INDIA A Gandhian work is evicted in Varanasi to build a shopping center

In Modi’s electoral stronghold, the Sarva Seva Sangh buildings were demolished. They closed an informal school that brought together more than 100 children, destroyed a study center and a library, and thousands of the Mahatma’s books were left to rot in the rain. The name of the tycoon Adani circulates as a sponsor of the operation. Father Mathew (Indian Missionary Society): “It is an unprecedented cruel act in a space that was given in concession in 1960. Let them tell the truth about what they want to build.”

Varanasi () – On Saturday, July 22, the police and the local administration evacuated the premises of the Sarva Seva Sangh social organization, a Gandhian institute that operates in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, where the Kasturba Balvadi school for poor children was also located. Under strict security measures, the police detained eight people who opposed the operation. More than 100 children between the ages of 3 and 12 suddenly found themselves facing a threat to their education and 20 Sangh employees were left jobless and homeless, having been evicted from the facility where they had lived for decades.

The local government – led by the BJP Hindu nationalists of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was elected to India’s Parliament in Varanasi – wants to demolish all Sangh buildings, arguing that the institution sits on 14 acres of land belonging to the illegally occupied railway. The organization denies the accusation and affirms that it obtained the concession of that space years ago and that all this is a maneuver by the central government to “erase all traces of Gandhi”.

“The (officially registered) school was intended for rag-pickers and sons of boatmen, who are given a non-formal education that includes basics of science, art, music and other disciplines,” said Arvind Singh Kushwaha, secretary of the Sangh’s Varanasi unit, which is headquartered in Sewagram, Maharashtra. The Center – with which some priests from the Indian Missionaries Society also collaborate – had its own library and publication and all the people who work in the place belong to poor families who live in the same facilities.

Railways had already posted demolition notices on all Sangh offices on June 27, days after the local government declared the property to be theirs. The Sangh, by contrast, claim they have documents proving the land was acquired in 1960 through the efforts of Vinoba Bhave and with the support of then-President Rajendra Prasad. It is not clear why the local authorities have decided to intervene after so many decades. But there is talk of a real estate project to build a large shopping center on these lands, located in a valuable area near a tourist port. The name of Gautam Adani, the controversial tycoon very close to Narendra Modi, also circulates as a sponsor of the operation.

The Allahabad High Court and the Supreme Court refused to intervene, directing the Sangh to turn to the District Court, which was due to hear the matter on 28 July. But the local government acted before the hearing.

During the eviction police arrested eight community members, including Ram Dhiraj, 70, head of the Sangh’s Varanasi unit, who was holding a satyagraha – a non-violent protest – outside the gate to prevent police from entering. Protests were held in Varanasi yesterday in solidarity with the Sarva Seva Sangh: more than 100 people marched to the Ambedkar statue and delivered a memorandum to the local administration asking them to return the property to the Sangh and take action against the officials who lied to the Court that there is no deed of sale.

From Varanasi, the Catholic priest Fr. Anand Mathew, of the Indian Missionaries Society, which has collaborated with Sarva Seva Sangh for more than thirty years, explained to : “They are demolishing 22 buildings, including the Institute of Gandhian Studies, which has been working for 60 years to study and promote the thought of the mahatma. There is also a museum and community services. They demolished the library and left 500,000 books on Gandhi’s thought to rot in the rain. There is no common good behind this eviction: it is intended solely for the greed and luxury of those in power. The government is using Railroads to claim the land, resorting to lies. There is no illegal occupation here – denounces Fr. Matthew-. It is an act of unprecedented cruelty. The Railway entity must clearly inform why it wants these lands returned to it, since there is officially no project. There is no public dialogue, just demolition of all buildings and eviction. We ask that the truth be told clearly. The people of Varanasi, with the support of the people of good will, will continue to fight against these plans which are the result of greed. We will fight for peace and justice.”

Photo: Matters India