The Seva Dal is the grassroots front organization of the
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...
. The organization has a chapter in all the
states of India
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
. The members of the organization are known for wearing the
Gandhi topi. It is headed by a Chief Organiser Shri Lalji Desai Ji.
History
In 1923, following the
Flag Satyagraha
In India, Flag Satyagraha ( mr, झेंडा सत्याग्रह) is a campaign of peaceful civil disobedience during the Indian independence movement that focused on exercising the right and freedom to hoist the nationalist flag and c ...
at
Nagpur
Nagpur (pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, aːɡpuːɾ is the third largest city and the winter capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the 13th largest city in India by population and according to an Oxford's Economics report, Nag ...
, many activists of the
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...
were arrested and sentenced to prison. Unable to tolerate the rigors of prison, most of them tendered written apologies to the colonial authorities. However, members of the Hubli Seva Mandal, founded by
N. S. Hardikar refused to yield. This uncompromising stance gained the attention of the Congress' national leadership that had gathered in Nagpur to participate in the
satyagraha
Satyagraha ( sa, सत्याग्रह; ''satya'': "truth", ''āgraha'': "insistence" or "holding firmly to"), or "holding firmly to truth",' or "truth force", is a particular form of nonviolent resistance or civil resistance. Someone w ...
. It was here that the idea of establishing an organisation of volunteers to combat the
Raj was born. At the
Kakinada
Kakinada (List of renamed places in India, formerly called Kakinandiwada, Coringa, and Cocanada; ) is the List of cities in Andhra Pradesh by population, sixth largest city of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Andhra P ...
session of the Congress in 1923, a board under Dr N S Hardikar was constituted for setting up the Dal. The Seva Dal was established as the Hindustani Seva Mandal on 1 January 1924. According to the resolution at Kakinada, the Dal was to work under the supervision of the Congress party's working committee.
Jawaharlal Nehru
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat—
*
*
*
* and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...
was its first president. The Dal faced much initial opposition from Congressmen, who were opposed to the idea of creating a militia like organisation in the Congress, seeing it as a threat to the idea of civilian dominance and as being inconsistent with the idea of non-violence. Umabai Kundapur was the founding president of the women's wing of the Dal.
Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay
Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay (3 April 1903 – 29 October 1988) was an Indian social reformer and freedom activist. She was most remembered for her contribution to the Indian independence movement; for being the driving force behind the renaissance ...
was closely associated with the organisation, especially in the 1930s.
In 1931, the
Congress Working Committee
The Congress Working Committee (CWC) is the executive committee of the Indian National Congress. It was formed in December 1920 at Nagpur session of INC which was headed by C. Vijayaraghavachariar. It typically consists of fifteen members electe ...
decided to rename the Hindustani Seva Dal as the Congress Seva Dal, making it the central volunteer organisation of the Congress. Every province was to have a general officer commanding the provincial Seva Dal. The organisation also focused specifically on three categories of people: children, adolescents and adults. All Seva Dal members were required to take an oath, which, among other things, required them to stay aloof from political activity in the Congress.
RSS founder
Dr. K.B. Hedgewar was also associated with the Congress Seva Dal's predecessor - Hindustani Seva Dal
The task of imparting training and organising volunteers was given to the Dal in 1938, which was then headquartered in the Karnatak district of the
Bombay presidency
The Bombay Presidency or Bombay Province, also called Bombay and Sind (1843–1936), was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India, with its capital in the city that came up over the seven islands of Bombay. The first mainl ...
. Under Hardikar, an academy for physical training was established and training camps established at several places across India. During the
Civil Disobedience Movement
The Salt March, also known as the Salt Satyagraha, Dandi March and the Dandi Satyagraha, was an act of nonviolent civil disobedience in colonial India led by Mahatma Gandhi. The twenty-four day march lasted from 12 March to 6 April 1930 as a di ...
, the Seva Dal played an stellar role in enrolling new members in the Congress, organising activities like picketing and in arming the party with an organised but peaceful militia. The significance of the Dal in the Civil Disobedience Movement can be gauged from the fact that in 1934, when the Movement came to an end and the colonial authorities lifted the ban on the Congress and its organisations, they continued to proscribe the Dal.
Past Presidents
Suresh Pachouri
Controversies
Colonial Government of India banned Seva Dal in 1932 for setting up a women's army. The ban was never lifted.
West Bengal government banned Seva Dal in 1948. Jawaharlal Nehru got the ban lifted.
on the principle that bans are justified only under exceptional circumstances.
References
{{Indian National Congress
Military units and formations established in 1923
Indian National Congress
Indian National Congress organisations
Military wings of nationalist parties
1923 establishments in India