In Bengaluru, a 13-year-old Salem Nanjundaiah (SN) Subba Rao and his classmates at a school decided to boycott their classes as well.
Inspired by the calls of freedom from British rule, Subba Rao was scribbling ‘Quit India’ on street walls in the city when he was arrested by the colonial police.
After spending a day in police custody, he was released thanks to his father, a lawyer, and the fact that he was just 13.
The arrest, however, didn’t diminish his desire to fight for India’s freedom. He became an active participant in the Students' Congress.
Along with this, he also took part in various programmes organised by the Seva Dal, the grassroots front organisation of the Indian National Congress.
In school, he was inspired by the teachings of Gandhi, and even became an advocate for khadi wear.
In 1969, Subba Rao was nominated as director of the ‘Gandhi Darshan Train’, which travelled through India to give millions of Indians an insight into the life and work of the great freedom fighter.
Subba Rao went on to become a lifetime member of ‘Gandhi Peace Foundation’ in 1970 and also founded the Mahatma Gandhi Sewa Ashram in Joura, a small township in Morena district, Madhya Pradesh, located in the heart of the Chambal Valley on 27 September 1970.
His decision to set up an ashram there stemmed from his visit in 1954, when he realised the need for a “constructive educational module” for Chambal’s youth.
The Ashram worked for the rehabilitation of dacoits‘ families and the families of their victims alike. He was able to transform 654 dacoits.
But Subba Rao wasn’t merely interested in facilitating change in the Chambal valley. He wanted to do the same in different corners of India, including states like Manipur, Assam, present-day Chhattisgarh, Punjab and Tamil Nadu.
So, he founded the National Youth Project in 1971, under whose aegis hundreds of such national level youth camps were organised even in states like Nagaland, Manipur, Meghalaya, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Ladakh, Lakshadweep and Andaman.
For his incredible service, the Gandhian social activist won many accolades including the Padma Shri, Karnataka Government’s Mahatma Gandhi Seva Award, Shanti Doot International Award and Jamnalal Bajaj Puraskar.
He passed away on 27 October 2021 after a prolonged illness in Jaipur.