a Dharmashala but had to keep on changing Dharmashalas as no one was allowed to stay there for more than three days consecutively. Ultimately, he was given shelter by Baba Raghavdas on the condition that he would also cook meals for him.
Within three years, his hard work bore fruits and almost 250 Sangh Shakha
Sangh Shakha
Sangh Shakha refers to the daily meetings of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh.This includes sports, Geets, Subhashit, Amrutvachan, Yogasanas and Prayer.-Introduction:The shakha is the backbone of the RSS and HSS...
s commenced in and around Gorakhpur. Nanaji always laid great emphasis on education. He established Bharat's first Saraswati Shishu Mandir
Saraswati Shishu Mandir
Saraswati Sishu Mandir are a group of schools run by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. “Saraswati” is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music and other creative arts. In Sanskrit “sishu” means children and “mandir” means temple....
at Gorakhpur
Gorakhpur
Gorakhpur is a city in the eastern part of the state of Uttar Pradesh in India, near the border with Nepal. It is the administrative headquarters of Gorakhpur District and Gorakhpur Division. Gorakhpur is one of the proposed capitals of the Purvanchal state which is yet to be formed...
in 1950.
When in 1947, the RSS decided to launch two journals Rashtradharma, Panchjanya
Panchjanya
Panchjanya, , is the common name given to five most ancient vedic kshatriya tribes. It is supposed they are all descendants of the Five Folks and are known by that name for e.g. Yadav for descendants of Yadu, paurav for descendants of Puru and so on. Some scholars believe they were different...
and a newspaper called Swadesh
Swadesh
Swadesh may refer to* A Swadesh list, named after its creator, Morris Swadesh* Swadesh in Hindi means "one's own country"* The movie Swades- People :* Swadesh Bharati , Award winning Hindi poet...
,Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Atal Bihari Vajpayee is an Indian statesman who served as the tenth Prime Minister of India three times – first for a brief term of 13 days in 1996, and then for two terms from 1998 to 2004. After his first brief period as Prime Minister in 1996, Vajpayee headed a coalition government from...
was assigned the responsibility of the editor and Deen Dayal Upadhyaya was made the Margdharshak with Nanaji as the Managing Director. It was a challenging task as the organization was hard up for money to bring out the publications, yet it did never dampen their spirits and these publications gained popularity and recognition because of their strong nationalistic content.
Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...
's assassination led to imposition of ban on the RSS and publication work came to a grinding halt. A different strategy was adopted keeping the ban in mind and Nanaji was the brain behind underground publication work by the RSS those days.
Political life
When the ban was lifted and it was decided to have a political organization, Bharatiya Jana SanghBharatiya Jana Sangh
The Bharatiya Jana Sangh existed from 1951 to 1980, whereupon it was succeeded by the Bharatiya Janata Party, one of India's largest political parties...
came into being. Deshmukh was asked by Shri Guruji to take charge of Bharatiya Jana Sangh in Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
as General Secretary. Deshmukh had worked as RSS pracharak in Uttar Pradesh and his groundwork proved of a great help in organizing BJS at the grass roots. By 1957 BJS had established its units at each and every district in Uttar Pradesh and credit for this goes to the Nanaji who had extensively traveled all over the state.
Soon, BJS became a force to reckon with in Uttar Pradesh. In 1967 BJS became the part of United Legislature Party and joined the Government headed by Chaudhary Charan Singh. Deshmukh played a crucial role in evolving the alliance as he enjoyed good relations with Charan Singh and Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia
Ram Manohar Lohia
Rammanohar Lohia was an Indian freedom fighter and a socialist political leader.-Early life:Lohia was born in a village Akbarpur in Ambedkar Nagar district, Uttar Pradesh, in India to Hira Lal, a nationalist and Chanda,a teacher. He was born to Marwari Maheshwari family. His mother died when he...
. He was successful in bringing leaders of different political backgrounds on one platform to give Uttar Pradesh its first non-Congress government.
A political giant, like Chandra Bhanu Gupta, had to face one of the biggest challenges of his political career when Deshmukh outwitted him not once but thrice. On one occasion, he planned a strategy to defeat the Congress nominee and Gupta's favorite in Rajya Sabha. When Gupta himself contested elections from Lucknow in 1957, Nanaji crafted an alliance with socialist groups and helped Babu Triloki Singh in registering an impressive win over Gupta. Gupta faced another embarrassment when he was again defeated at Maudaha in Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
.
In Uttar Pradesh, BJS gained strength from Upadhyaya's vision, Atal Vajpai's oratory skills and Deshmukh's organizational work and it emerged as an important player in the state politics. Deshmukh always shared good relations not only with his party colleagues but also with his opponents. Gupta, who suffered many defeats at the hands of Deshmukh, yet continued to have great respect for him and called him 'Nana Phadanvis '. His relations with Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia
Ram Manohar Lohia
Rammanohar Lohia was an Indian freedom fighter and a socialist political leader.-Early life:Lohia was born in a village Akbarpur in Ambedkar Nagar district, Uttar Pradesh, in India to Hira Lal, a nationalist and Chanda,a teacher. He was born to Marwari Maheshwari family. His mother died when he...
changed the course of Indian politics. Once he invited Lohia in BJS karaykarta sammelan where he met Upadhyaya for the first time and this association brought the BJS closer to Socialist parties in exposing the Congress and its misrule.
