Nanaji Deshmukh

A saintly personality who implemented the idea of a self-sufficient village.

Birth: 1916

With the core philosophy that man’s complete development is possible through Indian culture and values, Nanaji Deshmukh undertook and successfully completed many constructive projects all over India. He was born in Kadoli village, Parbhani district. Nanaji initially started his work through the medium of the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh). Later, for some years he played a prominent role in the politics of India. Realising the limits of politics he finally chose to work through the medium of social service, which is the medium of perpetual development. He achieved outstanding success in this field. Nanaji compelted his schooling through odd jobs such as selling vegetables. From the moment he came in contact with the RSS founder Dr. Hedgewar, he became associated for life with the RSS.

Initially a Swayamsevak (volunteer) he was then a full-time activist of the RSS. Nanaji successfully attempted to establish a new political party based on the nationalistic ideologies of the RSS under the guidance and inspiration from Shri Golwalkar Guruji, the then RSS head (SarSanghaChalak). From these efforts emerged the Janasansha political party. Nanaji, along with Deendayal Upadhyay, Sunderlal Bhandari, Atal Bihari Vajapayee and Lal Krishna Advani were active through the medium of the Janasangh. Later he was politically active through the Janata Party too. He also managed the periodicals Panjnya, RashtraDharma, and Swades for a while. He was closely associated with leaders with different ideologies like Rammanohar Lohia, Jaiprakash Narayan, Charansingh, etc. He participated in the BhooDaan (Donate Land) Movement initiated by Acharya Vinoba Bhave. He travelled for almost two months with Vinoba Bhave for the movement. 

But after that, Deendayal Upadhyay’s philosophy of Integral Humanism for personal and social development had a deep impact on him. Influenced by this philosophy, he put his heart into developmental and constructive work and even refused a ministerial post in the Janata Party’s government. In those times he was well known in political circles in Delhi as a strategic advisor. Many important political positions were being offered to him, but he refused to get tempted and continued working for developmental causes. 

In coming years, he established the Deendayal Research Organization, and his first project under this organization was the implementation of a water harvesting system using 40000 capillary tubes, to make the farmers in the Gond district in Uttar Pradesh self sustaining. Later on, he concentrated on making the people there self-sufficient and industry oriented by implementing various projects in eighty hilly and remote villages in the Chitrakut district. Many projects like water harvesting and irrigation, preservation of cows (GovanshSavardhan), reviving and preserving traditional agriculture practices, the Gurukul schooling and trade system, priority to self-employment through the medium of industrial universities, research in Ayurveda through the medium of Arogyadham and many other such projects have been implemented in the Chitrakut district. He also established Chitrakoot Gramoday Vishvavidyalata, India’s first rural University, in Chitrakoot. For suitably running these projects, he developed couples inclined towards social service into SamajShilpis (sculptors of society). These SamajShilpis are devotedly handling the projects and executing them correctly and in good speed. One can see the ideal of the socially, economically and industrially self-sufficient village coming into reality here.

With the intent of giving a religious value to the social work and to uphold an ideal before everyone, a permanent, unique tableau display based on the life of Lord Ram has been created in Chitrakut. The display has many episodes from the Ramayana, along with life like animal world display.

A very significant effect of Nanaji’s work is that 60% court cases in around eighty villages around the Chitrakut area have been withdrawn by the villagers and have been sorted out by having an out-of-court agreement. Along with Chitrakut, the work of the Deendayal Research Institute is in progress in some of the most deprived and poor districts in India. Projects like the Sondara Gurukul, agricultural development, health education, yoga studies, arts and crafts education and industrial training are being implemented in the Homari village in Maharashtra’s Beed district. 

After the Emergency period (1977), Nanaji was a member of the house of people for a while. He was also elected a member to the parliament house in 1999. The Government of India bestowed on him the PadmaVibhushan for his outstanding lifetime work in social service.

This seed of the Deendayal Research Institution which was sown on 20th October 1972 is now a widely spread tree and is still growing. A salute to Nanaji who understood the importance of our ancient cultural values and is still tirelessly active in his work!

