Narayan Subbarao Hardikar (Aged 86) was born on May 7, 1889, in Dharwar, Karnataka, India. He was a freedom fighter and Congress politician who founded the Congress Seva Dal. In 1916, he completed his M.Sc in Public Health from the University of Michigan. During his time in America, Hardikar met Lala Lajpat Rai and became his close associate. As Rai’s colleague, Hardikar actively participated in many political activities in America.
Hardikar returned to India in 1921. During the Flag Satyagraha of 1923, Hardikar and his Hubli Seva Mandal gained national prominence after refusing to apologise to the British authorities to gain a commutation in their prison sentences. At the Kakinada Congress session of 1923, a 13-member committee under Hardikar was formed to look into the establishment of such an organisation.
The Seva Dal was formed in 1923 following the Kakinada session of the Congress. Although Jawaharlal Nehru supported Hardikar, the idea of forming a militia-like organisation faced much resistance from Congressmen who feared it would lead to the erosion of civilian authority within the party. They argued that it contravened the principle of non-violence. Hardikar passed away on August 26, 1975.
N. S. Hardikar
(1889 – 1975) – (Karnataka)
Narayan Subbarao Hardikar (Aged 86) was born on May 7, 1889, in Dharwar, Karnataka, India. He was a freedom fighter and Congress politician who founded the Congress Seva Dal. In 1916, he completed his M.Sc in Public Health from the University of Michigan. During his time in America, Hardikar met Lala Lajpat Rai and became his close associate. As Rai’s colleague, Hardikar actively participated in many political activities in America.
Hardikar returned to India in 1921. During the Flag Satyagraha of 1923, Hardikar and his Hubli Seva Mandal gained national prominence after refusing to apologise to the British authorities to gain a commutation in their prison sentences. At the Kakinada Congress session of 1923, a 13-member committee under Hardikar was formed to look into the establishment of such an organisation.
The Seva Dal was formed in 1923 following the Kakinada session of the Congress. Although Jawaharlal Nehru supported Hardikar, the idea of forming a militia-like organisation faced much resistance from Congressmen who feared it would lead to the erosion of civilian authority within the party. They argued that it contravened the principle of non-violence. Hardikar passed away on August 26, 1975.
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