There are 10 crore scheduled tribes, 5 crore scheduled castes and another 5 crore poor and backward sections of our society living in slums and backward colonies in urban areas. They are illiterate, poor and suffer from various social evils-like gambling, drinking, beating of women, belief in ghosts and black magic. The tribals have been cut off from modern civilization and are simple, innocent and backward. The development schemes of the Govt. have not reached them. Scheduled castes and other backward communities living in rural area suffer from discrimination, hatred untouchability. They are not allowed to draw even water from village wells and ponds. So far as the poor section of our society living in slums in urban areas, it concerned they do not get water, electricity, housing, sanitary, health and education facilities.

Hence due to our neglect & hatred, they suffer from social discrimination, and injustice and exploitation. The foreign powers with the help of money power, are trying to win them away from the main stream of our national life and also from Hinduism and converting them to Christianity or Islam or trying to antagonise them against Hinduism.

V.H.P. has, therefore, planned to establish close contact with them with the sole aim of creating a feeling of oneness, to bring about national integration and provide them with social equality, social justice, social security, social awareness and social transformation and to create conditions conducive to their adherence to Hindu Dharam and not to be misled by foreign alien organisations for want of our love and sympathy. To achieve the above objective, V.H.P. has started service projects mainly for this poor and backward section in the field of education, Sanskar, health and hygiene, social awareness, self reliance and Dharam Jagran (Religious - awakening).

Within last one decade V.H.P. has set up more than 2500 service centres and about 4500 Satsang Kendras spread all over Bharat.

V.H.P. has more than 130 schools, 374 adult coaching centres, and about 800 centres of non-formal education in the name of Balbari/Bal-Sanskar Kendras. In Karnataka religious-cum- cultural education is imparted to school children and more than 50,000 students appear annually in examinations conducted by 'Hindu-Seva-Pratishthan'. In Andhra Pradesh, free Sanskrit Postal tuition is being conducted by V.H.P. and about 20,000 students have taken Sanskrit tuition so far. Camps are being organised for teaching Sanskrit as a spoken language and a special curriculum has been designed to teach Sanskrit so that students are able to speak and talk in Sanskrit in 10 days' time only. In Tamilnadu there are 24 Hindu Vidyalyas of good reputation. There are more dm 30 single teacher schools in rural tribal areas of Bihar and Rajasthan. In Delhi there are more than 75 Bal Sanskar Kendras Balbaries in Harijan colonies and due to our contact, much of untouchability has been removed. The boys who never reached beyond class V have now gone to post graduate classes and even to professional colleges. This year 25 villages got FIRST-EVER matriculate through our efforts in tribal areas of North Kachhar, Distt. of Assam.

With a view to inculcate moral education, character- building, patriotism and love for Hindu Society, Balbaris and Bal-Sanskar Centres have been started and about 20,000 children are attending these centres.

V.H.P. has 12 full fledged hospitals to help the poor ailing patients irrespective of any distinction of caste and creed. In Orissa, Delhi, Rajasthan, Karnataka, we have mobile medical vans which serve the poor in rural areas. Besides, there are more than 250 dispensaries situated in backward colonies and rural areas where medical aid is not available.

We have Leprosy Centres in Karnataka, U.P. and Maharashtra. There are separate hostels for the Children of leprosy patients in Punjab, Karnataka and U.P. Besides Eye camps/General Health checking and Blood donation camps are being organised from time to time all over the country.

We have more than 53 hostels for Tribal and girls. In these hostels about 2000 students are given free education along with Free Boarding and lodging facilities. Hostels have also been started for working women in Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. There are 12 orphanages and 6 children home for thrown-away children. Matri-Chhaya in Goa has its own reputation in serving thrown-away children. The children are taken into the hostel with full adoption ceremony and when a child is taken away for adoption, the serving mothers sometimes even weep due in affection and sympathy. Besides, there are about 40 creches for the upkeep of children of poor working women where about 1000 children are taken care of. Free medicines are also provided to pregnant and ailing mothers from various centres.

