Chapter Two: Dnyana Prabodhini: Mapping Organization, Ideology and Practices

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. The school was one of the first in Pune city to be affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education. The IQ testing created a popular image of a ‘scientifically oriented’ school as against others where admissions were based on either first-come-first-serve basis or political/social influence or donations.

From 1964, a small group of college-going girls who had come into contact with Appa Pendse began to meet every Sunday morning. The meeting would start with

54 Upasana, the reciting of Gayatri Mantra which traditionally women are not supposed to recite. They would then read and discuss various issues ranging from popular cinema, college curriculum, and current affairs such as hijacking of an airplane by Pakistan or the Bangladesh war etc. They also interacted with various organizations like Rashtriya Sevika Samiti (DP Vol II 1980). This group pushed the demand that the educational programmes of Prabodhini be extended to the girls. It was accepted in 1972 and Prabodhshala (special course for selected girls) was started and in 1975, a full-time school for girls came up.

Prabodhini is divided along gender lines, with separate classes for girls and boys. Any kind of mixed activities for boys and girls are avoided. Prabodhini, from the beginning, has insisted that it is not a co-educational school. It underlines that

'the boys must concentrate on their studies single-mindedly up to the age of 25. It is better if their mind is not distracted by other ideas and their studies both academic and non-academic

continue until adulthood.' (Utkat Adamya Chaitanya, 1988)

The distinctive markers of the school were its insistence on speaking ‘pure marathi’

(instead of Hello, Namaskar, Elevator, Udwahak\ and Building, Vastu), Indian

dress as a school uniform {Churidar, kurta and Gandhi Topi), introduction of compulsory training in traditional physical activities (thrice a week) and extracurricular activities that were related to civic life of the city like helping during

Ganesh Utsavs, playing Barchya in the immersion procession. By mid 1980s, the school came to occupy a very important place on the educational map of Pune city, known for apparently providing value-oriented quality education. The explicitly stated apolitical and scientific approach of Prabodhini, combined with its insistence on sustaining the best in Hindu tradition, helped consolidate its image and its base among the middle class. It is clear that the school appealed to the new middle class in Pune city, which, in seeking upward mobility, did not want its children to be educated in the Municipal schools but found the city-based convents, a threat to

Hindu samskar. It is clear that there was a concurrence between the aspirations of

55 the new middle class to seek scientific leadership in building a Hindu nation and the aims of the school. As the vision document claims—

'Jnana Prabodhini, a non-political organization, aims at an all round development of physical, mental, spiritual qualities of students in general and intellectuals in particular. This development should lead to leadership development, motivation building, attitude formation, understanding problems of India and preparing for solving some of these problems as the students

grow up.'{D? Vol II 1980)

In 1982, a school in Nigdi, an industrial area very near to Pune city, was started. This was looked at as an opportunity to expand the base of Prabodhini among the non-Maharashtrian population. The school was started with the efforts of those who were eager to send their children to Prabodhini. In this branch of Prabodhini, admissions were not based on IQ testing, without any explanation offered for the same. Initially, parents lent their houses to Prabodhini to start classes. Eventually after acquiring land, a building was constructed and today it has been established as a well-reputed branch of Prabodhini. It is important to note that that the school came to be established in the growing industrial belt of the city, with an emerging middle class population.

From almost the beginning, apart from the school, other core components like research, income generation activities and constructive work for young boys and girls came to be integrated in the activities of the organisation. For this purpose, Prabodhini started various programmes in areas like Research, Rural Development, Industrial Ventures.

Research Wings of Prabodhini At the Prabodhini it is argued that to have a meaningful education, research should be an integral part of it. This is especially so for those working for social transformation who, it is argued, must have a base of an applied research.

56 'Dnayna Prabodhini aspires to undertake original work in research which will be virtually connected with the social and

educational problems o f the country.' (DP Vol II 1980)

Based upon the above idea, Prabodhini developed three major research wings which eventually got recognition from ICSSR and UGC. These are; 1) Pradnya Manas Sanshodhika (1978): The institute of research in intellect and mind. 2) The Ayurveda Aushadhi Sanshodhika (1976): The institute of research in Ayurvedic Medicines. 3) Sanskrit Sanskruti Sanshodhika (1975): The institute of research in Sanskrit and Indian culture (especially ‘indigenous’ sciences, roots of modem science in Hinduism). 4) The S. K. Patil Vidyut Anusamshodhika: The institute of research in electronics.

All these research wings are considered as the offsprings of Prabodhini. Mostly the past students of Prabodhini head these research wings. These research wings carry out different activities in order to mobilise a broader base for the institute by taking the research to the public.

