Remembering Pramila Tai Medhe and the journey of Rashtra Sevika Samiti

Pramila Tai Medhe, former head of Rashtra Sevika Samiti passed away at the age of 96 in Nagpur.

(RSSFACTS is a column that demystifies the functioning, organisational structure and ideology of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.)  

As Pramila Tai Medhe, former head of the world’s largest Hindu women organisation, Rashtra Sevika Samiti, passed away on July 31 at the age of 96 at Nagpur, messages to condole the death poured in from various quarters.

Mohan Bhagwat, Sarsanghchalak of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh(RSS)  summed up the sense of loss felt by the RSS and many others as he said, “The shadow of affection which all the workers had in presence Pramil Tai Medhe Ji has gone. She worked a lot from the beginning of the organisation. She fought alone many times and worked for the organisation.”

Meanwhile as the media reported on the demise of the veteran Samiti functionary, the organisation was dubbed as the women wing of the RSS which is factually incorrect.

 Rashtra Sevika Samiti is an RSS-inspired organisation like three dozen other organisations. It is independent, autonomous and has quietly worked to establish a massive footprint away from the media glare.  

Medhe headed the organisation as its ‘Pramukh Sanchalika’ from 2006-2012. She had attended a ‘Shakha’ run by Samiti for the first time in 1939 and worked closely with Kelkar and dedicated her life for the cause and the ideology.

Brief history

Rashtra Sevika Samiti was set up in in 1936 by Laxmibai Kelkar who headed it till November, 1978 since its inception. From 1978 to 1994, the organisation was led by Saraswati Apte. Usha Tai Chati became Pramukh Sanchalika in 1994 and handed over the mantle to Pramila Tai Medhe in 2006. The current head of the Samiti is V. Shantha Kumari who took up this responsibility in 2012 from Medhe.

Lakshmi Bai Kelkar, was an educationist.  She had met the RSS founder Dr Keshav Baliram Hedgewar and was impressed by the way RSS was working towards uniting the Hindus and contributing towards nation building and social transformation. She wanted women also to be part of this whole process. Dr Hedgewar encouraged her to go ahead and start an organisation. Thus, on the Vijaydashami of 1936, Kelkar laid the foundation of Rashtra Sevika Samiti.

Samiti volunteers participated actively in the freedom movement before independence.  During the partition, it played an important role in rescuing Hindu and Sikh men and women and bringing them safely back to India. Later they also helped with the relief and rehabilitation efforts along with Sangh volunteers. In 1948, several volunteers of Samiti went to jail as they protested the ban imposed on the RSS.

In the freedom struggle for Goa in the 1950s also, the Samiti volunteers participated actively. During the 1962, 1965 and 1971 wars, Samiti actively supported the government’s war efforts. During 1975-77 Sevikas actively participated in the anti-Emergency movement. Along with various other RSS inspired organisations, Samiti played a key role in the Ramjanmabhoomi movement also. Currently, one of its major focus is on providing health, education and other services in north-east India

Ideology and Structure

The core ideology of the organisation is based on three tenets: Matrutva (universal motherhood); Kartrutva (service to the society); Netrutva (leadership).

The Samiti focuses on preparing women to become active social reform leaders and promote holistic and inclusive growth of society and especially women and children.

The Samiti also has full-time workers and are known as ‘Pracharikas’. It also holds a ‘Shakha’(get together) for women. There are currently more than 5000 such ‘Shakhas’ across the country. These shakhas are different from the RSS ‘shakhas’ in several aspects

 The ‘Shakha’ has following elements: Prayer (it is different from the daily prayer at RSS Shakhas), recitation of shlokas from Sanskrit scriptures, sports, Yog, intellectual discourses and patriotic songs.  

The Samiti holds regular residential training programmes for its volunteers and also run several social service projects.

At present over 10,000 women attend the training camps held by Samiti every year across the country. The first training camp by Samiti was held in 1939. In 2016, during the Samiti’s 80th year celebrations, it organised one of the largest training camps in its history that was attended by 3,000 sevikas (volunteers of Rashtra Sevika Samiti).

Social Service Projects

The Samiti runs more than 45 health-related projects and around 500 education projects for orphans and girls with financially weak backgrounds. It has also helped in setting up more than 480 women self-help groups to empower women and make them self-reliant. One of its flagship projects is Bal Gokulam. This is a forum where kids are encouraged to express themselves and connect with their cultural roots and India’s age- old spiritual traditions. Children aged five and above  participate in Bala Gokulam. Activities like Yoga, Bhajans, Shlokas, Art and Craft are  performed in the Bal Gokulam centres.

Another flagship project of Samiti is “Devi Ahilyabai Smarak Samiti (DASS)”. This comprises specialised rehabilitation and education programs for girls and women who have been victims of atrocities .They are brought to DASS, where they are assisted by volunteers. The victims are given food, clothes, shelter and most importantly education and vocational training to become financially independent. After finishing their vocational training or basic matriculation during a period of 4-5 years, many of these girls and women go back to their homes and establish local level institutions modelled after DASS.

Earlier RSSFACTS columns can be read here.