21 June 2024
જીદ છોડો હવે (લઘુકથા)
14 June 2024
13 : The Cultivation of Poison
Kartavya: Duty with Dedication
Chapter:13
The Cultivation of Poison
Ganja Cultivation
in Aravalli! Isn’t it hard to believe? But the whole division was stunned when
the Aravalli district police cracked a massive racket of Ganja cultivation down
based on information.
The youth
of a country is the future of her. Therefore, the enemies of the country are always
in a search for an opportunity to ruin the lives of such promising youths by
making them addicted to drugs. Drugs, heroin, Charas, Ganja, opium, these all
are the absolute poisons to obtain their target., Although, the government is grave
serious and set on to stop drug addiction. The Aravalli district LCB busted a
huge racket of Ganja cultivation worth around two and a quarter crore and dealt
a huge blow to the enemies of the country.
While describing
that heart-felt operation, LCB PI K.D. Gohil tells: “I was busy with my routine
office works on that day as usual. There I got an unknown call from a stranger speaking
in a panicked voice. As he said he had something very serious to inform. He
added anxiously that his life might have been in danger if someone could have come
to know about his giving the information. Yet, he wanted to share for it was an
indispensable news.
“I
assured him for his identity would be skeleton in the cupboard. My heart dropped
for a moment when I heard what the stranger said the next. He carried on
mumbling, “Sir! The youth of the country will be ruined. Please do save them.
The poisonous Ganja is cultivated in one of the villages of Bayad block. Please
cease this cultivation and extricate the youth of our great nation, Sir.”
“At first, I was shocked to know about the
cultivation of Ganja in our district itself, but the stranger had a stab of
pain in his voice. As there was a ring of truth, the wheels were set in motion
to investigate in that direction.
“I
shared all those particulars with District Police Chief Sanjay Kharat. He took
the matter extremely seriously and ordered an immediate investigation to detain
the entire racket.
“We
started on a secret mission. First, we connected the stranger who had called
me. the Our team reached at night for a search operation in the fields of the
village where Ganja was being cultivated. The whole village was fast asleep.
The police team reached the outskirts of the village with full preparation. That
stranger also joined us. Although he had a mask on his face. We could only see
his eyes. Our team moved towards the direction under his leadership. We were
passing fields one after another in the dark night. There the stranger halted
at the edge of a field. where Toor was grown. The man beckoned us to enter the
farm.
“Crossing
the big Toor plants, when we reached at the middle of the field, we were
stunned to see the Ganja plants grown under the semblance of Toor cultivation.
As it became necessary to examine the surrounding farms as well, we proceeded. And
it was beyond our imagination. In second field, we got the same scenery, also
in third, in fourth and in fifth and so on…. it continued. The whole team was
amazed to see such a large amount of Ganja cultivation.
“The operation lasted for 36 hours day and night. With the
help of drones, the crops grown in the fields of an area of about two kilometres
were monitored. We needed many tractors as we started to collect the complete Ganja
cultivation. A total of 2272 kg of green Ganja plants were seized. The
estimated cost of which was two and a half crores. The entire police team was
awake day and night and carried out the entire operation.
“With that
successful operation, the police confiscated the belongings that ruined the
lives of many youths. Criminals who were cultivating Ganja were caught. The
next question was how the Ganja seed reached there. After rigorous enquiry, we
found that the Ganja seeds were supplied by 'The Elephant Maharaj' - as the
supplier was identified by that name only among the accused. The accused knew
neither the face nor the original name of the supplier.
“A
tip-off from a stranger led to an important operation. Even after the success
of the operation, the man refused to give his true identity to the police. And
we also respected his sentiment of anonymity. I wanted to ask the informant one
last question about why he got us the respective information on the verge of
his death. His answer shocked my heart.
“As he replied,
'Sir, I also had a brother whose life was ruined by the Ganja addiction. At the
end, his condition was so pathetic. As a family we could not help him anyhow. I
have lost my brother. I have risked my life so that no other brother should
follow this path of destruction.”
Contentment
reflects in the eyes of PI K.D.Gohil for successfully completing that operation
as he concluded the report here.
-----------------------------------------------
Kartavya, a police diary by Mr. Ishwar Prajapati in Gujarati
©️Translated into English by Pallavi Gupta🌷
12: Strike on Bootleggers
Kartavya: Duty with Dedication
Gujarat has been the birthland and the realm of actions of Mahatma Gandhi.
Gandhi gave an important place to prohibition of alcohol in the constructive
programs. During his movement, there was a widespread propaganda in the society
about banning the alcohol. Many women used to go picket numerous liquor shops.
Due to the impact of Gandhiji's ideology, ban on liquor has been introduced in
Gujarat, but many anti-social people as well as drunken drug addicts continue
to defame Gujarat by smuggling liquor.