Prabodhini documents describe its research institutes to be

'Here is the research institute which will never lose the awareness of nationally vital issues in the mesh of scientific method. Here is a research institute where individual researcher will never lock themselves up into the narrow cabin walls o f specialization. Here is a research institute where members will continue to meet in Upasana—to translate the hopes of today

into the realities of tomorrow. ’ (DP Vol II 1980)

57 It is important to note how the Hindu nation is prioritized over scientific method and difference from other institutions of research is marked by research being an

‘ Upasana \ a religious task of building a better future.

Field and Community Work of Prabodhini in Rural Area For more than three decades Prabodhini has been working in Shiva Ganga and Gunjavani River Valley. This work was started with the following aim:

'Rural development work is a perpetual struggle against poverty, illiteracy, lethargy, superstitions, caste barriers and evil

addictions. ’ (D.P. Vol II 1980)

Keeping this objective in mind, a master plan of Shiva Ganga Valley development project was mapped in 1969. The major projects undertaken were: construction of small dams and temples, campaign against liquor trading and consumption, challenging the lower status of ‘Harijans’ (’untouchables') in the village and providing health services specifically for leprosy patients (DP Vol II 1980). Thus the major aim of this programme was to expand the base of Prabhodini in the rural area and to present a model of an educational institute which could give exposure of field work in rural India to its students.

Production Unit of Dnyana Prabodhini Another major component that emerged at Prabodhini was the production unit, which started in 1967 with following stated aim:

'The study of Indian economy must include the study of Indian industry. To know the problems of Indian industry better, Jnana Prabodhini has started 6 industrial units which are headed by past students o f the institution. These industries not only offered an opportunity to study industrial problems, but also offered an opportunity for

58 developing new and desired type of industrial relationships.' (DP Vol II 1980)

They have developed the following six industrial units both in rural and urban areas: 1) The Kirloskar-Dnyana Prabodhini Yantrashala, Shivapur, 15 miles south of Pune 2) The Paper Capacitor Division, Pune 3) The Mechanical Timer Activity, Pune 4) The Commerce and Industries Division, Pune 5) Prabodhini Rasamayi Udyog, Pune 6) The Khandsari sugar factory which is managed by Dnyana Prabodhini Shivapradesh, branch trust of Dnyana Prabodhini, Kranjawane, 30 miles from Pune.

These ventures are seen as spaces to explore new fields, generate employment, venture into the industrial field and make the financial base of the organization strong. Apart from donations of well-wishers, including industrialists like Kirloskar, Prabodhini also generates revenue from these production units. In the course of time they had to close down some of the production units due to administrative as well as technical difficulties. In these production units, Upasana (reciting a prayer composed by Appa Pendse) was mandatory in order to purify the soul of the participants. According to Prabodhini, this gives these ventures a different understanding and helps the participants to develop greater affinity with the unit and its activities.

With the above introduction to the ideological formation of the founder and programmes of Prabhodhini, it would help to conclude with a list of various activities carried out by Prabodhini in different spheres.

Education: • Youth Wing for boys, 1962 (Prabodhshala for boys)

59 • Youth Wing for girls, 1964 (Prabodhshala for girls) • School for boys, 1969 • School for girls, 1975 • Navanagar School, 1982 • Management School, 1984 • Technical School, 1986 • School in Solapur, 1989 • School in Rural area, 1992 • Competitive Exam Centre, 1995

Research: • Sanskrit Sanskriti Sanshodhika, 1975: A wing for researching the ‘glorious Indian culture', the focus of which is to highlight the modemityVationality of rituals and to introduce the ‘thread ceremony’ for girls, non-Hindus and ‘lower castes', and to codify Vedic rituals and give them 'modem’ reinterpretations. This wing publishes several ‘do-it-yourself kind of small booklets, explaining the meaning of the rites and rituals. Pradnya Manas Sanshodhika, 1976: A research wing dedicated to research in indigenising Psychology. It is developing indigenous psychological tests, special techniques to measure IQ, and also developing a centre for training and counselling.

Health: • Integrated Rural Health Programme (Khed Shivapur), 1982 • Sanjeevan Hospital (in Pune City), 1993 • Eye Hospital (Shirval), 1997

Rural Development: • Shivaganga Valley Programme, 1965: In this scheme, small savings groups have been established. Along with educational activities, income-generating schemes are run for the villagers. Focus is on health awareness, literacy campaign and mahila mandals.