Source: http://www.manase.org/en/maharashtra.php?mid=68&smid=23&pmid=5&id=821

Nanaji Deshmukh Message

Dear Friends,       While on the one hand, astonishing advances are taking place in the fields of science and technology people are facing new and complex problems and hazards in their lives. The lust for power has displaced the readiness for public welfare. Grotesque groupism has gripped every party. Mutual discord and strife have undermined political parties. Morality has been totally eroded. Humane values have been interred, as a result of which Governments are prone to instability. The possibility of securing relief from atrocities and injustice appears to be remote. The administration is crippled. Corruption is the order of the day. There is no limit to the woes of the public. Poverty and unemployment are increasing day by day. Never before, has these high price rises made the life of common man so difficult. No one is able to find a way out of this difficult situation. The prime need of the hour is to get over of this difficult situation. Therefore, being fully conscious of our constraints with our limited resources, we, the men and women of Deen Dayal Research Institute, have together dared to take steps to fulfill this need. On the borders of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh there is a small town called Chitrakoot. While in exile, Lord Ram started working for the upliftment of the downtrodden here. With this important historical and inspiring background, we have made Chitrakoot the centre of our work. We have selected five hundred small, neglected rural settlements. We have undertaken the task of ensuring the harmonious all round development of all the men, women and children of these settlements, without any discrimination. Our programme rests on the bedrock of self-development and self-initiative which are based on development programmes. The active co-operation of the selected villages is the source of our strength for our work. The encouraging co-operation of the people that we have received in the short period in our work has boosted the morale of our workers. This effort is setting an example of harmonious development not only for the different parts of our country, but also for newly independent countries as well. Details of the progress made in these five hundred villages have been enunciated in the booklet. We will be happy if you take the trouble of coming and seeing these activities for yourself. To make this project more result oriented, your valuable suggestions are welcome.       With best wishes, Nanaji Deshmukh  Deendayal Research Institute http://www.chitrakoot.org/html/nanaji.htm

Kalam praises Nanaji Deshmukh

By Indo Asian News Service

New Delhi, Nov 1 (IANS) President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Wednesday lavished praise on veteran Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader Nanaji Deshmukh, commending to the nation the litigation-free model of resolving disputes he had devised.

New Delhi, Nov 1 (IANS) President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Wednesday lavished praise on veteran Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader Nanaji Deshmukh, commending to the nation the litigation-free model of resolving disputes he had devised.

This model had ensured that the 80 villages around Chitrakoot in Madhya Pradesh where Deshmukh is based, ‘are almost litigation-free’, the president noted while delivering the 12th Justice Sunanda Bhadare Memorial Lecture here on ‘Judiciary and its multi-dimensions’.

‘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,’ the president said.

‘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 court. 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,’ the president added.

‘I consider that this model may be propagated in many parts of the country by societal organisations, judicial organisations and government,’ Kalam contended.

Dear Friends,
	While on the one hand, astonishing advances are taking place in the fields of science and technology people are facing new and complex problems and hazards in their lives. The lust for power has displaced the readiness for public welfare. Grotesque groupism has gripped every party. Mutual discord and strife have undermined political parties. Morality has been totally eroded. Humane values have been interred, as a result of which Governments are prone to instability. The possibility of securing relief from atrocities and injustice appears to be remote. The administration is crippled. Corruption is the order of the day. There is no limit to the woes of the public. Poverty and unemployment are increasing day by day. Never before, has these high price rises made the life of common man so difficult. No one is able to find a way out of this difficult situation. The prime need of the hour is to get over of this difficult situation. Therefore, being fully conscious of our constraints with our limited resources, we, the men and women of Deen Dayal Research Institute, have together dared to take steps to fulfill this need. On the borders of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh there is a small town called Chitrakoot. While in exile, Lord Ram started working for the upliftment of the downtrodden here. With this important historical and inspiring background, we have made Chitrakoot the centre of our work. We have selected five hundred small, neglected rural settlements. We have undertaken the task of ensuring the harmonious all round development of all the men, women and children of these settlements, without any discrimination. Our programme rests on the bedrock of self-development and self-initiative which are based on development programmes. The active co-operation of the selected villages is the source of our strength for our work. The encouraging co-operation of the people that we have received in the short period in our work has boosted the morale of our workers. This effort is setting an example of harmonious development not only for the different parts of our country, but also for newly independent countries as well. Details of the progress made in these five hundred villages have been enunciated in the booklet. We will be happy if you take the trouble of coming and seeing these activities for yourself. To make this project more result oriented, your valuable suggestions are welcome.

Shri Nanaji believes that a nation or its constituent can never achieve an independent progress at the mercy of foreign funds. Shri Nanaji in spite of his several visits to foreign countries and easy accessibility to foreign funding agencies, never entertained the thought of raising money through these agencies. Time and again he stressed and is incessantly stressing this dictum. The resources required for every project, programme and endeavour of Deendayal Research Institute came from persons associated with or influenced by Deendayal Research Institute activities or from the Govt. of India. Thus Deendayal Research Institute under the leadership of Shri Nanaji stands as a unique Non-Governmental Organization dedicated to the service of our motherland in its own unique way.