Several schemes of self reliance have been started in our hostels e.g. Training in bicycles repair, motor- winding, electrical repairs, typewriting, machinery work, and the students are able to settle in life after learning. In Delhi, we have training Institute in which 500 students from Harijan and Backward colonies are trained in electrical and electronics. Those students who being unemployed and uneducated were problems for their colonies, are now able to earn their bread and are employed on T.V. shops and factories. Computer Training has also been started in this Institute. An envelope and stationery making factory has been started in Madras and a match factory in Cochin employing poor women. Some Ayurvedic medicines are manufactured in our hostels in Mirzapur Distt. in U.P. There are more than 100 sewing and tailoring Training Centres for women in Delhi, Tamilnadu, Rajasthan, Kerala, Punjab and Haryana.

Several rural development schemes have been taken up by V.H.P. We have built up wells in rural areas. Tree plantation has been taken up in a big way in Maharashtra and also in Rajasthan, Assam and U.P. Training in animal husbandary, plant protection, use of smokeless chulha, bee-keeping, improved methods of agriculture is being imparted in our hostel vicinity add also to our own students Gobar-Gas plants and Go- shalas are being encouraged by us.

There are a number of sensitive places where poor and backward Hindus live but there are no temples. V.H.P. has built more than 160 small temples in these areas and Hindus can now perform their religious ceremonies in these temples. In Tamilnadu, we have built 120 such temples in Harijan areas where persons of all communities can worship and un-touchability has been reduced to a great extent in these areas. Bhajan Mandlies and Satsang Kendras have been started in rural and tribal areas for religious awakening and Hindu Consolidation. More than 4200 such Bhajan Mandlies/Satsang Kendras are working all over Bharat. Chariots carrying local deties are moving in rural areas of Tamlinadu, Andhra, Orissa, Rajasthan and South Bihar. These chariots have created a intence religious fervor and several thousand persons have come back to Hindu fold. It has also created confidence amongst harijans that Hinduism is no more dogmatic and that GOD has come to their doors to embrace them.

V.H.P. has been able to engage dedicated workers, who are serving the poor. Due to efforts of such workers, we have been able to bring the required social change in a short- time without large sum of money, whereas the Govt. with its vast resources of men and money has not been able to bring out such a change.

The SOUL of Bharat lies in DHARMA. The layman understands the language of DHARMA which is Hindu Dharma. By mobilising the religious feelings of the masses, we have been able to create an environment of enthusiasm which again has been channelised into strength and unity. In districts of Malda and Murshidabad in West Bengal, where Hindus had become timid due to onslaught of Muslim infilterators from Bangla Desh, Hindus have developed courage and feeling of unity due to our Bhajan Mandalies, Night schools and other service activities. In Phulbani district of Orissa, tribal Christians have come back to Hindu fold in large number due to 'JAGGANNATH RATH' moving from village to village. In Tamilnadu, when 'Rath Yatra' reach harijan colonies, they started realising that Hinduism was universal and that Muslim were only misguiding them. Thus with our religious and social awakening programmes, backward communities have come closer to the so-called caste Hindus and have developed new faith in Hinduism. They have started a more pious life and whenever they go to temples or other religious programmes they do not drink or take meat.

Through our educational programmes, we have kept lively contact with their parents and by our efforts the-se families have given up gambling, beating of women, abusing, taken interest in children education and cleaner habits have been developed. They are happy to see that their children coming in our contact are progressing and receiving good sanskar. In fact the life style of the entire family change after coming to our centres.

Tribal students after staying in our hostels, develop strong sense of patriotism and faith in Hinduism. In the villages of our influence or where our own trained students have settled, Christian activity has been reduced to a great extent and in several villages conversion has stopped totally.

Through our medical services, the poor people have started considering Hindu Mission parallel to Christian mission. In Phulbani district of Orissa, when our medical vans go to rural areas, the children greet it with 'Our Hindu Hospital has come'. They have started realising that the Hindu society is behind them and they are not alone. In tribal areas of Assam, the Inhabitants have more faith in c or animal sacrifice than on medicines, if they fall sick. Our doctors have convinced them to take medicines, with the result that their faith in village PANDITS has reduced and now they take proper treatment for their disease.

Students of our own hostels and coaching centres develop a feeling of social service for their community. Now, several schools, Balbaries, hostels are being managed by them leaving the attraction of Govt. service and higher salary. Also since they belong to local communities, they can interact better, and thus message of Hinduism is reaching poor and downtrodden faster.

Thus, the SEVA projects managed by dedicated workers are proving a great success in removing the artificial barrier between various sections of our society and creating great impact on Hindu society about the need for UNITY and a strong UNITED Hindu BHARAT.

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