CHAPTER XV NMO IN CONTROVERSY (1982-85)

Chapter XV

NMO in Controversy

(1982-85)

The sprouting NMO worked somewhat satisfactorily with  the passing days of my ‘house physicianship’. After the  first conference, during the Puja vacation, the workers from Darbhanga, Gaya and Bhagalpur had arranged a medical camp in the remote village Anjan of  Chhotanagpur (the birth place of Lord Hanuman, who, in fact, was a tribal,       and not a monkey) which impressed   the senior workers of Ranchi who  had been so far   aloof from the development of the NMO.

           

                                   

            Two medicos from Ranchi went for the relief camp after Mandai massacre in Tripura and later the second conference of the NMO was held at the RMC, Ranchi during April 19-20. 1981 where the Aayurvigyan** was also released. The convener of the conference Dr. Mrityunjoy worked hard and the conference was comparable to any other medical conference. In the scientific session, a paper was presented for the first time in Hindi by Dr. Y. N. Jha of Bhagalpur on thalassaemia. The social session was over-packed with the medicos and Nanaji Deshmukh who himself had renunciated politics exclaimed over the thought and progress of such a constructive organisation.

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* Now Jhankhand

**Renamed as the Aayurvigyan Pragati from the second issue (after its registration with the Registrar Newspapers For India, R.N.39518/1981)           

            At the airport, Dr. B. N. Das Gupta told me to receive the guest Nanaji and Nanaji told me to take care of the guest, Dr. Das Gupta. Our saffron flag with the insignia of Dhanwantari was unfurled there for the first time. Medicos from Burla (Orissa) and Agra attended the conference as observers and we thought that the NMO would soon attain a national status. In the background of 1977, I was planning for a big leap.

            I had also expressed (at Hubli) on query of  Prof. K. N. Poddar, the then vice-president of the ABVP that running an organisation named ‘National’ in a State looked ridiculous and also it was difficult to work organisationally since out of nine medical colleges and a dental college except Patna, Darbhanga and Ranchi, students annually admitted to     a college were 50 or even less, and one could not expect good work at any time in more than 50 per cent of the total centres, as it depended upon the batches of workers, who were  a floating population. Later, I talked to other senior workers but they had their own priorities.

           

            The third conference was also held at the PMC Patna during which we started Dr. Atam Prakash Oration. The delegates from Burla and Cuttack also attended. We thought medicos would be at ease to attend the conference, on the eve of the summer vacation but we were mistaken. Most of the boys had left for home a few days earlier and even the remaining medical students and doctors had refrained from attending it because of the scorching sun and the number of delegates dropped down to 70, including Seven from Orissa.

            Though  in  our  Ranchi conference only 63 had registered, including two from Burla (Orissa) and Agra, the show there was very impressive as we allowed anyone to attend the non-executive sessions. The enthusiasm in the campus for the conference matters not the number of registrations. The number of represented centres in Bihar* remained six in both the conferences.

            Lack of enthusiasm for printing  the new issue of the Aayurvigyan Pragati, on account of inadequate number of articles and involvement of our workers in the surgical conference, prompted me to get it printed at Patna. The workers of Ranchi had rich editorial experience but they expressed satisfaction when the third issue was released at Patna. The organising secretary of the NMO, Darbhanga, Sushil and I laboured hard for it. For us, it was a new venture. Our experience was limited to the printing of letter-heads and pamphlets only. This also took much time and in spite of the hard labour of the convener of the conference, Dr. Baidya Nath Mishra and a new worker Shambhu Gupta, we could not attract too many medicos.

            But the doctors donated generously to the NMO and the conference was not in the deficit. I remember, Dr. Ashish Mukherjee’s advice of getting signatures of donors on the counterfoils. He said due to his honest work and clear accounts, Dr. S. K. Ghosh Dastidar could erect the magnificent IMA house at Patna. I promised and had also sent the summary of the accounts to all the donors.

            But the scorching sun during the conference period had also bearing on the minds of the workers and the sprouting NMO had, an uphill task to save itself in the coming years. Whenever,   a new thing comes on the horizon, controversies begin. The chapter of dormancy was one of them but again the same prejudices and egos came into play and they had different manifestations.

