Who was Vinoba Bhave ?

Vinoba asked the landlords of the village to come forward and save the Harijans.

At the Benaras Hindu University, Bhave read a report in the newspaper about Gandhi’s speech. The speech greatly influenced Bhave and, he wrote a letter to Gandhi. After exchange of letters, Gandhi advised Bhave to meet him at Kochrab Ashram in Ahemdabad.

On June 7, 1916, Bhave met Gandhi. Such was the impact of the visit that it changed the future course of the life of Bhave. He, who wished to travel to Himalayas for inner peace and to Bengal to feel the burning fervour of resolution, found both peace and fervour in Gandhi.

To everybody's surprise, a landlord got up and offered the required land. This incident added a new chapter in the history of sacrifices and non-violence.

In November 1982, Vinoba Bhave fell seriously ill and decided to end his life. He refused to accept any food and medicine during his last days. On 15 November 1982, the great social reformer passed away.

Abandoning his studies, Bhave settled at Gandhi’s ashram, where he indulged in teaching, studying and spinning. He also worked towards improving the quality of life of the people of the community.

It was the beginning of the Bhoodan (Gift of the Land) movement. The movement continued for thirteen years and Vinoba toured the length and breadth of the country,

Bhave actively participated in Gandhi’s constructive programmes by spreading awareness about the use of Khadi, settling up village industries, starting a new education system and upgrading the knowledge of people in sanitation and hygiene.

a total distance of 58741 Km. He was successful in collecting around 4.4 million acres of land, of which around 1.3 million was distributed among poor landless farmers.

In 1921, he moved to Wardha where he took charge of the Ashram. Two years later, he published a monthly Marathi paper, Maharashtra Dharma, which contained essays on the Upanishads. The popularity of the newspaper grew and within a short span of time, it became a monthly and later a weekly. The newspaper lasted for three years. In 1925, upon Gandhi’s suggestion, Bhave moved to Vaikom, Kerala to oversee the entry of the Harijans to the temple.

Vinoba Bhabe was the first international figure to receive the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1958. He was awarded Bharat Ratna posthumously in 1983.

The movement attracted admiration from all over the world and was commended for being the only experiment of his kind to incite voluntary social justice.

Vinoba Bhave received serious brickbats in 1975 for supporting the state of emergency imposed by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

During the decades of 1920s and 1930s, Bhave was arrested multiple times. However, he took his tenure in jail as a time for learning and writing. He scripted ‘Ishavasyavritti’ and ‘Sthitaprajna Darshan’ in addition to ‘Gitai’ and ‘Swarajya Shastra’. Also, he educated fellow prisoners about Bhagwad Gita. These speeches were later published in a book, ‘Talks on the Gita’ and translated in many languages.

Bhave advocated that the emergency was required to teach people about discipline. According to many scholars and political thinkers, Vinoba Bhave was a mere imitator of Mahatma Gandhi.

Though Bhave actively participated in civil disobedience movement against the British, he was neither known publically nor was famous. It was in 1940 that Bhave came into prominence when Gandhi chose him to be the first individual Satyagrahi (an individual standing up for truth instead of collective action) against British rule.

Vinoba was greatly influenced by the Bhagvad Gita and his thoughts and efforts were based upon the doctrines of the Holy Book.

Between 1940 and 1941, Bhave was jailed thrice at Nagpur jail. In 1942, Bhave took part in the Quit India movement and was imprisoned for three years at Vellore and Seoni jails. At Vellore jail, he mastered four South Indian languages and created the script for ‘Lok Nagari’.

In 1948, in a meet at Sevagram, Wardha, where Gandhi’s followers and constructive workers collaborated, the idea of Sarvodaya Samaj surfaced. Vinoba Bhave sought to find solutions for the problems faced by average Indian villager with a firm spiritual foundation.

Beginning 1950, Bhave launched several programmes in order to heal the wounds of partition. ‘Kanchan-mukti’ or freedom from dependence on gold or money, ‘Rishi-Kheti’ or cultivation without the use of bullocks as was practised by the sages during the ancient times, were amongst the various programmes initiated.

He set up a number of Ashrams to promote a simple way of life, devoid of luxuries that took away one’s focus from the Divine.

He established the Brahma Vidya Mandir in 1959, a small community for women, aiming at self-sufficiency on the lines of Mahatma Gandhi’s teachings.

In 1951, Bhave ventured out for his peace trek through the region of current-day Telangana. When Bhave met the villagers at Pochampalli, little did he know that it would led to the start of a new chapter in non-violence movement.

He took a strong stand on cow slaughter and declared to go on fast until it was banned in India.

Harijans of the Pochampally required 80 acres of land to make a living. When Bhave asked the villagers as to how to solve the problem, a landlord Ram Chandra Reddy offered help by donating 100 acres of land. The incident led to the start of a new movement ‘Bhoodan’ (land gift) to solve the problems of the landless.