Additionally, Aravalli
district is situated at the borders of Rajasthan. So, the notorious bootleggers
are always in a search of chance to misuse the Aravalli routes for smuggling liquor.
Aravalli District Police is determined to discipline such notorious
bootleggers. There are many instances of bootleggers, who are pestered by the
strict police, carrying out some fatal attacks on policemen. Once, at night
time, the bootleggers had driven over a PSI officer who was inspecting the
vehicles at Rajasthan border. He was seriously injured in that incident and
died during treatment. Martyrdom of that brave policeman is unforgettable for the
district police.
The district police heavily knocked down the liquor smugglers and
bootleggers. In a couple of years, the police have seized all types of liquor along
with the vehicles worth crores of rupees and have arrested those notorious
bootleggers.
The police have worked their fingers to the
bone to prevent the smuggling of alcohol and other intoxicants. The police have
tightened their patrolling around borders of Rajasthan and have given a stern warning
to all the bootleggers. During the last three years, the district police has
registered a total of 9863 cases of prohibition and has segregated a total of
454 cases as quality cases. Thus, they have provided an excellent example by
taking strict action. The district police chief Sanjay Kharat did not even spare
the police if anyone was suspected to be involved in the smuggling of liquor. Serious
actions such as suspension were taken against the policemen for disgracing the
police uniform by cahooting with the bootleggers.
Details
of prohibited cases in Aravalli district are as follows.
Details of the confiscated matters in cases of prohibition |
Details of the confiscated matters in the quality cases of prohibition |
||||||
Dated 04/08/2020 to 31/03/2023 |
Dated 04/08/2020 to 31/03/2023 |
||||||
Total case |
The value of prohibited |
Property value |
Total value |
Total case |
The value of prohibited |
Property value |
Total value |
9863 |
50102 Litres of local alcohol Worth Rs. 421520 601167 bottles worth Rs. 115479518 |
833 vehicles worth Rs. 183059880 And other matters worth Rs. 1076164 |
Rs. 301932313 |
454 |
598405 bottles worth Rs. 76474479 |
495 vehicles worth Rs. 292872000 and other matters worth Rs. 10770004 |
Rs. 393943918 |
The Aravalli district police has defeated
the bootleggers with their brave actions. Bootleggers are forced to think a
thousand times while traversing the Aravalli routes. This can be said to be the
biggest victory of the district police.
---------------------------------------------
Kartavya, a police diary by Mr. Ishwar Prajapati in Gujarati
©️Translated into English by Pallavi Gupta🌷
સુંદર (લઘુકથા)
02 June 2024
ચોરી (લઘુકથા)
28 May 2024
11: A football player became the most wanted.
Kartavya: Duty with Dedication
Chapter 11: A football player became the most wanted.
There is no shortcut to become rich in life. However, there are numerous examples available in our society of many promising young people ruining their lives by turning to the path of crime in the temptation of getting rich in a short way. So, let’s talk about a person who was an excellent football player in his school days but later on, in his youth, took on a wrong path in order to get richer shortly and committed serious crimes one after another. Hence the once promising football player became the most wanted.
His name was Suko. His village Dodisara, is a small village in Bhiloda taluka located in the lap of Aravalli Hills. It is surrounded by hills. As soon as one enters the village, one can get the sight of a full-sized statue of Birsa Munda. This chowk is also named as Birsa Munda Chowk. Suka was born here and grew up among the hills. He was a good football player during his school days. His had a good physique.
He was living an ordinary life. His parents were farmers. But Suka was very ambitious. He also wanted to be rich. He wanted to dominate that area. It seemed that it would take years to achieve his goal, but Suka did not have that much patience. To earn money in a short way he started a liquor business. More money started to come with less effort. As the money came, his confidence reached the seven clouds. His dominancy also started to increase in the surrounding area. If anyone opposed him, he would beat them in public. Thus, no one dared to complain against him.
Most of the population in this hilly region of Bhiloda in Aravalli belonged to the tribal community. The residents of this area who had received school education had high positions in the administration, but those who were illiterate weren’t able to feed themselves. They didn't even know what to do to earn. Suka began to lead such ignorant people. Lack of employment had forced these people to take on illegal jobs to earn money. Suka became a messiah for such people.
The liquor business is very easy and straightforward. If had good contacts with the administrators, large sum of money at less effort could be acquired. A big amount of money could be earned by preparing eight to ten hooligans. Suka was the mastermind. He lured other people in need of money to join his illegal business and made his gang. If a police van passed around the area, his attendants would immediately inform Suka and he would immediately flee from the spot. His network was so massive that he could get information about the area in seconds.
His age was about 30 years. Living in the midst of hills had made his body strong. He had a chiselled body, a small but stylish moustache, a straight pointed nose, fair complexion, short but curly hair, a coloured cap, which he used as a mask in the winter and summer.
