DADA ROCHALDAS KEWALRAMANI
A Freedom Fighter who is still fighting for helping the needy and the poor
Dada Rochaldas Kewalramani is a true embodiment of complete devotion and dedication to the cause of the needy and the poor. All his life he worked with great zeal and intense urge for the betterment of the downtrodden without looking for any name and fame. During his youth he participated fearlessly in the FREEDOM STRUGGLE and participated in the QUIT INDIA MOVEMENT.
His Participation in freedom struggle:
Born in 1925 in Ghotki in Sindh Province now in Pakistan, the very place of the oldest civilization, i.e. Indus Valley Civilization, Dada Rochaldas was a kindhearted and helpful boy who had suffered the trauma of partition which had been a heart rending experience for a little boy. He left his schooling and joined the freedom struggle (quit India Movement) to set India free from the bloody claws of British rule. In 1943 he braved to rescue the residents of Chimur and Ashti despite repeated warnings by Acharya Bhansali alongwith his friend Jesaram Vaswani. He joined the then youth Congress leader, Indira Gandhi to work for rehabilitation of the people coming from Pakistan after partition.
Worked for the Rehabilitation of Refugees:
In 1948 he took active part in rehabilitation of the refugees who were expelled and inhumanly driven away like cattle from Pakistan, keeping in mind the nightmarish experiences of partition. He never swerved from his aim, high morale and courage despite British rule's ruthless suppression. He later accompanied Debarbhai to go to Jaisalmer to help the refugees who in their thousands were coming from Pakistan. His work was lauded by the leaders like Vallabhbhai Patel and DadaBhai Nauroji.
Worked for the cyclone hit people of Andhra:
In 1977, he participated in rehabilitation work of the cyclone hit people of Machhlipattanam, Andhra Pradesh by staying in tough conditions for 4 months.
Setting Dharamshalas for refugees:
Dada Rochaldas was instrumental in constructing Bhagat Kawarram Dharamshala and Hiranand Dharamshala in Refugee camp in Jaripatka, Nagpur for a comfortable and cheap stay which proved to be a great help to the needy and poor people who had left everything in Pakistan.
Raising funds for a generous cause: With great dedication and devotion Shri Rochaldas roamed from village to village on foot to raise funds for Cancer Hospital. He was inspired by Dr. Ratanchan Daga and Dr, Bhiwapurkar to meet the great saint Tukdoji Maharaj who was suffering from Cancer at Mojhri. It was on the advice of Sant Tukdoji Maharaj that Shri Rochaldas made a firm decision to start a full fledged cancer hospital in Nagpur for the benefit of the poor people who cannot avail the high priced treatment of Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital.
Establishing Cancer Hospital and Research Centre:
In 1981 he took charge of 'Cancer Relief Society' of 'Rashtra Sant Tukdoji Maharaj Cancer Research Centre'. When started, the Cancer Hospital had only one cobalt unit, gradually the hospital has acquired its full fledged building with new equipments. Being a charitable hospital with the aim of serving the poor and the needy it requires a large amount of money for free treatment and quality research work. Govt. aids and funds from other funding agencies were not sufficient. Dada Rochaldas took up the task of raising the funds as the joint secretary of Cancer Relief Society and tirelessly worked for the progress of the hospital. Now the hospital has the honour of having two Regional Centres for Cancer treatment and Research as the first Cancer hospital in central India.
Worked for the education of poor and backward girls:
He is one of the pioneers in the field of girls' education in Maharashtra. As he thinks that educating a girl means educating the whole family. He follows the high ideals of Swami Dayanand Saraswati in providing education to girls to retain our high cultural tradition. He became an Arya Samaji to fulfill his dream to work for others. He first became an honourable member of 'Arya Vidya Sabha' to provide quality education to the poor and backward girls of the region. Presently he is working as the President of Arya Vidya Sabha which runs five educational institutions providing quality education to girls from prep to post graduate classes including MBA and UGC sponsored Career Oriented Courses.
Now Shri Rochaldas Kewalramani, this name has become synonymous to generous help for so many students to get free education, so many girls to get married respectfully, so many patients to get free treatment of cancer and many many more are in the process of availing all sorts of generous help from this 84 years young at heart and passionate in attitude gentleman who had never been after name and fame as his motto in life is “Aur kuchha naa kar sako to ek dukhi ko pyar do” spread love and happiness by helping the needy.