| Formation | 30 September 1932 (93 years ago) (1932-09-30)Pune, India |
|---|---|
| Founder | Mahatma Gandhi |
| Headquarters | Gandhi Ashram, Kingsway, Delhi (todayRajpath,Delhi) |
President | Prof. Dr. Sankar Kumar Sanyal |
| Website | gandhicreationhss.org |
Harijan Sevak Sangh, formerlyAll India Anti Untouchability League, is a non-profit organisation founded byMahatma Gandhi in 1932 to eradicateuntouchability in India, working forHarijan orDalit people and upliftment of Depressed Class of India.[1] It is headquartered atKingsway Camp in Delhi, with branches in 26 states across India.[2]
After theSecond Round Table Conference,British government agreed to giveCommunal Award to the depressed classes on the request ofB. R. Ambedkar. Gandhi opposed the government's decision which he considered would divide the Hindu society and subsequently went on an indefinite fast inYerwada Jail. He ended his fast after signedPoona Pact with Ambedkar on 24 September 1932. On 30 September, Gandhi foundedAll India Anti Untouchability League, to remove untouchability in the society, which later renamed as Harijan Sevak Sangh ("Servants of Harijan Society").[3] At the time industrialistGhanshyam Das Birla was its founding president withAmritlal Takkar as its secretary.[4]
Harijan Sevak Sangh runs two schools in the state ofTamil Nadu, a residential middle school inVillupuram district and N M R Subbaraman memorial residential primary school inMadurai.The school in Villupuram was set up in 1993 and currently has 180 scheduled caste and 109 other backward classes students.The students mostly belong to migrant labourers. The school has got 9 teaching and non-teaching staff.TheMadurai's school was built in 1979. It presently has 5 teaching and non-teaching faculty members.[5]
The Sangh is headquartered atKingsway Camp in Delhi. It wasValmiki Bhawan within the campus, which functioned as Gandhiji's one-room ashram,Kasturba Gandhi and their children stayed at the nearbyKasturba Kutir, between April 1946 and June 1947, before he moved toBirla House. Today, the 20-acre campus includes the Gandhi ashram, Harijan Basti, Lala Hans Raj Gupta Industrial Training Institute and also has a residential school for boys and girls.[6][7] Its headquarters, Gandhi Ashram,Kingsway Camp is listed as Gandhian Heritage Site by the Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India.
Complete list of President of Harijan Sevak Sangh
| Sr. No. | Image | Name | Start of Term | End of Term |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Ghanshyamdas Birla | September 1932 | April 1959 |
| 2 |  | Rameshwari Nehru | April 1959 | November 1965 |
| 3 | Viyogī Hari | November 1965 | May 1975 | |
| 4 |  | Shyamlal | June 1975 | October 1978 |
| 5 | R. K. Yarde | December 1978 | April 1983 | |
| 6 |  | Nirmala Deshpande | June 1983 | May 2008 |
| 7 | Radhakrishn Malviya | May 2008 | February 2013 | |
| 8 |  | Shankar Kumar Sanyal | April 2013 | contd. till now |
| 9 |
The Sangh helped the depressed classes to access public places such as temples, schools, roads and water resources, also conducted inter dining andinter caste marriages.[8] It constructed and maintains several schools and hostels across the country.[9]
In 1939, Harijan Sevak Sangh of Tamil Nadu headed byA. Vaidyanatha Iyer entered theMeenakshi Amman Temple inMadurai, with members of depressed class includingP. Kakkan despite opposition from the uppercaste Hindus. The Sangh led by Iyer organised several temple entry movements in other Parts of Tamil Nadu and inTravancore.[10][11] Through their movements, more than 100 temples were opened to all sections of the society.[12]