In 1960, Vinoba Bhave, a social activist and a celebrated disciple of Gandhi, acquired an attention-grabbing letter.
It was from Tehsildar Singh, the son of well-known dacoit Man Singh from the deep ravines of the Chambal Valley, which extends into southeast Rajasthan, southwest Uttar Pradesh and north Madhya Pradesh. The letter got here from the Central Jail at Naini, Allahabad, the place Tehsildar was on dying row, and in it, he expressed a need for Acharya’s blessings earlier than his hanging and arriving at an answer for the rising downside of dacoity within the area.
‘Acharya’ (trainer), as Bhave was fondly identified amongst his disciples, was on a go to to Kashmir when he acquired this letter. After studying it, he deputed Yadunath Singh, a retired major-general in-charge of his Kashmir go to, to satisfy Tehsildar in jail. After visiting him, Yadunath went to the once-dreaded Chambal area to satisfy dacoits of the Man Singh group.
“On return, he gave Vinoba his impression that some dacoits would possibly give up to him if he visited the realm. Vinoba, subsequently, expressed a need to go to it and take a look at for the conversion of the dacoits,” wrote Vishwanath Tandon, the creator of Vinoba’s 1992 self-titled biography.
On 7 Could, Acharya Vinoba Bhave began his mission to assist these dacoits give up earlier than the state, resign violence and rehabilitate them again into mainstream society.
On the thirteenth, he addressed a gathering on the banks of Chambal River in Madhya Pradesh, the place he stated, “I’ve come to [the] superb land of the courageous. That is the land that has produced courageous dacoits. They’re noble males. The one distinction between them and different males is that their prepare has acquired on the fallacious monitor. I feel they’re higher males than the dakus (dacoits) of Delhi, as a result of they’re unsophisticated.”
“A change of coronary heart is simpler to attain amongst them than among the many civilised folks of the cities, who’ve fashioned a tough crust of non-public self-interest over their hearts. I would like them to reply to my name and give up. The answer to dacoity lies in give up — not in firearms. Solely non-violence can allow us to unravel the issue of dacoity,” he added.
In one other handle to the native police, he stated, “Nobody is a born dacoit. It’s a pure results of exploitation, miserliness, cruelty and callousness. … If we love dacoits, present kindness to them, [and] rework our village right into a household, the entire downside could be solved by itself. These dacoits are quite simple, courageous and fearless. If we alter their line of motion they’ll simply flip into saints.”
“The police can not resolve this downside. If they arrive to remain right here, the dacoits will do likewise, and so additionally malice, hatred, aversion and animosity.”
To make sure that his actions didn’t imply giving a few of these violent dacoits a free go, he stated, “One sees God in accordance with one’s personal mild. It’s incorrect to say that the dacoits who surrendered to me had been given any assurance. All alongside my tour, I’ve been publicly stating that it’s for the regulation courts to determine whether or not they’re to be acquitted or punished.”
In addition to convincing President Rajendra Prasad to commute Tehsildar’s dying sentence to life imprisonment, his initiative noticed about 20 dacoits surrendering to the state.
“By the point Vinoba left the area, the variety of surrendering dacoits was twenty. To utilise the modified local weather generated there, a Chambal Peace Committee was constituted by the Sarva Seva Sangh beneath the steerage of Vinoba. It helped within the expediting of the circumstances in regulation courts of the three involved States, collected funds for the reclamation of wastelands within the ravines and began just a few cottage and village industries to coach the dacoit households,” wrote Tandon.
Though this explicit marketing campaign in Chambal Valley didn’t garner anyplace near the form of success because the Bhoodan motion, it was a victory of non-violence and good sense. Extra importantly, it could set the precedent for future acts of give up that noticed many extra dacoits, preferring to be known as ‘Bhagees’ or ‘rebels’ in opposition to the state, re-enter mainstream society.
Initiated in 1951, the Bhoodan (‘Land Reward’) motion tried to steer rich landowners to voluntarily donate a proportion of their land to landless folks.