Suka had become reinless and started committing crimes fearlessly. He used to harass the people around him, but once when the police raided his adda he attacked the police fatally. He even snatched their rifle and fled away. As if he was not afraid of anyone. Suka’s gang had become famous even among the police circles. Between the two big hills of Aravalli was the village of Dodisara. There was only one main road leading to the village. As the village was surrounded by hills, it was very difficult to reach the village by other ways. Suka was very familiar with the geography of the area. He was still in touch with his colleagues. The geographical situation was such that if any stranger entered the village, he would be informed immediately. Hence, despite all the efforts made by the police, Suka was nowhere to be found.
A total of 23 cases were registered against Suka. In which, serious crimes like two fatal attacks on the police, abduction of a police service rifle, assault, liquor smuggling and two murders were registered. He had brutally killed his uncle. Suka, suspecting that his uncle had his eye on his wife, had killed his uncle by stabbing him in the chest. However, after settling the case, Suka was acquitted in the court. His supremacy was so much that if someone filed any case against him, he would make a settlement with the accused party with money and power and escape from the hands of the law. This streak of his continued and Suka went on committing crimes fearlessly and thus, became the most wanted.
Undaunted, Suka brutally committed another murder. He had suspicion that someone would have practiced witchcraft on him, causing his business to become very slow and weak. With that thought, he had killed an occultist. That murder was done in a very brutal manner. That occultist was caught, brought home, kept hungry and thirsty and was beaten deadly for two consecutive days. Suka even gave him electric shocks. The occultist was admitted to the hospital in a very pathetic condition and had died during treatment. Five accused involved in that murder were nabbed by the police, but Suka managed to escape.
It had become a very arduous task to arrest Suka. He had challenged the police. Bhiloda Police along with LCB, SOG and Special Force were conducting a search operation day and night. During the investigation they crossed the border of Rajasthan as well as of Punjab. But Suka was nowhere to be found. He had a special motorbike that ran at the speed of the wind. He could even drive it at full speed on hilly roads. And in an instant, he would disappear into the hills.
Aravalli district police chief Sanjay Kharat realized the seriousness of this case and devised a plan to put Suka in jail. A police team was formed in which L.C.B. Pl. C.P. Vaghela, PI M.G. Vasava, PSI K.M. Sisodia were involved. Suka had two marriages. Even though he had two wives, he had an affair with a third damsel. One night Suka was returning after meeting his beloved. The district police got that information. They nabbed Suka on the spot. Eventually the police succeeded and Suka was caught.
After arresting Suka, the District Police Chief Sanjay Kharat himself interrogated him. Says Sanjay Kharat: “There was no sign of remorse on Suka's face after being caught. There was not even a hint of guilt on his face. His eyes were piercing and emotionless. His body smelled malodorously as he had not bathed for several days."
To track down such criminals the State Government has enacted GUJCTOC (The Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organized Crime Act). And due to the implementation of this law, Suka and 19 of his accomplices are currently in jail. The Aravalli District Police is applauded for their hard work of sending such a notorious gang and its leader behind the bars. A heartfelt salute must be given to all the officers who made this operation a success.
Everyone should always keep in mind that there is no shortcut to becoming rich and successful. And even if there is a shortcut it will be short-lived and will only lead to a painful end.
"Shortcuts are always dangerous."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kartavya, a police dairy by Mr. Ishwar Prajapati in Gujarati
©️Translated into English by Pallavi Gupta🌷
23 May 2024
10: Elimination of The Terror
Kartavya: Duty with Dedication
Chapter 10: Elimination of The Terror
The fracture Gang.
All the people from
Aravalli to Ahmedabad were terrorized by the Fracture Gang. The very name of
this gang caused a stir among the people. The gang was ferocious and often
attacked people with the intention of looting in which innocent people were
killed brutally. The hooligans of this gang struck people so ruthlessly that
their body parts got fractured. Therefore, this gang became infamous as the Fracture
Gang.
Those hooligans used
to assemble and commit many serious crimes like tussling, threatening, attempting
murders, kidnapping, ragging, violating the drug laws, etc fearlessly. The
mastermind of this gang and other criminals had formed this gang to carry out
such illegal activities. The inhabitants of Ahmedabad region were terrified by
this gang.
For quite a while, the
Fracture gang had been active in the liquor smuggling business. The Aravalli
district police acquired information by one of their informers about the smuggling
of liquor from Rajasthan via Aravalli by this gang. Based on the information,
the district police tightened the perambulation. Patrolling intensified. Their alertness
increased. The information regarding the Fracture gang passing through the main
road of Aravalli at any time was unerring.
Soon after, a
suspicious vehicle passed through the border area. The police instantly chased
after it. The driver of the suspected vehicle, although had realized that it
would be difficult to evade the police that day, continued to drive the car
recklessly at full speed. It was as if a film shooting was going on the main
road. District police pursued the suspicious vehicle from Shamalaji and successfully
arrested one of the hooligans of Fracture gang, who was involved in smuggling
of alcohol, from Gajan Toll-Naka. This was a great success for the district
police.
