Swami Lakshmanananda
Encyclopedia
Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati (born as Shravan Krishna Navami; 1927–2008) was a Hindu monk and a highly revered spiritual leader who lived a life dedicated to tribal welfare. The Swami was a native of Gurujanga village in Talcher
and a tribal himself. Over four decades ago, he left his wife and one year old son to become monk, and moved to Kandhamal. In 1968, He established an Ashram at Chakapada in Kandhamal district of Orissa
. Since 1970 he had been involved in social services promoting tribal welfare. He was regarded as a Messiah among Hindu tribals of the area
He was assassinated along with four disciples allegedly by Christian Maoist insurgents.
Swamijee was well versed in Vedanta philosophy and Sanskrit grammar and was awarded with the honour as "Vedanta Keshari". Due to his selfless service to humanity he was warded with "Vivekananda Seva Puraskar" from Kolkota. The Sankaracharya of Govardhan Pitha, Puri awarded him with the Upadhi as "Bidharmi Kuchakra Vidaran Maharathi". He thereafter started Satsang at all villages of the district.
He started night school for adult education and insisted to send their children to the school by which the literacy rate amongst tribal and Harijans of that area has increased. He started a Sanskrit School named Kalyan Ashram, Sanskrit vidyalaya at Chakapad in the year 1969 which is now promoted to a Sanskrit college. For the education of the girls, he established 'Sankaracharya Kanyashram' a wholly residential school at Jalespata in Kandhamal, in the year 1988 where 250 girls' students are studying. He also established a school at Banki and ashram at panigola in Angul district. He was a founder member and inspiration of VHP and Kalyana Ashram of Orissa. He accompanied tribals to the govt. officer and police stations when needed.
He also established "Maths on the hill tops in several parts of the district and told the villagers that the trees in the hill belong to math and the village community. If emergency arises one can cut a tree and take wood only after the permission of the village committee. He taught the people to protect cattle from slaughtering and to avoid taking beef. On several occasion he staged demonstrations, dharanas and participated in the hunger strike in several parts of the state. He toured throughout the state for this cause.
His main missions:
1. Making the tribal youth strong, fearless, educated and financially sound.
2. Tribal should be strong in their belief and check conversions and reconvert those who have converted.
3. Protection of cows.
district alleged that an NGO, World Vision
, patronised by Congress
Rajya Sabha
member Radhakanta Nayak, had a role in the attack on Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati on December 24.
Swami's claim that he has been attacked 8 times before 2008 was corroborated in January 2008 by a fact finding commission, chaired by Additional Advocate General of Rajasthan
G.S.Gill. The first attack on the Swami occurred on December 26, 1970
channels at an undisclosed destination that the Maoists decided to eliminate Saraswati as he was 'spreading social unrest' in the tribal-dominated district. However, Security experts who specialise in left wing extremism disagree that Maoists or left wing extremists could be behind the assassination of the monk.
Hundreds of people had gathered en route to pay their last respects to Lakshmanananda. They ended up civil-unrest, rioting, looting and attack of places of worship mostly churches and Hindu-temples to a lesser extent.
In transcripts made available to PTI on October 5, 2008, a Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda alias Sunil mentioned that there was pressure from Christians and Dalits to eliminate Swami Lakshmanananda, noting that most of the cadre members and supporters in Orissa belonged to Christian community and not tribals unlike in other states where tribals form the biggest support base of Maoists. He also admitted that the Maoists had for the first time intervened in any religious dispute(between Christians and tribal Hindus) by killing Laxamananda Saraswati.
Talcher
Talcher is one of the 4 sub-divisions of Anugul district in the Indian state of Orissa . Situated on the right bank of the river Brahmani, the capital of the erstwhile Talcher State is one of the fastest growing industrial and mining complexes of the country.-Geography:Talcher is located at...
and a tribal himself. Over four decades ago, he left his wife and one year old son to become monk, and moved to Kandhamal. In 1968, He established an Ashram at Chakapada in Kandhamal district of Orissa
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
. Since 1970 he had been involved in social services promoting tribal welfare. He was regarded as a Messiah among Hindu tribals of the area
He was assassinated along with four disciples allegedly by Christian Maoist insurgents.
Work in Orissa and recognitions
Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati decided work in Phulbani (Kandhmal) to serve the backward people mostly tribals and harijans, there and focus them to join into the main stream of the society. In 1969 he started his first ashram at Chakapada. He renovated temples: Birupakshya, Kumareswar and Jogeswar and established a Sanskrit school and a college. Swamijee taught the youth of schedule caste and schedule tribe in Sanskrit and built the youths as disciplined, well civilized, well cultured, well educated, well spirited and as protector of the society. He not only gave philosophical ideas but taught people good cultivation, animal care, horticulture, etc. and made students coming out from the Kalyan Ashram Gurukula able in economic, social and cultural fields. He stood firm in Phulbani district for a long time and struggled hard to preserve and protect the tribal culture and dharma. Besides social and religious development of the tribal people, he tried all most four decades to empower them economically and academically. He established a Gurukul pattern of school and a college to teach Sanskrit in Chakapada a remote place of Kandhamal.Swamijee was well versed in Vedanta philosophy and Sanskrit grammar and was awarded with the honour as "Vedanta Keshari". Due to his selfless service to humanity he was warded with "Vivekananda Seva Puraskar" from Kolkota. The Sankaracharya of Govardhan Pitha, Puri awarded him with the Upadhi as "Bidharmi Kuchakra Vidaran Maharathi". He thereafter started Satsang at all villages of the district.
