The All India mega meeting of Swadeshi Jagran Manch and Swavalambi Bharat Abhiyan, focused on the broader idea of youth, entrepreneurship and Swadeshi, was held on 23, 24 & 25 December at Vivekananda Center, Kanyakumari. 274 karyakarta of prant level and above from 42 prants of the country participated in the meeting, in which the number of female participants was 48. This three-day meeting was conducted in 13 sessions.
After the meeting, 40 full-time karyakarta from 25 prants were present in this two-day full-time training meeting and they pledged to take active participation in nation building at the Swami Vivekananda Rock Memorial.
1. Inaugural Session (23/12/2023)
In the inaugural session, special guidance was received from former Sah-Sarkaryavaha and present national executive member, Man. Shri Bhagaiya ji. Special presence of Vivekananda Kendra pramukh Shri Balkrishna ji and General Secretary Shri Bhanudas ji and Chairperson of Zoho Corporation and patron of SBA Sh. Shridhar Vembu was also received in this session. On stage All India convenor of Swadeshi Jagran Manch Sh. R. Sundaram, National Organizer Sh. Kashmiri Lal, National Co-convenor of SJM and coordinator of SBA Prof. Bhagwati Prakash Sharma, National Co-covenor of SJM Dr. Dhanpat Ram Aggarwal, Dr. Ashwini Mahajan, Sh. Ajay Patki and Mahila Pramukh Smt. Amita Patki were present.
Prof. Bhagwati Prakash Sharma gave detailed information about the SBA. It’s first national workshop was held in Delhi on January 2022 in which karyakarta from various organizations participated. At present, 400 Rojgar Srijan Kendras in which 152 full-time karyakarta of Swavalambi Bharat Abhiyan are working across the country. Presently there is a central group of 94 karyakartas which include representatives of different organizations.
While guiding the Karyakartas, National Organizer Sh. Kashmiri Lal said that Swadeshi Week and Babu Gainu Martyrdom Day were observed on a large scale in the entire country, which should be followed in the coming years also. Distribution of leaflets containing information about local/desi, foreign and local goods is a mandatory task. Swadeshi fairs should be organized at various places. The work on the building of the Swadeshi Research Institute is in the final stages and additional work will also be completed and inaugurated by April 9, Pratipada. Karyakartas should know about the economy of their prant, only then we will be able to work properly at the prant and district levels.
Sh. Shridhar Vambu expressed his views on district based economy. He said that the economic model established by China is gaining its place in the world. This model, by giving employment to the youth for just 5-7 years of 18-20 thousand rupees, changes their entire outlook towards life into detachment from the society, making them lonely, which is never helpful in the upliftment of any nation. He gave the example of 35,000 women hired as employees by a foreign company in a district of Tamilnadu. As a result of working in this foreign company, life values, social values, cultural values, family values are changing and birth rate is decreasing. In South Korea it has come down to 0.7. We have to change such economic development model.
Man. Bhagaiya ji in his inspirational address described Swadeshi as the vision and way of life. The first task of Swadeshi Jagran Manch is to spread the concept of Swadeshi to the people. There is a need to present the path towards Swadeshi and self-reliance among the youth. He gave an example of earning Rs. 20,000 per month by rearing a cow. He talked about mental and social upliftment of the Karyakartas of Swadeshi Jagran Manch and the need to connect new Karyakartas and their training.
The subject of Swadeshi is very important in Panch Pravah, which needs to be implemented in life. The welfare of the world lies in the spirit of Swadeshi.
Sh. R. Sundaram said that this place of Kanyakumari is very energetic. He explained the importance of Vivekananda Center and also expressed confidence that the Karyakartas will get a new energy through the meeting organized at this place.
The book Bharat@2047 written by National Co-organizer Sh. Satish Kumar was also released by the dignitaries present on the stage. The session was conducted by national Co-Convenor Sh. Ajay Patki.
Session-2
In this session, a summary of the works (Vrit) completed in the last year according to 6 regions (South Region, South Central Region, West Region, Central Region, Rajasthan Region, North Region) was presented by the Regional Coordinators.
Dr. Rajeev Sijariya, representative of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, gave information about the entrepreneurship promotion conferences organized by Vidyarthi Parishad across the country. The session was conducted by Akhil Bharatiya Sangharsh Vahini Chief Sh. Ananda Shankar Panigrahi.
Session-3
In this session, the minutes (Vrit) of the remaining 5 regions including Western Uttar Pradesh, Eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar-Jharkhand, Eastern (Orissa, Bengal) and North Eastern were presented by the regional coordinators.
National Organizer of Sahakar Bharti, Sh. Sanjay Pachpor, while throwing light on the subject of self-employment through cooperation, said that projects have been set up with the help of Sahakar Bharti taking strawberry farming as an example. In Andhra Pradesh, consumer stores are being run by women at tehsil level. Examples of forming IT cooperative society at All India level and manufacturing of toothpaste and Lijjat papad by women through SHG in Uttar Pradesh were also given.
