APPEAL: Save Gandhian institute from takeover by RSS
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The Sangh Parivar has been trying to takeover the Gandhian Institute
of Studies in Rajghat, Varanasi for some time through an expelled
employee of the Institute Smt. Kusum Lata Kedia. The Institute was
founded by late Jayaprakash Narayan (JP) in 1960 with the purpose of
building a closer relationship between grassroots movements and
academia so that both would benefit from each other. The land was
given on lease by Sarva Sewa Sangh and support for construction
provided by U.P. Gandhi Smarak Nidhi. JP ran the Institute without
any government support from its inception till 1977. It was only
during the Janata Party regime that it was decided that Institute
would meet its running expenses with support from ICSSR and the UP
Government.

K.L. Kedia, with affiliations to RSS, joined the Institute and
initiated the downfall of this prestigious Institute. She had to be
expelled from the Institute in 2002 by its Board of Management after
recommendations given in by a committee headed by late Usha Mehta, on
disciplinary grounds. However, she schemed with then HRD minister
Murali Manohar Joshi and got the funds from ICSSR to the Institute
stopped. She got herself declared as the `acting director' by the
ICSSR. It was when she had started abusing the Institute's property
that a dharna was organized by the Board of Management, now headed by
legendary Gandhian Acharya Ramamurti, in 2003 to ask the
administration to step in to prevent her from doing so. The local
administration put a lock on the main building. Meanwhile, she
continued to occupy the director's residence.

With the coming into power of Congress led government at the centre,
funds from ICSSR resumed. Arjun Singh described this as a `test case'
for freeing an academic institution from saffronization. Sarva Sewa
Sangh allowed the Institute to function from its adjacent premises
with a Professor of BHU, Prof. Dipak Malik as its new Director and
Muniza Rafiq Khan as its acting Registrar. However, the Mulayam Singh
government was unable to get the Institute begin functioning from its
main premises. In fact, a minister in his government, Omprakash
Singh, was instrumental in getting the application for renewal of
registration of the Society which runs the Institute rejected.
With the coming of Mayawati Govt. we expected quite rightfully that
it will announce final exit of the RSS led conspiracy managed by Ms.
K.L. Kedia but in a queer turn of events here too a former RSS
functionary and currently higher education minister Rakesh Dhar
Tripathi a close disciple of Murli Manohar Joshi taking pretext of a
District Court order while the case is already subjudice in the High
Court at Allahabad has forced the Principal Secretary, Education, UP
Government, to form a committee headed by K.L. Kedia, who was given
the highest honour in the Sangh Parivar "Hedgewar Award," to oversee
the running of the Gandhian Institute of Studies. The rest of the
committee is also packed with people close to RSS. This is an ill
omen for newly formed Govt. in U. P. where RSS infiltrators are
trying to sabotage the agenda of the newly elected Govt.

This is a momentary defeat for the Gandhian and secular community in
saving the Institute from falling into the hands of Sangh Parivar
which has been responsible for Gandhi's murder as well as assault on
his ideology from time to time.

Gandhian Institute of Studies must be saved from takeover by RSS. It
has to be restored to its original mission as envisioned by JP.
Please call the UP C.M. at 0522-2236181, 2239296 (o), 2236761,
2750458 (h) or send a fax at 0522-2223000 to register your protest.


Akhil Bhart Sarva Seva Sangh, Gandhian Institute of Studies, Lok
Vidya, Sarnath Varanasi, Prarana Kala Manch, Asmita, Mahila Chetana
Samiti, Lok Samiti, VISION, Manawa Adhikar Jan-Nigarani Samiti, Path,
Mitra, Varanasi.


Gandhi Smarak Nidhi, New Delhi
Gandhi Smarak Nidhi, Uttar Pradesh
Shram Bharti, Khadigram, Jamui (Bihar)
Asha Parivar, Lucknow.
National Alliance of People's Movement
Center for Study of Society and Secularism, Mumbai
Gandhi Peace Foundation, New Delhi
AIPSO, Uttar Pradesh
Ramanand Pustakalay, Aazamgarh
Sajha Sanskriti Manch, Samanvaya,