The genesis of Yuvak Biradari lies in the dreams and work of an amateur group of
young men and women (in the historical city of Pune, India), whose conscience
responded to the needs of social reconstruction in post-Independence India.
One of the trailblazers among them, a 22 years old young graduate named Kranti
Shah decided that national integration and social reconstruction of India would be
the mission of his life. Coming from an illustrious family of freedom fighters and
philanthropist-businessmen, he imbibed the cultural and moral ethos from a very rich
social surrounding, and drew inspiration from thoughts and works of great men of
modern India viz. Mahatma Gandhi, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, Jawaharlal
Nehru, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan and the revolutionary Jayaprakash Narayan who
gave the call for ‘Total Revolution’ (Sampurna Kranti) through essentially nonviolent
means. For these stalwarts, he thought, ‘freedom’ didn’t mean merely thwarting the
yoke of alien British rulers; rather, they envisioned freedom as a comprehensive
emancipation of all beings wherein the best of opportunities are created for the
overall development of people. And the route to such freedom, he believed, was
essentially through promotion of humanity (insaaniyat), thereby transcending the
barriers of caste, creed, race, religion, gender and language.
In the first three ‘decades of hope’ in Independent India, as the dreams and
aspirations of charismatic leaders and millions of masses were riding high, a vision
to realize those dreams twinkled in the eyes of these socially sensitive, responsible,
enthusiastic and determined young people, who considered themselves Biradars
(‘extended family’ to each other). These Biradars decided to embark on an unknown
journey—a tryst with destiny, and vowed to contribute wholeheartedly in the noble
cause of development.
During 1964-66, these early Biradars responded symbolically by supporting various
social programs organised from time to time in Maharashtra. Hence, in 1966 in
association with Samajwadi Yuvojan Sabha, the first Sneha Chhaavni Shivir (camp)
was organized at Panhalgarh (Maharashtra) with the guidance of socialist leader S
M Joshi, Gyanpeeth awardee V S Khandekar, social reformer Hamid Dalvai,
parliamentarian Dr. Bapu Kaldate and with the participation of Dr Kumar Saptarshi,
Anil Barve, Anil Avchat, Sunil Deshmukh, Ravi Purohit and many other eminent
youth of the region. Its success forged them further, and they agreed upon a
common concern, approach and resolve to continue organising such programs with
greater intensity. Subsequently, many such youth camps (Yuva Shivirs) were held
periodically during 1966-73: in Pune in 1967 under the auspices of the famous
Coffee Club; in Goa in 1968 under the able leadership of Shri Balraj Sahni, Pramila
Dandavate and Gopal Mayekar; at Kumbhoj in 1969; in Pune again in 1970; at
Sangli in 1971 under the patronization of Prof. P B Patil; at Jambhli in 1972 in the
guidance of Appa Saheb alias S R Patil; and at Sangli again in 1973 with Prof. Ram
Joshi and Shivaji Patil. All these camps became increasingly popular and successful
and they turned out to be important fixtures in the calendar of events that led to the
shaping and birth of Yuvak Biradari which gradually evolved from regional to national
level.
This motley group of patriotic and committed young people, eventually, thought of
going one step further from youth camps and social activism. Coincidently, disaster
relief and rehabilitation caught their attention as a primary concern when in 1969
nature rocked Koyna with a massive earthquake. Biradars rushed there with all the
resources they could marshal, and worked towards the rehabilitation of hundreds of
devastated families. In 1971, in the aftermath of Indo-Pak war, they extended a
helping hand with material and social support to hundreds of Bangladeshi refugees
who came to India. In 1973, as many parts of India were hit with severe drought &
famine, Biradars visited many of those places in far flung areas, and helped restore
educational facilities for the affected children.
Experience at grass roots level during those turbulent times brought these Biradars
to a new realization that the condition of poverty stricken masses was compounded
further by their ignorance, illiteracy, a general decadence in their socio-cultural
outlook, religious dogmas and the intangible mental shackles that were keeping
them from breaking free of the vagaries of inhuman existence. Though people had
wishes, they didn’t have requisite means and awareness to accomplish them.
Biradars felt they would have to reach out to people in the far corners of India, make
them aware of their collective interests, and exhort local people--particularly the
youth--to think beyond their personal life and interest.
Consequently, they envisioned a continuous nationwide movement for awakening
through multi-faceted programs. For further deliberations, a 6-days educational camp
(shiksha shivir) was held in May 1974 at Karla Holiday Camp located at the famous
hill station of Lonavala near Mumbai which included Sarvoday thinker Yadunath
Thatte, poet Mangesh Padgaonkar, Marathi writer Anant Kanekar, theatre artistes
Sulbha and Arvind Deshpande, Laalan and Kamlakar Sarang, Prof. B S Bhange,
industrialist Bhausaheb Nevalkar, Prof. P B Patil, and Advocate Eknath Salve. The
young team that led the camp comprised of Krishnakant Kudale, Sudhir Gadgil,
Prakash Kamat, Aparna Dev-Ramdas, Dashrath Parekar, Pramod Kulkarni, Vijay
Sankhlecha, Shivaji Devre and Majid Khan.
The Biradars, who assembled there in huge numbers, felt the need to formally
establish a charitable organisation in order to work in a coherent and planned way at
an all India level. This dream saw the light of the day as noted film maestro Balraj
Sahni, Gandhian writer Mrinalini Desai and Kranti Shah conceptualized and named
the organisation ‘Yuvak Biradari (Bharat)’. The organizational structure, objectives
and constitution of the organization were also delineated and agreed upon. Following
this, on the occasion of the 32nd anniversary of the Bharat Chhodo (Quit India)
movement, Yuvak Biradari gave the call of Bharat Jodo on 9th August 1974 in
response to the new set of challenges and problems that confronted India during
those turbulent years. In fact, in post Independence India, it was a call of its own kind
that pursued the goal of national integration and social welfare through a sustained
movement and a series of programs over many years to come.
Yuvak Biradari as an organisation came into formal existence with eleven founding
trustees/members under the leadership of its first president Madhukarrao
Chaudhary, first chairman Vasantdada Patil and Director Kranti Shah. The
organization was registered on 9th August 1975 in Mumbai as a public trust under
the Bombay Public Trusts Act, 1950.
