Agnivesh

Agnivesh (born 21 September 1939), is an Indian politician and a former Member of Legislative Assembly from the Indian state of Haryana, joined Arya Samaj,[1] and a social activist. He is best known for his work against bonded labour through the Bonded Labour Liberation Front, which he founded in 1981. Agnivesh became president (2004–2014) of the World Council of Arya Samaj, which is the highest international body of the Arya Samaj movement originally established by Dayanand Saraswati in 1875,[2] and served as the chairperson of the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery from 1994 to 2004[3][4][5]

Swami

Agnivesh
Swami Agnivesh in 2019.
Born
Vepa Shyam Rao

(1939-09-21) 21 September 1939
Srikakulam, Madras Presidency, British India
(present-day Andhra Pradesh, India)
NationalityIndian
OccupationSocial worker, scholar, politician
Known forMLA, Jan Lokpal, Anti-slavery
AwardsRight Livelihood Award

Early life

Agnivesh was born as Vepa Shyam Rao on 21 September 1939 in an Brahmin Sanatani Hindu family at Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh. He lost his father at the age of four. He was brought up by his maternal grandfather who was the Diwan of the princely state, Sakti, in present-day Chhattisgarh. He gained degrees in Law and Commerce, became a lecturer in management at the reputed St Xavier's College in Kolkata and for a while practiced law as a junior to Sabyasachi Mukherji who later would become Chief Justice of India.[6]

Politics

In 1970, Agnivesh founded Arya Sabha, a political party based on Arya Samaj principles as he himself formulated in his 1974 book, Vaidik Samajvad.[7]

Agnivesh became a member of the Legislative Assembly of Haryana in 1977, and served as a cabinet Minister for Education in 1979 .[8] In 1981, while still a minister, he founded the Bonded Labour Liberation Front, which continues to raise issues surrounding bonded labour in India, especially in the quarries in and around Delhi; he remains the chairperson of the organisation.[8][9] After leaving the Ministry, he was arrested twice, spending a total of 14 months in jail on charges of subversion and murder, of which he was later acquitted.[8][10]

In Feb 2011, Agnivesh with Kavita Srivastava, Rajinder Sachar, Gautam Navlakha, Manu Singh & Harish Dhawan helped in having negotiations with Maoists to free 5 abducted policemen in January.[11][12]

In March 2011, Maoist forces killed three members of the Chhattisgarh security and police forces; subsequently, the security forces allegedly attacked and burned an alleged Maoist village. When Swami Agnivesh and his organisation attempted to bring relief aid to families in the affected village, they were met by a large group of demonstrators who attacked their cars with stones, claiming that the Maoists were responsible for the deaths of many security force personnel over the last year.[13]

Swami Agnivesh took part in the 2011 anti-corruption protests in India in August of that year. He would later break away from the main group of protesters, claiming that certain protesters had humiliated and conspired against him for political reasons. A video purporting to show Swami Agnivesh speaking to one "Kapil" (ostensibly Kapil Sibal, who was then a minister), suggesting that the government should deal more firmly with "adamant" protesters, was circulated in the Indian media and via the internet. Swami Agnivesh at first claimed another "Kapil" was being referred to in the footage but would later assert that the video itself was doctored.[14][15] Agnivesh urged the prime minister Manmohan Singh in 2013 to initiate a dialogue with the Naxalites.[16]

Social activism
Swami Agnivesh (left) at an Amnesty International event in New Delhi. Teesta Setalvad (right) also pictured.

Swami Agnivesh testified before the Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery at the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva.[17] Later, he created a new task for emancipation of womanhood, which was a helpful factor in the Commission of Sati (prevention) Act of 1987.

