K. B. Hedgewar was the founder of the Hindu nationalist organisation Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS); when he died in 1940, his final rites were performed at the RSS headquarters in Reshimbagh,[1][2] and an unassuming samadhi (memorial) was built there.[3] It was inaugurated on 9 April 1962 (Varsha Pratipada)[a] by M. S. Golwalkar who was Hedgewar's immediate successor.[3][4] When M. S. Gowalkar died, his memorial was also constructed there.[5] It is made of rare rocks, marble and mosaic.[6] The Dr. Hedgewar Smarak Samiti, an independent society registered under the Societies Act, maintains the memorial.[7][8] The training camps for RSS volunteers (Swayamsevaks) in 2017 and 2018 were organised on the premise of the memorial.[9][10]
Controversy over tourism status
The Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) approved money for the development of the memorial on 12 September 2017. The NMC has proposed construction of a road and a compound wall in Reshimbagh at a cost of ₹ 1.37 crore, but this is a controversial decision and has been contested.[11][12] A public interest litigation was filed to challenge this decision claiming that public money cannot be spent on the development of a private area.[7][8] Subsequently, it received a C-grade tourism status on the recommendation of the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) and the district planning committee.[1] The MTDC added the memorial to a list of places to visit in Nagpur Darshan for the large number of people visiting during Vijayadashami and other occasions.[2] This decision by the MTDC is under court consideration because of the public interest litigation. It is Nagpur's first memorial and 9th location to be granted tourism status.[11]
^ abBhishikara, C P (1999). Shri Guruji: Pioneer of a New Era. Sahitya Sindhu Prakashana. p. 165. ISBN9788186595169.
^Jaffrelot, Christophe (1999). The Hindu Nationalist Movement and Indian Politics: 1925 to the 1990s : Strategies of Identity-building, Implantation and Mobilisation (with Special Reference to Central India). Penguin Books India. p. 41. ISBN9780140246025.