10 key facts about Dattopant Thengadi ji 'the Messiah of farmers', every Hindu must know-

"With the death of Dattopantji we all have become orphans. He was a messiah of poor and farmer", Ashok Singhal, the International Working President of Vishva Hindu Parishad had said when he heard of Dattopant Thengadi's death on October 14, 2004. Dattopant Bapurao Thengadi was an Indian Hindu Ideologue, trade union leader and founder of the Swadeshi Jagaran Manch, Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh and the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh.

 

He is one of the foremost ideologues of Swadeshi economics. Thengadi was a full-time Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh pracharak until his death on 14 October 2004. The kind of impact he left on the social and economic life of India was unique, and set the tone for generations to come. Here are 10 facts about his life that every Hindu must know-

 

1. Dattopant Thengadi was born in the village of Arvi (Wardha, Maharashtra) on Deepawali, 10 November 1920. He studied law at Law College in Nagpur and finished his post-graduation from Morris College and LLB from Law College in Nagpur. He was a lawyer as well as a philosopher, and displayed an early talent for administration.

 

2. He has been one of the foremost advocates of Some of the hallmark qualities of his lifestyle are- simple living, in-depth study, deep thinking, clarity of thought, courage of the conviction and missionary zeal for the goal. He was awarded with Padma Bhushan, but he refused to accept it.

 

 

3. He actively took part in India's Freedom Movement and was a member of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA) from 1936-38. He became a full-time Pracharak in 1942 and worked as organizing secretary of the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) from 1950–51. He was also associated with the Postal & Railway Workers Union (Communist Party). Later, he became the organising secretary of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh for Madhya Pradesh (1952-53) and south India (1956-57).

 

4. Thengadi founded, nurtured and energized some of the well-known organizations of today- Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh[8] (1955), Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (1979), Swadeshi Jagran Manch (1991), Samajik Samarasata Manch, Sarva- panth Samadar Manch and Paryavaran Manch; also a founder member of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, Akhil Bharatiya Adhivakta Parishad, Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat and Bharatiya Vichara Kendra.

 

 

 

5. He was the member of the Rajya Sabha from Bharatiya Jana Sangh for two terms during 1964-76, also served as its vice-chairman in 1968-70, always left his indelible imprints on all the tasks he handled as parliamentarian. Thengadi showed his leadership capabilities by organizing the anti-Emergency movement in 1975, by way bringing together various political streams.

 

6. A widely traveled man, within India he practically travelled almost every district place in the country if not taluka and village. He also visited foreign shores, which includes- Soviet Union and Hungary as member of a parliamentary delegation (1969), Geneva, Switzerland to attend Second International Anti-Apartheid Conference at Geneva (1979).

 

7. He was invited in USA, Canada, Britain and Yugoslavia in 1979 to study the impact of liberalization on trade union movement. His conviction also took him to, China, Jakarta, Bangladesh, Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, on various occasions.

 

 

8. An erudite orator, expert in the social, economic and political issues, his soft but forcefully presentations of the issues always kept the audience spellbound. Disenchanted with both the western models of development, namely, Capitalism and Socialism, he propounded the ‘Third Way’ of socio-economic development based on the ideology of ‘Sanatan Dharma’.

 

9. He authored many books which grew not only from his ideological conviction but also from his first hand experience, some of his widely read and referred works are- The Third Way; Modernization Without Westernization; What Sustains Sangh?, Our National Renaissance, It's Directions and Destination; Nationalist Pursuit; The great sentinel and The Perspective.

 

10. Dattopant Thengadi died on 14 October 2004 due to Brain Hemorrhage via Mahanirvaan. Great personalities of India like Atal Bihari Vajpayee, L K Advani, Ashok Singhal and world paid him rich tributes.

.

.