The miscreant,
caught with foreign liquor, was brought to Modasa police station and was interrogated
intensively. That gang was so valiant that it seemed they feared none. During
the interrogation, the miscreant attacked the police with a glass bottle. One
of the policemen got injured lethally. How barbarous that man would be to have fatally
attacked a police constable while being in the custody!
More than a
dozen cases were registered against that gang in various police stations. Nevertheless,
the gang members would get out on bail and resume their criminal activities. It
had become essential to bring the unruly fractured gang to its senses. The
Aravalli police unearthed all the criminal records of that gang.
The Aravalli
district police gathered information about all the hooligans related to
Fracture Gang who were brazenly committing many crimes. The other goons of the
Fracture gang were also bravely nabbed by the district police. DYSP Bharat
Basia and his team had made the operation to eliminate the notorious fracture
gang successful at the risk of their lives.
Based on the criminal activities of this gang, action was taken under the GUJCTOC (The Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organized Crime) Act. Aravalli district police succeeded. Under the GUJCTOC Act, the gallant team of the Aravalli District Police had jailed the gangsters of Ahmedabad's notorious Fracture Gang, who are still rotting in the jail. Citizens from Aravalli to Ahmedabad have sigh of relief since the infamous Fracture gang has been jailed.
Kartavya, a police dairy by Mr. Ishwar Prajapati in Gujarati
©️Translated into English by Pallavi Gupta🌷
12 May 2024
रेती (कविता)
11 May 2024
9 :Where did the siblings go?
10 May 2024
8: Again, The Nirbhaya Case?
Kartavya: Duty with Dedication
Chapter-8: Again, The Nirbhaya Case?
Many heinous incidents occur in the society that make our heart tremble just on hearing them. The Nirbhaya incident occurred at New Delhi, had shaken the whole country. Its ramifications had echoed from the streets to the Parliament. The government had understood the graveness of the incident and had made the laws more stringent. However, why do such atrocious incidents keep occurring in society is still in question.
When a person breaks all the boundaries of humanity he takes a form of terrifying monster. The rape incident that had occurred recently in Aravalli was despicable.
Once in a hamlet of Malpur taluka, the entire village was celebrating the Holi festival beamingly. They had come for darshan of the holy fire of Goddess Holika. A couple living on the edge of the village also left their two young daughters sleeping at home and went to have darshan of the Holy fire. People were dancing in trance to the beats of the drumsticks hitting the big drums in unison. But amidst the thunderous sound of the drum, no one could hear the scream of the helpless four-and-a-half-year-old girl.
After When the couple returned home puja of Goddess Holika, their younger daughter was not in the bed. They believed her playing somewhere nearby. They started searching her around but couldn’t trace her out. Now the hearts began trembling. After all, where has their sleeping daughter gone? In a moment a whirlwind of thoughts arose. Where would the daughter be? What condition she would be in? Who would have picked her up?
Nearby people also gathered and started searching the nearby fields with torches and lanterns. A torch light fell on the slope of the farm a short distance from the house and the sight caused a heart-rending scream of everyone who witnessed the scene. A demon of about twenty-four years old was brutally scratching a four-and-a-half-year-old girl to satisfy his lust. As light fell on that monster, he didn’t even wait to put on his clothes, he fled away to save his life.
…and a little girl laid in a pool of blood in agony and agony. All hell broke out on the daughter’s parents. The flames of Goddess Holika lit in the village had died down, but the flames that took shape in the life of the girl here were probably never going to die down.
The shock was unbearable for the girl’s parents. The entire incident was reported to the Malpur police. The victim was admitted to the hospital for treatment.
The district police showed extreme seriousness regarding this melancholic and sensitive case and were determined to find out the culprit and accord him the strictest punishment. Within hours, the police caught the fiend. Criticism was pouring in from all sides for this demonic act.
The police didn’t rest by just arresting the rapist but ensured that he would get seriously punished for his atrocious act. The then L.C.B. PI C.P Vaghela and his team investigated the case on a war footing. Due to lack of evidence, in many cases, the criminals acquitted, but in this case the police were careful not to miss even a slightest detail.
The L.C.B. team after carrying out Panchnama collected the necessary evidence. The clothes that the girl child was wearing at the time of the incident along with clothes of the demonic man were sent to the FSL. The girl child was medically examined. All reports indicated the heinous act of the culprit.
Sanjay Kharat’s efforts to get the case heard quickly in the Special court and the rapist to be punished expeditiously were great and his efforts were successful. The case was tried in a Special court. Public prosecutor D.S. Patel also made a strong pleading in the court and strengthened the case. Finally, every one’s hard work paid off. In just a short span of seven moths the court handed down its verdict and sentenced him by inflicting a rigourous punishment of 20 years to the devil in human form. This was a historic verdict. The efforts of L.C.B. PI C. P. Vaghela, PSI S. K. Desai in bringing the culprit to justice was admirable.
