education, entrepreneurship and social responsibility:

The 'Banasthali Story' has no parallel across the

globe. The origin itself is unique. The founder

Pandit Hiralal Shastri was born and brought up in

a peasant family. After securing the degrees of

Sahitya Shastri and B.A he joined the erstwhile

Jaipur State Service in 1921 and had a meteoric rise

to become Secretary in Home and Foreign

department. While in administrative service he

displayed qualities of hard work, efficiency, and

fearlessness. But he had no heart in what he was

doing. He had a feeling that he was meant for

something different. From his early childhood, he

had a burning desire to go to some village and

devote his life to the downtrodden. He shared his

state of heart with Gandhiji who advised him to

listen to his inner voice. After seeking Bapu's

blessings he resigned from the prestigious post of

Secretary in the Home & Foreign Department in

1927 and selected the remote village of Banthali (as

Banasthali was originally called) as the center of

his future work. His plan of work was to organize

a programme of rural reconstruction on the lines

laid down by Mahatma Gandhi and also to train

social workers through constructive service of the

people. For this, he founded JiwanKutir in 1929.

Shastriji had a promising daughter, named

Shanta, a child of just seven years at that time. She

was a multi-faceted genius, like her father who

was a writer, Sanskrit scholar, a passionate social

worker and freedom fighter. Shanta Bai, who

could read Vedas at the age of six, was good in

music and fine arts and even in martial arts.

While engaged in his work he also wanted to train

her as a social worker dedicated to the cause of

women's upliftment. But destiny willed it

otherwise and Shanta Bai died due to high fever at

the tender age of 13, leaving her parents absolutely

shattered. They had high expectations that she

would work for women's cause. Shastriji was so

grief-stricken after Shanta's death that he

remained bed-ridden for almost three months till

Ratan Shastri came out with the idea that what if

we have lost Shanta? We have so many friends and

relatives. Why not train their daughters as we

would have trained Shanta. The idea clicked to

Shastriji and he immediately came into action.This

resulted in the creation of Banasthali Vidyapith

which started its work in October 1935 without

much preparation in the mud-huts.

Thus Banasthali is a spontaneous creation rather

than a planned one. It embarked upon its journey

with only five students way back when the

concept of education for the girl child virtually

didn't exist. Even sending girls to school was

considered a sin, The founders went door to door

to recruit students. There was no question of

charging any fee and the founders also went door

to door to collect donations to carry out their

dream.

From its humble beginning, the Vidyapith has

grown into a Premier National Institution for

Women's education and has achieved the status of

an institution deemed to be a university. Presently

about 15,000 students from all over the country

and outside speaking different languages and

belonging to different castes, creeds and religions

are receiving education at the Vidyapith. The

institution provides a wide spectrum of

educational facilities in a large variety of

traditional and modern disciplines. There are 10

Vivekanand Education SocietyInstitute of Management

Studies & Researchwww.vesim.ves.ac.in

Education, Entrepreneurship and Social Responsibility:Case Study of An Innovative Institution Banasthali Vidyapith

Dr. Siddharth Shastri

30

Journal of Development Research

Dr. Siddharth ShastriVice-President, Banasthali Vidyapith, Rajesthan

faculties (Mathematics and Applied Computer

T e c h n o l o g y , S c i e n c e a n d T e c h n o l o g y ,

Management, Education, Home Science, Social

Sciences, Humanities, Fine Arts, Design, and Law)

and 29 departments.

The architects of the Vidyapith believed that an

educational programme should promote the

development of a balanced and harmonious

personali ty of the students . Hence, the

educational program of the Vidyapith as distinct

from the prevalent form of education emphasizing

book learning to the utter neglect of all other

aspects of education. Banasthali Vidyapith's aim

of a full and balanced development of students'

personality gets a concrete expression in the form

of 'Panchmukhi Shiksha' which evolved out of

Shantae bai ' s mult i faceted personal i ty .

Panchmukhi Shiksha attempts a balance of the five

aspects of education, namely Physical, Practical,

Aesthetic, Moral and Intellectual and aims at all

round harmonious development of personality.

Synthesis of spiritual values and scientific

achievements of the East and the West is a key

feature of the Vidyapith's educational program.

Simple living, self-reliance and Khadi wearing are

hallmarks of life at Banasthali. In addition, aspects

of exclusive dedication to women education, fully

residential character, rural surrounding amidst its

own unmatchable campus of 850 acres, a range of

courses from Nursery to Ph.D., national

representation of students, focus on Indian ethos

& culture and informal family like culture makes it

a unique institution.

Today Vidyapith, which aims to provide holistic

education, to prepare enlightened citizens , to

nurture women leaders in all walks of life and to

preserve and inculcate the essential values and

ideals of Indian culture, can confidently claim to

be a successful institution which has not only won

recognition for its administrative and academic

autonomy but also for having been able to sustain

itself fruitfully. It has maintained its national

character with its intake of girls and staff from the

entire country. Banasthali graduates are known

the world over for their leadership qualities and

have become governors, corporate chief

executives, international sports persons,

renowned artists and musicians, leading

administrators, eminent educationists, social

activists. Dr. Kamla Beniwal, Former Governor of

Gujrat and Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan,

Smt. Meera Kumar, Former Speaker of Lok Sabha,

Smt Sumitra Singh, Former Speaker, Rajasthan

Vidhan Sabha, Padma Shree Binny Yanga, Social

Worker, Smt. Sunita Godara, The Asian Marathon

Champion, and Smt. Sagarika Ghosal, Director-

HR of Metro Cash & Carry are some of our

distinguished alumni who have carried forward

the legacy of Banasthali Vidyapith and have by

and large brought radical transformation in their

families, organizations, and surroundings.

Contribution:

Women Empowerment through Education and Employment

Banasthali has been working in the field of women

education for over past eight decades and has

grown significantly over the time. Particularly

over the past few years, it has witnessed, (i)

massive growth in offerings and enrollment, (ii)

vast improvement in the infrastructure, (iii) better

re-accreditation and rankings & (iv) better

visibility even internationally. As our Hon'ble

President, Shri Pranab Mukherjee has put,

"Banasthali has grown faster than Indian GDP".

Banasthali has made full use of the autonomy

provided under the deemed university status in

1983 and has innovatively restructured the

courses offered which include subjects ranging

from the traditional areas to the emerging areas to

the level of research leading to the doctoral degree.

The institution not only provides ample

opportunities for integrated development of

personality but has every concern about their

accessibility.

Founder Pandit Hiralal Shastri's Philosophy was

that education is not meant for sale. Till he was

alive he did not charge a tuition fee. He would say

"There are several institutions for the rich. I am

interested in running this institution only till its

education is affordable to the poor". Ever since its

inception, Vidyapith is dedicated to the cause of

women's education and profit has never been a

31

Education, Entrepreneurship and Social Responsibility Case Study of an Innovative Institution Banasthali Vidyapith

motive. Banasthali owes its existence to a

spontaneous filling up of the vacuum caused by

Shantabai's death. Her love has been the fountain

head of all thought and action and the spirit has

been the motivating force.

Today Vidyapith has a differential fee structure

and is run on a self-financed basis without any

government aid. However, the spirit of the

founders that the poor should not be deprived of

education continues to prevail. Banasthali

provides financial support to the needy students

in the form of merit-cum need scholarship. It also

encourages meritorious students by awarding

them merit scholarships. Such scholarships are

p r o v i d e d b y i n d i v i d u a l s a n d v a r i o u s

philanthropic institutions such as Mahindra &

Mahindra Educational Trust, Kanoria Memorial

Trust, Bajaj Group, Artech-Dalmia etc. Vidyapith

itself provides scholarships worth of Rs.5 crores

from its own funds. To facilitate admission of

economically needy students to professional

courses with higher fee structure, the Vidyapith

has collaborated with banks to provide loan

scholarships.

Banasthli Vidyapith lays a strong emphasis on

vocational education. It offers diverse areas of

study, including plenty of applied and technical

areas. Some examples are computer science,

computer applications, clothing and textiles,

biosciences, electronics and applied mathematics,

D e s i g n a n d , J o u r n a l i s m a n d M a s s

Communication. The students are also offered a

variety of diplomas, such as computer application,

electronics (consumer electronics and TV

technology), textile designing, painting, German,

French, Sanskrit, and Kathak and Manipuri

dances. Certificate courses are also offered in the

same subjects. The large choice not only helps in

the students' development but also equips them

with various employable skills.

Campus placement activities have become a

regular feature for the outgoing students of

professional courses. The M.Tech., MCA, MBA,

B.Tech., B.Des. and M.Des graduates find

placement every year with almost all the leading

National and Multinational organizations. There

is a worldwide network of Vidyapith students

working in various reputed organizations.

In addition, Vidyapeeth itself recruits a good

number of women as teachers, office, laboratory

and hostel staff. The institution has been

supporting widows and other needy women by

providing them appropriate employment. Thus

V i d y a p i t h h a s c o n t r i b u t e d i n w o m e n

e m p o w e r m e n t t h r o u g h e d u c a t i o n a n d

employment of lacs of women.

Value Education

One of the aims of Banasthali Vidyapith is to

'preserve and inculcate the essential values and

ideals of Indian culture and India way of life'. The

'Indian ambiance' of the campus stands out, with

its Khadi-clad students, staff, and faculty who

converse in Hindi.

Value education and internalization are of utmost

importance in Banasthali Vidyapith. The unique

feature is that what could have been a process of

'drilling and regimentation' is, in fact, a gentle and

subtle transition, in which the students realize the

positive aspects of Indian values without feeling

pushed into something.

Many of the students have been studying here

since primary school and have imbibed the values

taught here. A remarkable feature is the complete

synthesis of the Occident and Orient, of

spiritualism and scientific outlook. Thus in this

institution, one can find a girl form B.Tech./M.Sc.

studying Veda and doing horse riding and

weaving.

A lot of emphasis is laid on community life and

there is an atmosphere of familial feeling, warmth,

and intimacy in the hostels. In the mess, the girls

wash their own dishes and clean up after meals.

They are also involved in the maintenance and

general cleanliness of the campus. Thus, the hostel

life is an illustration of the Gandhian idea of

community life. The feeling of kinship and

oneness which arises from this is very significant,

considering the diverse social economic, religious

and regional backgrounds of the girls.

There is a strong emphasis on leading a simple life.

The hostels are spartan, austere and neat. One of

32


the hostel buildings an old one has floors of mud

and a tin roof. Needless to say, it is extremely cold

in winter and terribly hot in summer. Some of the

senior students have to spend a few months in this

building, the aim is to help them adapt to face any

situation. The rigorous life is meant to build the

qualities of tolerance and patience. Other than

patience and self-control, this rigorous training

instills in the students an unwavering belief in her

capacity.

Learning one performing art is compulsory. This

equips the students to stage performance on a

professional level. It also keeps their interest in

Indian culture alive.

Another regular feature in Banasthali Vidyapith is

the 'Sadbhavna Prathana or all religion prayer. A

slot is provided for the prayer on a special day

every week and it is fully conducted by the

students. The meeting culminates with the signing

of common prayer, which symbolizes oneness.

Though this activity creates an atmosphere of

religiosity, it keeps ritualism at bay. The girls

imbibe the message of spir i tual i ty and

transcendence, shorn of superficiality and

symbolism. In addition, there is a broadcast in the

morning and evening which is audible all over the

campus.

India is a country of festivals which are a valuable

component of our culture and unity. Festivals

inculcate positive feelings such as exhilaration,

enthusiasm, and love and overcome the negative

feelings such as hatred, envy, and animosity.

Yet another feature of Vidyapith's campus ethos is

that all major festivals are celebrated at the

institutional level in which all the students and

staff members participate with enthusiasm. There

is a very long list of such festivals: Ganesh

Chaturthi, Krishna Janamashthme, Durga Pooja,

Dusshera, Diwali, Guru Nanak Jayanti, Eid,

Chrismas, Lohdi, Onam, and Holi, To promote

spirit of Nationalism days of national significance

such as Shaheed Diwas (August 9), Independence

Day, Republic Day and Gandhi Jayanti are

celebrated with zeal. Unlike the practice in rest of th

nation, these are not holidays in Banasthali. On 30

January, 'Gandhiji's death anniversary', a prayer

and Shram Dan are organized.thFounder Pandit Hiralal Shastri's birth day on 24

November is a big day in Banasthali. It is

celebrated with unparallel enthusiasm and

celebration spreads over three days. There are

prayer, big mela and a dinner of the entire

Vidyapith community.

Banasthali Vidyapith aims at providing a family

feeling and such an atmosphere prevails at all

levels, including the management. The members

of the management live on the campus and are

more of local parents for the students. There are an

openness and informality on the campus. The

students address their elders as 'jiji'. This brings

the students close to each other and creates within

them strong ties. This becomes especially

important for those who have been in this

institution since school days.

Gender Sensitization

This institution emphasizes the importance of

helping the students form a strong female identity

in the process of becoming adults. Stress is laid on

women achievers, who have made a mark in their

respective fields. This encourages the students to

aspire to be competent and successful.

This institution emphasizes the importance of

helping the students form a strong female identity

in the process of becoming adults. Stress is laid on

women achievers, who have made a mark in their

respective fields. This encourages the students to

aspire to be competent and successful.

B a n a s t h a l i V i d y a p i t h t i r e s t o p r o v i d e

opportunities and appropriate training for its

students to occupy positions of power and

leadership. However, it lays equal stress on

preparing the gir ls for the demands of

homemaking, an essential need, and aspiration of

the Indian women. The idea is to help the students

strike the right balance between career and

home/family life, without feeling a conflict of

roles.

The Vidyapith tries to teach its students that men

and women complement each other and are each

other's support structure. It advocates a

harmonious co-existence between both sexes.

33


Education should foster an appreciation of this

positive complementarily together with making

the women students understand the need to

preserve their individual identity.

The approach to gender sensitization in this

institute is one of constructivity and persuasion,

with an emphasis on social values. One of its

avowed aims is working towards a gradual and

gentle social transition and not a social revolution.

It does not approach gender sensitization in a

pedantic or rhetorical way but believes in dealing

with the issue more realistically, by preparing the

girls to fit into any role they choose to adopt. By

offering the students an environment which offers

both highly specialized subjects such as

microbiology, biotechnology, instrumentation

and computer science and value/culture oriented

activities such as music, dance, spinning and

weaving the institution provides a healthy and

amalgamated infrastructure for balanced

development.

The another important focus of the institution is its

dedication to women's education and the

achievement of the above objectives with

reference to the needs and aspirations of Indian

women. Special emphasis must be laid on the fact

that this institution educates its students not

through conflict, but through synthesis and

coordination.

National Integration

Banasthli is a national level institution in the sense

that it has a representation of students from all

parts of the country including Andaman and

Nicobar as well as North Eastern region.

Founders were quite apprehensive that it should

not remain a regional level institution and

therefore made deliberate efforts to make its

national character. They touched all parts of the

country to have students from every corner of the

country. Now it's a natural process. A student

from all parts of the country belonging to different

religion, castes, and creeds and speaking different

languages come to Banasthali and live like a

family. Not only this the founders wanted that

every state and union territory should give a token

grant to Banasthali, whatsoever, as a recognition

symbol. They worked hard for this but ultimately

succeeded.

A good number of students come from North East

at the pre primary level having no background of

Hindi. Special classes are run for them. They pick

up the language in a short period of time. By the

time they leave the institution they not only

become comfortable with the language but speak

and write fluent Hindi. There are students who

have become Hindi teachers in their respective

states. A couple of students have done Masters

Degree in Hindi and started their own school.

Thus spreading education and Hindi.

Mahatma Gandhi and Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru

found Banasthali quite close to their heart.

Mahatma Gandhi could not come to Banasthli

though he had finalized a three days visit to

Banasthali before he could come the unfortunate

incidence happened. Panditji came to Banasthali

twice. He had Bharat Darshan in Banasthali and

called it mini India. He would say Shastriji I just

talk about national integration but find it realized

in Banasthli.

'Banasthali is enshrined in my heart' (1946)

Mahatma Gandhi

Panditji came to Banasthali twice. He had Bharat

Darshan in Banasthali and called it mini India. He

would say Shastriji I just talk about national

integration but find it realized in Banasthli.