In 2005, Agnivesh was part of a two-week campaign against female foeticide that travelled across India.[18]

Agnivesh also argued at a conference on economic development and religion sponsored by the World Bank that people should be allowed full freedom of movement across borders through the elimination of all passports and immigration laws.[19]

In 1968, Agnivesh went to Haryana to join the Arya Samaj and on 25 March 1970, Agnivesh took the sanyas vows.[5] He was expelled from the organisation in August 2008, after 17 of the 19 Arya Samaj Pratinidhi Sabhas in India expressed opposition to him.[20]

In 2008, he addressed a large gathering at the Anti-Terrorism Global Peace Conference, at Ramlila Grounds, organised by Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind and several Islamic organisations, where he stated, "It is wrong to attribute the wrongdoings of a few individuals to the whole community." He also supported the demand by Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind that banned the singing of Vande Mataram by Muslim citizens of India. "I would not mince words to say that the United States is the terrorist number one. To defame the Koran 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."[21]

Agnivesh is also a proponent of interfaith dialogue and is a member of the Board of World Leaders for the Elijah Interfaith Institute.[22] He is also a board member of the KAICIID Dialogue Centre established in Vienna in 2012 by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, together with the governments of Austria and Spain.[23] In 2015, he opposed Government's plan of separate settlement for Kashmiri Pandits as part of their rehabilitation in the valley.[24]

Agnivesh advocated rights of marginalised people in society and went to Pakur district of Jharkhand to address a rally of farmers and tribal. During this, allegedly a right wing mob attacked upon him and he escaped from lynching somehow with help of local people. Activists of all over the country in India and even of other countries condemned the incident. Many believe that his efforts is to reform the society and to bring facts based on logic about superstition and false agendas of all religions.[25]

He also led the march 'Raj Bhawan Chalo' on the death anniversary of journalist Gauri Lankesh.[26]

Opposition from Hindu groups

Agnivesh has been severely criticised by some Hindu groups for statements they view as anti-Hindu. In 2005, Agnivesh stated that the Puri Jagannath Temple should be opened to non-Hindus; this led to the priests of the temple condemning his remarks as "purely anti-Hindu in nature" and burning his effigy.[27] In May 2011, hundreds of Hindu priests protested against Agnivesh's claim that ice stalagmite in Amarnath that they believe resembles Lord Shiva is just a piece of ice; during the protest the priests burnt his effigy.[28] According to the Kashmir Observer, the Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha, a Hindu nationalist political party, offered a 2 million bounty for killing Agnivesh, for negative statements he made about Kashmir and Baba Amarnath.[29] On 8 November 2011, the Supreme Court condemned Agnivesh for hurting the sentiments of Hindu People by commenting on the Amarnath Pilgrimage. The apex court bench of Justice H.L. Dattu and Justice C.K. Prasad told Agnivesh that he should weigh his words "many a time before uttering them lest it hurts the sentiments of the people".[30]

On 17 July 2018, Agnivesh was attacked in Jharkhand; the attackers kept beating him even after he fell to the ground.[31] His assailants accused him of being sympathetic to Christian missionaries,[32] and "against Hindus."[33]

Bigg Boss Participation

Agnivesh spent three days inside the Bigg Boss house as a house guest, from 8 to 11 November 2011[34][35]

Awards

Works
  • Vaidik Saamajvad – Vedic Socialism (Hindi), 1974.
  • Religion Revolution and Marxism (Hindi and English)
  • Harvest of Hate: Gujarat Under Siege, with Valson Thampu. Rupa & Co,India. 2002. ISBN 81-7167-858-0.
  • Religion, Spirituality and Social Action New Agenda for Humanity: New Agenda for Humanity, Hope India Publications, 2003. ISBN 81-7871-000-5.
  • Hinduism in the New Age, Hope India Publications, 2005. ISBN 81-7871-047-1.

Magazines
  • Rajdharma (fortnightly) – Chief Editor (1968–1978)
  • Kranti Dharmi (monthly) – Chief Editor (1989–1991)

