Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Thiruvananthapuram
Visakhapatnam
Gandhism - cure for economy's ills
In these modern times people practising Gandhian values are hard to find. And amongst those few is Kolluri Satyanarayana Sastry, popularly known as K.S. Sastry, the founder of the Gandhi Centre.
Born at Peddapuram of East Godavari district in November 1922, Sastry had his schooling at Rajahmundry and college education at Vizianagaram. His father, Brahmaji Rama Sarma, belonged to a patriotic family. As a child, Sastry drew inspiration from great freedom-fighters and national leaders. He plunged into the freedom struggle as duck takes to water, at a very early age. His involvement in the freedom struggle enabled him to interact with stalwarts like Bulusu Sambamurthy, Durgabai Deshmukh, Duvvuri Subbamma and others leading the freedom movement in East Godavari.
He was associated deeply with the activities in the movement and imprisoned for four months at Allipur Camp near Bellary during Quit-India movement. Soon after his return from jail, he formed National Students Union in January 1944. And it resulted in police raids on his house when the union was banned. In April 1944 he formed the local chapter of the State Students Congress. Like many a youth, he liked Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose more than Mahatma Gandhi. However, he gradually drew nearer to Gandhiji's non-violence. Though a staunch Congressman, Sastry was deeply influenced by Marxism and turned a Socialist in Congress. However, after Independence he parted with Congress for a while only to return to it. Though he was attracted by Jayaprakash Narayan's Socialist movement, he remained a Socialist even within the Congress.
As a Socialist, trade union activity was an important facet of his personality. He served as general secretary of the All-India NMDC Workers Federation for 14 years. And his involvement in Bobbili Seethanagaram Sugar Factory issue drove him closer to the rural masses. He staged a hunger-strike for 14 days and ensured that the sugar factory was taken over by the Nizam Sugars under the State Government, preventing it from falling into private hands.
That marked a new chapter in Sastry's life leading to the formation of the Gandhi Centre in June 1985. The centre works for poverty alleviation, organises symposia, workshops and seminars on concepts like Gram Swaraj and communal harmony. It also helps the lower strata of society and is involved in spreading literacy through formal and non-formal educational techniques.
The centre also runs a library at Ba-Bapu Bhavan in Dwarakanagar with a large collection of books running into hundreds, covering the various aspects of Gandhiji's life and philosophy. It works for the self-reliance of Indian economy on Gandhian lines and is averse to spread of multinationals. Pamphlets, highlighting the evil effects of multinationals on society, are regularly published by Mr. Sastry, whose message to the youth is: "Gandhian philosophy is the only answer for all the ills of contemporary world. Be a Gandhian and do India proud in the comity of nations."
PUSHPA BHARGAVA
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Thiruvananthapuram
Visakhapatnam
|