The role of all officers and the Public Prosecutor in the entire case was instrumental in helping the victim’s family to get speedy justice.
Kartavya, a police diary by Mr. Ishwar Prajapati in Gujarati
Issued on 7 May 2024, on
https://ishvarprajapati.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2024-05-08T21:58:00-07:00&max-results=1&start=1&by-date=false
©️Translated into English by Pallavi Gupta🌷
08 May 2024
Living Legend: શ્રી મોતીભાઈ પટેલ
મહાકાવ્યો કદી મરતા નથી.
Living Legend શ્રી મોતીભાઈ પટેલને મારી શબ્દ શ્રદ્ધાંજલી
દરેક વસ્તુ કે વ્યક્તિનું એક ઉદગમ સ્થાન હોય છે. એક આરંભ બિંદુ દરેકને મળે છે. જેનું પણ અસ્તિત્વ છે એ સજીવ હોય કે નિર્જીવ આ વિશ્વમાં એક નિશ્ચિત સ્થાન પ્રત્યેકને મળેલ છે. હવે એ ઉદગમ સ્થાનને વળગી રહેવું કે એક એક ડગલું આગળ વધતા પોતાના અસ્તિત્વનો વ્યાપ વધારવો એ જે તે વ્યક્તિના દૃઢ મનોબળ, મહત્ત્વકાંક્ષાઓ અને ક્ષમતા ઉપર આધારિત છે. માનવીય ઇતિહાસમાં એવા અનેક પાત્રો જોવા મળ્યા છે કે જેમણે પોતાની સકારાત્મકતા, ઉચ્ચાકાંક્ષા, અસાધારણ સાહસો, શોર્યપૂર્ણ પ્રવાસો, અસીમ સાહસ બળ, પોતાના પ્રભાવશાળી વ્યક્તિત્વ અને ઉમદા મૂલ્યો દ્વારા મહાકાવ્ય બની સદૈવ સમાજને એક ઉત્તમ વ્યક્તિત્વનું ઉદાહરણ પૂરું પાડ્યું છે.
રામ અયોધ્યાની નજીકના કોઈ જંગલમાં સ્થાયી થઈ
શક્યા હોત; કૃષ્ણ કંસ-હનન,
કે જે એમના અવતરણનો મુખ્ય
ઉદ્દેશ્ય હતો, પછી મથુરા કે
વૃંદાવનમાં સ્થાયી થઈ શક્યા હોત; સિદ્ધાર્થ
કપિલવસ્તુ પર શાસન કરી એક સમ્રાટ તરીકેની પ્રતિષ્ઠા મેળવી શક્યા હોત અને ગાંધીજી
સ્વયં બેરિસ્ટર થયા પછી પોતાનું વૈભવશાળી જીવન વિતાવી શક્યા હોત. પરંતુ જો આ
પાત્રો પોતાના ઉદગમ સ્થાનને વળગી રહ્યા હોત, તો ક્યારેય શ્રીરામ કે દ્વારકેશ કે ભગવાન બુદ્ધ
કે મહાત્મા ના બની શક્યા હોત. સમાજ કલ્યાણ અર્થે વધાવેલા તેમના પ્રત્યેક ડગલાએ આ
મહાન પાત્રોને મહાકાવ્ય બનાવી દીધા.
એક એવું જ વિરલ વ્યક્તિત્વ -શ્રી મોતીભાઈ મ.
પટેલ, શિક્ષણના સુચારું સંચાલન
અને સ્થાપન માટેના તેમના અનંત પ્રયાસો દ્વારા એમના જીવનને મહાકાવ્ય સમો વ્યાપ
મળ્યો છે.
અરવલ્લીની ગિરિકંદરાઓની વચ્ચે નાનકડા ગામ
ઈસરીના એક સામાન્ય ખેડૂતપુત્રે ગુજરાતના દરેક ખૂણે પોતાનું નામ ગજવ્યું છે.
પ્રાથમિક શાળાથી અનુસ્નાતક તાલીમી કોલેજો સુધી, રાજસ્થાન બોર્ડરના વાઘપુરથી દ્વારીકા સુધી,
અરવલ્લીથી સુરેન્દ્રનગર
સુધી, આખા ગુજરાતમાં છવાયેલ
કબીરવડ છે. સંપૂર્ણ જીવન શિક્ષણ, શૈક્ષણિક સંસ્થાઓ
અને પ્રવૃત્તિઓ, વહીવટી
જવાબદારીઓમાં વિતાવ્યા ઉપરાંત તેમનું વ્યક્તિત્વ દર્પણની જેમ સ્વચ્છ, નિર્દોષ રહ્યો છે. કેટકેટલી સંસ્થાના
સ્થાપક-ટ્રસ્ટી, કેટકેટલાના
જીવનના ઉદ્ધાર-પ્રોત્સાહક પરિબળ હોવા છતાં સ્વભાવે બાળક જેટલા જ સરળ રહ્યા છે.
