Haryana: Seva Dal, 101, is getting a brand new lease of life

The post-dawn assembly at HUDA (Haryana City Growth Authority) park in Rohtak drew round 50 members of the Congress Seva Dal, each women and men, wearing white. White shirts, trousers, fits, saris and sneakers topped with white Gandhi caps, some with the picture of Mahatma Gandhi on them. The Seva Dal’s Sunday Ravi Milan conferences invariably begin with the hoisting of the tricolour, adopted by singing a few of Gandhi’s favorite bhajans and kirtans.

Preliminaries over, discussions are initiated on present problems with concern. On the assembly on 27 April, the ladies wished to talk on rising costs, free LPG cylinders and rising unemployment among the many youth. Curious onlookers, out on their morning stroll, typically stopped to hear. Certainly one of them nodded approvingly after a while and mentioned, “These individuals are totally different.”

Comparable Ravi Milan gatherings had been held at 180 totally different locations on the identical day, mentioned Poonam Chauhan, president of the Haryana Mahila Congress. Are these conferences much like RSS shakhas? Chauhan seemed harm whereas responding, “In our gatherings, we speak about nation-building, the challenges to the nation and historical past of this nation, and our freedom battle by the historical past of the Congress.”

RSS conferences are probably extra ‘political’, she mentioned earlier than including, “Woh dande se todenge/ Hum tirange se jodenge (they break with their lathis, we bind with the tricolour).

Ravi Milans have advanced with time, says Amit Sarthi, a long-time coach of the Seva Dal. In latest months, discussions have been held on the misuse of Central businesses by the Union authorities, the shrinking democratic area, and the plight of extraordinary residents, he recalled. A gifted singer, Sarthi says he marched with Kanhaiya Kumar in Bihar through the latest ‘Palayan Roko, Naukri Do’ Yatra. He was additionally a part of the Bharat Jodo Yatra and Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra.