Santbal A Saint with a Difference

Author(s): T U Mehta
Publisher: Navjivan Prakashan Mandir

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poor and needy by establishing voluntary organisations of various types, strived for removal of untouchability, communal amity, Khadi and village reconstruction. He organised a band of devoted workers and through them offered non-violent resistance to injustice and evil practices.
For his work field he preferred the area which was most backward socially, economically and culturally, where decoity, robbery and kidnapping of married women were very common, where people remained half-starved and some Harijan families sustained themselves by eating mutton of dead animals and by gleaning grains from animal excreta; where even drinking water was so scarce that if some water was found at a place by digging small pits, people used to cover the pit with a cot on which they slept over-night to guard the water from being stolen. This area is called "Bhal-Nalkantha”. “Bhal" is the barren salty land where rain is very scarce and mainly wheat crop is grown during monsoon. Economically and politically this area was completely feudal in character. Feudal Lords and greedy merchants exploited the agriculturists who were mere tenants at-will and had no incentive to improve their methods of cultivation. Most of them worked on crop- share basis, the lion's share in the crop being taken by the feudal Lord and "interest oriented” usurious moneylender. There was no safety for the ready crop which was lying in open and many a times destroyed by an enemy. People sustained themselves mostly on meat of stolen animals and fish recovered from shallow and seasonal lake called Nal-Sarovar. The agricultural tenants and their family members including females and children were expected to render “Veth” (unpaid free labour and other services) to the feudal Lords without any protest. Majority of people remained constantly indebted paying heavy rate of interest to merchants. Dirt and disease prevailed due to constant water shortage.
Such was the area which he preferred for his work. The area was totally unknown, people were hostile, vested interests resented his presence. Initially nobody gave him shelter. People
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