Gandhian society in Varanasi protests ‘illegal’ demolition notice

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said the Northern Railways’ demolition notice was an ‘attack on the legacy’ of Mahatma Gandhi. The Sarva Seva Sangh has moved the Allahabad HC against the notice.

Written by Asad Rehman

Lucknow | Updated: July 1, 2023 04:09 AM IST

4 min read

Apart from members of the Sarva Seva Sangh and locals, several Congress leaders too were part of the protest amid heavy rain. (Express photo)

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Members of the Sarva Seva Sangh, a society that works to propagate Gandhian values, staged a protest in Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi district on Friday morning against a demolition notice issued by the Northern Railways directing that structures built on a 12.90-acre plot be razed.

“We are holding a peaceful protest amid heavy deployment of police force at the premises. The demolition notice served to us is illegal and these decades-old structures can’t be razed,” Ramdhiraj, president of the society, told The Indian Express.

Apart from members of the Sangh and locals, several Congress leaders too were part of the protest amid heavy rain. The demolition was scheduled to take place at 9 am on Friday but did not begin as the Sarva Seva Sangh had on Wednesday approached the Allahabad High Court challenging the notice.

The Akhil Bharat Sarva Seva Sangh is a registered society established in 1948 by freedom fighter Acharya Vinoba Bhave to propagate the ideas and philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi.

The Sarva Seva Sangh members and locals staging a peaceful protest in Varanasi. (Express photo)

According to the society, the land for its premises at Pargana Dehat in Varanasi “was purchased by it from the Union of India by means of three registered sale deeds in 1960, 1961 and 1970”.

Meanwhile, Congress general secretary and UP in-charge Priyanka Gandhi Vadra wrote about the demolition notice on her Facebook page and said that it is an “attack on the legacy of the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi”.

“Sarva Seva Sangh was established in Varanasi by the efforts of Acharya Vinoba Bhave, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri and Babu Jagjivan Ram. The purpose of this was to spread Gandhiji’s thoughts. This land was also bought under the leadership of these great men. This building was built by Gandhi Memorial Fund and Jayprakash Narayanji’s donation collection,” she further wrote.

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“Today BJP administration calling it illegal and starting action is an attempt to attack Mahatma Gandhi ji’s thoughts and his heritage. We strongly condemn this extremely shameful action and pledge to stand firm against every attack on Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy. The people of the country will never tolerate the attack of BJP on the superheroes of our country and national heritage,” she added.

The property concerned houses a publication house, Sarva Seva Sangh Prakashan, a preschool where children from the socio-economically weaker sections are taught without fees, a guest house, a library with hundreds of books, a meeting hall, a Gandhi Arogya Kendra (a naturopathy centre), a youth training centre, a khadi bhandar and a statue of Mahatma Gandhi.

A timeline of Sarv Seva Sangh case

May 16, 2023: The Allahabad High Court directs Varanasi District Magistrate to examine the land records of the Sarv Seva Sangh and ascertain the ownership of the said property, which is approximately 12.90 acres. The court gives the District Magistrate two-month deadline to ascertain the ownership of the land.

May 29, 2023: Varanasi District Magistrate S Rajalingam begins the hearing after informing the concerned people.

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June 26, 2023: Varanasi District Magistrate S Rajalingam passes an order, saying that the land belongs to the Northern Railways.

June 27, 2023: The Northern Railways pastes a notice at the Sarv Seva Sangh premises, saying that it must be evicted and that the structures on the land will be demolished on June 30.

June 28, 2023: The Sarv Seva Sangh approaches the Allahabad High Court against the demolition order, praying that it be quashed as the society has three land deeds from 1960, 1961 and 1970 to prove its ownership of the said land. Allahabad High Court starts hearing the matter.

June 30, 2023: On the day of the scheduled demolition, a protest is held at the Varanasi premises of the society against the demolition order, while police force is deployed at the spot. Matter will be heard again by the Allahabad High Court the same afternoon, while the protest is ongoing.

Asad Rehman

Asad Rehman is with the national bureau of The Indian Express and covers politics and policy focusing on religious minorities in India. A journalist for over eight years, Rehman moved to this role after covering Uttar Pradesh for five years for The Indian Express. During his time in Uttar Pradesh, he covered politics, crime, health, and human rights among other issues. He did extensive ground reports and covered the protests against the new citizenship law during which many were killed in the state. During the Covid pandemic, he did extensive ground reporting on the migration of workers from the metropolitan cities to villages in Uttar Pradesh. He has also covered some landmark litigations, including the Babri Masjid-Ram temple case and the ongoing Gyanvapi-Kashi Vishwanath temple dispute. Prior to that, he worked on The Indian Express national desk for three years where he was a copy editor. Rehman studied at La Martiniere, Lucknow and then went on to do a bachelor's degree in History from Ramjas College, Delhi University. He also has a Masters degree from the AJK Mass Communication Research Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia. ... Read More

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