60 • Shivaganga Women’s Enterprise, 1994 • Research Centre in Rural Technology, 1997

Training and Production: • Kothibhaskar Memorial Industry, 1976: A unit started at Shivapur to generate employment in the rural area. • Elevator Section, Pune, 1981: To become self sufficient in technical know how. • Publishing Section, 1981: Prabodhini has its own publishing centre to publish its books and reading material. • Kanak Industry, 1997

Youth Organisations (Separated on gender lines): • Youth Wing for boys, 1962 • Youth Wing for girls, 1964 The two groups above consist of boys and girls, mostly from Prabodhini and some from outside. In these groups, students are trained in various activities that will help them to develop their physical, intellectual and organizational skills. • Pracheetee, 1990 (closed down recently): A wing for enlightening\organizing college students. Through this group, mobilization of the college students was undertaken. They had undertaken various activities like coming out with a wall magazine, organizing discussion groups, training camps in the vacation and visit to some ashram schools.

Ideological Position of Dnyana Prabodhini A well-worked out ideological agenda of Prabodhini is published in three volumes titled Dnyana Prabodhini: A New Experiment in Education. The first volume was published in 1972, the second in 1980 and the third in 1987. The third volume explains explicitly the ideology of the organization, its structure and its future programmes.

61 As underlined in these volumes, Prabodhini is a dynamic institute, which changes itself along with time. As stated in volume three (1987), Prabodhini’s ideology is developed around Tatvasaptak, meaning seven founding principles. These seven principles are: 1. Establishment of Dharma 2. Hindu Way of Life 3. Social Service 4. Organization 5. Development 6. Excellence 7. Scientism

Establishment of Dharma Establishment of Dharma is articulated as the equilibrium between good and bad things in society, where the increasing forces of evil will be brought under control of the forces of good. The aim is to establish a religion (Dhanna) that will create a prosperous, value-rich, just society which then can be the basis of a spiritually rich culture. Drawing upon the philosophy of Sri Aurobindo and Swami Vivekananda, a plan to achieve these goals has been charted out. This plan focuses on working towards the following: • Material prosperity, combining it with the wealth of ethics. • Re-establishing the Hindu world view • Creating a cult of worshipers • Creating an environment where people will follow their own religion and respect that of others. • Finally, the elimination of all corrupt, crooked, disastrous and selfish

tendencies, and replacing them with courage or Punishartha. (DP Vol III 1987)

Hindu Way of Life The Hindu way of life and social service is seen as charting the road to the above goal. The Hindu concept of god, life and knowledge are spelt out as follows;

62 ‘Hindutva especially means "Indianness” but only developed Hindutva, cultural Hindutva, modern Hindutva and not religious Hindut\’a. ’ (DP Vol III1987)

The Hindu way of life is described as one that moves towards a world based on equality, hard work and enjoyment of finer things in life. Social service is translated in terms of working towards developmental activities for groups such as dalit and other marginalised people who are exploited and kept away from developmental opportunities for so many years. The notion of ‘selflessness’ is given importance.

The principles of organization and development are seen as crucial for transforming society. The third volume (1987) elaborates the organizational structure of Prabodhini and the do’s and don’t’s for members. The principle of ‘development’ focuses not only on the areas to be developed but highlights the complementarity between the development of the organization and that of the individual activist.

The principle of excellence highlights how it is necessary to acquire basic skills in all aspects, with excellence in at least one. While stressing excellence as a principle, it has underlined that 'Prabodhini believes that just equality of opportunities is not enough. Those who have until now never had the opportunity to develop, need not have equal but special opportunities. In case of a dalit and savama student with equal merit, Prabodhini’s position would grant the dalit student the opportunity. So Dnyana Prabodhini’s focus on excellence is not against equality

but moves towards a better balance.' (DP Vol III 1987)

Scientism is seen as an essential principle since in the absence of it there is a danger of an increase in superstition and ritualism. 'In the sphere of the spiritual and meditative, one should be a ‘Sadhak ’ (worshipper) of the almighty and in the sphere o f

63 science and technology a follower of modernity.' (DP Vol III 1980)

It is argued that in the twenty-first century, it is necessary to analyze spiritualism from a scientific perspective. The new millennium ideas are seen as presenting the possibility of ending the conflict between knowledge and ignorance by bringing together knowledge and science.

After this brief review of the principles of Prabodhini, it would be important to review the organizational structure through which the ideology of Prabodhini has been practised.

Organizational Structure of Dnyana Prabodhini Dnyana Prabodhini is a cadre-based organization. The institutional structure of the Prabodhini is as follows. Director (Head of the Dnyana Prabodhini) Secretary (who assists the Director) Assistant Secretary

D al (Group of students, meeting thrice a week in the evening. The major aim of this group is to impart training in physical skills, sports and exercise.

Leader-in-charge of dais and different activities carried out by various groups of students. Group Leaders (responsible for the activities of their group) Assistants (who are selected from the above mentioned group) Committee of Representatives (a representative is selected from each group) Class Representative (a student is selected from each division) Sports Leader Department Leaders (Heads of different wings of Dnyana Prabodhini)

In addition to these, special dais, called Prabodh Dais, are organized for non-Prabodhini students in different regions.

