Hyderabad: All India Congress Seva Dal, one of the five grassroots frontal organisations of the Indian National Congress, is gearing up to celebrate its centenary in this Lok Sabha election year 2024.
The celebrations are planned till July.
The country’s first youth organisation, Hindustani Seva Dal was proposed by Sarojini Naidu at the 1923 Kakinada Congress session in Andhra Pradesh to take on the British.
The idea was to have a volunteer force to provide alternate leadership when several top leaders were jailed by British during the freedom movement.
Subsequently, it was renamed Congress Seva Dal headed by Dr Narayan Subbarao Hardikar on December 28, 1923.
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was chosen its first President who later went on to become first Prime Minister of free India. Besides them, there were several eminent personalities including Maulana Saukat Ali, V Sambamurthy, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose were associated with it.
Mahatma Gandhi himself presided over the Seva Dal conference, recognising it as Congress frontal organisation in 1931, says Balram Singh, Seva Dal Karnataka in-charge.
However, over the years the Seva Dal members in white dress and Gandhi Topi (cap) were used more for ceremonial functions and voluntary services of the party than electoral politics of the main organisation Congress party.
From its inception, Seva Dal has become the guardian of the National Flag and even today a flag salutation programme is held on the last Sunday of each month.
However, there has been dissatisfaction among the members barring a few who could get political, nominated posts wherever the Congress was in power. But many were committed to its ideology.
The All India Congress Seva Dal has chalked out series of programmes for the centenary celebrations including programmes at State level, publication of Seva Dal literature, propagate Congress party plans to all sections of people, honouring of senior Seva Dal members, promotion and dissemination of Congress programmes and policies to the people, activating all the units from State level to village level, launch of mass movement against the neglect of fundamental rights of citizens and connect people with Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyaya Yatra.
“All India Congress Seva Dal is organising centenary celebrations across the country this year including the South. It’s a momentous occasion. In this regard, programmes have been chalked out by Seva Dal Chief Organiser Shri Lalji Desai and his team. Our Promise is to uphold the constitutional values and make India a super power while fulfilling the needs of the person standing at the end of the queue,” says Kanukula Janardhan Reddy, Treasurer and newly appointed South Zone in-charge of Seva Dal.
Janardhan Reddy, an ex-MLC, convened a meeting of the Southern Seva Dal leaders in Hyderabad. The meeting was attended by Seva Dal chiefs of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Kerala
“Seva Dal will continue till July 2024. The All-India Congress Committee’s President Shri Mallikarjun Kharge ji has commenced crowdfunding initiative Donate for Desh,” he disclosed.
Along with Janardhan Reddy, the AICC has appointed Satyendra Yadav as in-charge of West Zone and Narendra Batish for the North Zone of the country. Seva Dal chapters are located in all the States in the country.
