Modi's mentors: Pappaji, the doctor who adopted Sangh-think, Sangh-action

Narendra Modi has revealed his inspirations in a work he wrote after he became chief minister in 2001. The book, written in Gujarati, is called Jyotipunj. In this chapter, Narendra Modi pays tribute to the dentist who first expanded the RSS in Gujarat, and took its cultural message to the tribals. Dr Pranlal Vrajlal Doshi’s is not a name that many will recognise. If one were to refer to Dr PV Doshi, perhaps a few heads might nod in recognition. But if the name “Pappaji” were to be called out, eyes would light up in every corner of Gujarat. [caption id=“attachment_130744” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Pranlal Doshi, or Pappaji[/caption] I tried to remember when it was that I first met Pappaji. But though I struggled, I couldn’t locate the moment. He was always around, and that made him special. From the time that I first met him to the time that he passed away, it was decades that I knew him and in all this time he was unchanged. His manner, his behaviour, his mind and even his body. All the same. Through all the work and all the crises, through natural and manmade disasters. This slim man, gentle and yet firm, showed his character. Pappaji studied to become a dentist in Calcutta. The city then had an elite which was utterly Anglicised, and which remains Anglicised to this day. Pappaji returned to Rajkot and began his professional life. Some elements of Calcutta were present in Rajkot. The culture of clubs, playing cards, smoking cigarettes. If we examine the life of Sardar Patel, a similar track may be found. The life of a lawyer required the sitting in clubs and in the Bar, playing cards and smoking while making fun of the freedom-fighters. Even making fun of Mahatma Gandhi. This would have been Sardar Patel’s trajectory, had the Mahatma not touched him and then transformed him. Sardar sacrificed his “swa”, his ego, for the cause and his creed was now that ’the word of Mahatma Gandhi is the final word’. This surprised Sardar Patel’s friends in the Bar. A similar transformation may be seen in the life of Pappaji. The club life of Calcutta was exorcised by the touch of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Sangh-think, Sangh-culture and Sangh-action. Mind you, this was a time when doctors represented society’s elite. In such an age, Pappaji sacrificed his “swa” and merged himself into the RSS to become a Swayamsevak. He had, as I have said, a slender and thin physique, and he lived to 90, but in his self he embodied the Sangh and its principles. He was an outstanding communicator. So simple and precise and clear that his spoken words would vanish, leaving only their message in your mind. When Indira Gandhi strangled democracy and muzzled the press, she turned the country into a jail. Pappaji went to war against her and went to prison. He was old by then and his friends asked for him to be released on parole. He refused, saying he would not do so till victory was achieved for all, and that he could not leave his comrades behind. As the first Prantsanghchalak in Gujarat, he expanded and developed the Sangh’s work in the state. His enthusiasm and love kept everyone active. His concern was always for the Karyakarta, and his belief was that if the worker was taken care of, the work would take care of itself. His focus was on the shakha and here it remained. He had also great concern for tribals and their welfare. At 75, he would take the overnight bus from Rajkot to Dharampur, in Valsad district every month. There in the jungles he stayed amid the tribals, understanding their issues, solving them and making arrangements to implement the solutions. He made many of their families part of his own. From Umargaon to Ambaji, the entire tribal belt of Gujarat was touched by this dentist from Rajkot. We must make a note of his humanity and his work with a school for the deaf and mute. Pappaji’s daughter was born impaired. He associated her disability with that of others in society and brought them into his family. What she got, he ensured that others also got, through this special school. It seemed often that he loved it more than his own family. It was certainly more important to him than a temple. How should the handicapped be treated? Such a child always needed more attention and care. Pappaji’s understanding was that such a person was not the responsibility of his or her family alone. Such an attitude isn’t reflective of a healthy society, and he always insisted on collective responsibility. This attitude liberated not just the individual and the family concerned, but all of society. At its core, the RSS seeks the spreading of cultural values through education. Pappaji had great interest in this. The Sangh has done immense work across India on this, but not much had been done in Gujarat. It was Pappaji who spread the cultural message among the tribals tirelessly and with an energy that would shame the young. There cannot be a single person from the Sangh of the time who would not have discussed details of some or the other scheme on education with Pappaji. Many institutions came up because of his work. He found pearls among the workers and tied them into a necklace. His contribution helped all of this happen in a short period. He was a source of strength to us all, and I bow to him.