64 The Director is at the core of the organization, assisted by heads of different wings and coordinators of different activities. Activist members involved in different programmes of Prabodhini form the base of the organisation. Prabodhini’s constitution has clearly laid down its expectations from the director and other activists of the organization. The Director of Prabodhini must lead a celibate life. He must not hold any private property. He must be a policy maker, philosopher and idealist. The idea of celibacy (sanyasa) has been elaborated upon. According to this idea of celibacy, a sanyasi shouldn’t have the following: 1) a private or familial life, 2) excess of anything, 3) any addiction, 4) private property, and 5) sexual relationship with a woman, child or man. It is argued that he must be different from the conventional sanyasi who detaches himself from the family. Instead, the idea of

Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the whole universe is my family) is underlined, and therefore the director is expected to be emotional, soft and sensitive. Any interaction with a woman is not considered as transgression of ascetic life as long as it is without sexual intention. The Director can take interest in creative things and can receive joy and pleasure out of doing things. Thus Prabodhini is not putting forth an idea of living a monotonous and colourless life (Bhishikar, 1988).

Prabodhini expects that every activist participant must be responsible, responsive, creative, co-operative and regenerative. This development is seen as passing through four stages through which an individual can move towards affinity and commitment to the organization. This is reflected in the four vows, which are to be taken in front of a picture of Om. First vow—T will, along with my familial responsibilities, do some social work without expecting any kind of return from it’. Second Vow—T will serve the Nation through Prabodhini’. At this stage, the individual is expected to report to the Director about his/her work and seek his advice. Third Vow—T will work wherever and in whichever area the Director of Prabodhini directs me to’. Both the married and single activist can take this vow, as Prabodhini promises to take care of his or her livelihood. Fourth Vow—T will dedicate my life to Prabodhini and will lead an ascetic life’.

65 The ceremony of taking vows is considered very important and auspicious. The

Purohit (trained in Prabodhini’s culture wing) performs all the rituals. The ceremony starts with chanting of some Sanskrit verses. Then in front of the portrait of Om, some senior person, mostly a person who has taken the third or fourth vow, gives some flowers to a participant and then both of them recite the oath in front of the other members. After this, with the permission of the Purohit and other senior members, the person is declared to be a Prateedneet (person who has taken an oath).

In the educational calendar of Prabodhini, the following three days are marked as important days: Varsharmbha (the beginning of the academic year), Varshanta

(closing of the academic year) and Dikshagrhan (the day of taking oaths).

Varsharambha (The beginning of the academic year) The idea of celebrating the beginning of the academic year was put forth by Dr. Appa Pendse in 1964. The purpose of this activity is to remind the students about the Indian culture and start the new academic year with auspicious beginning.

"If at all education is to be imparted in the real Indian tradition and Indian Culture, there must be some ceremony which reminds one o f the Vedas and Upanishadas, o f the seers and rishis, o f philosophy and their implication in the day to day life ’ (DP Vol II 1980)

Based on the above idea, the script for Varsharmbha was written and finalized in 1965. The script consists of selections from the Vedas and Upanishadas. In order to make it simple and accessible, it is written in Marathi. As described by Prabodhini, the whole ceremony is performed with discipline, with quietness being maintained. For this ceremony, the students come in uniform well in time and are seated in rows. Each one has a script of the prayer in front of them. Incense sticks are lit in different comers. The leader, called Adhvaryu, starts the Upasana by chanting

‘Hari Om ’. The participants recite along with the Adhvaryu, the leader. After every

66 verse, the leader explains the meaning and again everybody recites it, bearing its meaning in mind. Towards the end, the leader sings a song composed by saints.

Lastly, there is meditation and the chanting of the Gayatri Mantra. The leader insists upon the minds of the pupils 'not to resort to any addictions' (DP Vol II 1980) and further says that 'there can not be any obstacle to learning, the real obstacle is forgetting God and real happiness lies in remembering Him' (DP Vol II 1980).

At the end, the leader recites a prayer, which elaborates the aims of pursuing knowledge:

'From the unreal lead us to the real From darkness unto the light

From Death into Immorality' (DP Vol II 1980) This day is marked as an auspicious beginning of the academic year.

