Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale on Saturday attended a program titled “Priya Kelkar Ji,” organized to mark the birth centenary year of Yashwant Rao Kelkar, the organizational architect and former national president of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the RSS-affiliated student organization.The program was organized by the ABVP’s Delhi unit at the Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Civic Center in the national capital.Addressing the gathering, Hosabale said, “Kelkar ji provided the organizational principles on which ABVP’s strong foundation was built. He ensured that ABVP was not limited merely to agitations, but was guided towards constructive work, representation and nation-building.”
Dattatreya Hosabale
He added, “Kelkar Yes presented an ideal model of organizational life. He was a personality who carried everyone together without any jealousy or bitterness. His life remains an eternal source of inspiration for workers.”During the programme, a performance troupe led by Milind Bhadge from Pune presented “Priya Kelkar Ji,” portraying the life, ideas, and organizational methodology of the late ABVP president.
Dattatreya Hosabale
Also present were several current and former ABVP office-bearers, including national president Raghuraj Kishore Tiwari, among others. Senior RSS members, vice-chancellors, registrars and professors from various universities, the Speaker of the Delhi Legislative Assembly, ministers of the Delhi government, functionaries of other Sangh-affiliated organizations, and a large number of students attended the programme.Yashwantrao Kelkar was born on April 25, 1925, in Pandharpur (Solapur), Maharashtra. He became an RSS pracharak in 1945. In 1955, he began teaching English at National College and, following the directions of the RSS, started working for the ABVP.
