Swami Keshwanand (Aged 89) born Birama in a Jat family on 12 March 1883 in the village of Magloona in Sikar district of present-day Rajasthan, was the son of Thakarsi, a penurious camel driver, and his wife Saran. After Thakarsi’s death in 1890, Birama’s mother had to move from place to place with him in search of shelter and fodder for their animals, settling finally at Kelania in present-day Sri Ganganagar district in 1897.
However, Saran died in 1899 during a famine in Rajasthan when Birama was just 16 years old. Forced to leave the desert region in search of livelihood, Birama moved to Punjab and approached Mahant Kushaldas of the Udasin sect, expressing his desire to learn Sanskrit to study higher Hindu scriptures from primary sources.
Birama learned the Hindi and Sanskrit languages and the Devanagari and Gurmukhi scripts at the Ashram, and at the Kumbha Mela held at Prayag in 1905, Mahatma Hiranandji Avadhut gave him the new name “Swami Keshwanand.” Swami Keshwanand, who never received a formal education, was the founder of over 300 schools, 50 hostels, and innumerable libraries, social service centers, and museums.
The Jalianwalla Bagh Massacre of 1919 deeply affected Swami Keshawan, and he started attending meetings of the Indian National Congress, joined the Indian Independence Movement under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, and participated in the non-cooperation movement, for which he was imprisoned for two years (1921-1922) in Ferozepur. In 1930, he was given charge of Congress activities in Ferozepur district. He was again arrested the same year but was released soon after the Gandhi-Irwin pact. He passed away on 13 September 1972.
Swami Keshwanand
(1883 – 1972) – (Rajasthan)
Swami Keshwanand (Aged 89) born Birama in a Jat family on 12 March 1883 in the village of Magloona in Sikar district of present-day Rajasthan, was the son of Thakarsi, a penurious camel driver, and his wife Saran. After Thakarsi’s death in 1890, Birama’s mother had to move from place to place with him in search of shelter and fodder for their animals, settling finally at Kelania in present-day Sri Ganganagar district in 1897.
However, Saran died in 1899 during a famine in Rajasthan when Birama was just 16 years old. Forced to leave the desert region in search of livelihood, Birama moved to Punjab and approached Mahant Kushaldas of the Udasin sect, expressing his desire to learn Sanskrit to study higher Hindu scriptures from primary sources.
Birama learned the Hindi and Sanskrit languages and the Devanagari and Gurmukhi scripts at the Ashram, and at the Kumbha Mela held at Prayag in 1905, Mahatma Hiranandji Avadhut gave him the new name “Swami Keshwanand.” Swami Keshwanand, who never received a formal education, was the founder of over 300 schools, 50 hostels, and innumerable libraries, social service centers, and museums.
The Jalianwalla Bagh Massacre of 1919 deeply affected Swami Keshawan, and he started attending meetings of the Indian National Congress, joined the Indian Independence Movement under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, and participated in the non-cooperation movement, for which he was imprisoned for two years (1921-1922) in Ferozepur. In 1930, he was given charge of Congress activities in Ferozepur district. He was again arrested the same year but was released soon after the Gandhi-Irwin pact. He passed away on 13 September 1972.
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