Varshanta Upasana (The End of the Year Ceremony) The above day marks the conclusion of the whole academic year. This ceremony is usually performed around the second or third week of April. It is called Utsarga' or ‘Utsarjana ’ ceremony. The students observe rituals throughout the whole day. They come to the school in the morning and study the entire afternoon without talking to each other. By 5.45 pm they gather in the Upasana Mandir (a big hall with a portrait of Akhanda Bharat [Undivided India] and Om at the centre) and first salute Saraswati. Then the leader (Adhvaryu) recites some verses from Rigveda. The leader talks about how the universe has come into existence, about the duties of the individual and about the importance of knowledge in each individual’s life. In the end, Adhvaryu advises that:

'A person must do his duty for hundred years, contemplating on Avidya, which is the knowledge o f the physical world, and also

on Vidya, which is the knowledge o f the inner spirit' (DP Vol II 1980)

67 The Upanayana or the Vidya Vrata Ceremony: In between the above two ceremonies, there is an important ceremony called

Upanayana i.e. initiation or taking up of a Vidya Vrata. Traditionally this ceremony is prescribed mainly for brahmin boys. Prabhodini has expanded the scope of this ceremony to both boys and girls of all castes. It argues that after studying the traditional scripts of this ritual, it has rescripted the initiation ceremony. During the ceremony, the leader (Adhvaryu) first explains why this vrata (vow) has to be taken, then expalins the code of conduct that has to be followed on taking the vow and lastly, explains the importance of knowledge (Dnyana). He recites some verses from the Manusmriti, the following being two examples:

To accept diksha or the Vow means taking an oath for acquiring the knowledge of Science that is Vidnyan, and the knowledge of spirit that is dnayana and for this purpose being taken to the

guru.'{T>? Vol II 1980)

'The principal objective of Brahamacharya is to achieve the real development of the personality... the real personality growth lies in evoking the parabrhama shakti i.e. energy to act through oneself. I f it is working in just a few degrees, one should make ceaseless efforts to make it act through oneself in hundred

degrees.'(D? Vol II 1980)

In the last part of the ceremony, the leader recites a prayer in prose and all the participants, who are taking oath, follow him. Then the leader lights the fire and

makes offerings to fire (agni), sun (as a source of energy) and king (prajapati).

After this, the participants request him for Yadnyapavit (the sacred thread). After this stage, all those who get initiated become eligible to recite the gayatri mantra.

68 According to Prabodhini, anybody can participate in this ceremony. There are no caste or gender restrictions.

'Anybody is entitled for the Upanayana (Initiation) ceremony, let his caste be anything, even he be a Muslim, a Christian, a European, or as any other foreigner, irrespective of the fact that the person is a boy or a girl, he or she can partake in the

ceremony and receive the Brahamacharya vow.' (DP Vol II 1980)

The taking of vows and the initiation rites underline rationality and comprehension (translation in marathi, the opening up of initiation for all, highlighting vignyana), modernising therefore vedic principles and practices. These rituals are ways through which science, nation, research, modernity come to be tied to the Vedic and the spiritual and vice-versa. Students see these ceremonies as marking their difference from other youth who are seen as aimless.

• Organizational Flow in Decision-making In the working of Prabodhini collaborative leadership is contrasted with both the democratic and authoritarian patterns. This pattern is seen as one in which each member will contribute in the process of decision-making, though the Director will take the final decision. Based on these lines, Prabodhini has a Co-ordination Committee. It is expected that while taking decisions, the Director will incorporate most of the suggestions of the coordinating committee and all the other members. This collaborative leadership is seen as avoiding the pitfalls of democratic and dictatorial patterns of leadership. This kind of leadership is seen as maintaining the balance between individual and institutional needs. (DP Vol III 1987) It is apparent that the explicitly stated leadership pattern marks its difference for the Hindu nation from both authoritarian communism and democracy-creating ‘collaborative leadership’.

69 Prabodhini’s Vision In Prabodhini’s vision for the future, drawn up in 1987, areas that needed emphasis for changing the face of the nation were highhghted. These included: • Leadership training and development—for the empowerment of the deprived, mainly rural population, women and backward castes. • National Integration especially for backward castes and other religious groups • Stree Shakti • Education—for development of youth power • Health • Entrepreneurship

This overview of the ideological and organizational history of Prabodhini is meant to understand the structure of the organisation, and its practices and strategies of mobilisation. From its establishment till the present, Prabodhini has maintained its difference not only from other educational institutes but has also maintained its distinct identity from Hindutva as well as other progressive organizations in Pune city. In its programmes it has close interactions with the Sangh Parivar and also several eminent socialist and feminist leaders in the city. The published documents and ethnography of Prabhodini show its ideologies, ideologues, prescribed lifestyle, architecture and practices as proposing Hindutva. However, the aim of this research is not to establish Prabodhini as a Hindutva organization but to understand and delineate the different ways of articulating Hindutva through culture and education. But before doing a detailed analysis of the selected wings, it is important to take a brief review of the political economy of Maharashtra in order to understand historically the emergence of Dnyana Prabodhini in that context.