See also

References
  1. "Differences can be resolved through debate: Arya Samaj scholar Agnivesh". Pune Mirror. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  2. About Agnivesh Archived 26 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine agnimanthan.com.
  3. "Who is Swami Agnivesh?". The Indian Express. 18 July 2018. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  4. "Annual Report 2002" (PDF). UNHCR. Retrieved 14 June 2011.
  5. Agnivesh – Profile Holy People of the World: A Cross-cultural Encyclopedia, by Phyllis G. Jestice, ABC-CLIO, 2004. ISBN 1-57607-355-6. Page 25
  6. http://www.swamiagnivesh.com/life-journey.php
  7. Swami Agnivesh (India), Joint Honorary Award with Asghar Ali Engineer (2004)- Profile Archived 2 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine Right Livelihood Award Official website.
  8. Swami Agnivesh – Profile in New Slavery: A Reference Handbook, by Kevin Bales, ABC-CLIO, 2004. ISBN 1-85109-815-1.Page 71-72.
  9. Children in Debt Bondage Children Enslaved, by Roger Sawyer. Published by Taylor & Francis, 1988. ISBN 0-415-00273-7. Page 55-57.
  10. "The Swami Agnivesh". Late Night Live. Radio National, part of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 23 January 2002. Retrieved 14 June 2011.
  11. "Naxals set to release 5 abducted cops in Chhattisgarh on Feb 11 - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  12. Sethi, Aman (12 February 2011). "Maoists free police hostages in the presence of Swami Agnivesh". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  13. John, Joseph (27 March 2011). "Dantewada mob attacks Agnivesh; SSP, DM shifted". India Express. Archived from the original on 28 December 2011. Retrieved 14 June 2011.
  14. "Team Anna conspired against me: Agnivesh". PTI. 2 September 2011.
  15. Banerji, Annie (8 November 2011). "Swami Agnivesh turns to Bigg Boss in publicity quest". Reuters. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
  16. "Swami Agnivesh urges PM to hold peace talks with Naxals". The Economic Times. 1 July 2013. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  17. The History of Doing: An Illustrated Account of Movements for Women's Rights and Feminism in India, 1800–1990, by Radha Kumar, Kali for Women Organization, Published by Zubaan, 1993. ISBN 81-85107-76-9. Page 180.
  18. Pandey, Geeta (12 November 2005). "Religions target female foeticide". BBC. Retrieved 14 June 2011.
  19. Malhotra, Rajiv (2001). "Language Hegemony and the Construction of Identity". Infinity Foundation. Archived from the original on 15 June 2011. Retrieved 14 June 2011.
  20. Madhya Bharat Arya Pratinidhi Sabha takes a strong stand on Swami Agnivesh The Daily Pioneer – 26 August 2008
  21. "Jamat fatwa against terrorism". The Hindu. 1 June 2008. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
  22. "The Elijah Interfaith Institute – Hindu Members of the Board of World Religious Leaders". Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 15 November 2010.
  23. Governance | KAICIID
  24. "Arya Samaj Leader Agnivesh opposes Separate Settlement for Kashmiri Pundits". news.biharprabha.com. 18 April 2015. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  25. http://risingkashmir.com/news/swami-agnivesh-the-spirited-monk
  26. Desk, The Hindu Net (5 September 2018). "Swami Agnivesh leads 'Raj Bhavan chalo' march on Gauri Lankesh's death anniversary". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  27. Agnivesh Kicks off Storm at Puri Vaisnava News – December 2007
  28. "Hindu priests protest against Swami Agnivesh's statement over Amarnath shrine". DailyIndia. Archived from the original on 23 May 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
  29. "Hindu Group Puts Bounty on Agnivesh's Head". The Kashmir Observer. 23 May 2011. Archived from the original on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 14 June 2011.
  30. "Swami Agnivesh should weigh his words: Supreme Court". The Times of India. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
  31. "Video: India's BJP workers attack social activist Swami Agnivesh".
  32. "Swami Agnivesh attacked in Jharkhand". The Hindu.
  33. Sanjoy Dey. "Swami Agnivesh alleges attack by BJP youth workers in Jharkhand".
  34. "I'm not an entertainment material: Swami Agnivesh". Times of India. 8 November 2011.
  35. http://www.ndtv.com/album/listing/entertainment/swami-agnivesh-enters-bigg-boss-5-11480
  36. Swami Agnivesh – Biography betterworldheroes.com..
  37. `Alternative Nobel' for Asghar Ali Engineer, Swami Agnivesh Business Line, 21 September 2004.
  38. "Swami Agnivesh - The Right Livelihood Award". The Right Livelihood Award. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  39. St. Thomas award for Agnivesh , The Tribune, Chandigarh, 27 June 2006
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