Dr. Keshav Baliram Hedgewar was born in Nagpur, but his surname ‘Hedgewar’ is not from Maharashtra. Decades before his birth, his grandfather Narhari Shastri had settled in Nagpur. His ancestral village was Kandakurthi, which is on the border of Maharashtra in Telangana. Most of the people in the village speak Telugu. Marathi and Kannada are also spoken. From this village in Telangana, Godavari river enters the state and it is here that two more rivers meet it, Haridra and Manjari. This Sangam village falls in Bodhan taluk (tehsil) of Nizamabad district. Being a Sangam village, it is also mentioned in ancient texts.
There were many families of Brahmins in this village and the family of Deshastha Brahmin Hedgewar was prominent, because the whole family was active in studying Vedas, that was their livelihood. An appointment letter is also found in the records of the Hedgewar family, which tells that once Shankaracharya (religious descendant of Adi Shankaracharya) had come here and appointed him as his representative for the protection and propagation of Hinduism. Perhaps since then, the opinion of his family was taken in the surrounding area regarding Sanatan, Vedas and Puranas etc.
Nana Palkar also writes in Hedgewar Charita that his family members were also fond of wrestling, hence most of them were strong. During the rule of Nizam, atrocities on Hindus gradually started increasing. In such a situation, the migration of Hindus from border areas to nearby states gradually started increasing. Hedgewar’s grandfather also came to Nagpur with the entire family. Even then Shivaji Bhonsle’s family had an empire there, even though it came under British control after 1853. Today Kandakurthi village has 65 percent Muslims and about 35 percent Hindus. It is a different matter that since it is the ancestral home of Dr. Hedgewar, volunteers from all over the country keep coming there like a pilgrimage. However, there are as many mosques in the village as there are ancient temples.
The local villagers had converted this small house of Dr. Hedgewar into a memorial with the help of Moro Pant Pingle, who was then head of the Sangh, where a Keshav Bal Vidya Mandir is running. Interestingly, about 30 percent Muslim children study in this school. Pingale had also given a grand look to the temple of the family deity of the Hedgewar family. Nowadays this village has been adopted by Nizamabad MP K Kavita (BRS) under the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana.
Narhari Shastri’s son Baliram Pant Hedgewar, like his father, had acquired proficiency in Vedas and Shastras and gradually made a name for himself in Nagpur. However, the family’s survival now depended on the same puja. His wife Revati Bai (other name Yamunabai) also belonged to the Paithankar family who came to Nagpur from Telangana. Both had 6 children. Three boys, three girls. They named the boys Mahadev, Sitaram and Keshav, and the girls Raju, Rangu and Sharayu or Saru. Keshav was the fifth child among them, who was born on 1 April 1889 on the day of Varsha Pratipada. Mahadev was the eldest and Sitaram was the second among the boys.
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Later, all three girls were married in good families, Sharayu or Saru was married in the Dev family of Nagpur. Raju married into the Vinchure family and Rangu married into the Pattalwar family. Both Mahadev and Sitaram carried forward the family’s tradition of reciting the Veda scriptures. Mahadev came after studying from Kashi and came to be known as Mahadev Shastri. In those days, it was said about Telangi Brahmins that they were short-tempered by nature, which was also the case with father Baliram and elder brother Mahadev. Although Sitaram and Keshav were calm by nature. Similarly, Keshav also took the initial education of scriptures from his father and elder brother, but like Sitaram, he did not go to study in a Vedic school. From the very beginning, he was interested in the political and social events of the country, while the environment of his home was completely religious, and his father and brother were often involved in some kind of worship or religious event. Here Keshav was admitted to Neel City High School in Mahal. Nowadays its name is Dada Dhanvate Vidyalaya.
