Balasaheb Deshpande The Founder of Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram
A lawyer by profession, Sri Ramakant Keshav Deshpande was a visionary, a public servant of highest morality and integrity, a freedom fighter and a reformer of the tribal cause. He was at the point of death penalty but missed it as the British just because Tahshildar Sri Harkare and poet Deshpande did not give witness against him.
Early Life
He was born on 26th December 1913, in Amravati – Maharashtra. He completed his degree in law and began his career as a lawyer. He completed his primary education in Sagar in Madhya Pradesh as well as in Akola and Narsinghpur in Maharashtra. He acquired his matriculation examination from Kashi Hindu Vidyapith. In 1935 he passed his Bachelor’s degree in arts (B. A.) and later got a degree in law in 1937 before starting his law practice. He further did his masters in arts in 1938. (M. A.)
A man who had a very active role in the freedom struggle, Balasaheb Deshpande, during his youth was connected in the activities of Ramakrishna Mission. Later he got into Government office in the rationing department. As he could not tolerate the corruption and the nexus between the government officials and the traders he had to resign from his job. Balasaheb Deshpande took up his law profession again. The movement which attracted him towards the freedom struggle was the Quit India movement.
Right away after the independence the nexus between many groups of antisocial elements in Madhya Pradesh made the then chief minister Sri Ravi Shankar Shukla to meet Sri Thakkar Bappa who was a great Gandhian. According to the wishes of Thakkar Bappa, Balasaheb took up the government job again as the regional co-coordinator of backward castes welfare division in Jashpur. During this tenure he did remarkable work in the field of tribal education.
In 1950, after the death of Thakkar Bappa the connection with the tribes and government got detached. He was punished with a transfer to Chandrapur district of Maharashtra. He wanted to carry out the incomplete agenda of tribal awakening so he decided to resign from the service and decided to move to Jashpur. The historical meeting with Sri Guruji blessed him with the confidence and motivation to deal with the social issues in Jashpur. Balasaheb Deshpande began a boy’s hostel in a building that was given by the King of Jashpur Sri Vidya Bhushan Singh in Jashpur.
Formation Of Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram
The great beginning of Tribal awakening was with these students’ hostel where 13 tribal boys were there on 26th December 1952, the foundation day of Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram. The ashram began working among every tribe it could approach. Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram advanced into an All India organization, extending its social, educational, cultural, economic and other multi-dimensional activities during his life span. Located in Jashpur (214 km from Raigarh), it sets up schools in Raigarh and Surguja districts where there are areas with large tribal populations. The Ashram developed promptly and a permanent office was built in 1963, inaugurated by the RSS chief M. S. Golwalkar.
He realized that he was suffering from ill health Balasaheb selected Sri Jagadev Ram Uraon as the President of Ashram. Balasheb passed away on 21st April 1995, but until today his life aim stays and is still serving the brothers and sisters living in remote forests of our nation. The activists of Kalyan Ashram had planted 14,97,600 saplings with a small span from June 15 to September 15, 2013.
On 26th December 1952 is the birthday of Shri Deshpande, the day when the ashram was set up. Royal family of Jashpur patronised Kalyan Ashram’s mission right from its beginning. After completing 4 years of its inception, Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram gained acclaim from Dr. Rajendraprasad, the then Honorable President of India during a convention that took place at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Shri Deshpande also had a vision to commemorate birth centenary of Swami Vivekanand on 14th January 1987, it was marked to institute a sports event ‘Eklavya Khelkud’. Hitraksha – protection of rights – was one of the key focuses (Ayam) gained by Kalyan Ashram. This work also started during the tenure of Balasaheb Deshpande.
“Balasaheb Deshpande was a Samaj Shilpi, who not only served the Vanvasis, but also united them with complete honesty and integrity. He brought many nationalist and dedicated Vanvasi leaders like Hipson Roy, Anderson Mawari, NC Zeliang, Workle Dindopugh, etc to the Kalyan Ashram fold,” said RSS Sah Sar Karyavah Shri Dattetreya Hosabale, while speaking at a function organised in Pune to celebrate birth centenary of Kalyan Ashram founder Balasaheb Deshpande.
Balasaheb Deshpande was a man of visionary, thinker and ideologue who glued the space between the Vanvasis and the rest of the society. Bringing in problems of tribals to the consideration of mainstream India and designing diverse solutions to enhance the living of tribals had been the aim of Shri Deshpande for 47years from 1948 to 1995 when VKA lost its founder.