Actual life evokes film
Acharya Vinoba Bhave’s outstanding act of convincing hardened dacoits to surrender their arms and give up with out shedding a single drop of blood impressed Radhu Karmakar, a cinematographer and shut affiliate of legendary Bollywood actor and filmmaker Raj Kapoor.
Karmakar narrated his thought for a film based mostly on this episode to Raj Kapoor. Not solely did he conform to make this movie, however requested his favorite cinematographer to direct it as properly. The movie they launched in August 1960 was known as Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai (translation, The nation wherein the Ganges flows) starring Raj Kapoor within the lead alongside Pran and Padmini.
As per some accounts, the film nearly didn’t get made. When the concept was first narrated to Raj Kapoor, legendary lyricist Shailendra and music administrators Shankar-Jaikishan, Shankar allegedly stormed out of the room. The supply of Shankar’s obvious dismay was the misconceived notion that there could be no scope for music and songs in a movie about dacoits.
Shailendra advised Shankar to not fret and that he would write lyrics to suit their songs for the movie. Among the many first phrases he penned for the film was, Hoton Pe Sachai Rehti Hai, Jahaan Dil Mein Safai Rehti Hai, Hum Us Desh Ke Waasi Hai, Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai. (Translated as “Fact lives on the lips the place the guts is clear. We’re residents of that nation the place the river Ganga flows”.)
When Shankar heard these phrases for the primary time from the lips of Raj Kapoor, he allegedly broke down in tears. Shankar-Jaikishan would go on to put in writing one of many best Bollywood movie soundtracks of all time.
Based on Ziya Us-Salam’s e book Housefull: The Golden Years of Hindi Cinema, “It’s stated that in a bid to convey authenticity to the function of a dacoit, Karmakar’s movie had an actual life, former dacoit on the units. He would right the director if he felt the depiction was not fairly proper.”
In brief, the movie’s plot revolves round Raju, the principle protagonist performed by Raj Kapoor. He is a straightforward and sincere orphan, who via a collection of occasions finally ends up taking on the accountability of making an attempt to persuade a bunch of dreaded dacoits to surrender violence, give up themselves and take their households again into mainstream society. Look out for the dramatic finale once you watch this movie on a wide range of OTT streaming platforms together with Zee5 and YouTube.
When artwork evokes life?
Twelve years after Acharya Vinoba Bhave’s act of compassion and the movie it impressed, one other disciple of Gandhi and legendary socialist chief Jayaprakash Narayan managed to persuade a a lot bigger group of dacoits to give up voluntarily. This story was vividly captured in a report by journalist William Stewart writing for TIME Journal.
Describing the context behind JP Narayan’s act, he wrote, “Travellers enterprise alongside the winding filth roads of the Chambal Valley at their peril. The sharp ravines present good hiding locations for fugitives from the regulation. In 1971 alone, India’s infamous dacoits dedicated 285 murders, 352 kidnappings and 213 robberies, all inside an space smaller than the state of Maryland.”
He went on so as to add, “The [police] campaigns [to apprehend these dacoits] have been annoyed as a lot by the native folks, who regard the bandits as baghis (rebels) slightly than thieves, as by the crafty of the dacoit gangs. The bandits, a lot of whom wish to take from the wealthy and provides to the poor in Robin Hood custom, rigorously domesticate native goodwill, rewarding villagers with presents at weddings. However they’re additionally ruthless in eliminating suspected informers.”
After actively collaborating within the freedom wrestle and a profession in mainstream politics, the socialist chief and director of the Gandhian Institute of Research discovered his option to the village of Jaura, situated deep within the ravines of the Chambal Valley, Madhya Pradesh. On the time, he was in-charge of a Gandhian ashram in Jaura referred to as the Change of Coronary heart Mission. A few of the inmates at this ashram included former dacoits.
In October 1971, Narayan was visited by a person claiming to be a “lesser dacoit” who requested him to barter the give up of dacoits earlier than the state. The police have been ramping up the strain to nab these dacoits utilizing any means crucial which meant extra bloodshed.