He started night school for adult education and insisted to send their children to the school by which the literacy rate amongst tribal and Harijans of that area has increased. He started a Sanskrit School named Kalyan Ashram, Sanskrit vidyalaya at Chakapad in the year 1969 which is now promoted to a Sanskrit college. For the education of the girls, he established 'Sankaracharya Kanyashram' a wholly residential school at Jalespata in Kandhamal, in the year 1988 where 250 girls' students are studying. He also established a school at Banki and ashram at panigola in Angul district. He was a founder member and inspiration of VHP and Kalyana Ashram of Orissa. He accompanied tribals to the govt. officer and police stations when needed.
He also established "Maths on the hill tops in several parts of the district and told the villagers that the trees in the hill belong to math and the village community. If emergency arises one can cut a tree and take wood only after the permission of the village committee. He taught the people to protect cattle from slaughtering and to avoid taking beef. On several occasion he staged demonstrations, dharanas and participated in the hunger strike in several parts of the state. He toured throughout the state for this cause.
His main missions:
1. Making the tribal youth strong, fearless, educated and financially sound.
2. Tribal should be strong in their belief and check conversions and reconvert those who have converted.
3. Protection of cows.
Attacks
His work for the upliftment of isolated tribal population and opposition to aggressive proselytizing, had run afoul of several evangelical Christian groups as well as maoist terrorists. He was severely injured in an attack by a Christian mob on Christmas Eve, 2007. Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati accused the Congress Member Of Parliament and the chief of the missionary organisation, World Vision, Mr Radhakant Nayak for the attack on him. He also alleged that there is a nexus between Maoist terrorist and missionaries. The swami also said that World Vision was pumping money into India for religious conversion and also during 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, which is hidden from public discourse. He also mentioned activities of Christian missionaries that go against tribal beliefs in an interview. An Assam-cadre IPS officer (retired) from Orissa, Ashok Sahu, after visiting the KandhamalKandhamal
Kandhamal is a district of the state of Orissa, India. The district headquarters of the district is Phulbani.-History:The Kandhmal district was created on 1 April 1993 from the former Boudh-Kandhmal district as a result of district reorganization in the state of Orissa.-Communal unrest and...
district alleged that an NGO, World Vision
World Vision
World Vision, founded in the USA in 1950, is an evangelical relief and development organization whose stated goal is "to follow our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in working with the poor and oppressed to promote human transformation, seek justice and bear witness to the good news of the Kingdom of...
, patronised by Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
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,...
member Radhakanta Nayak, had a role in the attack on Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati on December 24.
Swami's claim that he has been attacked 8 times before 2008 was corroborated in January 2008 by a fact finding commission, chaired by Additional Advocate General of Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
G.S.Gill. The first attack on the Swami occurred on December 26, 1970
Assassination
He was assassinated along with four disciples at his kanyashram (Girls school) at Tumudibandh, about 100 km from Phulbani, the district headquarters of Kandhmal district on the sacred day of Janmashtami. A group of 30-40 armed men surrounded the Ashram. Four of the assailants carried AK-47s and many others had locally made revolvers. Two of the four government provided security guards had gone home to eat. The assailants tied and gagged the two remaining guards. Within minutes of the reaching the crime scene, the district authorities made a statement saying it was suspected Maoists who killed the Swami. The Maoist leader Panda told the private OriyaOriya language
Oriya , officially Odia from November, 2011, is an Indian language, belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family. It is mainly spoken in the Indian states of Orissa and West Bengal...
channels at an undisclosed destination that the Maoists decided to eliminate Saraswati as he was 'spreading social unrest' in the tribal-dominated district. However, Security experts who specialise in left wing extremism disagree that Maoists or left wing extremists could be behind the assassination of the monk.
Hundreds of people had gathered en route to pay their last respects to Lakshmanananda. They ended up civil-unrest, rioting, looting and attack of places of worship mostly churches and Hindu-temples to a lesser extent.
In transcripts made available to PTI on October 5, 2008, a Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda alias Sunil mentioned that there was pressure from Christians and Dalits to eliminate Swami Lakshmanananda, noting that most of the cadre members and supporters in Orissa belonged to Christian community and not tribals unlike in other states where tribals form the biggest support base of Maoists. He also admitted that the Maoists had for the first time intervened in any religious dispute(between Christians and tribal Hindus) by killing Laxamananda Saraswati.
See also
- Murder of Swami LakshmananandaMurder of Swami LakshmananandaSwami Lakshmanananda Saraswati and four others were murdered in August 2008 in the Orissa state of India. Swami Lakshmanananda was a Hindu monk and a highly revered spiritual leader who lived a life dedicated to tribal welfare...
- Bharatiya Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram
- Swami Shanti Kali Maharaj of Tripura
- Religious violence in Orissa
- ORISSA in the CROSSFIRE-Kandhamal Burning