Desmukh actively participated in Bhoodan Movement started by Vinoba Bhave
Vinoba Bhave
Vinoba Bhave , born Vinayak Narahari Bhave often called Acharya , was an Indian advocate of nonviolence and human rights. He is best known for the Bhoodan Andolan...
. By spending two months with Vinoba, he was inspired by the success and appeal of the movement.
The months that followed the judgment of Justice Jagmohan Lal Sinha of the Allahabad High Court, setting aside the election of Indira Gandhi
Indira Gandhi
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhara was an Indian politician who served as the third Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms and a fourth term . She was assassinated by Sikh extremists...
in June 1974, were traumatic. An anti-Indira agitation, led by Jai Prakash Narayan, was gathering momentum.
In the latter half of the year a massive procession, led by Narayan was taken out in Patna. As the procession wended its way through the roads of the state capital, the police made a lathi charge and, it is said, the Sarvodaya leader was the target. The final assault came when Narayan’s supporters were escorting him to safety. One of the supporters sprang to his leader’s protection, covered him and took all the lathi blows on himself. That man was Deshmukh. One of his arms was fractured in this daring effort.
Later, Narayan himself and Morarji Desai
Morarji Desai
Morarji Ranchhodji Desai was an Indian independence activist and the fourth Prime Minister of India from 1977–79. He was the first Indian Prime Minister who did not belong to the Indian National Congress...
, who became the Prime Minister heading the Janata Party
Janata Party
The Janata Party was an amalgam of Indian political parties opposed to the state of emergency imposed by the government of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her Indian National Congress...
Government, publicly praised the courage shown by Deshmukh and, as a reward, offered him the Cabinet portfolio of Industry, but Deshmukh spurned the overture. Deshmukh had won in the 1977 election held after revocation of the Emergency with a comfortable margin from Balrampur Lok Sabha
Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha or House of the People is the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by direct election under universal adult suffrage. As of 2009, there have been fifteen Lok Sabhas elected by the people of India...
constituency of Uttar Pradesh.
In 1980, when he turned 60, he opted not only from the electoral fray but also politics. He later devoted himself completely to social and constructive work, lived in ashrams and never projected himself.
When Narayan gave the call for "Total Revolution" Deshmukh responded by giving total support to this movement. When the Janata Party
Janata Party
The Janata Party was an amalgam of Indian political parties opposed to the state of emergency imposed by the government of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her Indian National Congress...
was formed, Deshmukh was one of its main architects. Janata Party stormed into power by sweeping off the Congress.
He was nominated to Rajya Sabha
Rajya Sabha
The Rajya Sabha or Council of States is the upper house of the Parliament of India. Rajya means "state," and Sabha means "assembly hall" in Sanskrit. Membership is limited to 250 members, 12 of whom are chosen by the President of India for their expertise in specific fields of art, literature,...
by the NDA Government in the year 1999 in recognition of his services to the nation.
Social work
After retirement from active politics Deshmukh then served Deendayal Research Institute that he himself had established way back in 1969. He wanted Deendayal Research Institute to be devoted to strengthening the movement for constructive work in Bharat.He did pioneering work towards the anti-poverty and minimum needs programme. Other areas of his work were agriculture and cottage industry, rural health and rural education. Deshmukh assumed chairmanship of the institute after relinquishing politics and devoted all his time to building up the institute. He was also instrumental in carrying out social restructuring programme in over 500 villages of both Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
and Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....
states of India. He also published the journal “Manthan” (introspection) which was edited by K.R. Malkani for many years.
Deshmukh did a lot of social work in Gonda and Beed — the most backward districts of U.P. and Maharashtra respectively. The motto of his project was: “Har hath ko denge kaam, har khet ko denge paanee”.
He finally settled down at the picturesque Chitrakoot, a holy place on the borders of U.P. and Madhya Pradesh. It was in 1969 that Deshmukh visited Chitrakoot for the first time. He was moved to see the pathetic condition of the society in the karmabhoomi of Sri Ram the place where Ram spent 12 out of the 14 years in exile. He sat by the holy River Mandakini, and resolved to change the face of Chitrakoot during his life-time. While in exile, Ram started working for the upliftment of the downtrodden here. With this important historical and inspiring background, Deshmukh made Chitrakoot the centre of his social work.
He chose to serve the poorest among the poor. He used to remark jokingly that he admired Vanavasi Ram more than Raja Ram and so would like to spend the rest of his life in Chitrakoot among the vanavasis and most backward sections of the society.
He also established Chitarkoot Gramodya Vishwavidyalaya in Chitrakoot- Bharat's first Rural University and was its Chancellor. Nanaji implemented the philosophy of integral humanism to improve the living standard of more than 150 villages of bundelkhand.
