Ishwar Prakash Gupta worked throughout his entire life for cow protection. He strongly felt that cow vigilantes were giving a bad name to the mission
With the recent passing away of Ishwar Prakash Gupta, 84, the cow protection movement in India lost a silent and a lifelong friend. Protecting cows from slaughter was his chosen path in life. Till the very end of his eventful life, ranging from being a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) activist to functioning as a senior leader of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Gupta’s commitment had never wavered on the issue of cow protection. Yet, he was of the firm view that in the name of cow protection, activities of anti-social elements should be checked.
As a young man from Narwana, now in Haryana, he was in the forefront during the historic 1966 Cow Protection Movement that demanded a ban on the slaughter of cows in the country, as enshrined in the Directive Principles of State Policy in the Constitution of India. With the Shankaracharya and other top Hindu seers, he fasted for the cause along with thousands of others. The agitation culminated in a massive demonstration outside Parlaiment in Delhi on November 7, 1966.
Gupta strongly felt that cow vigilantes were giving a bad name to the entire cow protection movement. For the last many years, he was running a big gaushala in Bawana. Known as Gopal Gaushala, he established it at the instance of late Ashok Singhal, the president of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.
It takes care of their living and medical needs. The gaushala has around 500 cows living in sheds. The gaushala has a water tank and vermicompose pits project for bio-manure. The other products from cow milk are prepared in large amount. He used to collect small contributions from his friends and relatives to run the dream gaushala project.
Almost 65 years ago, Gupta had joined the RSS and he remained fiercely committed to it till his last days.That the views and ideology of RSS the spread across the country, Gupta used to travel from Assam to Kerala and from Gujarat to Bihar to make lifetime subscribers of the Organiser and the Panchjanya magazines. This he did from 1966 to 1975 without a break. And it was the time when he came close to the likes of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, lK Advani, Ashok Singhal, Madhukar Dattatraya Deoras and other stalwarts.
When the Indira Gandhi Government was in a belligerent mood to tame RSS activists during the Emergency, he was sent to jail without any reason. Though he suffered police excesses, yet Gupta did not compromise to secure freedom. After his release from the dingy Tihar jail, he did not ask for any reward for his ‘sacrifices’. He did not ask for a party ticket though he was very popular in North and West Delhi due to his social work.
It can be safely said that from the late 1970s he devoted fully to the cause of the VHP. Along with Ashok Singhal, he built the organisation brick by brick. Gupta remained active with both the RSS and the VHP. And as part of Sewa Bharti, he was also running dispensaries and computer centres for deprived sections of the society in various parts of Delhi, including slums and JJ colonies.
A vocal critic of scourges like lavish weddings and casteism, Gupta was of the view that casteism had dented Hinduism’s image and must be eliminated. While nobody is indispensible, yet the demise of Gupta will be felt by both the RSS and the VHP and many other organisations that he built over the years.