Swami Agnivesh
स्वामी अग्निवेश
Born 21 September 1939 (age 72)
Sakti, Chhattisgarh, India
Nationality Indian
Religion Hinduism
Spouse Unmarried
Agnivesh (born September 21, 1939) is an Indian social worker, self-titled Arya Samaj scholar, and a Hindu social activist. He is best known for his work against bonded labour through the Bonded Labour Liberation Front, which he founded in 1981. Agnivesh also founded and become president of the World Council of Arya Samaj, which he describes as an associate of the original Arya Samaj,[1] and served as the chairperson of the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery from 2001 to 2004.[2][3]
Early life
Born as Shyam Vepa Rao on September 21, 1939, in Sakti, Chhattisgarh.
Agnivesh received his degrees in Law and Economics in Calcutta;[4] thereafter he worked as a lecturer of Business Management at St. Xavier\'s College, Calcutta, from 1963 to 1968.[citation needed]
Politics
In 1970, Agnivesh founded Arya Sabha, a political party based on Arya Samaj principles as he himself formulated in his 1974 book, Vaidik Samajvad.[5]
Agnivesh became a member of the Legislative Assembly of Haryana in 1977, and served as a State Minister for Education from 1979 to 1982.[4] In 1981, while still a minister, he founded the Bonded Labour Liberation Front, which continues to raise issues bonded labour in India, especially in the quarries in and around Delhi; he remains the chairperson of the organization.[4][6] After leaving the Ministry, he was arrested twice, spending a total of 14 months in jail on charges of subversion and murder, of which he was later acquitted.[4][7]
In March 2011, Maoist forces killed three members of the Chhattisgarh security and police forces; subsequently, the security forces allegedly attacked and burned a Maoist village. When Agnivesh and his organization attempted to bring relief aid to the Maoists, a large demonstration attacked their cars with stones, claiming that the Maoists had killed many security forces over the last year.[8]
Agnivesh took part in the anti-corruption protests in India in August 2011. Later, he voluntarily stepped out of the protests, claiming that other protesters humiliated and conspired against him. A couple of days later, a video showing Agnivesh speaking to a purported minister of Govt. of India and asking the Govt. to act tough on \"adamant\" protesters, was circulated in the Indian media and the internet. Agnivesh claimed innocence, saying that the video was doctored.[9]
Social activism
Agnivesh testified before the Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery at the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva.[10] Later he created a new task for emancipation of womanhood, which was a helpful factor in the Commission of Sati (prevention) Act of 1987.
In 2005, Agnivesh was part of a two week campaign against female foeticide that traveled across India.[11]
Agnivesh also argued at a conference on economic development and religion sponsored by the World Bank that people should be allowed full freedom of movement across borders through the elimination of all passports and immigration laws.[12]
In 1968, Agnivesh went to Haryana to join the Arya Samaj and on March 25, 1970, Agnivesh took the sanyas vows.[3] He was expelled from the organization in August 2008, after 17 of the 19 Arya Samaj Pratinidhi Sabhas in India expressed opposition to him.[13]
In 2008, he addressed a large gathering at the Anti-Terrorism Global Peace Conference, at Ramlila Grounds, organized by Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind and several Islamic organizations, where he stated, \"It is wrong to attribute the wrongdoings of a few individuals to the whole community. I would not mince words to say that the United States is the terrorist number one. To defame the Koran and Islam is the worst form of terrorism. Islam stands for peace and brotherhood and there cannot be a bigger lie than saying that Muslims are terrorists.\"[14] Agnivesh is also a proponent of interfaith dialogue and is a member of the Board of World Leaders for the Elijah Interfaith Institute.[15]
Controversies
Agnivesh has been severely criticized by some Hindu groups for statements they view as anti-Hindu. In 2005, Agnivesh stated that the Puri Jagannath Temple should be opened to non-Hindus; this lead to the priests of the temple condemning his remarks as \"purely anti-Hindu in nature\" and burning him in effigy.[16] In May 2011, hundreds of Hindu priests protested against Agnivesh’s claim that ice stalagmite that they believe resembles Lord Shiva is just a piece of ice; during the protest the priests burned him in effigy.[17] According to the Kashmir Observer, the Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha, a Hindu nationalist political party, offered a 20 lakh bounty for killing Agnivesh, for negative statements he made about Kashmir and Baba Amarnath.
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Source :Wikipedia,
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