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Vidya Bharati (short for Vidya Bharati Akhil Bharatiya Shiksha Sansthan) is the educational wing of
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS,, ) is an Indian right-wing politics, right-wing, Hindutva, Hindu nationalist volunteer paramilitary organisation. It is the progenitor and leader of a large body of organisations called the Sangh Parivar ( ...
(RSS). It runs one of the largest private network of schools in
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, operating 12,000 schools with over 3.2 Million students, as of 2016 and has its registered headquarters in
Lucknow Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...
with a functional headquarters in
Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...
and a sub-office in
Kurukshetra Kurukshetra () is a city and administrative headquarters of Kurukshetra district in the Indian state of Haryana. It is also known as Dharmakshetra ("Realm of duty") and as the "Land of the Bhagavad Gita". Legends According to the Puranas ...
. In the year 2020, the million lives club selected Vidya Bharati as an official member of Vanguard cohort for its contribution to school education.


History

RSS, under the tutelage of
M. S. Golwalkar Madhav Sadashivrao Golwalkar (19 February 1906 – 5 June 1973), popularly known as Guruji, was an Indian politician and political figure who served as the second '' Sarsanghchalak'' ("Chief") of the right-wing Hindutva paramilitary organisation ...
established its first Gita school at
Kurukshetra Kurukshetra () is a city and administrative headquarters of Kurukshetra district in the Indian state of Haryana. It is also known as Dharmakshetra ("Realm of duty") and as the "Land of the Bhagavad Gita". Legends According to the Puranas ...
in 1946. But, the ban on RSS in 1948 put a damper on the spread of the Gita school model. After the ban was lifted, the first Saraswati Shishu Mandir brand school was established in
Gorakhpur Gorakhpur is a city in the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, along the banks of the West Rapti River, Rapti river in the Purvanchal , Purvanchal region. It is situated 272 kilometres east of ...
in 1952, by
Nanaji Deshmukh Chandikadas Amritrao Deshmukh (), better known as Nanaji Deshmukh (11 October 1916 – 27 February 2010), was a social activist and politician from India. He worked in the fields of education, health, and rural self-reliance. He was posthumously ...
. The Saraswati Shishu Mandir model was quickly replicated across several locations and as the number of schools increased, there arose the need of a definite management structure. Accordingly, ''Shishu Shiksha Prabandak Samiti'', was set up to coordinate activities between these schools at the state level. Such committees were set up in
Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...
,
Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...
,
Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...
and
Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...
. In 1977-78, an all-India apex body, ''Vidya Bharati'' was set up to coordinate the activities between these state committees and was headquartered in Delhi. This coincided with the
Bharatiya Jan Sangh The Akhil Bharatiya Jana Sangh ( BJS or JS, short name: Jan Sangh) was a Hindutva political party active in India. It was established on 21 October 1951 in Delhi by three founding members: Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, Balraj Madhok and Deendayal ...
(political arm of RSS) winning the national elections, as a member of the
Janata Party The Janata Party (JP, ) is an unrecognised political party in India. Navneet Chaturvedi is the current president of the party since November 2021, replacing Jaiprakash Bandhu. The JP was established as an amalgam of Indian political partie ...
. Incidentally, Vidya Bharati used to have an associated National Academic Council with educationists, which enjoyed the trust of the
National Council of Educational Research and Training National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) () is an autonomous organisation of Ministry of Education, the Government of India. Established in 1961, it is a literary, scientific and charitable Society under the Societies Reg ...
(NCERT).


