All India Yadav Mahasabha

The formation of the AIYM was a great event in the history of the Yadav Movement. It gave expression to the national Identity of the several regional Yadav Associations. These regional association made the people aware of their mythical descent from Krishna, Their political supremacy, as Abhiras, and the necessity of exploiting the modern educational and employment opportunities in order to make progress. The regional association supported the establishment of the AIYM whose chief activity was to hold annual conferences in different parts of the India. This was the main idea of the political mobilization. In this regional associations did not lose their identity but were linked to the AIYM with in a federal type of framework. Earlier AIYM was concentrated on two issues, the popularization of the term Yadav and on making it a symbol of national identity by submerging the regional names and also concentrated to eradicate the Child Marriages and Dowries system among the Yadav community. Another problem which attracted the attention of the AIYM was alcoholism. The AIYM strongly condemn the alcoholism.

AIYM also introduced certain programs like encouraging the inter sub caste marriages among the Yadav’s. AIYM also encouraged the inter state and regional among Yadav Caste marriages and such marriages use to published in the Yadav Journal namely All India Yadav Journal (Hindi) which was established in the year 1925 at Varanasi. The AIYM also propagated against the practice of Untouchability.

The AIYM insisted that all the regional sub castes called by different names should call themselves as the Yadavs and each person should have Yadav in their last names and this was enthusiastically followed by the Yadav’s from all over the India. In pursuit to this each regional caste from 1911 onwards petitioned the Census Commissioner to change their caste name of Golla or Ahir to Yadav (Census of India, 1911, 1921, 2931). The Gollas of Hyderabad under the auspices of their regional association “The Hyderabad Rastra Yadava Mahajana Sangam” (estd 1923) applied to the Census Commissioner to their caste name of Golla, Gowli, Gollawaru and Ahir to Yadava (Census Hyderbad 1931).” The Yadukula Mahasangam” of East Godavari district made an appeal to Govt of Madras and the The Governament of Madras accepted and released a G.O. No. 5240 dated 13 December 1930 directed to use Last name as Yadava in place of Golla, Idaiyan, Gopa, Gopi or Gowla in all the official documents. Bangiya Yadav Mahasabha of Calcutta leaders also given their deputation to Census Superindent to change their regional names to last name as Yadav with Bengal Memo No 5406 Dated Calcutta 22nd December 1930. There after the All India Yadav Mahasabha National leaders gave a strong representation to the Census Commissioner of India J.H. Hoton and he accepted and directed all the Superindents of Census operations Mem No 1E Dated 16.02.1931. “Instruction may therefore use that return of ‘Yadava’ may be accepted provided as it is qualified by the local term”.

The Yadav Mahasabha stressed the importance of creating educational institutions in different regions to eradicate the illiteracy among the Yadav Community and this was necessity to make the progress in diverse economic activities and this was like encouraging the Yadav Youth to secure the Governament Jobs including recruitment to the Army. AIYM 2nd National Conference in 1925 a committed of 15 members was appointed to represent the Viceroy and Commander In Chief of the British Indian Army for the recruitment of Yadavs to the posts in the army above the sepoy level. Few of the name from 15 members deputation committee where Rao Bahadur Balbir Singh of Rewari, Rao Bahadur Durga Prasad Singh of Delhi, Dr R.V Khedekar of Ponna, Rao Sahib T C Adikeshavulu Pillai of Madras, Sarat Chandra Ghosh of Calcutta, Kanhaiyalal Yadav of Raipur and others from Bihar, Central Provinces and from the Uttar Pradesh.

The AIYM was also interested in the programs of the National Congress and Mahatma Gandhi; especially it was concerned with the eradication of untouchabilty and prohibition and AIYM joined the hands with them. Hence AIYM played a vital role in eradication of untouchabilty during the National movement.

All India Yadav Mahasabha after long efforts of more than two decades the Yadav leaders of different parts of India were assembled at prayag in 1923 on the eve of 13th annual conference of UP Ahir Khatriya Mahasabha. The conference was attended by more than forty thousand Yadavs, Gyan Singh of Etoya conducted the meeting as President. Jawahar Lal Nehru and Rama Kanta Malabya were diased as the special guest of honor. They stressed for organization of Yadav’s and inspired the Yadavs for Indian Freedom movement . in the prayag meeting All india Yadav leaders decided to form a National Organisation . They formed the organizing committee for holding the first All India Conference at Purnea Bihar from 17th to 20th April of 1924. In this First National Conference Chaudary Badan Singh MLC of Uttarpradesh and Sasat Chandra Bose MABL of Calcutta were elected as the President and Secretary General respectively and the first AIYM official Address for correspondence was 21,Shakaritola, East lane, P.O Entaly, Calcutta. According to the proposal of the prayag meeting held at 1923, in the first AIYM conference of 1924 requested all the provincial, District, Sub Divisonal and other regional Gope, Ahir and Yadav Sabha to be renamed as Yadav Sabha and to be affiliated to AIYM as a branch Sabha. In this 1924 Conference A four member committee as formed to asses the conditions of the Yadav across the country. The Four members were Choudary Badan Singh MLC, President, AIYM , Dalip Singh (Swami Krishnanda), Rewari, Punjab, Babu Swayambhar Das BA, B Ed from Bihar and Babu Manimohan Ghosh of Calcutta.

On this last day of the conference approximately 1900 Yadavs have been participated in the secred thread wearing ceremony and promised to use Surname Yadav after their recently used Surname.

The four member committee were extensively travelled more or less whole of India ie Lucknow, Shikohabad, Delhi, Rewari, Ahmedabad, Baroda, Bombay, Purnea, Dhirwar, Bangalore, Mysore, Madras, Cuttak, Calcutta and many other towns. They spoke with huge number of Yadavs, Yadav leaders, Intellectual Yadavs and with different Yadav organizations office bearers within one year based on the inputs the proposals for the upliftment of downdroden Yadavs of India in the 2nd Natinal Conference of AIYM at Gorkapur, UP in 1925.

In 1933 when Sarat Chandra Ghosh of Calcutta was the President of AIYM and BS Dalaya of Bombay was the Secretary General of AIYM they felt the need for a registered Constitution and they started working on this and unfortunately the President Sarat Chandra Ghosh expired in 1934. BS Dalaya was elected as the President and J Seru Prasad Kashyap of Nagpur was elected as the Secretary General of AIYM in 1934. They Finalized the constitution and registered the organization at Nagpur under the Societies Registration Act XXI of 1860 on 27.10.1936.