Servants of the People Society (SOPS) (

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

_{( ISO)} : Lōka Sēvaka Maṇḍala ) is a non-profit social service organization founded by

Lala Lajpat Rai Lala Lajpat Rai (28 January 1865 - 17 November 1928) was an Indian author, freedom fighter, and politician. He played a vital role in the Indian Independence movement. He was popularly known as Punjab Kesari. He was one of the three members of ...

, a prominent leader in the

Indian Independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged from Bengal ...

, in 1921 in Lahore. The society is devoted to "enlist and train national missionaries for the service of the motherland". It was shifted to India, following the

partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: India and Pakistan. T ...

in 1947, and functioned from the residence of

Lala Achint Ram Lala Achint Ram (19 August 1898 – 1961) was an Indian freedom fighter, Gandhian and a member of the Indian National Congress party. He was one of the first three members of Servants of the People Society, established by Lala Lajpat Rai i ...

, a founder member and Lok Sabha, M.P. at 2-Telegraph Lane, New Delhi. In 1960, after the construction of the new building its shifted to Lajpat Bhawan,

Lajpat Nagar Lajpat Nagar is a residential and commercial neighborhood in the South East Delhi district of Delhi. It was named in honor of Lala Lajpat Rai and is today most known for the Lajpat Nagar Central Market. This area is not to be confused with the ...

, in Delhi. Today, it has branches in many parts of India.

History

With an aim to create missionary social worker freedom fighter, Lala Lajpat Rai, founded the organisation in November 1921. It was inaugurated by

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

, and Lalaji who had donated his bungalow in Lahore to the organisation and his library of over 5000 books, remained its founding President till his death in 1928. Its subsequent Presidents were Purushottam Das Tandon,

Balwantrai Mehta Balwantrai Mehta ( – ) was an Indian politician who served as the second Chief Minister of Gujarat state, India. He participated in Indian independence movement and later held various public offices. He is considered as the 'Architect of ''Pa ...

, and

Lal Bahadur Shastri Lal Bahadur Shastri (; 2 October 1904 – 11 January 1966) was an Indian politician and statesman who served as the 2nd Prime Minister of India from 1964 to 1966 and 6th Home Minister of India from 1961 to 1963. He promoted the White Re ...

"The Society was initially started with the Tilak School of Politics in 1921, to train those who would work in the political field. The state of the country during 1921 engendered a war atmosphere in which normal priorities had to be waived. The initiates pledged to serve the Society and were bound only by their word and sense of honor and of duty."

The organization's programs today include providing a forum for farmers to sell their produce in cities, providing

artisans An artisan (from french: artisan, it, artigiano) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art, ...

from rural areas with a place to sell their services and products in cities. The

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

is also involved in

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

and family

health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organ ...

campaigns.

, second prime minister of India, was a lifelong member of the societyShastri's biography by FreeIndia.org
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Notes

External links

Official website

Official Site for the Society

1921 establishments in India Non-profit organisations based in India Organisations based in Delhi {{edu-org-stub