Sevagram

Coordinates: 20°44′10″N 78°39′45″E / 20.73611°N 78.66250°E / 20.73611; 78.66250
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Sevagram
town
Vidhan Sabha constituency
Wardha
Websitemaharashtra.gov.in

Sevagram (meaning "A town for/of service") is a town in the state of Maharashtra, India. It was the place of Mahatma Gandhi's ashram and his residence from 1936 to his death in 1948.[1] After Sabarmati, Sevagram Ashram holds immense importance due to the residence of Mahatma Gandhi.[2]

Overview

Sevagram, originally Segaon, is a small village, located about 8 km from

Gandhi set up what eventually became an ashram in the outskirts of the village.[3] Seth Jamnalal Bajaj of Wardha, a disciple of Gandhi, made available to the ashram about 300 acres (1.2 km2) of land.[4]
Near the ashram there is a museum where artifacts of India's freedom struggle are preserved.

Telephone used by Gandhi, Sevagram ashram

History

When

Salt Satyagraha, he decided not to return to Sabarmati till India achieved independence. Gandhi was imprisoned for more than two years. On his release he spent sometime travelling around India. He decided to make a village in Central India his headquarters.[5] He came to Wardha in 1934, at the invitation of his follower and industrialist, Jamnalal Bajaj and stayed in one of the rooms at Jamnalal's bungalow (Bajajwadi)[6] at Wardha and in the Prarthana mandir of Mahila Ashram for sometime.[7]

In April 1936, Gandhiji established his residence in a village called Segaon

harijans in the common kitchen to break the caste barrier. Vinoba Bhave
's Param Dham Ashram is located on the banks of the Dhaam river close by. Many decisions on important national matters and movements were taken at Sevagram. It became the central place for a number of institutions for the nation building activities devised by Gandhiji to suit the inherent strength of this country.

Sevagram is 8 km from Wardha town in Maharashtra and 75 km from Nagpur. In spite of many practical difficulties, Gandhiji decided to settle here. Though he did not have any intentions of keeping anybody with him except his wife

Kasturba, pressure of work necessitated more colleagues with him till Sevagram Ashram became a full-fledged institution. There were no facilities at Sevagram, not even a post or telegraph office. The letters used to be brought from Wardha. There was another village in this region named Shegaon, made famous by the residence of Saint Gajanan Maharaj. So, Gandhiji's letters used to get misdirected. Therefore, it was decided in 1940 to rename this village as Sevagram[10] or 'the village of service'. Gandhiji stayed in Manganwadi during January 1935 paid his first visit Sevagram on 30 April 1936. [11]

Transport

Sevagram is well connected by rail and bus.

Lord Linlithgow had once spent a night in Sevagram ashram with Gandhi.[12][11]

Education

Sevagram is home to the first rural medical college in India, the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, and an engineering college, Bapurao Deshmukh College of Engineering which is also run by a rural trust.

See also

References

  1. ^ "The History of Sevagram Ashram". gandhiashramsevagram.org/. The Gandhi Ashram at Sevagram – Official website. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
  2. ^ "Sevagram | Wardha". Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  3. ISSN 0085-6401
    .
  4. ^ "Paramdham Ashram". jamnalalbajajfoundation.org. The Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation. Archived from the original on 26 May 2014. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
  5. ^ Maddipati, Venugopal (1 January 2020). "Gandhi and Architecture: A Time for Low-Cost Housing: The Philosophy of Finitude". Gandhi and Architecture: A Time for Low-Cost Housing.
  6. ^ "Bajajwadi". jamnalalbajajfoundation.org. The Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
  7. ^ Desai, Mahadev (1968). Day To Day With Gandhi. Wardha: Sarva Seva Sangh Prakashan. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
  8. ^ "About Sevagram". jamnalalbajajfoundation.org. The Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
  9. ^ "Architecture as Weak Thought: Gandhi Inhabits Nothingness, Gandhi and Aesthetics". www.academia.edu. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  10. ^ Official website of Gandhiji in Sewagram, Sevagram and Mahatma Gandhi
  11. ^ a b Bharath, ETV. "How Sevagram became the epicentre of India's freedom struggle". ETV Bharath. ETV Bharath. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  12. ^ Sahu, Sahu. "At Sevagram Ashram, Bapu Found His Ideal Laboratory of Social Engineering". The wire. The wire. Retrieved 1 February 2022.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sevagram.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sevagram&oldid=1192101484"