Historical Analysis of Emergence of Dnyana Prabodhini In this section we feel it is important to take a brief review of the major transformations of colonial and postcolonial political economy of Maharashtra. Such a review will allow us to delineate the social implications of these transformations, more specifically to locate the emergence of Prabodhini as one of the ways in which dominant groups in society responded to the changing power

70 structure and reformulated themselves to make inroads into the existing structure to consolidate or regain control over power.

In the traditional caste hierarchy of Maharashtra'^, at the top was the cluster of brahmin castes—the deshasthas, chitpavan, karhadas, saraswats and the chandraseniya kayastha prabhus. The deshasthas, considered to be the native brahmins, were the accountants in the villages under the Maratha rule. In the eighteenth century, under the Peshwa rule, the chitpavan or konkanastha brahmins, who came to occupy feudatory positions, eclipsed the position of the deshasthas. Some of the chitpavan families were the main moneylenders of the Peshwas. The karhadas had a small numerical strength and the brahmin status of the saraswats, originally from the south Konkan region, was contested by the chitpavan brahmin regime of the Peshwas.

The prabhus were the 'writer’ caste, similar to the kayastha of Northern India. The large cluster of peasant castes, better known as the maratha-kunbi cluster of castes, constituted a stratified caste cluster. The term kunbi is a generic tenn for all those who toil on land. In this sense, the term did not refer to a sub-caste. It was possible for families of koli or the fisher caste to take up agriculture and be accepted as a kunbi in the local community. The application of the term maratha changed considerably from the beginning of the nineteenth century. But it is still possible to conclude that the term maratha centred among the kunbi—the peasant cultivators— and reached up to the aristocratic shahannav kuli (ninety-six royal clans). The Tower’ cultivator castes included mali (gardener), aagri (salt makers) and bhandari (toddy tapers) castes. The mang (rope makers), sutar (carpenters), lohar (blacksmith), kumbhar (potters), nhavi (barber), dhobi (washerman), chambar

(tanner), sweepers and scavengers constituted those entitled to baluta, the share in the grains for services rendered. These artisan castes made up for almost 10 per cent of the population and involved mainly the castes directly related to production and were described as karu/nani or balutedar. The sonar (goldsmith) was at the top of

* This section is drawn from Rege Sharmila (2006), Writing Caste/Writing Gender: Narrating Dalit Women's Testimonies, Zubaan, Delhi.

71 the artisan category and came to be considered among the ‘advanced’ castes under colonial rule in the Bombay region. The mahars who constituted 10 per cent of the population were not included among the artisans and were the village watchmen, entitled to the service lands or watans and a share of the baluta. The maratha- kunbis, the mahars and the brahmins accounted for half the total population. The commercial classes were constituted by the gujars and marwaris, often referred to as the vanis, who had migrated from Rajasthan to the region in early seventeenth century.

The social structure therefore was constituted by three major elements: the brahmins, the non-brahmins and the ‘untouchables’. The caste-based system of occupations, the balutedari system, served to integrate the exploitative division of labour with the ritual order. While there were several regional variations in the ranking of the balutedars, the hegemonic status of the brahmins and the dominant land-owning caste, the marathas, remained more or less constant. There were broadly three types of balutedars: religious servants and officials of the village constituted mainly by brahmins; artisans or shudra castes who constituted the bulk of balutedars-, and the disposers of dead animals, messengers, general village servants, constituted by the untouchable or ati-shudra castes. In addition to these balutedars, there were the communities who moved with their pala or temporary settlements from village to village as they were not allowed to stay in a village for more than a stipulated number of days. These castes (now referred to as the Denotified and Nomadic Communities) have been broadly categorised into four groups; the entertainers; customary beggars, those related to the village economy through their labour, and hunters (Karve 1968; Kumar 1968; Omvedt 1976; Lele 1990; Kharat 2003).

Several well-known accounts of social change in nineteenth and twentieth century Maharashtra have offered an in-depth analysis of the changing patterns of caste- class relations in the region (Kosambi 1962; Kumar 1968; Masselos 1974; Omvedt 1976; Phadke 1989; Lele 1990). In the last decade, feminist scholarship has underlined the significance of incorporating gender in the analysis of political and

72 social change in Western India in the nineteenth century (Bhagwat 1997; Chakravarti 1998). Drawing upon these, but focusing mainly on the post Maharashtra formation period, we shall trace an introductory map of the complex factors that went into the emergence of Prabodhini.

