Chapter Two: Dnyana Prabodhini: Mapping Organization, Ideology and Practices
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Chapter Two: Dnyana Prabodhini: Mapping Organization, ideology and Practices Dnyana Prabodhini, (henceforth sometimes referred to as Prabodhini) was set up as an educational institute in 1962 in Pune by Prof Appa Pendse, a pracharak of the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangha (until dismissed in 1958), with the explicit aim of experimenting with education for creating a generation of leaders for nation building. Prabodhini literally means Enlightenment and this is significant in that this organization claims to usher in the Enlightenment of true knowledge for building a Hindu nation. The last decade has seen a phenomenal expansion in the activities of this organization and the consolidation of its ideological base and developmental programmes. Prabodhini occupies an important place on the cultural and the educational map of Pune city. Unlike national organizations like the Shiv Sena or the RSS or the more local Patit Pawan Sanghatana, it does not have an overtly Hindutva face nor a militant identity. Thus it is necessary to ask: Why and how Prabodhini emerged, with this agenda of experimenting with education, in the 1960s in Pune city? What is the structure of the organisation? What were the different programmes through which the organisation consolidated its base? Answers to these questions will not only introduce us to the ideology and practices of Prabhodini but also allow us in the later chapters to analyse and compare how it mobilises itself on cultural and educational grounds as against the more militant ones of Hindu political parties and organisations. Keeping these questions in mind, in this chapter the first section will take a detailed review of the different activities carried out by Prabodhini. It will elaborate upon the organizational and ideological structure and the practices through important events in the calendar of the Prabodhini, the attempt is to underline strategies through which Prabodhini establishes itself as different and unique in comparison to the other educational institutes in Pune city. The second section will broadly locate the emergence of Prabodhini in the political economy of Maharashtra. 50 Dnyana Prabodhini: Ideology, Organization and Training Programmes Dnyana Prabodhini: A New Experiment in Education was founded at Pune in 1962 by Dr. Appa Pendse, who got his political training/initiation from Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangha. He was an active member of Sangha for more than twenty years until he was expelled. Dr. Vinayak Pendse popularly known as Appa Pendse was bom in a ‘upper castes' Hindu Chitpavan family in Pune. The publications of the Prabhodini and Appa Pendse's own writings give us glimpses of his ideological background. In his childhood, Pendse was a part of groups like Balchar Sena (a form of drill, established by Lala Lajpat Rai), a group, which played band. It is important to note that in the early decades of the twentieth century, on many occasions like marriage, religious festivals and so on, families often invited band players, majority of whom were Muslims. The Balchar Sena was a special group of band players which had been trained in order to avoid the presence of Muslims at the time of Hindu religious events and festivals (Bhishikar 1988). From his childhood, it seems Pendse was attracted towards the concept of building a Hindu nation. He was deeply influenced by the ideology of Swami Shradhnanda, Swami Vivekananda and Sri Aurobindo. He was attracted to Vivekananda’s idea of placing importance on spiritual Hindutva rather than on political Hindutva. In his childhood, at the age of ten, when he heard the news that a Muslim man, Mohmmad Rashid, had killed Swami Shradhananda (a leader of Arya Samaj and initiator of its Sanghtan Shudhi campaign), he vowed that he would take the place of Swami Shradhananda and would carry his work further. Thus, it is apparent that for Pendse, the early influences of Vivekananda, Savarkar and his own participation in the RSS helped him to consolidate his idea of Hindutva. He explicitly states that he was influenced by the element of discipline in Christianity. He wanted to develop an organization where Hindutva would be more homogenous, dynamic and disciplined. 