Skip to main content

Modi did 'nothing' to save Swami Sanand's life, yet to lay Ram temple foundation stone??

Swami Sanand, Narendra Modi
By Sandeep Pandey*
In 2018, Swami Gyan Swaroop Sanand, earlier known as Professor Guru Das Agrawal when he used to teach at Indian Institute of Technology at Kanpur, wrote four letters to the Prime Minister when he went on a fast for 112 days demanding a law for conservation of Ganga before he succumbed on October 11 at All Indian Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh, in which he held the PM responsible for his imminent death.
On February 24, 2018 he wrote to the PM addressing him as his younger brother:
“Being your elder brother, and also being elder to you in both education and intellect, and above all being someone who is ready to stake his all for the health-comfort-happiness of Mā Gangā jī even before you have done so, in respect of issues relating to Gangā jī, I have the locus to explain to you and even have the right to give you directives in relation to the number of ailments of the mother which do not get reduced because of your being crowned based both on your good fortune as well as on the strength of clever manoeuvring of popular pulse.”
Then he stated three expectations from the PM and said:
“Having observed the priorities as well as the mode of action of you as well as your Government over the past three years and more, the possibility of my expectations being fulfilled within my lifetime are negligible and the unbearable pain caused because of the neglect of the interests beneficial to Mā Gangā jī has made my life itself unbearable – therefore, I have decided that with the ... three expectations of mine remaining unfulfilled by Gangā Dussehra (June 22, 2018), I will go on a fast unto death and with a prayer to the descendant of Mahārājā Bhagīratha -- who brought Mā Gangā jī to earth -- the all-powerful Lord Ram -- that for the charges of having harmed the interests beneficial to Mā Gangā as well as having killed Gangā Bhakta elder brother, you be given appropriate punishment and with such a prayer, I will give my life up."
Writing again on June 13, again addressing the PM as younger brother Swami Sanand stated:
“I should have known, after 106 days over three and a half months, there is no acknowledgement, reply or any work in the interest of mother Ganga ji or environment (which may have benefitted them). Do you have time for the deplorable state of mother Ganga or consider the anguish of an old man like me? Alright brother, why should I continue to bear the suffering. I will go on a continuous fast from Friday, the 22nd June, 2018 (the day Ganga appeared on earth) with a resolve to give up my life, condemning you and praying to Lord Ram that he should punish you sufficiently for having neglected the state of mother Ganga and for the murder of an elder brother.”
Swami Sanand thus ended the letter, "May God give you better sense and also the fruits of all your good/bad deeds. Mother Ganga ji may not spare you for ignoring her or betraying her…” By the time Swami Sanand wrote his third letter he had realised that he was dealing with an insensitive individual and addressed his letter on August 5 to 'Respected Prime Minister' keeping the tenor of letter very formal. He wrote: 
“It was my expectation that you would ... make special efforts for the sake of Gangaji because you went ahead and created a separate Ministry for all works relating to Gangaji, but in the past four years all actions undertaken by your Government have not at all been gainful to Ganga ji and in Her place gains are to be seen only for the Corporate Sector and several business houses." 
By the time Swami Sanand wrote his third letter he realised he was dealing with an insensitive individual. He kept the tenor very formal
This is the only letter in which he doesn't seek punishment for the PM from Lord Ram. He only says: 
“It is my request to you that you accept the ... four desired requirements which remain the same as I have listed in my previous letter written to you dated 13th of June 2018, failing which I will give up my life continuing my fast. I have no qualms about giving up my life because the issue of Ganga ji is very significant to me and is of utmost priority.” 
In the fourth and last letter written on September 30 Swami Sanand expresses his anguish thus:
“When you delivered your speech as a candidate for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections from Varanasi you said Mother Ganga had called you there, and you didn’t want anything from her, you had come to serve her. I thought that you also consider her your mother from your heart (which I do and have been trying since 2008 to the best of my ability to restore its Aviralta, pristine flow and qualities) and because of your relationship with her and you being 18 years younger to me, you were my younger brother. 
"Hence I wrote the first three letters to you considering you my younger brother. It dawned upon me towards end of July that even though she may have summoned you with affection, got you elected and got the position of Prime Minister to you but now in the tussle for political power (any maybe its arrogance) you may not remember your mother and if you don’t remember your mother, where is the question of considering anybody your brother.”
Then he revealed his final resolve:
“... this is my 101st day with lemon water. If the government wanted to do anything for Ganga ji, which for millenniums with her pristine qualities has benefitted the people with faith in Indian culture, then it had more than enough time. Hence I’ve decided that from Ashwin Shukl Pratipada (9th October, 2018) from midday after taking my last dip in Ganga and after accepting water for the last time I’ll give up water too (through mouth, nose, drip, syringe or any other way) and wait for the end of my life (If anybody produces a proof of my demands related to Ganga ji having been fulfilled after 12 noon on October 9, 2018 even then I’ll not pay any attention). 
"I wish Lord Ram will fulfil my vow so that I may reach Him and get the people who’ve ignored the interest of Ganga ji (who is also respected by Lord Ram) punished. In His court I’ll blame you personally for my murder – whether it is accepted or not.”
The PM sent a tweet on October 11 upon Swami Sanand's death: 
“Saddened by the demise of Shri GD Agrawal Ji. His passion towards learning, education, saving the environment, particularly cleaning of Ganga will always be remembered. My condolences.” This was the only response of Narendra Modi to Swami Sanand’s fast and four letters written by him to PM, unfortunately it was too late. The question remains why did Narendra Modi not want to interact with alive Swami Sanand?
Swami Sanand had held Narendra Modi responsible for his possible death in his three letters and Narendra Modi didn't do anything to save the life of Swami Sanand, who was superior to him in all respects. How can Narendra Modi for whom Swami Sanand had sought punishment from Lord Ram lay the foundation of Ram temple?
---
*Magsaysay award winning social activist, vice president, Socialist Party (India)