The colonial intervention in India had changed the existing social relations and also reformulated old ones. As underlined by Chakravarti (1998), in Maharashtra, the 'upper castes’, particularly the brahmins, did ultimately feed into the professional middle class and maintained their unbroken hold on education and government services. However there was considerable opposition to that. The educational policy of British, which indirectly helped dominant groups, was especially subject to criticism by different groups. The imbalance in educational opportunities continued throughout the nineteenth century. Though in the colonial period the brahmins lost direct political control, their domination over educational institutes enabled them to regain their loss. Different groups in Maharashtra especially those of the non- brahamin movement, contested this hegemony of the brahmins. Realizing that the domination of dominant caste groups namely brahmins was being exercised through education, both Jotiba Phule and later, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, gave centrality to education in their struggle to empower the bahujans and the dalits. The efforts of these leaders to increase the recruitment of non-brahmins in administration also forced the colonizers to rethink their recruitment policies. There was a move by the Bombay government to implement ways to increase non-brahamin participation in education. Around the same period, after the Deccan riots, land reforms were initiated by the British. All these attempts put pressure on the dominance of brahmins in late nineteenth and early twentieth century. However, as underlined by Chakravarti (1999), despite of all these pressures, brahmins had consolidated their position in the services and warded off those who were challenging and wanting to curtail brahmin hegemony.

With the emergence of Tilak as a national leader, the whole moderate reformist position took a backseat. Revivalists were opposing any reform of Hindu tradition and considered any such move as an onslaught of Western culture. With the

73 leadership of Tilak in Maharashtra, the revivalist camp became more active especially in cities like Pune. Following Tilak in Pune, in other district towns, a militant brahmin leadership emerged to carry forward Tilak’s legacy of Hindu conservatism through the Hindu Mahasabha and the RSS (Lele, 1990). The colonial period, which had led to the reformulation of social structures, witnessed reworking of caste tensions and, as has been argued by Lele (1990), the history of political mobilization in Maharashtra is a history of reassertion of maratha hegemony under brahmanic legitimation.

Political Economy of Maharshtra in the Post-Colonial Period After Independence, especially in the 1950s, there had been efforts to implement land reforms and to abolish absentee landlordism. These programmes were successfiilly implemented in Maharashtra. It displaced several chitpavan khoths (local term for the landholders) families of the Konkan region of Maharashtra, who migrated to the cities. This migration had already gathered momentum after the local riots and looting of brahmins in villages by marathas following the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. With the acceptance of the Constitution in 1956, the new context was shaped by universal franchise and by parliamentary democracy. This posed a problem for the comfortable ‘upper caste’ composition and the base of the right, committed to training the established class and caste leaders of Hindu society in leadership qualities (Sarkar, 1994). It was also strongly marked by the formulation of a secular constitution by Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar who had rejected Hinduism and converted to Buddhism with thousands of followers. As underlined by Gokhale (1990), this led to the rejection of Hindu deities and of the traditional position in the village order and strained the relations between caste-Hindu villagers and the new converts. Tensions were increased by the willingness of the Mahar Buddhists to assert themselves in demanding their rights, such as access to the village well. The shedding of Hindu identity instilled a sense of pride and self-affirmation among the ex-mahars, who felt released from the tyranny of Hinduism and caste-Hinduism (Gokhale, 1990). One of the most remarkable features of the Buddhist conversion was its capacity to generate institutions, which served the purpose of inculcating the new ideology and of

74 producing an autonomously educated elite. The two major institutions were: The Peoples Education Society (PES), founded in 1945, and the Buddha Jana Panchayat Samiti, (BJPS) founded in 1941. The PES was responsible for directing the educational organizations and activities of the anti-caste movements and BJPS was responsible for the propagation of Buddhism (Gokhale, 1990). Though the benefits of development in the post independence period went mainly to the educated youth of the brahmin and other forward castes, with the policy of reservation and the long history of the dalit struggle, a small portion of the dalit-bahujans got some benefits. Their presence was felt despite the longer history of their oppression by savamas (Lele, 1995).

This was also the time during which the ban on RSS was lifted and several internal divisions within it began to surface. This was seen as an outcome of the fi-ee hand given to pracharaks during the ban period of eighteen months. This divergence of views exacerbated tensions within the ranks of the RSS and the central leadership made personnel changes like transferring some pracharaks in key state positions and removing some others (Anderson and Damle, 1987). The daily training centres or shakhas still functioned under a cloud. Consequently, the post-partition relief work and propaganda work carried out in the North in the pre-ban period lost its momentum. As marked by Sarkar (1994), after the RSS was discredited because of its association with Gandhi's assassination, it was unable to seize an initiative or give a new turn to politics, where it could aspire to leadership.

In the same period the Brahmin-Maratha all-party alliances had begun to work to promote the creation of a Samyukta Maharashtra (United Maharashtra) which had been split into three political divisions of Bombay, the Central Provinces and Hyderabad after Independence. As Lele (1990) has commented, the demand for a Marathi state was granted only when the Maharashtra Congress party leaders persuaded the national leaders that such an entity could guarantee that the interests of capital would be fiilly safeguarded and that the dominant rural interest would be given its appropriate share of state resources. Finally after a long battle in 1960s, the new state of Maharashtra came into existence.

