Dheya's Tribute to our Shri Nanaji Deshmukh

 

 

Yesterday the nation lost one of the grassroots reformers who dedicated his life towards building the nation by building the rural population. We are talking about Shri. Nanaji Deshmukh, a visionary, a nation builder and the founder of Deendayal Research Institute,Chitrakoot.

As a child i had a privilege listen to listen to Shree Nanaji Deshmukh in one of the RSS camps in 1979. I could not understand much but understood only one great thing he spoke that I remember it even today, that was about his thoughts on Ram Rajya, as conceptualised by Mahatma Gandhi. It was about having villages free of ills and crimes, it was about villages free of disputes and litigations. He said then which I remember, growth would happen in a positive mind.

So true, what he said, and what he believed in. Chitrakoot is a wonder that was created by Nanaji Deshmukh as per Ex President APJ Abdul Kalam. In his words he said ….

I see that Chitrakoot project is an integrated model for the development of rural India. It aims at creating a society based on family bonding, pride in India culture, modern education wedded to Indian wisdom, easing of social tensions, economic empowerment of all especially the women folk, health for all, cleanliness, concern for environment, equitable distribution of wealth among all the constituents of the society. This concept fully tallies with my view that developed India means not only economic development but also integrated development in art, literature, humanism, nobility in thinking and above all preservation of over five thousand years of our rich cultural heritage.

 

 

One of the experiment that gained huge success was the experiment of Chitrakoot Gramodaya Vishvavidyalaya, It is an innovative model of rural reconstruction and education. The school has  students studying in gurukula fashion, living with their teachers in extended families. This defies the entire model of modern education where we only infuse theoretical knowledge with no application to life. In addition the model was towards building values, life skills, self reliance love for the country  and pride.

Another experiment that has done wonders is about litigation free society. As per Nanaji,

if the people fight among each other they have no time for development. They can neither develop themselves nor the community. So he started a concept of ‘Samaj Shilpi Dampati’ , a married couple in the society who are trained in counselling and resolving conflicts. The result of this is just amazing, today 

eighty villages around Chitrakoot are almost litigation free. The villagers have unanimously decided that no dispute will find its way to court.

Nanaji 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 26th 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.

If we have few more Nanji Deshmukhs India will have no poverty and will transform itself into a force that is enviable to the world.

Lets all bow our heads and pay a tribute to My IDOL. We will miss you Nanaji. I promise that Dheya will follow your  foot steps and the values you gave the world.

 

 

Anand Desai , Founder Dheya.