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            * Including Jharkhand

  

            On the conclusion of the Patna conference, I stepped down voluntarily from the post of the organising secretary as my seniorship was over on 17.3.1982 and out of necessity; I had started private practice at Shubhankarpur, a suburb of Darbhanga. Due to the conference, I was a long absentee and also in view of my financial bankruptcy hovering over me, I wished to be free. However, on the request of workers, I kept the work of the Aayurvigyan Pragati under me, as it did not require any touring.

            Dr. Navin Kumar Sinha had done appreciable work at Gaya and he had also rich experience of social service camps, including that of Tripura. Our choice fell upon him as my successor and as a hard worker; Sushil Kumar was deputed as his assistant. The secretary, Pramod Kumar Tiwary of Ranchi was also a competent, honest and intelligent worker.

            I hoped the trio would work in unison and the cart would be moving smoothly but it was not to be. The growth of the organisation virtually came to a halt in the coming days.

            Though relieved, I got embroiled in my own problems, which are described in detail in subsequent chapters. Navin and Pramod also left the scene without even having taken over the charge in the true sense. In the next meeting, in July 1982 at Patna, they were absentees. The next meeting, scheduled at Gaya could not be held.

            In those days Mrityunjoy had joined the Vanvasi Kalyan Kendra, Lohardaga, and on his initiative Pramod issued a circular for   a meeting of the NMO at Ranchi during Oct.2-3, 1982. I had closed my clinic and was preparing for the P.G. entrance test though financially crippled. A young worker Deoranjan advised me for preparing for some higher goals in life. “Should I leave the NMO for the time being? “ But Pawan Agarwal insisted that I should go to Ranchi. On 21st May 1982,  Ma. Shrishankar Tiwariji had advised me to settle myself first and then contribute to social work. He had even advised me to join the Army, where it was easy to secure a job. Regarding the NMO, he was sore over the personality clashes and Darbhanga vs. Ranchi approaches, which were not consistent with the ideals of the Sangh.

            I think this happened because Mrityunjoy and I were senior most in our places and were equally good workers but having some different approaches. Initially, the idea of a separate organisation of medicos was not palatable to him (which he himself told later in a meeting) and that was more due to a communication gap between us than prejudices. After Varanasi, I could see him in 1981 only and Dr. Mukul Bhatia of the Vanvasi Kalyan Kendra, Lohardaga, arranged the first meet. I found in him a good friend. I also think that distance from Patna was also a factor that workers from Ranchi and Jamshedpur had consecutively lesser attendance in the meetings.

            How these absentees created confusion can be exemplified by the choice of the insignia for the NMO. In Feb. 1981, we had  a meeting at Patna, in which it was proposed by me that we should adopt ‘Dhanwantari’. I had been seeing in my father’s clinic, a picture of Him, published by Zandu Pharmaceuticals. A worker brought that sample from a local drug store and we accepted it, in the map of undivided India. It was communicated to Ranchi to be printed in our journal, due to be released. Dr. Das Gupta had also advised us that the journal should have an insignia but it was not printed and only while releasing it, Dr.Barmeshwar Prasad advised on the dais mentioning ‘Dhanwantari’, it could be finally accepted.

            Again, in the next issue, He was portrayed like four-handed God (which I know is equally correct as per scriptures) but we later dropped it in favour of the present form looking like a rishi, sketched by an artist of Patna.

            I was told that some young workers had also argued for the colour of our flag as saffron against the suggestion of white. Of course, the matter was solved before I reached Ranchi, in favour of saffron.

            They also had objection on some of the articles for the Aayurvigyan Pragati, which had already been approved by the editor.  While appreciating the talents of the medicos of Ranchi as architects and of the medicos of Darbhanga as masons, I had suggested to   them  to  follow the instructions of  the editor.

            Mrityunjoy and Binod K. Khaitan were really gifted artists who shaped the journal, which we are still maintaining. A good worker Subroto died in an accident on the 11th December 1981.

           

             It was communicated to me that in the Ranchi meeting Ma. Srishankar Tiwari and Sushil  Kumar Modi would also be coming but they did not come. On the first day the meeting was held in a very cordial atmosphere under the presidentship of Dr. (Capt.) D. K. Sinha, a responsible and dutiful senior and we discussed many health-related issues of national importance.

