The Governor visits Manav Kendra

Manav Kendra lies in the district of Dehra Dun, which is situated in the state of Uttar Pradesh. When the Governor of Uttar Pradesh, H.E. Ali Akbar Khan, paid an official state visit to Manav Kendra on 14^th April 1973, he was welcomed in the traditional Indian manner. Invited to inaugurate the Father Home, the Governor was greeted at the main gate by a group of men and women with flowers in their hands. The chief receiver of the honoured guest, Dr M.M. Chopra, boarded His Excellency’s car and escorted him around Manav Kendra, showing him the various departments and facilities. They then drove to the Father Home, where the Master, attended by the Centre’s Managing Committee, garlanded His Excellency, who in turn embraced the Master with apparent genuine affection. Other specially invited guests were presented to the Governor, including Raja Mahendra Pratap Ji, who is his comrade of many years and a fellow freedom fighter. The inauguration was simple, taking but a few minutes, and the engraved plaque set in the wall of the Father Home stood revealed at the hand of the Governor.

When the Governor and the Master had taken their places on the dais before the large gathering of people, the National Anthem was sung by the ladies of the School for the Blind. Proceedings commenced with an address of welcome, read and presented by Darshan Singh, the Master’s son.

At the conclusion of the program, the Master arose and said to His Excellency,

You will be pleased to know that another branch of Manav Kendra has been started in Baroda, and two more in the West also.

The Governor replied,

Very good, very good.

Turning to His Excellency, the Master remarked,

The Lord is praised by saying Allah-o-Akbar (God is great), and here today we are starting this work at the hands of Akbar.

The Master’s reference to His name, and the deference given, brought a beaming smile from His Excellency. Throughout his brief visit, he seemed to reciprocate the atmosphere of the Master’s abounding Love. Stepping down from the dais, he mingled informally among the people, discarding all protocol; his obvious pleasure showing upon his beaming face.

His Excellency, who is of a respected Hyderabad family, exudes a delightful combination of the polished culture of Muslim aristocracy and the simple humility of person and dress which characterises the true Gandhian worker. His address, delivered in fluently accurate Urdu – from the Persian root – drew spontaneous applause, acknowledgement not only of his words but of the obvious heartfelt sincerity behind them.