Source: http://mitramaadhyama.co.in/?p=1592

Nanaji Deshmukh

Shri Nanaji Deshmukh is the founder of Deendayal Resarch Institute a voluntary Non Governmental Organization (NGO) established in the year 1969. He is a social worker reformer, original thinker and above all a man of action who dedicated his life to the service of motherland. His field work, rural development and social reconstruction, started with Gonda experiment in the year 1978 which spread to other needy places in the Country like Beed (Maharastra) and Chitrakoot (M.P.).

Shri Nanaji believed to the core that upliftment of the rural poor and strengthening the village life is the only solution for our Country’s progress. His precepts “Gramodaya” and “Swavalamban” reflects the philosophy of the great personalities and States men like Swami Vivekananda, Bala Gangadhar Tilak and Mahatma Gandhi. In him a great visionary and down to earth practical personality are blended together which is a rarity in nature. That is why, activities of all these centers ware conceived and designed in minute details by Shri Nanaji. The success of these programmes are mainly due to the detailed planning and able execution under the constant guidance of Shri Nanaji.

Several thousands of youth inspired by his personality and magnetized by his touch are participating in the programs. The results achieved are always unique, astonishingly successful and even amazing some times. Well all this was and is possible only because of radiant presence of Shri Nanaji. It is the legacy of Dr. Hedgewar, Shri M.S. Golwalkar (Guruji) and Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya that is being carried out by Shri Nanaji in every thought and deed. True to this legacy Shri Nanaji believes that a nation or its constituent can never achieve an independent progress at the mercy of foreign funds. Shri Nanaji in spite of his several visits to foreign countries and easy accessibility to foreign funding agencies, never entertained the thought of raising money through these agencies. Time and again he stressed and is incessantly stressing this dictum. The resources required for every project, programme and endeavour of Deendayal Research Institute came from persons associated with or influenced by Deendayal Research Institute activities or from the Govt. of India. Thus Deendayal Research Institute under the leadership of Shri Nanaji stands as a unique Non-Governmental Organization dedicated to the service of ourmotherland in its own unique way.

Since it is not possible to detail every activity he executed; we present in brief some of the important major projects (both completed and on going) in the following pages. However for the benefit of comprehensive understanding of the nature and particularly the magnitude of work of Deendayal Research Institute we are enclosing the detailed charts and brochures depicting the various activities.

Nanaji made self-reliance work

Upamanyu Hazarika

Chitrakoot, where Nanaji Deshmukh spent the last two decades of his life after giving up politics, demonstrates the viability of Mahatma Gandhi’s ideal of self-reliant village communities. A model of development for rural India can be found in his selfless service

A simple assessment of Nanaji Deshmukh’s legacy would be that he conclusively demonstrated the viability of Mahatma Gandhi’s ideal of self-reliant village communities, and that too only in the last two decades. At a time when the agricultural sector, supporting 65 per cent of the population, contributes only 20 per cent of the GDP, the result of Nanaji’s efforts through the Deendayal Research Institute in Chitrakoot provide a proven model of development for rural India, both economic and moral, towards achieving the ideal of Ram Rajya. The most significant proof is demonstrating the economic viability of a marginal land-holding of 2.5 acre for a family of six, significant for a country where 80 per cent of its rural population comprises marginal farmers.

Chitrakoot (and 600 villages there) is a remarkable story on five different counts. First, it establishes and proves the ideal of a self-reliant village community; second, it fills a valuable gap in the delivery mechanism of the state ensuring effective implementation of Government schemes; third, the emphasis has been to make the villagers self-reliant, without making them dependents in perpetuity; fourth, the entire exercise has been carried out by defining, adopting, and following processes for activities and functionaries, regularly tested and audited towards ensuring the desired output. This enables a replicable model anywhere in the country. Fifth, and perhaps the most significant, is the high degree of morality permeating all activities — an essential attribute of Ram Rajya and a platform for moral elevation in our polity.

Consider the facts. When Nanaji stepped into Chitrakoot in 1991, it was a semi-arid area straddling the border between Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh with water tables at the depth of 250 to 300 feet, marginal holdings with a single crop, populace prone to water-borne diseases, sustainable livelihood virtually impossible without being supplemented by remittances from migrants.

Today, not only has migration stopped, but people are returning and marginal land-holdings (1.5 acre irrigated and 2.5 acres non-irrigated) are providing sustainable livelihood to families of six. Nanaji chose Chitrakoot inspired by the example of Ram in exile, who without any state power showed the path of self-reliance and self-confidence to a distressed and oppressed people. He was motivated by the ideology of his close friend Deendayal Upadhyaya. This model has been duplicated, on a smaller scale, in Gonda and Beed in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.