Organisation

By the early 1990s, the network had grown to 5,000 schools and by 2003, to about 14,000 schools with 17
lakh A lakh (; abbreviated L; sometimes written lac) is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand (100,000; scientific notation: 105). In the Indian 2, 2, 3 convention of digit grouping, it is written as 1,00,000. F ...
(1.7 million) pupils. This expansion was facilitated by the growing demand for education in India and the disaffection with the state school system. As of March 2002, it had 17,396 schools, 22 lakh (2.2 million) students, over 93,000 teachers, 15 teacher training colleges, 12 degree colleges, and 7 vocational and training institutions. As of 2019, there were 12,828 formal schools and 11,353 informal schools. In 2019, the formal schools had a total strength of more than 34 lakh (3.4 million) students. Most of the Vidya Bharati schools are affiliated with the
Central Board for Secondary Education The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is a national-level board of education in India for public and private schools, controlled and managed by the Government of India. Established in 1929 by a resolution of the government, the Board ...
or their local State Boards. Vidya Bharati-run educational programs were adopted in
Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...
as an alternate model of education when BJP was in power. In addition to formal schools (which go by a variety of names such as ''Adarsh Vidhya Mandir'', ', ', ', ' etc.), Vidya Bharati also runs ''sanskar kendras'' (cultural schools) and single-teacher schools for cultural education. It controls over 250 intermediate colleges and about 25 institutions of higher education and training colleges.


Presence

It has schools in remote areas of the north-eastern states as well as states like
Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...
and
Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...
where RSS does not have much influence. Particular attention is given to underdeveloped regions and regions inhabited by tribal communities. The Vidya Bharati schools are spread all over the country ranging from rural to urban areas from western ghats to northeast parts of India. The schools have provided a holistic model of success for students coming from different social, economic, and religious backgrounds. Shankardev Shishu Niketan which is a cluster of schools run under Vidya Bharati in northeast India has produced some of the young minds coming from minority communities who topped grade 10 and won several
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
essay writing competitions. The chain has over 29 state and regional committees affiliated with it, making it the largest voluntary association in India. Students in schools run by Vidya Bharati come from all religious groups. For instance, in
Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...
, more than 12,000 Muslim and Christian students study in these schools.


Funding and patronage

Funds for this expansion have been collected through various means, including charities across the world. According to Awaaz, a London-based organisation, a significant portion of the Sewa International earthquake funds for Gujarat has been used to build RSS schools. The network also benefited from favorable allotment of land by
Jana Sangh The Akhil Bharatiya Jana Sangh ( BJS or JS, short name: Jan Sangh) was a Hindutva political party active in India. It was established on 21 October 1951 in Delhi by three founding members: Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, Balraj Madhok and Deendayal ...
and BJP politicians. It was also helped with miscellaneous patronage by the
Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...
(BJP) whenever it was in power in the states or in the Centre (1999-2004). Nanaji Deshmukh believed that the movement had turned 'materialistic', during the later phases but was not paying enough attention to recruiting high-quality teachers. The schools attract the children of urban and small-town shopkeepers and those of professional and government official families.


Ideology and objectives

Dinanath Batra, former General Secretary of Vidya Bharati, said that they were fighting an "ideological battle against Macaulay, Marx, and Madrasawadis". In comparison to which Vidya Bharati advocates "Indianisation, nationalisation and spiritualisation" of education. In the areas of study that are peripheral to the core curriculum, like physical education, music, and cultural education, the institution worked out its curriculum.


Cultural education

In addition to the prescribed curriculum, the Vidya Bharati schools teach five extra subjects: ''moral education'', which includes stories of heroes, songs, honesty, and personal hygiene, ''physical education'', which includes learning to wield a stick, martial arts and yoga, ''music'', ''Sanskrit'' and Vedic mathematics. Girls are given ''kanya bharati'' sessions where they discuss real-world problems, especially "women-centric" sensitive issues, and learn how to deal with them. They are trained to become strong leaders idolizing Jhansi Rani Lakshmibai, Ahilyabai Holkar, Rudramadevi, and other successful women in various fields like Kalpana Chawla, Kiran Bedi, Indra Nooyi etc. In the morning assembly, the children are taught to pray and sing songs steeped in Sanskrit and the spirit of patriotism. Assemblies and stage performances organized at Hindu festivals also serve to convey the Deshbhakti ideology. The virtual absence of non-Hindu children in the schools leads to a collective sense of Hindu identity. In the words of a Vidya Bharati commentator "dedication to the motherland with a deep Bharatiya spirit inculcates in the child the will to change his character ndadjust his nature and program to fulfill the nation's will and necessity." The schools also use the students as conduits for spreading the RSS concept of education.