            The message sent by Dr. B.N. Das Gupta is worth mentioning. He had advised: “(i) to be community service oriented, (ii) publicity of those services, be it medical or social, (iii) to make committees responsible for particular systems of work - this should include members in ‘stairs’, i.e. both senior and junior people, so that work can go on when seniors go away on job, (iv) to hold meetings more regularly so that members engaged in welfare of the society may come to know each other closely, (v) either by personal contacts and or letters, endeavour to have close contact with eminent professional medical people, (vi) in all committees, funds should be raised and strict control on finances be observed and internal audits be done and this be made an invariable condition of working.”

            I think these instructions would go a long way for developing any organisation.

            But on the 3rd Oct. 1982, no senior person, including Dr. D. K. Sinha was present and it was chaos when the issue came up as to what should be the name of the organisation? I told them that they were convening a meeting not for a de novo synthesis but of an organisation formed long back which already had its three big conferences. Some members, particularly Mrityunjoy and Sushil from Darbhanga were insistent that it should be known only in Hindi nomenclature.

            I told them that there had been a long debate already on this topic. It was no wisdom fighting on it. It would be better to popularise the Hindi name as I had no hatred for Hindi but I had difficulties because people used to confuse ‘Aayurvigyan’ with ‘Ayurveda’. So. I advised them to work and have the experience. Sushil had already developed some sort of personal differences with me and he protested for the first time there organisationally. Some young workers from Ranchi intervened and the meeting was adjourned.

             Nothing tangible happened in subsequent months. The ABVP convened a meeting at Patna during April 11-12, 1983. Though I was present in that meeting, I was a silent spectator, mentally confused over my personal financial problems while waiting for admission to MD. This time Mrityunjoy  replied on a question put by a younger member. He told him that initially he did not feel the necessity of a separate organisation but later on he felt that the medicos’ problems could only be tackled by a separate organisation like the NMO.

            After this meeting Mrityunjoy  withdrew* himself voluntarily from any activity of the NMO and engaged himself in his personal work. Pramod had not come in the meeting as he had joined service in the IEL, Gomia. Navin  too had been busy in his personal work. Sushil had also become busy in his hospital duty and study.

            In October 1982 and October 1983, however, I could manage to publish issues of the Aayurvigyan Pragati to maintain its registration alive. Sporadic programmes were held by Ranchi, Darbhanga and Patna units but Bhagalpur unit was a notable exception which really organised itself in those days and did several good programmes, particularly due to the efforts of Vijayendra.

            Now, Darbhanga had some new workers, notably Prabhat who suggested to me to tour south India for the propagation of the journal. I took up a 41-days extensive tour and as per our assumptions we received encouragement everywhere. I returned via Ranchi. At Ranchi new workers led by Dewanand were willing that the next NMO conference be convened at Darbhanga which the senior workers of the ABVP at Patna also liked.

            The real controversy started when in a workers’ meeting Sushil’s name was proposed as the convener of the conference. Though I had no objection but he had stopped even talking to me and so it was difficult to work. Yet, I did not protest.

            He convened a meeting of the workers and changed the officials of the journal arbitrarily and passed a resolution that the NMO name in English should be dropped despite protest from me that any local unit could not decide it. Even voting took place but in protest I walked out and put all the matters before Dr. B.N. Das Gupta, in the presence of Sushil and his supporters Pawan and Harinandan who were also good workers.

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* He rejoined the NMO during 1990s.

            Listening to both parties attentively what Dr. Das Gupta advised, still echoes in my mind: “(i) convene a bigger meeting, (ii) do it under the guidance of a senior person and (iii) sort out the problems as per the Constitution.”

            Nobody took care of his mature advice. The conference scheduled at Darbhanga during May 6-7, 1984, was put off on the advice of the ABVP seniors at Samastipur in the Bihar* State Conference of the ABVP during March 3-4, 1984. I, however, did not go there.

            The 6th issue of the journal was released at Wheeler Senate Hall, Patna, on 12.4.1984 by Lt. Gen. (Retd.) S. K. Sinha. It faced grave financial problems. Signatories refused to sign the cheque for the payment and I had to manage it somehow from other sources. Dr. Das Gupta was already puzzled with the complexities and he told me on 12.3.1984 that he would not remain as editor, if controversies were not resolved.

            On the advice of my saintly senior friend Dr. K.P. Deo, I came to Ranchi to learn Neurology and other aspects of Medicine from  Dr. K. K. Sinha in the summer vacation of 1984 and on return became busy in the laboratory work, for my MD thesis. In  a Koshi flood relief camp near Badlaghat during Sept.29 - Oct.2, 1984, I was humiliated by a group of our workers of the NMO.

