On Vijayadashami 1930, Dr K. B. Hedgewar gave the annual address at the gathering in Nagpur, where the chief guest was Raja Laxmanrao Bhonsle (presided). This page summarises what was reported about it.
The day
- Date: 1 October 1930 — the calendar date of Vijayadashami; our sources do not record the exact day of the gathering
- Place: Nagpur
- Address by: Dr K. B. Hedgewar
- Chief guest: Raja Laxmanrao Bhonsle (presided)
What the address covered
Hedgewar was in Akola jail at the time for joining the 1930 forest satyagraha, and Dr L. V. Paranjpe was acting Sarsanghchalak. Palkar says Raja Laxmanrao Bhonsle, who had offered the Sangh grounds after opponents tried to oust it from Mohite Wada, presided. In his address he encouraged the swayamsevaks and said the Sangh would have grown far more if its own people had not obstructed it. Shakhas read an essay titled 'Re man! tujhe sukh ka adhikar nahin'. That year's route march passed Nagpur jail and the residence of 'Narkesari' Abhyankar.
Context
Held in Hedgewar's absence while he was jailed (released 14 Feb 1931). Paranjpe was acting head. Palkar also says Hedgewar started a prayer routine among fellow prisoners in jail on Vijayadashami day.
How sure is this?
This account rests mainly on one source, listed below; details may be incomplete. Most accounts of these early years come from biographies written within the movement.
In the archive
Sources & copyright status
- N. H. Palkar, Dr. Hedgewar Jivan Charit (Bengali tr.)
- H. V. Seshadri (ed.), Dr. Hedgewar the Epoch-Maker (Paranjpe as Sarsanghchalak; release 14 Feb 1931)
- Historical facts: not subject to copyright. Quotations are short extracts as reported in the sources cited; speeches are summarised in our own words.
- Commentary and translations on this page: original to The Hindu Book. © The Hindu Book, all rights reserved.
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