રત્તિ જેટલું પણ અહમનો છટકાવ ક્યારેય જોવા મળ્યો નથી. મહાકાવ્ય સમા તેમના જીવનનો એક
ટૂંકો પરિચય મેળવીએ.
ઉદગમ બિંદુ:
અરવલ્લીની ગિરિકંદરાઓના સાનિધ્યમાં મેઘરજ તાલુકાના એક નાનકડા ગામમાં 16-5-1937ના દિવસે શ્રી મનોરભાઈ તથા નાથીબહેનને ત્યાં
શ્રી મોતીભાઇ પટેલનો જન્મ થયો. મહેનતુ ખેડૂત પિતા અને સમૃદ્ધ મોસાળની વારસાઈ વચ્ચે
ખૂબ સુંદર લાડકોડવાળુ અલ્લળ બાળપણ મળ્યું. ગામની સરકારી પ્રાથમિક શાળા કે જ્યાં
સગા સોમાકાકા તે શાળાના આચાર્ય હતા, ઉત્તમ પ્રાથમિક શિક્ષણ ઉપરાંત બાળપણની નિર્દોષ લીલાઓથી ભરપૂર સમૃદ્ધ સમયકાળ
મળ્યો. પ્રાથમિક શિક્ષણ પછી પિતાના આગ્રહથી ખેતી કામમાં જોડાયેલા તરુણવયના મોતીને
તેમના મામાના કેટલાક શબ્દોએ જીવનને એક નવી દિશા આપી."પિતાજીની વારસાઇની થોડી
જમીનમાં ચાર ભાઈઓ પૈકી તારું કુટુંબ શે જીવશે? મોતી, નળીયાની લાઈનની જેમ તારી જીવનની લાઈન પણ સીધી જ રાખજે", મામાની આ શિખામણે
મોતીને જીવનની જવાબદારીઓ માટે સજાગ કર્યો, પછી શરૂ થઈ જીવનમાં સંઘર્ષ યાત્રા.
સંઘર્ષ કાળ:
મામાની શિખામણથી પુરુષાર્થ માટે તત્પર મોતીભાઈ 'સિદ્ધાર્થ' નવલકથાના સિદ્ધાર્થની જેમ ઘર છોડીને નીકળી
પડ્યા, સાથે હતું તો માત્ર એક
બગલથેલો જેમાં બે જોડ કપડાં અને ફકત 20 રૂપિયા. ઈસરીથી મેશ્વો નદી વટાવી શામળાજી પછી પદયાત્રા
કરી હિંમતનગર પહોંચી ગયા. ત્યાં શહેરની એક કરીયાણાની દુકાનમાં નોકરી કરી. પછી
દરજીની દુકાન, ક્યારેક ખેતીમાં
ગુંથાયા. પરંતુ શિક્ષક થવાને ઝંખતું હૈયું તેમને નવાગામના ગ્રાન્ટેડ પ્રાથમિક શાળા
સુધી લઈ આવ્યું. ત્યાં શિક્ષક તરીકેની નોકરી મળી. બસ, જીવનપથ પર એક નવી દિશાએ શ્રી મોતીભાઈ પટેલને
આહ્વાન આપ્યો.
જીવન યાત્રા:
શિક્ષક તરીકેની પ્રથમ નોકરી મેળવ્યા બાદ તેમની અંદરનો શિક્ષકત્વ સોળે કળાએ
ખીલવા લાગ્યો. પછીથી જીવનકાળ દરમિયાન ઘણી જગ્યાએ શિક્ષક અને તદુપરાંત અધ્યાપક
તરીકેની નોકરી કરી તથા ઘણી શૈક્ષણિક સંસ્થાઓનું સ્થાપન કર્યું.
નવાગામના ગ્રાન્ટેડ પ્રાથમિક શાળા પછી રાજસ્થાન-ગુજરાતની સરહદે
વાઘપુર-ગોધાવાડા પ્રાથમિક શાળામાં બદલી થઈ. સ્વયં આચાર્ય, શિક્ષક, પ્યુન બધી જવાબદારી તેમના જ કાંધે હતી. પછીના
વર્ષોમાં શ્રી નૃસિંહભાઇએ વલ્લભ વિદ્યાલય-બોચાસણમાં ગયા જ્યાં શ્રી રવિશંકર
મહારાજનું સાનિધ્ય મળ્યું. પછી સર્વોદય યોજનાની આંબાબાર પ્રાથમિક શાળા, ભિલોડા, એમ હાલના સાબરકાંઠા અને અરવલ્લી
જિલ્લાના અનેક પ્રાથમિક શાળાઓમાં શિક્ષક તરીકેની નોકરી કરી.