Dr. Ashwani Mahajan said that the objective of establishing SJM was to save the country from foreign conspiracies through WTO agreements. A narrative was created by Swadeshi Jagran Manch that we will not accept WTO agreements and will not allow wrongs to be done to the public. A movement was made for the agreement, the result of which was that the Indian government refused to accept the patent despite foreign pressure.
He said that efforts were made by foreign powers to tarnish the image of India as if India is an underdeveloped country with poverty and hunger. But currently this misleading propaganda is being changed. He said that increasing GDP cannot mean development of any country.
Sh. Ashish Pandit, representative of De Aasra Foundation, which is supporting the SBA, said that this foundation has so far supported 2,75,000 entrepreneurs. He clarified about the future action plan in collaboration with the abhiyan. The session was moderated by Prof. Raj Kumar Mittal.
Session-4
This session was conducted region wise and in groups. All the 11 regions were divided into five groups and three subjects were taken for discussion. 1. India @ 2047, 2. Swadeshi Fairs, 3. Youth Entrepreneurship Rallies on12th January. All 11 regions discussed the topics and made their own action plans.
Session-5
This session was conducted region wise in which all prants, in the presence of national level officers, held meetings and discussed the following points: 1. Full-time Karyakarta, 2. Organizational expansion, 3. Pravas yojna.
Session-6 (24/12/2023)
The topic of this session was SBA and its working. In the session, Sh. Satish Kumar said that the first formula for taking the country on the path of development and making it Swavlambi was given by the visionary Dattopant ji Thengadi at the time of the establishment of Swadeshi Jagran Manch.
Today the slogan of “Nation First Swadeshi Must” is a direct extension of the basic spirit of Swadeshi through the SBA.
The country can be made employment-rich, poverty-free and prosperous through the fourfold path of Swadeshi, cooperation, entrepreneurship and decentralization. For this, we need to work with sensitivity, determination for awakening of emotions and change in mentality of society and youth.
Naturally, we have “sanskar – purity of purpose – practicality of purpose – determination” which will help in achieving our goals.
This session was also conducted on questions and answers mode. The session was conducted by Akhil Bhartiya Sah-Vyavastha Pramukh Sh. Deepak Sharma ‘Pradeep’.
Session-7
In this session, All India Co-Convenor Dr. Dhanpat Ram Aggarwal, in his presentation, said that at present India is the fifth largest economy in the world in terms of GDP. We should move forward keeping in mind two things, first is the environment and second is the material wealth. At present, India’s working population is the highest in the world, but to become a prosperous nation, we will have to move forward in technology and do new research and inventions.
Giving information about MySBA, the digital form of Swavalambi Bharat Abhiyan, Sh. Hardik Somani said that through MySBA platform, both job seekers and job providers can easily register themselves, and get information about employment generation opportunities. The campaign to make SBA volunteers is to be started from January 12, a target has been set to make minimum 1000 volunteers in each district.
Sh. Jwala Prasad (National Executive Member of Vidya Bharti) told that Vidya Bharti is the only non-government organization in India through which 28,000 schools are run across the country. He also mentioned how the campaign is being given impetus by Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti and Vidya Bharati. Employment and entrepreneurship programs are also conducted for the youth in these Vidya Mandirs.
Dr. Dharmendra Dubey (Akhil Bhartiya Prachar Pramukh) discussed about the publicity system that there should be minimum five Karyakartas in the publicity team at the state level and minimum three Karyakartas at the district level platforms and campaigns to spread organizational publicity through social media accounts. He asked to follow the accounts and increase its followers. There is an account in the name of MySBA and Join Swadeshi on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Swadeshi Yoddha on X (Twitter).
Subscription campaign for Swadeshi Patrika and digital subscription campaign will also be organized with a subscription fee of Rs.50 for its digital format.
Dr. Ashwini Mahajan said that Anti-national forces are raising their heads within the country, which can be weakened through propaganda and our view point can be put forward strongly. We should include like-minded intellectuals in the organization. The session was conducted by Akhil Bhartiya Sampark Pramukh Dr. Rajkumar Chaturvedi.
Session-8
Giving information on finance related issues, Sh. Satish Chawla (Akhil Bhartiya Vitta Pramukh) said that the money collection campaign was started on June 1, 2023. Its specialty is that it is completely cashless and paperless enterprise. There will be a need for funds for direct and successful operation of the campaign up to the district level, which can be simplified only by collecting funds through Karyakartas.
We can take contribution in all three ways: CSR, institutional and personal. From the money collected, 85% will be shared by the district, 10% by the Prant and 5% by the Centre. This year the fund collection campaign will be done in the month of April.
