Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh): The building that housed, Sarva Sewa Samiti (Sarva Seva Sangh), which was co-founded by socialist ideologue Jaiprakash Narayan and considered to be a legacy of Mahatma Gandhi and Sarvodaya leader Vinoba Bhave, at Rajghat in Varanasi, was razed to the ground by bulldozer friendly government in Uttar Pradesh Saturday August 12, 2023.
Sarva Seva Samiti has been active in the last six decades, fostering democratic ideals. The Samiti campus consisting of more than 10,000 progressive books, which preserved a remarkable history of the country, was demolished despite protest by activists amidst heavy police presence.
There was a petition in the local court against the demolition, and the Supreme Court of India in its order dated August 07, 2023 had directed the lower court to conduct the hearing expeditiously. Despite the case being pending in the court, the process of demolition started at 06:00 AM Saturday without any competent order.
On August 11, 2023, a large public protest meeting was organized in which representatives of people’s organizations from all over India and hundreds of common citizens of Banaras (Varanasi) were also present.
The meeting was addressed by well-known leaders and activists, including Prof. Anand Kumar, Rakesh Tikait, Medha Patkar, Yogendra Yadav, Faisal Khan, Dr. Sunilam, Feroze Mithiborewala etc.
The meeting challenged the ruthless bulldozer policy of the government, be it in Uttar Pradesh or Haryana or Madhya Pradesh, especially targeting Muslims and also raised the issue of illegal occupation of lands of fisherpeople and other marginalized communities in the name of ‘development’.
"We see this overnight action of demolition by the government, right after the huge public meeting, as a deliberate attempt to suppress public voices", National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) said while condemning the demolition. "We demand that the demolition of Sarvaseva Samiti be stopped immediately, the buildings must be restored back to their original form and the said land must not be given out for any capitalist ventures", the NAPM said. "The government must be held accountable for its unlawful actions of demolition and related arbitrary detentions, in violation of judicial orders", it added.
"We see this overnight action of demolition by the government, right after the huge public meeting, as a deliberate attempt to suppress public voices", National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) said while condemning the demolition.
"We demand that the demolition of Sarvaseva Samiti be stopped immediately, the buildings must be restored back to their original form and the said land must not be given out for any capitalist ventures", the NAPM said.
"The government must be held accountable for its unlawful actions of demolition and related arbitrary detentions, in violation of judicial orders", it added.
The Sarva Seva Samiti played an important role in strengthening the Indian progressive ideas. "Hence, this should be seen as an attack by the present ruling party on the ideas that strengthen Indian democracy", the NAPM said.
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