- KARTIK MAHARAJ, head, Bharat Sevashram Sangha, Beldanga branch
Kartik Maharaj, formally Swami Pradiptananda, heads the Bharat Sevashram Sangha’s branch in Beldanga in Murshidabad. The socioreligious charitable organisation founded by Acharya Swami Pranavanandaji in 1917 educates disadvantaged children, provides health care services, conducts tribal welfare and rural development programmes, and spreads spiritual awareness.
Pradiptananda joined the Bharat Sevashram Sangha as a teenager. As the chief of the Bharat Sevashram Sangha’s Beldanga branch, he runs 12 schools, a hostel for tribal children and a hospital. He has been a flag-bearer of aggressive hindutva in Bengal and has a close relationship with the RSS and the Vishva Hindu Parishad. In an interview, he explains why Mamata attacked him and why he wants Hindus to take up arms. Excerpts:
Q/ Why did Mamata Banerjee suddenly attack you?
A/ It was not sudden. It was calculated. We organised India’s first Lokkho Kanthe Gita Path [one lakh people reading the Gita] in Kolkata and I was the president [of the organising committee]. The response was huge, and more than a lakh people registered. She was against it. We invited her to the event. We invited the prime minister as well.
I also organised two kumbh melas in Nadia district. I have organised several protests as well. One at the Raj Bhavan against [Trinamool leader] Mahua Moitra for insulting our gods and goddesses. Another was against putting the Trinamool flag in the hands of a Durga idol. [BJP leader] Suvendu Adhikari was also present at the protest.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
What Will It Take To Clean Up Delhi Air?
IT IS ASKED, year after year, why Delhi’s air remains unbreathable despite several interventions to reduce pollution.
Trump and the crisis of liberalism
Although Donald Trump's election to a non-consecutive second term to the US presidency is not unprecedented—Grover Cleveland had done it in 1893—it is nevertheless a watershed moment.
Men eye the woman's purse
A couple of months ago, I chanced upon a young 20-something man at my gym walking out with a women’s sling bag.
When trees hold hands
A filmmaker explores the human-nature connect through the living root bridges
Ms Gee & Gen Z
The vibrant Anuja Chauhan and her daughter Nayantara on the generational gap in romance writing
Vikram Seth-a suitable man
Our golden boy of literature was the star attraction at the recent Shillong Literary Festival in mysterious Meghalaya.
Superman bites the dust
When my granddaughter Kim was about three, I often took her to play in a nearby park.
OLD MAN AND THE SEA
Meet G. Govinda Menon, the 102-year-old engineer who had a key role in surveying the Vizhinjam coast in the 1940s, assessing its potential for an international port
Managing volatility: smarter equity choices in uncertain markets
THE INDIAN STOCK MARKET has delivered a strong 11 per cent CAGR over the past decade, with positive returns for eight straight years.
Investing in actively managed low-volatility portfolios keeps risks at bay
AFTER A ROARING bull market over the past year, equity markets in the recent months have gone into a correction mode as FIIs go on a selling spree. Volatility has risen and investment returns are hurt.