When plague wreaked havoc on Keshav’s family
Keshav was barely 13-14 years old, and Sitaram was 18, when plague broke out in Nagpur. In the last four years of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century, the plague epidemic killed about 10 lakh people in India. While today’s generation has not even heard of plague, there was no cure for it at that time. His father Baliram Pant felt that he kept the house so clean that the plague virus could not come here, so he delayed leaving from there even though the neighbors had left the house long ago. Despite all the precautions, a rat infected with plague was found dead in the house, he immediately came to his daughter Raju’s house with his family. Here too his religious rituals continued for three hours every morning.
But being a Pandit, he also had to go to the crematorium for the last rites, plague infected dead bodies were arriving. Despite the family’s persuasion, he kept going citing social responsibility and one day in February 1903, Baliram also fell victim to the plague, along with his wife Revati. Raju’s husband and Mahadev tried hard, but Honi had written something else. First Keshav’s father died in the mouth of death, then his mother also went after him.
Didn’t understand the leela of elder brother Mahadev
After the death of the parents, the burden of the family fell on the eldest son Mahadev and along with it, whatever fear the parents had had ended. Mahadev started smoking cannabis. Both the brothers did not like this, so fights started happening often. Although the younger two brothers were responsible for cooking food etc. in the house, they were responsible for the cow and Mahadev was the earning member of the house. After fighting, Sitaram left home and went to Indore to study the Vedas. Meanwhile, Keshav also started spending most of his time at friends and relatives’ places. The next two-three years were difficult for both the younger brothers, sometimes they got food, sometimes not, sometimes they had to wear washed clothes, sometimes even torn ones.
But Keshav did not leave his studies. Had to be in top 5 in the class. Along with this, there was also work to be done for the country and society. Tilak’s Paisa Fund was also started during these days. I also came in contact with Dr. BS Munje during these days. After that, be it the Vande Mataram movement or digging a tunnel to climb the Sitabuldi Fort, Keshav decided the direction of his life in his school life itself. Keshav also used to go to his brother, and Mahadev’s advice was to study and not waste time in useless activities.
Keshav later moved to Calcutta to study medicine and Sitaram Shastri started preaching, worshiping, performing rituals etc. like his father. When Keshav returned after becoming a doctor, Mahadev expressed great happiness that Keshav would now open a dispensary, although in the meantime Mahadev had also hired a tenant in a part of the house. But Keshav did not show interest in medical business so Mahadev did not like it. Keshav also started spending most of his time outside. Suddenly the plague struck again and Keshav and Sitaram repeatedly asked Mahadev to leave Nagpur, but he did not leave, both of them went away.
Stubborn Mahadev wondered what harm the plague could do to him. Mahadev died due to plague in a deserted locality and no one came to know about it for many days. The thieves took advantage of the opportunity and stole all the belongings from the house. Later when Sitaram and Keshav returned, they felt very sad. Now again both the brothers started living together in their old house. Later, when Sitaram got married, the house started feeling like home again. Mahadev’s gym was closed. Sitaram became busy in his household and Keshav in fulfilling his dream of a huge organization.
Why are Guru Golwalkar and Gandhiji mentioned while discussing family?
However, many biographers have mentioned two different nephews of Dr. Hedgewar, one of whom went to jail in the Hyderabad movement against the Nizam. The name was Vamanrao Hedgewar, who is considered to be the son of Sitaram Shastri. There is also mention of another nephew or distant relative, who lived with Keshav to take care of him, and was studying in Nagpur itself, but it is also mentioned that his mental level was not normal. Later, when Dr. Hedgewar was seriously ill, Guru Golwalkar etc. were with him, when the doctor asked to inform his family, then Guruji replied, “We are his family.”
The family was also mentioned during the conversation between Dr. Hedgewar and Gandhiji. When Gandhi saw so much discipline in the Sangh camp, and saw people of all castes sitting together and eating food, he was very surprised. He was not able to bring such discipline even in Congress, so he had asked Keshav who was there in the family? Dr. Hedgewar’s answer was that no one? Didn’t even get married. Gandhiji was surprised and said that that is why such a large and disciplined organization was able to be established in such a short time.
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