Swami Omanand Sarswati
Encyclopedia
Swami Omanand Saraswati (1910–March 23, 2003) was a freedom fighter, educator, historian
and a social worker from Haryana
in India
. He was born in March 1910 in Narela
near Delhi
. He was the only son of his father, Chaudhari Kanak Singh, a Khatri
clan
Jat. He was a zamindar
and numberdar of villages Pana, Mamoorpura, and Narela owning 350 bighas of land. He died at Jaipur Golden Hospital, Delhi
on Sunday 23 March 2003 at the age of 93.
in Musaddi Lal High School. He received his higher education from St. Stephen's College, Delhi
. After the sacrifice of Shahid Bhagat Singh, he left his B.A. midway and joined the Indian freedom struggle. He studied Vedas and Puranas at Gurukul Dayanand Ved Vidyalaya Delhi
, Gurukul Chittor and Gurukul Pothodar, Rawalpindi
. He knew 19 languages including Hindi
, Urdu
and Punjabi
, as well as ancient languages like Sanskrit
, and Pali
.
. Swami Omanand left his higher education incomplete and joined the Indian freedom movement. Swami Omanand was sent to jail in 1939 for taking part in Nizam Hyderabad
Satyagrah. He went to jail many times during the freedom struggle.
. He was named Brahmchari Bhagwan Dev in 1939. He performed hard self-mortification and left the use of salt, sweets, spices etc. He started wearing clothes made of khadi
only. He sacrificed almost everything for the betterment of the rural Jats. He had his own values and principles and always lived by them.
and Mukhya Adhishthata of Gurukul Jhajjar
on the occasion of Diwali
on a special request of the Arya Samaj
. He had started and managed 55 Gurukuls in Haryana
and all over India. In 1947, he did great service to the refugees who came from Pakistan
on the division of India. He was always at the service of human kind during famine
s, flood
s, earthquake
s etc. He started the cancer
hospital at Jhajjar and started the practice of giving away free medicines to all.
Swami Omanand struggled a lot for the eradication of social evils like dowry, intoxication and extravaganza on social occasions etc. He believed that social evils could be eliminated through the democratic Panchayat System. He started many social movements like "Nasha Mukti Andolan", "Goraksha Andolan", Anti-dowry Movement & "Sudhi Andolan". He visited a number of countries in Europe
to spread Vedic education. He was engaged in a number of social organizations and held positions such as Chief of Arya Pratinidhi Sabha Haryana, Advisor of All India History Council, Vice Chancellor of Gurukul Jhajjar University, member of the senate of Maharishi Dayanand University Rohtak and Gurukul Kangra University etc. He was the president of World Arya Samaj
Propkarini Sabha, Ajmer
. He was the founder of Kanya Gurukul, Narela and donated his 70 acres (283,280.2 m²) of land at village Narela to the Kanya Gurukul. Around 1983 he began building a museum outside the Gurukul. He also founded the Jhajjar Gurukul University. There are many books that he wrote on the topic of Jats and one can find these in the Gurukul's library.
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
and a social worker from Haryana
Haryana
Haryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south...
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. He was born in March 1910 in Narela
Narela
Narela sub-city is a tehsil, located in the North West Delhi district of NCT of Delhi, and forms the border of the Delhi state with Haryana. Situated just off the Grand Trunk Road, its location made it an important market town for the surrounding areas, during 19th century, which it still retains...
near Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
. He was the only son of his father, Chaudhari Kanak Singh, a Khatri
Khatri
Khatri is a caste from the northern Indian subcontinent. Khatris in India are mostly from Punjab, region but later they migrated to regions like Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Jammu, Uttarkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Balochistan, Sindh and Khyber...
clan
Clan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clan members may be organized around a founding member or apical ancestor. The kinship-based bonds may be symbolical, whereby the clan shares a "stipulated" common ancestor that is a...
Jat. He was a zamindar
Zamindar
A Zamindar or zemindar , was an aristocrat, typically hereditary, who held enormous tracts of land and ruled over and taxed the bhikaaris who lived on batavaslam. Over time, they took princely and royal titles such as Maharaja , Raja , Nawab , and Mirza , Chowdhury , among others...
and numberdar of villages Pana, Mamoorpura, and Narela owning 350 bighas of land. He died at Jaipur Golden Hospital, Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
on Sunday 23 March 2003 at the age of 93.
Education
Born as Bhagwan Singh, Swami Omanand got his primary education in his village NarelaNarela
Narela sub-city is a tehsil, located in the North West Delhi district of NCT of Delhi, and forms the border of the Delhi state with Haryana. Situated just off the Grand Trunk Road, its location made it an important market town for the surrounding areas, during 19th century, which it still retains...
in Musaddi Lal High School. He received his higher education from St. Stephen's College, Delhi
St. Stephen's College, Delhi
St. Stephen's College is a constituent college of the University of Delhi located in Delhi, India. The college admits both undergraduates and post-graduates, and awards degrees under the purview of the University. Famous for its rich history and many traditions, St...
. After the sacrifice of Shahid Bhagat Singh, he left his B.A. midway and joined the Indian freedom struggle. He studied Vedas and Puranas at Gurukul Dayanand Ved Vidyalaya Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
, Gurukul Chittor and Gurukul Pothodar, Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi , locally known as Pindi, is a city in the Pothohar region of Pakistan near Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad, in the province of Punjab. Rawalpindi is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad...
. He knew 19 languages including Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
, Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
and Punjabi
Punjabi language
Punjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region . For Sikhs, the Punjabi language stands as the official language in which all ceremonies take place. In Pakistan, Punjabi is the most widely spoken language...