            There had been one more reason for them to have hatred for me. At the end of 1983, the AIMF had sponsored an agitation for the regularisation of hostels in the DMC. I had suggested to the NMO workers to remain aloof from it as it would finally lead to Rajput vs. non-Rajput clash and also the AIMF people had, not long ago, demanded banning of the shakha in the DMC campus and had also tried to disturb a meeting of Prof. Rajendra Singh. But for their own reasons, they preferred to follow the agitators.

            In the ABVP conference at Patna (Feb. 8-10, 1985), a meeting of the NMO workers was held and an ad-hoc committee under the ‘presidentship’ of Dr. (Capt.) D. K. Sinha was formed. Sushil became its organising secretary. I was a silent spectator in the show. They put my name also as an invitee member.

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* Including Jharkhand

     

            The committee later met at Patna during March 10-11, 1985, which I did not attend. I thought to let them work for the NMO and I should concentrate on the journal and its 8th issue was published in those days.

            Again a meeting of that committee was held at Patna during April 7-8, 1985 for which I was not informed. I received a circular (dated the 18th April 1985) on 27th April. As per the circular six workers attended the meeting and it was stated as the first point to use only the Hindi name of the organisation. I had seen the draft copy of that circular in the hands of the office-secretary, Abhay Kumar Ashok and had told him to convey to Sushil that this issue should not be raised again. But Sushil did not agree. The fourth conference was to be held in the last week of August at Bhagalpur.

            I expressed my inability to attend the next meeting at Patna, during May 11-12, 1985 in disgust. I wrote letters to Dr. (Capt.) D. K. Sinha and the ABVP seniors. I did not go to that meeting where virtually I was expelled from the organisation in spite of the protest from Dr. D. K. Sinha who advised them not to leave me out seeing my contributions. Some young workers were in a fix.

            On the same day (11th May) Dr. K. K. Sinha wrote a letter from Ranchi inviting me to come to Ranchi for doing editorial work. I received both letters simultaneously at a juncture when I was to appear for the MD examination very shortly.

            After attending my younger brother Shubhakar’s marriage on 26th May 1985 and taking my admission in DCH in the DMC on 29th May, I reached Ranchi on 2nd June 1985, and absorbed myself in the study and editing of Progress in Clinical Neurosciences. I returned to Darbhanga on 16th August and remained busy in appearing at the MD examination, which perhaps ended on 26th September 1985.

            Many important developments took place in the meantime. Before I had left for Ranchi, I had a detailed talk with  Ma. Shrishankar Tiwari, in which I had expressed that the NMO was worth running only if allowed to run independently since it was difficult  for the ABVP workers to understand the intricacies of medical field and also that they had their own priorities.

            I had also planned to go independently, based upon the views of a few good workers, being disgusted with the unpleasant happenings. Vivekanand was to go on a tour and we were to meet at the API conference, Udaipur in Jan. 1986 under the presidentship of some eminent doctor, e.g. Dr. B. B. Tripathy of Cuttack. It was my belief that as a swayamsevak, I was entitled to join any organisation, which had no foreign links and or faith in violence. The NMO was in contrast fully national, as well as true to the spirit being dedicated to the service of humanity but this plan could not be pursued.

            In the meantime, the ABVP, on seeing the complications felt that the NMO was worthless and in one of its central committee meetings, it passed a resolution to close it step-by-step. Initially, it was decided that the NMO should run only at Darbhanga, Ranchi and Bhagalpur and probably at the mammoth youth conference at Delhi the final word was to be said (though there again in a medicos’ meeting Vivekanand briefed them about the Aayurvigyan Pragati and the NMO).

            After a long gap, Pramod Kumar Tiwari suddenly appeared at Darbhanga with Dharmanand Jha for the preparation of the P. G. entrance examination. They could gather this news about the ABVP’s decision from Sushil who had cautioned them not to divulge it to me, as it would hurt me. I was not told about this till my MD examination was over, during which Harendra Pandey, a senior ABVP worker, had visited the campus whom the NMO workers Prabhat and Birendra had frankly said that they would not leave the NMO. Earlier, while I was at Ranchi, Sushil Kumar Modi had also visited the campus and had enquired as to who and how many workers were to follow me.