Narayan was lastly satisfied to undertake the duty of negotiating their give up as soon as this ‘lesser dacoit’ admitted that he was none apart from Madho Singh, one in every of India’s most needed males with a major bounty on his head. Singh reportedly advised Narayan that dacoits within the Chambal Valley have been able to give up “if the federal government would promise to not hold any of the lads, to prosecute inside six months and to rehabilitate their households”.
When requested in regards to the prospect of surrendering, Singh stated, “No matter we are saying we’ll do, we go forward with it, even when it means dying for us. Generally we’re frightened of jail, however we keep in mind that our nice nationwide leaders underwent the identical incarceration. I inform the rebels who’re frightened of jail to consider it as a home you could have rented. You don’t even need to pay the lease.”
Finally on one effective morning in April 1972, earlier than a crowd of 10,000, Madho Singh “positioned his weapon on the toes of Narayan and requested the gang for forgiveness.” As Stewart reported, “Then he touched the toes of the police chief, and surrendered. On the finish of the day, 167 dacoits have been in jail.” More moderen information studies, nonetheless, declare that over 200 dacoits surrendered in Dhorera village, which lies 36 km from Madhya Pradesh’s Morena, on that day.
Following this historic second, the federal government promised to commute all of the dying sentences that the courts might hand down, in addition to caring for their households and offering scholarships for his or her youngsters. Madho Singh was concerned in 23 murders and almost 500 kidnapping circumstances, and carried an award of Rs 1,50,000 on his head, in accordance with a 1981 report for India At the moment by S Premi. After his early launch from jail, Madho changed the gun with a magician’s wand. Again then, his troupe of two dozen was holding magic reveals in former dacoit territory.
One other such former dacoit, who surrendered on that day, was Pancham Singh. He was accused of killing over 100 folks throughout his reign of terror. Like a lot of his contemporaries, Singh was the topic of violence and injustice by the state earlier than turning to dacoity.
Following his give up in 1972, nonetheless, Singh and his gang acquired life sentences. However upon the completion of eight years, he was launched from jail for good behaviour. After his launch, he lived a lifetime of social work, constructed temples, a faculty, donated his dwelling to an establishment and vowed to work for peace. Chatting with The Hindu in 2017, Singh stated, “I remorse what I did. On my launch, I visited the household of every particular person I killed and sought forgiveness,” he stated.
The mass give up of dacoits in 1972 was the primary of its sort occasion within the historical past of the Chambal Valley, however wouldn’t be the final. Was this occasion impressed by Raj Kapoor’s movie? The movie in all probability had some function in popularising the notion that males who had taken to crime may be rehabilitated again into society. However the ball of surrendering dacoits was set rolling by Gandhians.
(Edited by Divya Sethu)
Sources:
‘Acharya Vinoba Bhave’ by Vishwanath Tandon; Revealed in 1992 by the Publications Division, Ministry of Info and Broadcasting
‘Chambal village marks 50 yrs of 1st mass give up of dacoits’ by Shruti Tomar, Shiv Pratap Singh; Revealed on 13 April 2022 courtesy Hindustan Instances
‘Former dacoit Madho Singh shuns the gun for a magician’s wand’ by S Premi; Revealed on 15 Could 1981 courtesy India At the moment
‘Former dacoit is now a crusader for peace’; Revealed on 24 October 2017 courtesy The Hindu
‘Housefull: The Golden Years of Hindi Cinema’ Edited by Ziya Us Salam; Revealed in 2012 by Om Books Worldwide
‘Vinoba Bhave, the Strolling Saint who ‘talked’ bandits of Madhya Pradesh into surrendering’ by Kairvy Grewal; Revealed on 15 November 2019 courtesy The Print
‘INDIA: Give up of the Dacoits’ by William Stewart; Revealed on 1 Could 1972 courtesy TIME Journal
‘High 100 Indian Motion pictures of All Time – Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai’ Posted Posted by u/DrShail, Professor of Celebritology/Reddit
Twitter/The Paperclip