, as well as ancient languages like Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
, and Pali
Páli
- External links :* *...
.
Freedom Movement
The parents of Swami Omanand wanted him to finish his college education and get married. They wanted to see him settled down as a rich Jat landlord. But this young boy was inspired by freedom fighters Shahid Bhagat Singh and Sir Chhotu RamChhotu Ram
Rao Bahadur Sir Chhotu Ram was one of the most prominent pre-partition politicians in Punjab and an ideologue of the Jat peasantry and a champion of its interests. Sir Chottu Ram was the first Stephanian to be knighted in 1937...
. Swami Omanand left his higher education incomplete and joined the Indian freedom movement. Swami Omanand was sent to jail in 1939 for taking part in Nizam Hyderabad
Hyderabad State
-After Indian independence :When India gained independence in 1947 and Pakistan came into existence in 1947, the British left the local rulers of the princely states the choice of whether to join one of the new dominions or to remain independent...
Satyagrah. He went to jail many times during the freedom struggle.
Consecrated in Brahmcharya
Swami Omanand’s real name was Bhagwan Singh. He decided not to marry and got consecrated in the principles of BrahmacharyaBrahmacharya
Brahmacharya is one of the four stages of life in an age-based social system as laid out in the Manu Smrti and later Classical Sanskrit texts in Hinduism. It refers to an educational period of 14–20 years which starts before the age of puberty. During this time the traditional vedic sciences are...
. He was named Brahmchari Bhagwan Dev in 1939. He performed hard self-mortification and left the use of salt, sweets, spices etc. He started wearing clothes made of khadi
Khadi
The term khādī or khaddar means cotton. khādī is Indian handspun and hand-woven cloth. The raw materials may be cotton, silk, or wool, which are spun into threads on a spinning wheel called a charkha. It is a versatile fabric, cool in the summer and warm in the winter...
only. He sacrificed almost everything for the betterment of the rural Jats. He had his own values and principles and always lived by them.
Social Service
Swami Omanand left home in 1942 and accepted the post of AcharyaAcharya
In Indian religions and society, an acharya is a guide or instructor in religious matters; founder, or leader of a sect; or a highly learned man or a title affixed to the names of learned men...
and Mukhya Adhishthata of Gurukul Jhajjar
Jhajjar
Jhajjar is a town in Jhajjar district in the Indian state of Haryana.-Geography:Jhajjar is located at . It has an average elevation of 220 metres .-Demographics:...
on the occasion of Diwali
Diwali
Diwali or DeepavaliThe name of the festival in various regional languages include:, , , , , , , , , , , , , popularly known as the "festival of lights," is a festival celebrated between mid-October and mid-December for different reasons...
on a special request of the Arya Samaj
Arya Samaj
Arya Samaj is a Hindu reform movement founded by Swami Dayananda on 10 April 1875. He was a sannyasi who believed in the infallible authority of the Vedas. Dayananda emphasized the ideals of brahmacharya...
. He had started and managed 55 Gurukuls in Haryana
Haryana
Haryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south...
and all over India. In 1947, he did great service to the refugees who came from Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
on the division of India. He was always at the service of human kind during famine
Famine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including crop failure, overpopulation, or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompanied or followed by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased mortality. Every continent in the world has...
s, flood
Flood
A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...
s, earthquake
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
s etc. He started the cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
hospital at Jhajjar and started the practice of giving away free medicines to all.
Swami Omanand struggled a lot for the eradication of social evils like dowry, intoxication and extravaganza on social occasions etc. He believed that social evils could be eliminated through the democratic Panchayat System. He started many social movements like "Nasha Mukti Andolan", "Goraksha Andolan", Anti-dowry Movement & "Sudhi Andolan". He visited a number of countries in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
to spread Vedic education. He was engaged in a number of social organizations and held positions such as Chief of Arya Pratinidhi Sabha Haryana, Advisor of All India History Council, Vice Chancellor of Gurukul Jhajjar University, member of the senate of Maharishi Dayanand University Rohtak and Gurukul Kangra University etc. He was the president of World Arya Samaj
Arya Samaj
Arya Samaj is a Hindu reform movement founded by Swami Dayananda on 10 April 1875. He was a sannyasi who believed in the infallible authority of the Vedas. Dayananda emphasized the ideals of brahmacharya...
Propkarini Sabha, Ajmer
Ajmer
Ajmer , formerly written as Ajmere, is a city in Ajmer District in Rajasthan state in India. Ajmer has a population of around 800,000 , and is located west of the Rajasthan state capital Jaipur, 200 km from Jodhpur, 274 km from Udaipur, 439 km from Jaisalmer, and 391 km from...
. He was the founder of Kanya Gurukul, Narela and donated his 70 acres (283,280.2 m²) of land at village Narela to the Kanya Gurukul. Around 1983 he began building a museum outside the Gurukul. He also founded the Jhajjar Gurukul University. There are many books that he wrote on the topic of Jats and one can find these in the Gurukul's library.
Awards
Swami Omanand was awarded Rashtriya Pandit by the government of India and Sanskrit Pundit by the Haryana government for the services rendered by him. He was also awarded Vidyamartand by Gurukul Kangri, Haridwar.Authorship
He has written many books on history. The important books written by him are:- Haryana ke Vir Yodha
- Bharat ki Prachin Mudrayen.
- Balidan.
External links
- http://jhajjar.in/gurukul.htm
- http://www.jatworld.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=136