Author: TNN
Publication: The Times of India
Date: November 4, 2009
URL: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/RSS-service-projectsmultiply-ten-fold/articleshow/5194113.cms
Its political offshoot, Bharatiya Janata Party,
may be in a disarray and desperately trying to get out of the
knots it has tied for itself. But the parent organisation and Hindutva fountainhead
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) can take immense pride in having spread
its wings far and wide through its social service projects. Recording an impressive
growth, the service units of the Sangh parivar grew ten times in little over
one decade.
'Sewa Disha' a special journal published by
RSS front organisation released to the media on Tuesday reveals that its service
projects all over the country that numbered 15,063 in 1997 have grown into
a massive network of 1,57,776 in 2009. The journal, published once in five
years, gives full account of the service work done by the innumerable units
of the Sangh parivar, said RSS spokesman Manmohan Vaidya.
The service projects are engaged mainly in
four fields-- education, healthcare, social work and economic self-reliance.
Of the total 1.5 lakh projects, nearly 40% or 59,498 are into imparting education.
This work is mainly done through Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram (3147 units), Rashtriya
Sewa Bharti (20,500 schools), Vishwa Hindu Parishad (25, 922 units), Vidya
Bharti (9682) units, Rashtriya Sevika Sangh (149 units) and Akhil Bhartiya
Vidyarthi Parishad (98 units). Similarly, 38,582 health-related units are
being currently operated through mainly Seva Bharti, VHP, Bharat Vikas Parishad
and Vanvasi Kalyan Ashrams. While the number of social projects that do village
development to disaster management have now grown 42,304, economic activity
is being executed through 17,392 projects, according to the journal.
Its in Kerala that the RSS projects have grown
the most-- from 688 in 2004 to 8921 this year while Karnataka follows with
9662 projects, up from 2535 in five years ago. Practically every state has
RSS presence through these projects. Special attention is paid to north-eastern
states that are reeling under insurgency problem and in difficult terrains
like jungles, hills and the strife-ridden Jammu and Kashmir to spread education
and health in places where the government facilities are non-existent or neglected.
"I can tell my personal experience having
been associated with such projects in Gujarat. At Deoghar village in Kutch,
the Sangh shakhas have succeeded in eradicating vices like alcoholism and
brought harmony by ending group rivalries among villagers," said Vaidya
who worked for a long time in the western state. From basic education through
'Ekal Vidyalaya'( one-teacher schools) launched by the Pophali couple in Jharkhand
to special projects for higher learning, research and promoting sustainable,
organic farming the 'Seva' units are holding the RSS flag high across the
nation, said Vaidya..
