Deendayal Dham, Mathura: A Village that Became a Hub of Progress

In the Farah region of Mathura, sweet water is precious. Much of the groundwater is salty, so every drop of fresh water is valuable, and quarrels over it were once common. Farming is the main occupation, yet it often falls short of providing for the next generation. Some families migrated to find work, and the lack of good schools added to the problem.

The place and its beginning

Nagla Chandrabhan village, 22 kilometres from Mathura in the Farah area, is the birthplace of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay. Today it is known as Deendayal Dham. In 1982, at his ancestral home, a group that included the senior Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leader Bhau Rao Devras, with Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Shri Om Prakash, started the Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Janmabhoomi Smarak Samiti. A Smriti Bhavan built in his memory stands at the heart of the campus.

Work for 56 villages

The Samiti has worked for many years on the development of all 56 villages of the Farah block, in the way a meal cooked on one stove feeds a whole family. Its director, the Sangh pracharak Sonpal ji, has known this land since childhood. He recalls the time when villagers carried drinking water from miles away, and describes the efforts begun to ease that hardship.

The campus also supports livelihoods. Women work in the Ayurvedic medicine manufacturing unit at Deendayal Dham, building skills and earning an income close to home.

The story of Deendayal Dham is a reminder that development lasts when it grows from a village's own needs, starting with water, work and learning.

This story is adapted from the Parivartan Yatra series on Sewagatha. Read the original: sewagatha.org.