'If I had been a girl I would have come to

Banasthali for my education' (1945)

'Banasthli helps in process of national integration'

'I am sure this work is of National importance'

(1963) Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru

Institutional Social Responsibility

V i d y a p i t h i s f u l l y a w a r e o f i t s s o c i a l

responsibilities. Several extension activities are

being conducted focusing the surrounding rural

community.

Promoting Khadi

Khadi had a central place in Gandhiji's program of

national construction. Realizing its power to

create employment and provide villagers with the

basic income, he conceived of his Khadi

34


movement aiming at making people economically

self - dependent.

Khadi wearing is a hallmark of Banasthali. All the

Vidyaptih family members (workers and

students) have to become habitual wears of

Khadi. Many students and workers keep on

wearing Khadi even after completing their

studies/service period. Traditionally guests are

welcome on campus using Khadi garland. Though

he realized that by making us economically

independent, Khadi would help to hasten the

achievement of political freedom its significance

was not merely political for him. He saw in its

revival of entire economic, social and cultural life

of the villages. Gandhiji presented Khadi as a

symbol of nationalism, equality, and self-reliance.

As per Vidyapith estimates every year at least 2 lac

meters khadi cloth is bought by Banasthalites and

consumption of khadi has been growing with the

growth in the strength of students and staff.

Banasthli has a center for manufacturing 'Khadi'

named as 'Women's Informal Education Centre'.

Women from adjacent and nearby villages who

are idle during the day time come to the centre and

are involved in spinning weaving activities. These

women are paid an amount equivalent to

prevailing daily wages.

A significant transformation in their lives is

visible. They have become economically self-

dependent and their confidence level has gone up.

Before and after the scenario is altogether

different. When the women joined the center, they

came in 'Purda', were quite hesitant and lacked

confidence. But now there is a complete

transformation in their personality/lives. They

feel that they are working and earning have led

them to realize their identity. Their confidence

level has gone up and spoken without hesitation.

When you go to the centre they greet you with a

folk song in a local language.

The students and staff members of Vidyapith's

design department are also associated with the

center to provide a modern look to manufactured

'khadi', in line with the current trends of the textile

industry. Vidyapith has an outlet named

"Mahadev Desai Khadi Mandir" which is only of

its kind by any university. The Vidyapith has been

putting in its honest efforts to promote khadi.

Radio Banasthali

Banasthali has a licensed community FM radio

station known as 'Radio Banasthali' which

broadcasts educative and entertainment

programs locally recorded by the students and

staff of Banasthali. It operates at 90.4 MHz and

serves the campus and the community within a

radius of 30 km around Banasthali covering 50

villages.

Main objectives

1. To promote and protect the right to freedom of

speech and expression especially for the

underprivileged people of rural community

around the university campus.

2. To provide an avenue for the free flow of

beneficial information aimed at bringing about

socio economic changes in the society.

3.To train the community in community radio

production techniques in order to make the

community employable in this sector.

4. To provide a platform to everyone who wants to

express in favor of humanity and the community.

Programmes

1. Education

2. Agriculture

3. Health

Ÿ Vigyan aur Insaan (live-phone-in)

Ÿ Gramin Jagat (live-phone-in)

Ÿ Swasth Pashu Khushal Kisan (live-phone-in)

Ÿ Anndata

Ÿ Pahala Sukh Nirogi Kaya (live-phone-in)

35


Krishi Vigyan Kendra

Krishi Vigyan Kendra (Farm Science Centre)

Banasthali Vidyapith covers entire Tonk District

as its operational area. KVKs are meant for

transfer of technology to farmers through On

Farm Testing, Front Line Demonstrations and

Training to extension personnel's to orient them in

frontier areas of technology development. In line

with the above objectives number of activities is

organized.

In addition to publications in the form of books

and news paper coverages, the Kendra brings out

bi-annual Banasthali Krishi Samachar. Radio

Talks on All India Radio Jaipur and weekly

programs are other features of the KVK.

Community College

As a step forward towards institutional social

responsibility, Banasthali Vidyapith has set up a

Community College with a focus on raising

employability of graduates and meeting the

industry's requirement for ready-to-work

students. The college has the objective of

providing general education as well as

employable skills to the dwellers from the

surrounding rural community. It thus provides

opportunities to the learners to move directly to

the employment sector or move into the higher

education sector. The community college is a

process of learning for, with and from the

community and by and large, it is accessible to a

large number of individuals of the community.