Deendayal Research Institute (DRI)
Deendayal Research Institute (DRI) was founded in 1972 by Deshmukh to validate the philosophy of Integral Humanism propounded by Pandit Deendayal UpadhyayaDeendayal Upadhyaya
Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya , along with Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee, was an important leader of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, now the Bharatiya Janata Party.-Earlier Life and Education:...
(1916–1968). Integral Humanism gave a vision for Bharat that, with an approach to man and his relationship to society that is integral and complementary, could transform Bharat into a self-reliant and compassionate example for the world to follow.
Deshmukh developed a model for the development of rural areas on the basis of Integral Humanism. After initial experiments in Gonda (U.P.) and Beed (Maharashtra), Nanaji finally fine-tuned an integrated program for the development of rural areas that covers health, hygiene, education, agriculture, income generation, conservation of resources, and social conscience, that is both sustainable and replicable. The basis of the project is 'Total transformation through total development with people's initiative and participation'.
The project, called the Chitrakoot Project or the 'Campaign for Self-Reliance', was launched on 26 January 2005 in 80 villages around the Chitrakoot area in the border of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The aim was to achieve self reliance for these villages by 2005. When complete in 2010, the project hopes to make the 500 surrounding villages self-reliant and serve as a sustainable and replicable model for the Bharat and the world.
DRI has association with the following important institutions among others.
The Wadia Group, Apeejay Education Society (AES), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), India Development and Relief Fund (IDRF), Madhya Pradesh Council of Science and Technology (MPCST), India Development Coalition of America (IDCA), Department of Elementary Education (DEE), The Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, Ayurveda Yoga & Naturopathy Unani Siddha and Homoeopathy(AYUSH) and Sewa International (SI)
Appreciation and recognition
He was awarded Padma VibhushanPadma Vibhushan
The Padma Vibhushan is the second highest civilian award in the Republic of India. It consists of a medal and a citation and is awarded by the President of India. It was established on 2 January 1954. It ranks behind the Bharat Ratna and comes before the Padma Bhushan...
in 1999.
Former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam has lavished praise on Deshmukh and the organization started by him, the Deendayal Research Institute (an organization of the Sangh Parivar), for giving the nation the litigation-free model he had devised for resolving disputes. The then President said "In Chitrakoot, I met Nanaji Deshmukh and his team members belonging to the Deendayal Research Institute (DRI). DRI is a unique institution developing and implementing a village development model which is most suited for India,". "Apart from all the development activities, the institute is facilitating a cohesive conflict-free society. As a result of this, I understand that the 80 villages around Chitrakoot are almost litigation-free". "The villagers have unanimously decided that no dispute will find its way to the courts. The differences will be sorted out amicably in the village itself. The reason given by Nanaji Deshmukh is that if the people fight among each other, they have no time for development,". "I consider that this model may be propagated in many parts of the country by societal organisations, judicial organisations and government," Kalam concluded.
Praising Deshmukh for his single-minded devotion to the uplift of the people, Kalam said “What the octogenarian leader was doing at Chitrakoot should be an eye-opener for others.”
Death
Deshmukh died on 27 February 2010 in the premises of India’s first rural university, Chitrakoot Gramodya Vishwavidyalaya that was established. He was unwell for some time due to age-related ailments and had refused to be taken to Delhi for treatment. He has willed that his body be donated to Dadhichi Dehdaan Sanstha of New Delhi which was accepted, and his body was sent to to All India Institute of Medical SciencesAll India Institute of Medical Sciences
All India Institute of Medical Sciences is a premier medical college and teaching hospital based in New Delhi, India. The Institute operates autonomously under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare ....
for medical research. His body was sent by road up to Satna
Satna
Satna is a city in central India and a municipal corporation in Satna district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of Satna District. Satna is a border city of the state and is touched by the borders of the state of UttarPradesh.-History:Satna got its name...
, Madhya Pradesh, and hundreds of people and local residentsa accompanied this last procession to Satna. From Satna, his body was carried by a chartered plane to New Delhi. In New Delhi, his body was kept for few hours at Keshav Sadan (Delhi headquarters of the Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh), and after that the body was donated to AIIMS
See also
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- Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, Vinayak Damodar SavarkarVinayak Damodar SavarkarVināyak Dāmodar Sāvarkar was an Indian freedom fighter, revolutionary and politician. He was the proponent of liberty as the ultimate ideal. Savarkar was a poet, writer and playwright...
, Lal Krishna AdvaniLal Krishna AdvaniLal Kishanchand Advani known as Lal Krishna Advani is a Veteran Indian politician. A former president of the Bharatiya Janata Party , which is currently the major opposition party in the Indian Parliament. He also served as a Deputy Prime Minister of India from 2002 to 2004...
, Balraj MadhokBalraj MadhokBalraj Madhok was a president of Bharatiya Jan Sangh and a senior politician of India in 1960s. He was born at Skardu in the former princely state of Kashmir and Jammu . He started his academic and political career in Jammu and Kashmir...