NEW DELHI: Lieutenant-Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu inaugurated the Sadbhavana Sammelan at the Gandhi Ashram of the Harijan Sevak Sangh at Kingsway Camp. Recalling the Sangh’s founding in 1932 through the efforts of Mahatma Gandhi, Sandhu said Gandhi believed freedom and Swaraj meant treating every individual with dignity and rights. He underlined that India’s freedom struggle was accompanied by a struggle for social unity, equality and brotherhood.
The L-G recalled that Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya had presided over the meeting in Bombay at which the Harijan Sevak Sangh was established, following the signing of the Poona Pact between Malaviya and Dr BR Ambedkar. He said Gandhi, Malaviya and Ambedkar worked to ensure that political freedom was accompanied by equality and dignity.
Sandhu recalled the life of his grandfather, Sardar Teja Singh Samundri, a leader of the Gurdwara Reform Movement whose work extended into social welfare, education and the fight against caste barriers.
He recalled that when his grandfather learnt Dalits were not allowed to draw water from a common well, he led them there, asked them to draw water and drank it first. He also recalled his grandfather’s role in the Guru Ka Bagh Morcha, where he attained martyrdom on July 17, 1926, in Lahore Central Jail at 43.
Sandhu said the struggle for a better India could not be separated from social harmony and dignity. Quoting PM Narendra Modi’s call to build “an India rooted in justice, harmony and service to humanity”, he said the youth had the important role in carrying these values forward.