Man behind the Bhoodan Movement

“All revolutions are spiritual at the source. All my activities have the sole purpose of achieving a union of hearts.”

In the modern world divided by materialistic possessions, individual, selfish achievements and pretences, it is difficult for even the most kind-hearted to bring a universal perspective into their efforts. A man ahead of his time, VinobaBhave the Indian human rights advocate, brought into the world ‘Bhoodan’movement, which was a selfless and altruistic revolution that shook up the social systems that prevailed in India. What he proved to the realm of human race is that not every struggle for the common man’s welfare needed to be bloody, not every revolution needed martyrs. VinobaBhave was a man of compassion, an ardent follower of Gandhi and is described as theNational Teacher of India. Bhave’s ideals and principles of gallantry and selflessness proves time and again that he should be a role model to this universe separated and judged in numerous ways, and his beliefs should be a guiding light for people of all nations to come together and accept the world as one, regardless of caste, culture, religion or riches. 

A man of compassion and kindness that knows no compare, VinobaBhave was a revolutionary man who struggled to bring equality into the various strata of the rural Indian population. The founder of the ‘Bhoodan’(land donation) movement, Bhave was a missionary for the mother Earth. He was a symbol for the struggle of the good against the evil and of spiritual against the mundane. Bhave bore an intense concern for the underprivileged and the deprived. The very first recipient of the international accolade Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership, Bhave was an ardent follower of Mahatma Gandhi, who introduced him to India as the first Individual Satyagrahi. VinobaBhave set out on a padyatra, traveling on foot for thirteen long years, spreading the message of Bhoodan and collecting land from interested individuals and rich landlords. 

He asked them to consider him as son and give him one seventh of their property which he would distribute to the poor landless rural population. Bhave was responsible for distributing over 5 million acres of land to the marginalized and the deprived. He was a consistent fighter for the oppressed masses and even contributed to a temple-entry movement for the untouchables of the olden days. Considered the spiritual successor of Mahatma Gandhi, he worked for the achievement of sarvodaya, a Gandhian principle of ‘welfare for all,’ after he was assassinated by Godse. VinobaBhave, held his thoughts so broad that they reflected the inclusion of the whole world in being victorious in the spiritual chaos. Though set out into the heavenly ethereal, Bhave still lingers in spirit, within the hearts of many who still follow him.