Haryana: Seva Dal, 101, is getting a new lease of life

The post-dawn meeting at HUDA (Haryana Urban Development Authority) park in Rohtak drew around 50 members of the Congress Seva Dal, both men and women, dressed in white. White shirts, trousers, suits, saris and shoes topped with white Gandhi caps, some with the image of Mahatma Gandhi on them. The Seva Dal’s Sunday Ravi Milan meetings invariably start with the hoisting of the tricolour, followed by singing some of Gandhi’s favourite bhajans and kirtans.

Preliminaries over, discussions are initiated on current issues of concern. At the meeting on 27 April, the women wanted to speak on rising prices, free LPG cylinders and growing unemployment among the youth. Curious onlookers, out on their morning walk, often stopped to listen. One of them nodded approvingly after some time and said, “These people are different.”

Similar Ravi Milan gatherings were held at 180 different places on the same day, said Poonam Chauhan, president of the Haryana Mahila Congress. Are these meetings similar to RSS shakhas? Chauhan looked hurt while responding, “In our gatherings, we talk about nation-building, the challenges to the nation and history of this country, and our freedom struggle through the history of the Congress.”

RSS meetings are possibly more ‘political’, she said before adding, “Woh dande se todenge/ Hum tirange se jodenge (they break with their lathis, we bind with the tricolour).

Ravi Milans have evolved with time, says Amit Sarthi, a long-time trainer of the Seva Dal. In recent months, discussions have been held on the misuse of Central agencies by the Union government, the shrinking democratic space, and the plight of ordinary citizens, he recalled. A gifted singer, Sarthi says he marched with Kanhaiya Kumar in Bihar during the recent ‘Palayan Roko, Naukri Do’ Yatra. He was also part of the Bharat Jodo Yatra and Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra.

The oldest participant at this Ravi Milan is Sunita Maun. In her 60s and affectionately called rashtriya bua (aunty of the nation) by other participants, she has been with the Seva Dal for over 40 years and is a pillar of the organisation in Haryana.

Not very long ago, the Congress Seva Dal appeared to have gone missing from everywhere except party offices. The public at large expected the Seva Dal to provide relief in times of distress but during the pandemic, it was the Youth Congress which did the heavy lifting, ferrying patients to hospitals, carrying oxygen cylinders to the needy, and responding to distress calls.

However, if the experience at HUDA park is any indication, the Seva Dal seems to be bouncing back from obscurity. Quietly but surely, it is rebuilding itself. Founded in 1924, a year before the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Hindustani Seva Mandal — later renamed Hindustani Seva Dal — is undergoing a significant transformation.

Long viewed as a passive arm of the Congress , the Seva Dal is now striving to reassert an independent identity. This shift began in earnest in 2018 when Lalji Desai — an activist with deep roots in advocacy and grassroots mobilisation — was appointed to head it.

For much of its 101-year history, the Seva Dal, founded by Dr Narayan Subbarao Hardikar, a renowned freedom fighter from Karnataka, was seen as a body with a glorious past, relegated in recent decades to providing manpower at party events and offering assistance to Congress leaders.

But that is changing rapidly, say members. Under Desai’s leadership, the organisation has put an end to the practice of its members serving politicians in personal capacities. “Seva,” Desai emphasises, “is not servitude. It is service to the nation, to the people — not to individuals in power.”

Desai also took steps to improve communication and coordination. Until 2018, the Seva Dal had virtually no digital presence. Today, it operates active social media accounts across India. The digital push has not only given the organisation a voice but also expanded its visibility across states like Haryana, Karnataka, Rajasthan and in the North-East.

The weekly Ravi Milan programme has been a great hit, they claim. Besides, a youth brigade within the Seva Dal and a Bal Seva Dal have also been set up or revived.

When Hardikar first conceived the idea of a disciplined, militia-style volunteer force to support the freedom movement, he faced resistance from the party. Many senior Congress leaders feared that a parallel organisation with a militant orientation might derail the non-violent struggle and end up challenging the party’s authority and values.

The crisis was resolved when Jawaharlal Nehru stepped in and took charge as the Seva Dal’s first chief. Hardikar, trained in public health in the US, found an unwavering ally in Nehru. Their shared worldview helped cement the ideological foundations of the Seva Dal.

Years later, in 1948, when the West Bengal government banned the organisation, it was Nehru who intervened and had the ban lifted. Before formally entering active politics, Indira Gandhi, too, was an active member of the organisation. When the Janata Party government withdrew her official security in 1977, it was Seva Dal volunteers who guarded her.

During the turbulent period of Operation Blue Star, Seva Dal members risked their lives to ensure that the Congress party retained a foothold in militancy-hit Punjab. Former PM Rajiv Gandhi, too, maintained regular contact with the Seva Dal.

The women’s wing of the Seva Dal was founded by Umabai Kundapur, a pioneering figure who believed in empowering women through discipline and political training. Her work so alarmed the British that they banned it in 1932.

Some Seva Dal members feel the failure of the Congress to integrate the volunteers into the power structure is to be blamed for its slide into oblivion. Unlike RSS cadres, who are rewarded with political or institutional roles, Seva Dal volunteers have rarely been given recognition or responsibility. The only exception they cite is Ashok Gehlot, who rose through the ranks of the Seva Dal to become chief minister of Rajasthan.

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Jalebis, jalebas and paranthas

The jalebas of Gohana, as opposed to the substantially smaller and less weighty jalebis, hogged headlines during the 2024 assembly election campaign, recall Haryanvis. Rahul Gandhi held up a box of jalebas and wondered why the speciality of Matu Ram Halwai cannot be branded, promoted and even exported.

The BJP’s IT cell pounced upon the statement, mocked the Congress leader for not knowing that jalebis are best served hot and crisp. Haryanvis, proud of their jalebis and Matu Ram’s jalebas, demurred. The shelf life of jalebas was longer. It lasts several days, served with curd in summer and hot milk in winter. If rosogollas and pedas could be tinned and exported, why not jalebas, they wondered. Clearly, the Haryanvis take their jalebas and paranthas seriously, and size is of the essence.