Comments

TRENDING

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Was Netaji forced to alter face, die in obscurity in USSR in 1975? Was he so meek?

  By Rajiv Shah   This should sound almost hilarious. Not only did Subhas Chandra Bose not die in a plane crash in Taipei, nor was he the mysterious Gumnami Baba who reportedly passed away on 16 September 1985 in Ayodhya, but we are now told that he actually died in 1975—date unknown—“in oblivion” somewhere in the former Soviet Union. Which city? Moscow? No one seems to know.

Love letters in a lifelong war: Babusha Kohli’s resistance in verse

By Ravi Ranjan*  “War does not determine who is right—only who is left.” Bertrand Russell’s words echo hauntingly in our times, and few contemporary Hindi poets embody this truth as profoundly as Babusha Kohli. Emerging from Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, Kohli has carved a unique space in literature by weaving together tenderness, protest, and philosophy across poetry, prose, and cinema. Her work is not merely artistic expression—it is resistance, refuge, and a call for peace.

The golden crop: How turmeric is transforming women's lives in tribal India

By Vikas Meshram*   When the lush green fields of turmeric sway in the tribal belt of southern Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat, it is not merely a spice crop — it is the golden glow of self-reliance. In villages where even basic spices once had to be bought from the market, the very soil today is yielding a prosperity that has transformed the lives of thousands of families. At the heart of this transformation is the initiative of Vaagdhara, which has linked turmeric with livelihoods, nutrition, and village self-governance — gram swaraj.

Authoritarian destruction of the public sphere in Ecuador: Trumpism in action?

By Pilar Troya Fernández  The situation in Ecuador under Daniel Noboa's government is one of authoritarianism advancing on several fronts simultaneously to consolidate neoliberalism and total submission to the US international agenda. These are not isolated measures, but rather a coordinated strategy that combines job insecurity, the dismantling of the welfare state, unrestricted access to mining, the continuation of oil exploitation without environmental considerations, the centralization of power through the financial suffocation of local governments, and the systematic criminalization of all forms of opposition and popular organization.

Echoes of Vietnam and Chile: The devastating cost of the I-A Axis in Iran

​ By Ram Puniyani  ​The recent joint military actions by Israel and the United States against Iran have been devastating. Like all wars, this conflict is brutal to its core, leaving a trail of human suffering in its wake. The stated pretext for this aggression—the brutality of the Ayatollah Khamenei regime and its nuclear ambitions—clashes sharply with the reality of the diplomatic landscape. Iran had expressed a willingness to remain at the negotiating table, signaling a readiness to concede points emerging from dialogue. 

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah  Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

The price of silence: Why Modi won’t follow Shastri, appeal for sacrifice

By Arundhati Dhuru, Sandeep Pandey*  ​In 1965, as India grappled with war and a crippling food crisis, Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri faced a United States that used wheat shipments under the PL-480 agreement as a lever to dictate Indian foreign policy. Shastri’s response remains legendary: he appealed to the nation to skip one meal a day. Millions of middle-class households complied, choosing temporary hunger over the sacrifice of national dignity. Today, India faces a modern equivalent in the energy sector, yet the leadership’s response stands in stark contrast to that era of self-reliance.

False claim? What Venezuela is witnessing is not surrender but a tactical retreat

By Manolo De Los Santos  The early morning hours of January 3, 2026, marked an inflection point in Venezuela and Latin America’s centuries-long struggle for self-determination and independence. Operation Absolute Resolve, ordered by the Trump administration, constituted the most brutal and direct military assault on a sovereign state in the region in recent memory. In a shocking operation that left hundreds dead, President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores were illegally kidnapped from Venezuelan soil and transported to the United States, where they now face fabricated charges in a New York federal detention facility. In the two months since this act of war, a torrent of speculation has emerged from so-called experts and pundits across the political spectrum. This has followed three main lines: One . The operation’s success indicated treason at the highest levels of the Bolivarian Revolution. Two . Acting President Delcy Rodríguez and the remaining leadership have abandone...