Prof. Pradeep Chauhan (JNU) discussed about the work progress of the Swadeshi Shodh Sansthan, under construction, New Delhi.
Sh. Ravi Kavi through a documentary discussed regarding the Entrepreneur Championship award which is going to be organized in the first week of March at Bharat Mandapam, Pragati Maidan, Delhi. After this, the idea was put before everyone that the Entrepreneurship Award scheme should be implemented in all the prants and districts.
Akhil Bhartiya Sah-Vyavastha Pramukh Sh. Deepak Sharma ‘Pradeep’ gave information about the assets while Central Office Pramukh Shri Laxman Bhavsiganka gave information about the Central office in Delhi. The session was conducted by Dr. S. Ligamurthy.
Session- 9
In this session, Shri Shashank Mani Tripathi ji, who runs Jagrati Udyam Center and Yuva Jagrati Yatra in Deoria, Uttar Pradesh, stressed on providing adequate information to the youth regarding entrepreneurship. The prevalence of National Entrepreneurship Service will have to be increased so that the young generation can get adequate information and guidance and the qualities of becoming entrepreneurs can be developed in their minds.
Sh. Surendran, Sangathan Mantri, Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh told that Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh is the largest trade union with 2 crore members and after the Corona epidemic, the importance of livelihood has been understood by the people. He said that he is continuously making efforts to protect the interests of the Karyakartas of government, non-government, organized and unorganized sectors. The session was conducted by Dr. Sunita Bharatwal.
Session- 10
In this session, based on the theme of making Bharat Samridh and Rojgaryukt, representatives of various organizations were connected through the online mode and discussions were held on employment generation activities in their organizations which included Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Seva Bharti, Grahak Panchayat, Sahakar Bharti, Kisan Sangh, Vanvasi. Kalyan Ashram, Vidya Bharti, Hindu Jagran Manch, Saksham, Environmental Activities, Bharatiya Shikshan Mandal, Gayatri Parivar, Vakrangi Group, IID etc.
Sh. R. Sundaram, Sh. Surendran, Prof. Bhagwati Prakash and Sh. Shyam Manohar were present on the stage. Dr. Bhagwati Prakash Sharma threw light on the topic. The session was conducted by the co-coordinator of the Abhiyan, Sh. Jitendra Gupta.
Session- 11 (25/12/2023)
In this session, the upcoming calendar of women’s work and campaign was discussed. Smt. Archana Meena (Akhil Bhartiya Mahila Co-Coordinator) under the SBA, informed on the topic of maximum participation of women in the campaign from center to district level, system coordination, full use of digital platforms.
Smt. Amita Patki said that the mentality and economic condition of every family is different, hence we have to decide with our creativity how to extend Swadeshi to the families. He guided the Karyakartas on this subject through effective examples.
Dr. Rajeev Kumar (Akhil Bhartiya Co-Coordinator) presented the annual calendar of programs for the coming year 2024 (January to December) in detail before everyone. The session was conducted by Dr. Pratibha Chaturvedi.
Session-12
Prof. Rajkumar Mittal effectively presented the topic “Brain Drain – Brain Gain” before everyone on how Indians who are abroad should use their contacts/experiences/means to be useful to India when they come back to India.
Dr. S. Lingamurthy (Kshetriya Samanvayak) discussed about the temple based economy “the root of happiness is religion and the basic meaning of religion”. Till 1500, 21,000 festivals were celebrated in India and every person got employment through festivals only. Example – Ganesh Utsav of Mumbai and Hyderabad, Durga Utsav of Bengal etc. Identify such places in the country and make proper plans for employment generation there.
Sh. Kashmiri Lal discussed in detail about the organizational issues and building of Karyakartas. A Karyakarta is not born, he has to be developed and nurtured. He presented his views with examples on four issues – Karyakarta, programme, funds, Karyalaya. He asked to make the Rojgar Srijan Kendras as the offices of Swadeshi and also disussed the five tasks to be done by the Karyakartas. The session was conducted by Dr. Dharmendra Dubey.
Closing session
Sh. Bhanudas (General Secretary, Vivekananda Kendra) presented the detailed history of Vivekananda Rock Memorial and Vivekananda Kendra.
Sh. Satish Kumar while throwing light on the topic of lifestyle-entrepreneurship of Indian youth said that the coming time belongs to Bharat. In the coming days, entrepreneurship is going to become the lifestyle of the youth of Bharat. No one can stop that idea, whose time has come.
Sh. Kashmiri Lal on behalf of National Convener Sh. R. Sundaram announced new responsibilities.
In the end, Sh. R. Sundaram thanked all the guests, officers and Karyakartas by encouraging them and calling upon them to expand their work at their places with new energy and determination from Kanyakumari. The session was conducted by Dr. Rajeev Kumar. At last the meeting ended with Kalyan Mantra.
