Freedom fighter to celebrate 100th birthday with President

BELAGAVI: Vasant Vasudev Gurjar (Bondre), a freedom fighter who will turn 100 on August 9, has been invited for a tea party with President Pranab Mukherjee at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The occasion is Kranti Diwas, observed in memory of the Quit India Movement initiated by Mahatma Gandhi.
For Vasant Gurjar, it will be a special day. For the past many years, he has been celebrating his birthday with orphan children at Gangamma Chikkumbimath Bal Kendra in Belagavi.
Attracted by Gandhi's call, Gurjar jumped into the freedom movement at the age of 15 and was arrested thrice for his anti-British activities. In 1930, he joined the Congress, bidding goodbye to high school education.
As a volunteer of the non-cooperation movement, he picketed wine shops in the Camp area of Belagavi. He also washed census numbers written by the British government as a sign of defiance against its administration. He was also arrested and sent to Hindalga jail for a month for selling salt at a cheap price, after Gandhi's Dandi march.
After he was arrested, his father refused to take him back home, so he stayed at the Kumri Gandhi Ashram at Hudali village for two years. He would spin the charkha and weave khadi at the ashram. In 1934, his father died of plague, after which he started a small handloom factory in the city.
Gurjar was again arrested during the Quit India Movement, and sent to jail for 15 days for distributing bulletins against the British government. After his release, he tried to hoist the tricolour on government offices, for which he was again jailed for eight months.
It was a group of five - Gurjar, Vamanrao Sadekar, Shrinivasrao Kulkarni, Shrirang Kamath, Ramrao Shirde - which took up a fiery stance under the leadership of Jaydevrao Kulkarni. Gurjar was recognized as a social worker and organizer. He established the Karhade Brahmin Sangh as well as Bondre Gurjar Education Foundation in the 1970s, which are still functioning. He is also the founder of Senior Citizens' Association and Vyapari Kamagar Sangh.
The founder of Bharat Vikas Parishad, Gurjar has assisted hundreds of students in their education and uses his pension for social work. He cleared his SSLC exams, with help of a tutor, at the age of 57. He has four children, including a daughter and son who are over 70.
He told TOI: "Attending a tea party at Rashtrapati Bhavan, that too on my 100th birthday, is a high point of my life. I am very happy now." The government has selected five freedom fighters from the state to attend the tea party at Rashtrapati Bhavan, and Gurjar is the oldest among them.