કાળાંતરે શિક્ષક પછી અધ્યાપક તરીકેની યાત્રા શરૂ થઈ. જેમાં સૌપ્રથમ અમદાવાદની
સી. એન. વિદ્યાલયમાં પીટીસી અને જીબીટીસીના અધ્યાપક તરીકે નિમાયા. તે સમય દરમિયાન
કોલેજથી છુટી દર શની-રવિ મોડાસા કોલેજમાં એમ. એ. ગુજરાતીના વર્ગો પણ ચલાવતાં.
મોડાસામાં જાણીતા બાળ સાહિત્યકાર શ્રી રમણભાઈ સોનીના સંપર્કમાં આવ્યા. શ્રી રમણભાઈ
સોની કે જેમણે 1 થી 100 સુધીની સંખ્યા અંગે સંશોધન કર્યું હતું. વળી
આગળ ચાલીને એ સંશોધનને કશમે એવોર્ડ પણ પ્રાપ્ત થયો, જેમાં મુખ્ય ભૂમિકા શ્રી મોતીભાઇની હતી.
સ્વયં શિલ્પી, શિક્ષણઋષિ:
ડોડીસરાના કાર્યકાળ દરમિયાન ઇસરીથી ભિલોડા સુધી પાંચ માધ્યમિક શાળાઓ શરૂ કરી.
પછી કોઈ અણબનાવે ડોડીસરા છોડવાનું નક્કી કર્યું, ત્યાં તો ખંભાતના બી. એડ. કૉલેજમાં અધ્યાપકની
પદવી રાહ જોઈ બેઠી હતી.
15 જૂન 1970માં ખંભાતની શ્રીમતી બી.સી.જે કોલેજ ઓફ
એજ્યુકેશનમાં હાજર થયા. અનુસ્નાતક શિક્ષક થયા. 'તુલનાત્મક શિક્ષણ'ની નૂતન ધારા શરૂ કરી. શૈક્ષણિક સામયિક 'નૂતન-શિક્ષણ'ના તંત્રી ડૉ. ગુણવત્તા શાહથી મૈત્રી થઈ જેનો
ડંકો શિક્ષણજગતમાં આજે પણ વાગે છે. ઉત્સાહ
અને નિષ્ઠા ભરેલી પ્રવૃત્તિઓ સાથે કેટલાક વર્ષો પસાર થતા હતાં, ત્યાં તો દ્વારકા
બી.એડ.કોલેજ તેમને બોલાવતી હતી.
દ્વારકામાં કારકિર્દીની 15 વર્ષની લાંબી યાત્રા ખેડી. તે લાંબી યાત્રાને શ્રી મોતીભાઈ સોનેરી વર્ષો
તરીકે સંબોધતા હતા . 15 વર્ષના દીર્ઘ
સમયકાળ દરમિયાન ડો. ગુણવંત શાહ સાથે મૈત્રી ગાઢ થઈ. અનેક કાર્યશિબિરો, યોજનાઓ, પ્રવૃત્તિઓ થકી અધ્યાપન ક્ષેત્રે શ્રી
મોતીભાઈની નામના સતત વધતી રહી છે. મોતીભાઈ પટેલ કહેતા, "હું મારા વતનમાં માત્ર 13 વર્ષ રહ્યો છું.
તેને બદલે દ્વારિકામાં 15 વર્ષ રહ્યો. 15 વર્ષમાં મેં વ્યક્તિગત ઘણી સિદ્ધીઓ પ્રાપ્ત
કરી. શૈક્ષણિક, આધ્યાત્મિક અને
સાહિત્યનું સુંદર વાતાવરણ અમે મિત્રોએ સર્જ્યું.”
દ્વારકા પ્રત્યે આટલું મમત્વ છતાં 1988માં દ્વારકા પશ્ચિમ તરફ મૂકીને ઉપડ્યા
સુરેન્દ્રનગર.
શિક્ષણ જગતમાં શ્રી મોતીભાઇ પટેલ નો
એક્કો જમાવનાર આ કાળ ખૂબ જ ફળદ્રુપ સાબિત થયો. માનવમંદિરમાં આવેલી 'મૈત્રી વિદ્યાપીઠ મહિલા બી.એડ કોલેજ'માં આચાર્ય બન્યા. એમની અંદર બેઠેલો આચાર્ય
સોળે કળાએ ખીલી ઉઠ્યો. એમ. એડ. ના વર્ગો શરૂ કર્યાં. બહેનો માટે છાત્રાલય શરૂ કરી.
