The First Kar Sevak

Despatches from Ayodhya

Dear Reader,

Wikipedia has this to say about December 22, 1949.

"In 1949, Sant Digvijay Nath of Gorakhnath Math joined the ABRM and organised a 9-day continuous recitation of Ramcharit Manas, at the end of which the Hindu activists broke into the mosque and placed idols of Rama and Sita inside."

On hearing the news, the then PM Nehru wanted the idols removed and earlier status restored. Govind Vallabh Pant, the then UP CM drove up to the district but is stopped and sent back by a local government official.

The said government official also makes sure there is no further violence and that there will be no more changes to the holy site. He shrugged off all the pressure and threats against him, and even paid the price for his decision to go against Nehru and Pant, while being a mere district official.

This is the story of the 20th century Ramjanmabhoomi movement's first kar sevak. But for him we might not have seen the judgement of 2019 or the temple of 2024. My colleague Sumati Mehrishi was at his house recently and spoke to his grandson to bring you this story.

https://swarajyamag.com/culture/ashok-singhal-called-him-bharats-first-karsevak-thakur-gurudutt-singh

Amar Govindarajan