State level committee

The state-level affiliate committees of Vidya Bharati go by various names, depending on the socio-political situation in each state: *
Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...
: ''Hindu Shiksha Samiti'' *
Haryana Haryana () is a States and union territories of India, state located in the northern part of India. It was carved out after the linguistic reorganisation of Punjab, India, Punjab on 1 November 1966. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with les ...
: ''Hindu Shiksha Samiti'' *
Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...
: ''Sarv Hitkari Shiksha Samiti'' *
Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...
: ''Lok Shiksha Samiti, Bharati Shiksha Samiti'' *
Jammu Jammu () is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute ...
: ''Bharatiya Shiksha Samiti'' *
Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in East India, eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north ...
: ''Vananchal Shiksha Samiti'', ''Vidya Vikas Samiti'', ''Shishu Shiksha Vikas Samiti'' *
Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...
: ''Shiksha Vikas Samiti'' *
Telangana Telangana is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated in the Southern India, south-central part of the Indian subcontinent on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ele ...
and
Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...
: ''Sri Saraswati Vidya Peetham'' *
Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...
: ''Vivekananda Kendra'' and others *
Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...
: ''Bharatiya Vidya Niketan'' *
Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...
: ''Shishu Shiksha Samiti'' *
Uttrakhand Uttarakhand (, ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in northern India. The state is bordered by Himachal Pradesh to the northwest, Tibet to the north, Nepal to the east, Uttar Pradesh to the south and sout ...
: Bharatiya Shiksha Samiti *
Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...
: Bharatiya Shiksha Samiti *
West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...
: Vivekananda Vidyavikash Parishad


See also

*
Akhara Akhara or Akhada (Hindi: अखाड़ा, romanised: ''Akhāṛā'') is an Indian word for a place of practice with facilities for boarding, lodging and training, both in the context of Indian martial artists or a ''sampradaya'' monastery fo ...
*
Akshaya Patra Foundation The Akshaya Patra Foundation is an independent charitable trust registered under the Indian Trusts Act 1882 (Reg. No. 154). Headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka, the NGO serves as the implementing partner of the Government of India’s flagship ...
*
Education in India Education in India is primarily managed by the state-run public education system, which falls under the command of the government at three levels: Government of India, central, States and Territories of India, state and Local government in In ...
*
Ekal Vidyalaya Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation (; EVF) is the principal organisation of the Ekal Abhiyan project, a one teacher school initiative in India. The foundation operates under the umbrella organisation of Ekal Abhiyan Trust and has a number of associated ...
*
Gurukula A () is a traditional system of religious education in India with ('students' or 'disciples') living near or with the guru in the same house for a period of time where they learn and get educated by their guruji. Etymology The word is a com ...
*
History of education in the Indian subcontinent Education in the Indian subcontinent began with the teaching of traditional subjects, including Indian religions, mathematics, and logic. Early Hindu and Buddhist centers of learning, such as the ancient Takshashila (in modern-day Pakistan), Nala ...
*
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS,, ) is an Indian right-wing politics, right-wing, Hindutva, Hindu nationalist volunteer paramilitary organisation. It is the progenitor and leader of a large body of organisations called the Sangh Parivar ( ...
*
Swami Lakshamanananda Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati (23 August 2008) and four of his disciples were murdered on 23 August 2008 in the state of Odisha in India. Saraswati was a tribal activist, Hindu monk, and a Vishva Hindu Parishad leader. Seven Catholics of the ...
*
Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram (lit. Tribal Welfare Monastery) is an Indian social welfare organization based in Jashpur, in the Chhattisgarh state of India. It focuses on the welfare activities of members of Scheduled Tribes in remote areas of India. T ...


References


Other sources

* * * {{Sangh Parivar Anti-communist organizations in India Anti-Islam sentiment in India Hindu organizations Hindu organisations based in India Educational organisations based in India Sangh Parivar Hindutva Hindu nationalism 1946 establishments in India Hindu educational institutions