ઉપરાંત, કોલેજની બહેનો તથા
અધ્યાપકો માટે ખાદીનો ગણવેશ નક્કી કરી ગણવેશ ધરાવતી ગુજરાતની પ્રથમ બી.એડ. કોલેજ
બની. પી.એચ.ડી.ના ગાઈડ બન્યા. દક્ષિણ ગુજરાત યુનિવર્સિટીના શિક્ષણ વિભાગના
તત્કાલીન વડા ડૉ. ગુણવંત શાહ સાથે વિચારમેળો શરૂ કર્યો. વિચારમેળાની કુલ 25 સફળ શિબિરોના આયોજન થકી શિક્ષણ સહિત સાહિત્ય
ક્ષેત્રે પણ નામના મેળવી. વિદ્વાન મિત્રો બન્યા. આ શિબિરોમાં શ્રી કેશુભાઈ દેસાઈ,
શ્રી યશવંત શુક્લ,
શ્રી મનુભાઈ પંચોળી 'દર્શક', શ્રી પુરૂષોત્તમ માવલંકર, શ્રી ભદ્રાયુ
વછરાજાની જેવા સર્જકોએ ભાગ લીધો હતો.
ત્યાં તાલીમી શિક્ષણના પાયારૂપ એક
મોટું કાર્ય આરંભ કર્યું અને તે હતું એમ. એડ. ના વર્ગોનું નવું સેન્ટરની શરૂઆત. તે
ઉપરાંત અન્ય અનેક કામગીરી કરતાં રહ્યાં, જેમકે સૌરાષ્ટ્ર યુનિવર્સિટીમાં સ્ટાફ એકેડેમિકમાં તજજ્ઞ સેવાઓ; માધ્યમિક શિક્ષણબોર્ડ શિક્ષણ સમિતિમાં સભ્ય
તરીકે ત્રણ વર્ષની સેવા; પુનઃ સૌરાષ્ટ્ર
યુનિવર્સિટીમાં વહીવટ તથા સિન્ડીકેટ સભ્ય તરીકે; સૌરાષ્ટ્ર યુનિવર્સિટીના શિક્ષણવિભાગના ડીન
તરીકે; અને.... અને.....
અને..... શિક્ષણ અને વહીવટ ક્ષેત્રે અનેકો અનેક કામગીરી કરી, જેને શબ્દોમાં બાંધવું અશક્ય પૂરવાર થાય છે. કહેવાય
છે ને,
આ મહાકાવ્યના ઉમદા મૂલ્યો:
શ્રી મોતીભાઈ મ. પટેલ એક પારસમણિ હતા. તેઓ જે જે સ્થળ જે જે વ્યક્તિના
સંપર્કમાં આવ્યા તે સુવર્ણ બનીને ઝળહળી ઉઠ્યું. જેનું કારણ હતું તેમની સકારાત્મક
વિચારધારા તથા દીર્ઘદૃષ્ટિ. જેના લીધે સમાંજોદ્ધાર
માટે લીધેલા પગલા ખોટા પડ્યા નોહતા. જન્મથી માંડીને મૃત્યુ સુધી સતત કૈંક ને કૈંક
કરવાની તેમની ખેવના તેમને યુવાન રાખતી. Down to Earth વાળું તેમનું વિનમ્ર
વ્યક્તિત્વ નવા અને ઉમદા સંપર્કોથી તેમને સમૃદ્ધ રાખતું. કેટલાક મહાનુભાવોના શબ્દો
એક અનન્ય છવી ઉભી કરે છે.
શ્રી ભરત જોશી તેમને 'હકારાત્મક ઉર્જાનું પાવર હાઉસ'
ડો. દક્ષેશ ઠાકર એમને 'શિક્ષણ પ્રહરી મોતીભાઈ',
મણિલાલ હ.પટેલ 'શિક્ષકોના આદર્શ શિક્ષક મોતીભાઈ',
હરેશ ધોળકિયા તેમને
'પ્રસન્નમૂર્તિ વ્યક્તિત્વ'
કહે છે.
જ્યારે
ડૉ. કેશુભાઈ દેસાઈ 'કૂણા કાળજાનો
માનવી' તરીકે સંબોધે છે.
જયેન્દ્ર ત્રિવેદી કહે છે 'એક રજકણ રત્ન
બનીને શોભે'.
શિષ્યો એમને 'મિત્ર, માર્ગદર્શક અને ગુરુવર' તરીકે સંબોધે છે.
"વ્યક્તિ પોતાના કર્મો થકી જ પૂજાય છે."
સ્વનો વિકાસ અને સાથો સાથ સમાજ માટે કંઈક કરી ગુજરવાના મનસૂબા સાથે કરેલાં
પુરુષાર્થ લોકોના હૃદયમાં ફોરમ બનીને મલકાય છે. શ્રી મોતીભાઈ મ. પટેલનું જીવનકવન
આખા ગુજરાતમાં પણ કંઈક એવી જ સુવાસ પ્રસરાવે છે કે આ મસ્તક આપોઆપ આ શિક્ષણઋષિને
વંદન કરવા નમી જાય છે.
કવિએ સાચું જ કહ્યું છે,
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