51 In 1936, when his sister and he were returning from the Faizpur Congress Conference, he first met Dr. Hedgewar and then became a part of the RSS from 1936 to 1957. He was a part of different activities of the RSS and soon became a part of the core group. In the pre-independence period, he was actively involved in the militant group called the ‘Revolutionary Group’ (Krantikari Sena) and also in consolidating activities of the RSS in different regions of the country. Though he was committed to the RSS, he disagreed with the RSS stand on non-participation in the freedom struggle. At that time, leaders of the RSS had argued that the RSS did not have the capacity to participate in the freedom struggle. But Appa Pendse had a different opinion. However, being a loyal, obedient pracharak, he obeyed the ruling of senior RSS leaders. In 1948, during the period of the ban on the RSS, he was arrested, which, he claims, gave him the time to reflect upon his views (Bhishikar 1988). He had differences with Golwalkar Guruji’s way of organizing RSS in the post- Independence period, especially in post-ban period. Appa Pendse, like some of his other contemporary RSS members, wanted the RSS to be more accommodative and receptive, and to have a comprehensive programme consisting of education, service, new innovations and modem science. However, at that time, the idea of creating a •parivar’ via affiliates was new to the RSS and Golwalkar and others were apprehensive about the idea. Though latter the idea of building a parivar took shape under his leadership. In 1957, Pune city was affected by an epidemic of influenza. Appa Pendse with some of the other RSS members started a relief camp. At that time, the idea of running relief camps was new to the RSS. In those camps, on the request of governmental officials, they distributed milk powder supplied by the government. Some of the senior leaders were not in favour of running such camps. Golwalkar was upset as he disapproved of the RSS-run camps distributing milk powder. He claimed that to increase the percentage of calcium in the milk, the government was mixing the powder of cow bones in this milk powder. He argued that if the RSS was distributing it, it was like committing an act of killing a cow which according to the 52 Hindu belief system, is considered the gravest of sins. Ultimately the distribution was stopped and the blame for starting such a programme was placed on Appa Pendse and finally he was expelled from the RSS in 1958. During 1954 to 1962, he completed his studies. He had completed his doctoral thesis in 1961 on ‘Leadership Development’ in the discipline of Psychology. From 1962 to 1968, he served as a lecturer in the Department of Psychology at the University of Pune. The idea of relief work, the insistence on milk powder as hygienic, and training in Psychology of Leadership Development, all become in the narrative of Appa Pendse’s journey, signs of modernity and scientism as against the RSS. After getting out of the RSS and completing his doctoral work, he finally established Dnyana Prabodhini in Pune city in 1962. Establishment of Dnyana Prabodhini: The Temple of Learning From its inception, Prabodhini has underlined its difference from other educational institutes. The geographical location of Prabodhini in Pune and within Pune, in Sadashiv Peth, with a concentration of ‘upper castes’ Hindus, especially Chitpavan Brahminss, must be noted. The architecture of the Dnyana Prabodhini also makes a statement—Hindu temple spires punctuate the view of Prabodhini, constant reminders to its faculty that it is not merely an ‘institute’ but a temple of learning (Please see Appendix II). Prabodhini was started with an explicit aim of all-round development of physical, mental and spiritual qualities of students in general and the gifted in particular. The stated aims and objectives of Prabodhini are: 'Dnyana Prabodhini is not a common level educational institution imparting education based on textbooks ... Development o f the virtuous behaviour, truth in action, studiousness, industriousness, nationalistic character, nationalistic spirit, pride in golden Indian cultural past, pride in tradition, spontaneity, self motivation etc are the main tasks of Dnyana Prabodhini.' (DP Vol 1 1972) 53 It is argued that education can be the only instrument for bringing about a change in a world that is propelled by science and technology. Prabodhini believes that through education alone, one can create leaders who will accept the role of being selfless servants of the Hindu nation. 'Prabodhini will try to imbibe modesty coupled with self confidence and not snobbishness, dedicated to the cause and not self-centeredness. The ability to do organised work in small and large groups is highlighted against individualism. Last but not the least, the awakening o f the spiritual nature o f the pupils is seen as one o f the greatest responsibilities o f this institution.' (DP Vol 1 1972) With this ideological base and stated aims, Prabodhini’s first activity— Prabodhshala—a course based on the above-mentioned principles was started in 1962 for selected boys. It is important to note that the selection was based on IQ testing, and boys were selected from different high schools without any compulsion of paying fees. 'The fees are the least important element of all; it's alright even if you give tulsi leaves in an envelope.' (DP Vol.I 1962) After seven years of experimentation, in 1969, a full-time school for selected, intellectually-gifled male students was started.