The college offers Diploma in (i) Food processing

and service and (ii) Building technology and,

B.Voc. in (i) Software development and (ii)

Fashion design and technology.

Apaji Arogya Mandir

Banasthali has its own hospital “Apaji Arogya

Mandir" which not only caters to the requirements

of the campus but also of surrounding rural

community. This 60 beds hospital has qualified

doctors and other hospital staff, a pathological lab,

a small operation theatre and an intensive care

unit. The hospital works round the clock

throughout the year.

ShakuntalamthBanasthali runs a school up to 12 standard for the

boys belonging to the Vidyapith staff members

and those from the surrounding rural community.

Banasthali Seva Dal (BSD)

Undertakes counseling sessions on education and

health for villagers and village empowerment

activities.

Women Studies and Research Centre(WSRC)

4. Nutrition

5. Personal hygiene

6. Women and child caring

7. Environment

8. Folk music

9. Entrepreneurship

10. Art and culture

11. Rural and Community

Development issues

12. Career counseling

Ÿ Aahar-Vihaar

Ÿ Swasthya Charcha

Ÿ Parvarish (live-phone-in)

Ÿ Kaam ki Batan

Ÿ Algoja

Ÿ Mile Sur Mera Tumhara

Ÿ Aao Siekhien (live-phone-in)

Ÿ Aapaji ki Siekh

Ÿ Seedhi Batan

Ÿ Aapna Gaon Ri Batan

Ÿ Badal Rahi Tasveer Gaon ki

Ÿ Udaan (live-phone-in)

36


Undertakes Teaching, Training, Research and

Extension activities relating to the subject of

Women Studies.

Lessons to be learned

1. Power of Passion:

Innovation and entrepreneurship start with

passion. Banasthali Vidyapith is creation of a

passionate father. His immense love for the

daughter led to its creation.

You may need to go through a rollercoaster of

financial and other pressures, but the pleasure of

working on what you are passionate about is

immeasurable. Follow your passion.

2. Find a Co-founder:

Finding the right co-founder may be hard but find

the right person and you set yourself for a greater

chance of success.

In case of Banasthali, the founder found a co-

founder in his wife who played a complimentary

role. Though she had no formal education but had

same emotion and commitment. She kept her

husband focussed on his commitment and was

always a source of strength in his weak moments.

Her strong intuitive power was of great help

whenever he faced a dilemma.

3. Have Faith:

Believe in yourself and the cause.

4. Don't Think of Money First:

If the cause is noble money comes. Ever since its

inception, Banasthali has followed this principle.

The founder never bothered for money but just

went ahead with his dream. Sooner or later money

followed. Yes, money is important for the long

term viability of the organization but not the

deciding factor to start with. Had the founder

thought of money first, Banasthali would have

never come up.

5. Start small:

“A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a

single step” Lao Tzu

“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do

what you can” Arthur Ashe

“What is not started today is never finish

tomorrow”

Johan Wolfgung and Van Gaeth

If you are passionate about something, you need

not map out an entire master plan at the

beginning. Take small steps. Each time you cross

a threshold; you will get some results and the

opportunity to make new decisions and new

choices. By making a series of small steps, your

path may become clear. This is how Banasthali

Vidyapith evolved. With the most humble

beginning and operating under most meager of

resources, Vidyapith today stands as worlds'

largest fully residential women's university.

6. Build Second Line of Workers:

One of the biggest strength of Banasthali

Vidyapith has been its team of committed

workers. The founder would say 'People come

and go but organization remains'. So keeping this

in mind his vision was to prepare the second line

of workers so as to ensure continuity of the

process.

7. Transparency is Key for Healthy Environment:

Transparency helps build a healthy environment

and win the trust of the colleagues. All through its

journey, the inst i tut ion has maintained

transparency in all procedures and practices such

as admissions, recruitment, accounts etc.

8. Suppress Your Ego:

The founder was highly egoist person but would

suppress his ego to any level if Banasthali needed

so. He even went door to door to collect money or

to his political rivals to seek help for Banasthali.