75 After the establishment of the linguistic state of Maharashtra, with Mumbai as its capital, various policies for development and special policies for the economically backward, especially concessions in educational fees, were initiated. The emphasis was given to educational development. A number of schools and colleges were developed at the taluka level. Substantial contribution was made by different educational institutes established in that period, especially aimed at providing education to the communities who had been deprived of education for centuries; Rayat Shikshan Sanstha, Vivekananda Educational Institute, Shri Shivaji Educational Trust and Marathwada Provincial Educational Institute are a few examples. In the same period, a new literate class, which had emerged from the dalit-bahujan community, got representation in the Cabinet, Government offices, educational institutes and in other public places denied to them in the past. This not only opened up new fields to the dalit-bahujans but also initiated the turmoil in the then existing mainstream socio-cultural world (Bhole and Bedkihal, 2003).

After experiencing independence for more than one and a half decades, in 1960s the issues of overall developmental inadequacies and uneven distributions come to the fore. In 1960 and 1965, Bombay attracted disproportionate wealth in comparison to other regions. The different sections of the society set agendas for change and transformation in the existing structure (Lele 1995). This was the period when ‘Nehruvian socialism’ also met with a major downfall. Despite the fifteen years of acceptance of the socialist path, industry and agriculture remained inherently unstable. The tension became acute during the third plan period 1961-1966. The discontent over food shortage, rising prices, growing income disparities between classes and asset disparities between regions took a variety of forms. There were state workers’ strikes, industrial labour strikes, student agitations, spontaneous popular protests and spurts of violent attacks on official state fiinctionaries and institutions (Lele, 1995).

The emergence of Prabodhini may be located in the intersection of several factors: the tensions within the RSS in the post ban period, the unease of the brahmins with

76 changes in the socio-cultural world especially the consolidation of the Maratha educational institutions and the increasing presence of educated Dalits, and the growing unrest with the path of becoming a developed nation. More specifically, the immediate factors may be seen in the migration of the displaced middle class brahmin families to cities, especially a city like Pune which was known for the intellectual and cultural dominance of chitpavan brahmins. Prabhodini may therefore be seen as the effort by the displaced middle class brahmins, uneasy with the ‘orthodoxy’ of the RSS, seeking to reclaim intellectual leadership of a modem Hindu nation. In a moment of disillusionment with the Nehruvian socialism, alternative science, development and nation building were sought to be achieved through the codified and modernised Vedic principles.

We may recall here that in the first phase of colonialism, the importance of Pune, once the capital city of the Peshwa and haven for chitpavans, had declined and Bombay became more dominant. However in the second phase of colonialism, Pune regained its importance as the centre of the culture of brahmanism. Various educational institutes were set up by brahmins, in the hope of finding jobs in administration and in the professional structure in Pune. By the 1930s, Pune became an important centre for RSS activities, a centre for the Hindu Mahasabha and other radical Hindu nationalist organizations. The Sangha Parivar in Pune had almost come to constitute an alternate civil society—with separate schools, its own banks, dominance in a large number of colleges, its own association of youths, students, women, children, social organizations working in the slum, its own informal networks, with fi'equent marriages between RSS affiliates and its informal communication networks (Hansen 1999). However, as argued by Hansen (1999), the entire RSS subculture in Pune was threatened by fears of exclusion and misrecognition from the powerful. Rich Anglo Indian establishments and the intellectual elites, physically located in the cantonment area or in and around the many national institutions in the city, also posed a challenge. Brahmin middle class families, with aspirations of upward mobility in cities like Pune, were in search of different options to recover their past glory and dominant position. Their new aspirations were not in tune with those of the dogmatic and orthodox Hindutva of

77 the RSS and yet they were doubtful about educational institutes set up by the Anglo-Indians. The state-run educational institutes were clearly designated for the lower classes and castes. By putting forth a combination of scientism (selection based on IQ testing) and religiosity (interpretation of different Hindu religious rituals to underline its relevance in the contemporary world) to build a leadership for the Hindu nation, Dnyana Prabodhini, which was founded by Dr. Appa Pendse, an ex-Pracharak of RSS, served as a better option.

Having introduced to the ideology, organization and programmes of Prabodhini and having explained the long term factors that led to its emergence, we shall now turn to three major programmes that seek to mobilize adolescents, women and culture of households. These three programmes were selected out of the long list of programmes since it is through these that wider networks were built and ideology of Hindu nation consolidated. In the following three chapters the ideology, practices and networks of Prabodhini will be examined through a detailed study of programmes for adolescents, women and preservation of culture.