The focal point of all activities is a graduate couple, called Samaj Shilpi Dampati. They live in a village and are responsible for a cluster of five villages. All programmes of the DRI are implemented through this graduate couple. They document every activity and the results thereof, acting as enablers for the villagers they are responsible towards in accessing education and Government programmes and schemes, careful documentation, generating valuable data for assessment and planning.

The manner in which self-reliance and empowerment have been propagated is evident from the schemes in various sectors. Common ailments afflicting the population are addressed through Ayurveda and naturopathy. Locally available Ayurvedic herbs and preparations are put together into a mobile medical kit for the Samaj Shilpi Dampati. This is realistic for treatment of common ailments, instead of allopathic medicines which are costly and impractical in a doctor:population ratio of 1:10,000. Research into Ayurveda is carried out in an institute funded by the Tatas, where new medicines are developed. Interestingly, the JRD Tata Aarogyadham Institute has also developed a simple water purification procedure using hot wooden coal, costing less than a rupee, an improvement on the Tatas’ own low-cost filter currently being marketed. The objective is to scale up operations to market the medicinal products to make this activity a profit centre.

The transformation in agricultural output and productivity has been achieved through effective watershed management, availing of Government grants and the Krishi Vigyan Kendras of ICAR. The Krishi Vigyan Kendra’s water-harvesting techniques have shown astounding results, at some places water tables having risen 150 feet, enabling irrigation and consequently multiple cropping. Apart from multiple cropping, the viability of marginal holdings is enhanced by inter-cropping fruits and vegetables along with animal husbandry. With regular interaction and intervention through the graduate couple, the DRI has been able to arrive at an ideal balance of different economic activities (crops, fruits and vegetables, animal husbandry) for marginal land holdings, both irrigated and non-irrigated. The significance of this achievement cannot be highlighted sufficiently.

The value chain of processing agricultural output is carried forward in Udyamita Vidyapeeth where agricultural products are processed and packaged for commercial sale. The Vidyapeeth also has other economic activities like making products for local use — for instance, tiles, bricks, handicrafts. The Vidyapeeth, in consonance with Nanaji’s vision of every activity being self-sustaining, trains landless who are encouraged to form self-help groups. Moreover there is a scaling up of operations, the accent being on quality towards which FPO and ISI certification has been obtained for different products for sale in a larger market.

Even in the sphere of education the innovative gurukul model has been adopted. Each gurukul houses 80 children with retired couples looking after groups of 10 children. The children are inculcated with values to study in groups in an inspiring atmosphere.

While, the above are some of the activities of the institute, the most important aspect of its functioning is the strong accent on establishing management practises and resource improvement at every juncture, which is achieved by a collection of detailed information on all activities, processes and functionaries, and planning future steps on the basis of such information and analysis.

The institute in 2006 undertook the process of ISO-9001 Certification, which required it to identify the functionaries involved in every activity and processes involved. This resulted in the processes for every activity being identified, including the processes for every functionary involved in such activity, leading to systems being set into place. This also provides clarity to every functionary.

While such systems are commonplace in the corporate world, they are rare in the NGO sector where efforts are individual-centric and organisations become subject to the efforts or the lack of it of the individual involved. This is not to downplay the role of the individual in any manner. By ensuring systems are put in place, the role of the individual is defined.

Nanaji’s foresight also included that of putting a team together which helped him immensely in charting out the path and is in place to carry forward his legacy. His successors are led by Mr Vasant Pandit, Mr Bharat Pathak, Ms Nandita Pathak and Mr Jeh Wadia.

The moral elevation which Nanaji provided by sheer force of example provides a direction to the country, a telling instance being that the number of litigations in Chitrakoot has been brought down drastically by virtue of his efforts in endeavouring to create a Ram Rajya and amity between all sections of people.

It is instructive to note that Nanji’s stepped into Chitrakoot only in 1991 when he was 77 years old. In a brief period he demonstrated the viability of a self-reliant village community. It is six decades since we became a republic and already our policy-makers have given up on the rural population, considering them to be fit only for cash doles in the form of NREGA, condemning them to a life of dependency, rather than empowering them. Unfortunately, for today’s political class, politics is a business where the accent is on garnering more money to outspend/ divide rivals and win elections, that being an end in itself. Nanaji’s achievements have been consistently ignored.

The writer is a senior Supreme Court lawyer.