9. See Dreams With Open Eyes:

You see things; and you say, “Why ?” But I dream

things that never were; and say, “Why not?”

George Bernard Shaw

“It may be that who do most, dream most”

Stephen Butler Leacock

“Yesterday is but today's memory, tomorrow is

today's dream”

Kahlil Gibran

The founder would always advise to his

colleagues to dream with open eyes. Do not

37


confine your thinking. Think big and dream

bigger. Unless you think big you cannot achieve

big. It may be illustrative to recall an incidence in

this context. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was to come

to Jaipur in connection with AICC convention.

Shastri ji went to Pandit Ji and asked how it is

possible that you come to Jaipur but not

Banasthali. Panditji asked about the journey time

with smiling face. To and fro six hours was

Shastriji's reply. Pandiji said it would be difficult

to find so much time. Shastriji replied instantly

'why don't you come by air'. Panditji asked

surprisingly do you have an air strip. A prompt

reply from Shastriji was: 'if you agree to come, it

would come up'. Everybody was surprised by his

promise to the Prime Minister about something

which nobody had even thought of. But Shastriji

did it and Panditji's aircraft landed at Banasthali.

This is how flying club started at Banasthali.

10. Family v/s Organisation:

Both are important and ideally need be balanced.

However, situations may arise when the family

and the organizational priorities come in the clash.

The 'organisation is above the family', was the

founders message.

11. Be Prepared to Struggle and Face Challenges:

Do not expect a smooth journey. The growth has

ups and down.

The way the Vidyapith grew is impressive but

strenuous. It's 80 years journey has been full of

challenges and struggle.

In the early days, the Founders led an

unbelievably tough life. Banasthali was virtually a

Jungle –there were mud houses, no electricity, no

roads and no means of communication. Bullock

cart was the main means transportation. The water

was to be lifted from the well by own hands. Even

the founders had to dig a well by own hands.

Every worker had to spin and weave his on cloth.

The Khadi at that time was thick and heavy. As

per Gandhiji's guiding principle of self-reliant

village, nothing could come from outside and

everyone had to manage with whatever was

available in the village. In addition, the Britishers

would create all sorts of troubles.

Something big and beyond the structure was

required as this much money could not have come

from the regular sources. Shastriji's elder son Shri

Sudhakar Shastri was Treasurer of the institution

at that time and hence was handling this matter.

He dreamed of big sum from the planning

commission and accordingly wrote to the

planning commission for a sum of rupees 30 cores

to build a corpus fund and meet the accumulated

deficit. This did not find support in other members

of the executive council of Banasthali. Even

people laughed at him and called it a silly move as

planning commission would provide only plan

grants to the state government and had no such

provision to provide funds to individual

organizations for such purposes. Shri M.K. Kao

was Principal Economic Advisor in Planning

Commission. He met him and explained the

whole matter. Shri Kao was a religious person and

was keen to support the noble cause. He

developed the feeling that Banasthali is serving a

noble cause and I must support it through

planning commission had no such provision. He

said to Shri Sudhakar Shastri that I will try to find

the way out. Meetings with Shri Kao continued

who was thinking of providing the fund to

Vidyapith via MHRD by making special provision

in the Ministry's allocation by the planning

commission. In the mean, while Shri Kao was

transferred to MHRD and became education

secretary. He kept on trying his best to any how to

arrange funds for Banasthali and bring it out of the

crisis. Though his own style of functioning was not

bureaucratic but had to face usual bureaucratic

hurdles. He ultimately succeeded in getting issued

a sanction of rupees 10 cores to Banasthali.

There have been a number of such difficult

situations in the growth journey of Banasthali. It is

nothing less than a miracle that the Vidyapith not

only survived such most difficult of the situations

but even emerged stronger.

“Vidyapith's Work is God's Work. Only He should

b e W o r r i e d A b o u t i t . W h y S h o u l d I ? ”

“Fortune of Large Number of Girls Work in

Favour of Banasthali”

Padmabhushan Smt Ratan Shastri

Co-Founder

Banasthali Vidyapith

38

Education, Entrepreneurship and Social Responsibility Case Study of an Innovative Institution BANASTHALI VIDYAPITH

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