Abstract
Swami Agnivesh was born in a village in Srikakulam district of Madras Province, later Andhra Pradesh. His original name was Vepa Shyam Rao. After obtaining a degree in law and commerce, he started as a lecturer in a prestigious college in Calcutta, and did an internship in law with a renowned judge. Attracted by the philosophy of the Arya Samaj, founded by the famous saint Swami Dayananda Saraswati, he moved to Haryana in 1968, which was then the main centre of activities of the Arya Samajis. He joined the Arya Samaj in 1969 and took samnyaas (vow of renunciation) in 1970. He then went ahead to establish his own political party, the Arya Sabha, based on the Arya Samaj’s philosophy. It was at that time that he came out with his book in Hindi with the title Vaidik Samajwad.
Swami Agnivesh had a colourful, multifaceted and tumultuous career. He experimented with a variety of actions, initiatives and movements in his search for the right path to reform Indian society through non-violent means. For this, he played different roles at different times—that of an author, a columnist, an editor, a lawmaker, a politician, a political negotiator and a social activist. In each profession or movement that he chose to join or pioneer, he managed to produce impressive results and reach respectable heights. In spite of his disproportionate share of controversies in his public and political life, his contributions in diverse spheres are well recognised and highly regarded.
For several years, jointly with Prof. Valson Thampu, at that time the principal of St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University, he wrote a column based on spiritual themes for leading national dailies. He was also the chief editor of a fortnightly continuously for ten years.
Joining the Arya Samaj marked the transformation in his life from his Telugu identity to an all-India identity as an Arya Samaji samnyaasi. This is what gave him the title of Swami ji. Nobody now cares to know which place he came from, which caste he belonged to and which calling he pursued before becoming a samnyaasi. Arya Samajis bitterly criticised and even physically assaulted him for his unorthodox views on religious and social issues. In spite of this, he remained steadfast in his adherence to the spiritual values of the Arya Samaj. He also remained a samnyaasi till the end, donning his trademark saffron-coloured dress and pagari (headgear). The Arya Sabha, the political party established by him, continues to survive, and Swami ji remained its president until his demise. He was also the president of the World Council of Arya Samaj from 2004 to 2014.
After becoming an active Arya Samaji, he decided to join politics. He fought and won the election to the Haryana Legislative Assembly and became a lawmaker and subsequently the minister in charge of education. He reached the pinnacle of glory mainly by dint of his work to liberate bonded labourers, particularly children in bondage. For this purpose, he established the Bonded Labour Liberation Front (or Bandhua Mukti Morcha), remaining its chairperson till his last breath. He liberated thousands of those living in slavery and in slave-like conditions in India. His activities in this area brought him the Right Livelihood Award in 2014, regarded as the alternative Nobel prize. His work in this sphere also made him known internationally.
Swami ji worked for the liberation of bonded labourers employed in numerous low-category and hazardous work, such as domestic servants, bricklayers, teashop boys and, above all, workers in quarries in and around Delhi. He liberated thousands of children from slavery and from lives of drudgery, indignity and violation of human rights. In this work as in others, he faced virulent opposition from vested interests, this time not religious diehards but contractors, businesspersons and goondas hired by them. However, he remained undaunted and steadfast in pursuit of his objective of liberating bonded labourers.
Ever since he strayed into politics, he remained there in one form or the other. He emerged as an advisor to Anna Hazare in the latter’s sit-in protest against corruption at the Ramlila Grounds. It is a different story that he parted with some prominent people associated with the movement and subsequently distanced himself from the movement in a rather controversial manner.
At one stage he plunged into negotiations with Maoists in order to seek the release of security persons taken hostage by them. He succeeded in getting five of these persons released. Encouraged by this, in 2013, he urged Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to start a dialogue with Naxals.
Side by side, he continued to carry out his work of social reforms. He fought against superstition throughout his political career. He constantly questioned some superstitions and discriminatory practices in Hinduism. Swami ji publicly announced that the ice lingam at the Amarnath temple was a geographical phenomenon and not a spiritual miracle. He was roundly condemned by Hindu bigots for this statement and for similar other statements.
Swami ji created his own NGOs and joined other NGOs to fight against all forms of economic and social injustice, discrimination and denial of human rights. He soon emerged as a stalwart in the midst of the NGOs working in these areas. About two years ago, he proceeded to Pakur in Jharkhand to take part in a rally in support of the demands of the poor and the marginalised. There he was stopped in his effort and assaulted by goons hired by an influential political party of that area.
Swami ji was one of the few genuinely secular figures in Indian politics. He took several initiatives to demonstrate solidarity with the causes of the Christian and Muslim minorities in India. In 2018, he was attacked by a gang of Hindutva followers in Jharkhand for his sympathising with Muslims and Christians. He took a very strong position against several responsible quarters in the United States which associated terrorism with Islam. Addressing a large gathering during the Anti-Terrorism and Global Peace Conference held at the Ramlila Grounds, organised by the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, he stated, ‘It is wrong to attribute the wrong doings of a few individuals to the whole community’. He further added, ‘To defame the Quran and Islam is the worst form of terrorism. Islam stands for peace and brotherhood and there cannot be a bigger lie than saying that Muslims are terrorists’. For his work in bringing about religious and communal harmony, he was awarded the Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award in 2014.
Swami ji left behind caste, religious, regional and other narrow identities. However, he continued to believe in the essence of all religions, that is spirituality based on ethical values, and in a humanitarian approach.
I first came to know Swami Agnivesh when I was posted as the Permanent Representative of India to United Nations (UN) organisations in Geneva; he had come there to advocate before the human rights body there the cause of those held in slavery or in slave-like conditions in India. My encounter with him at that time was not particularly pleasant. I advised him to fight against slavery in our own country rather than airing his grievances in a UN forum in a foreign land. Swami ji, on the other hand, though equally convinced that his main struggle against slavery was to be waged in his own country, saw no objection to seeking international support for his cause. It was much later, after my retirement from the Indian Foreign Service and after observing how the Government of India wantonly violated the human rights of the people, that I came to realise that Swami ji was pursuing the right approach.
When I came to know in some detail about the work done by him for the liberation of bonded labourers, my remaining scepticism about him disappeared into thin air, yielding space for deep respect and admiration.
After that initial meeting, it was much later that our paths crossed again. This time, it was in our capacity as social activists, and we then started working for the same cause, that is, mitigating the sufferings of the poor and marginalised. We started attending meetings organised by each other. He attended and made constructive contributions to several of the meetings under the aegis of the Council for Social Development. He also participated in some of the meetings of the Forum for Democracy and Communal Amity, of which I happen to be the chairperson. We have also signed some major advocacy statements, some of them initiated by us, along with other public intellectuals of the country.
I am really proud and blessed to have had this extraordinary person as one of my friends and travellers along the same path and towards the same goal.