ABRSM was launched in 1988 although deliberations about floating such an organization were going on for about three years prior to that. Numerous teacher's organizations were working at that time in their own ways. It is not easy to start an organization when so many organizations were already functioning. But still why our workers arrived at this decision to start a new organization is to be properly understood.

IN 1961, the first annual conference of AISTF was held in Cuttack. In that conference, only three of our workers were present without knowing if anyone else except himself was present. Besides myself there were Shri. W.M. Upakhya from Madhya Pradesh and Shri Mama Athwale and Krishna Jaiswal from U.P. Every delegate inspired by RSS started arriving. In 1964 when our friends from seven to eight States were present at the Varanasi conference, we sat together and decided to move forward and the responsibility for this was given to me unanimously. Undertaking tours (Pravas) all over the country, establishing contacts forming a group of 'workers' in every state started. Very Soon it came to my notice that the leading workers in different states followed the idelogies of different political parties. Out of them the group of communist workers were stronger and more organized. Their attempt was to ensure that the teacher's organization in the whole country should work under the influence of the communist party. Quite naturally, under this background our effort was to organize our own group in AISTF and to create an influence of our ideology. This effort slowly picked up momentum. We were soon rewarded in our efforts. In the election held in 1967 for the post of President of AISTF, we defeated late Satyapriya Ray who later on became the Education Minister of the West Bengal. There after our main activity was to remove the communists from leadership Baiste for them to attempt was to stop RSS men from becoming office bearers. This struggle went on for about 15 years. Because of this struggle, the other activities of the organization become very active. According to the Constitution the education was under the State list and it was the concern of the state not of the center to look into the matter of education. The teachers had to fight for their demands with their respective State Governments. For the all India Organization like AISTF, the main function was just to inspire the state organizations and provide moral support in their struggle against injustice. Because of this fact the AISTF could not spread its influence through out the country to a larger extent. During the emergency in 1975, then Prime Minister late Indira Gandhi brought Education under the ‘Concurrent list’; but even after that there was no significant change in the situation for about five years. From 1960 to 1980 they earned some respect by obtaining for teachers some benefits like equal pay scales with Govt. Schools teachers, receiving full salary and receiving it in time , security of service and son on. Next, it was not possible to fulfill the demands it was necessary to organize struggle at the national level. But the communists were not prepared to do this.

In 1982, once again a new chapter of joint leadership started at the conference held at the Barabati stadium in Cuttack. As a results, work of AISTF gathered some momentum and its influence increased. During this period we had a talk for thirty five minutes with the Prime Minister late Indira Gandhi. After Mrs. Gandhi, the next Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi expressed his desire to give one lakh rupees so that AISTF could bring its workers from all over the country to present their ideas on education policy to the Government. The Govt. provided the money for the journey and stay of the teacher leaders even though we did not demand the money. AISTF did the work seriously. During this period AISTF got affiliated to two world organizations.
It was a results of joint effort keeping aside the competition for the organization. After this, AISTF came under the influence of the world organization. AISTF continued to take projects prepared by the world organization and to take money from them to implement those projects. When we looked back the loss that we suffered came to our notice. The habits of workers were also found to have changed for the worse Submitting wrong accounts appeared to be easy. The temptation to visit foreign countries also increased among our workers. This later on change in to a competition among workers for going abroad. This period was such that in the changing situation of the country the teacher’s organization remained inactive towards changing that situation. In a way service to the nation, Indianess in education and efforts to usher in nationality ideas in the field of education confined to talks only. In short these are the foot prints of the organization since 1964.

In 1985 workers began to realize that in spite of building up an influential group in AISTF, we were far away from achieving our expected goal. After continuing our struggle for about 20-25 years we achieved our earlier aim to a great extent. But new goals did not come up before us. In such a situation we engaged ourselves in analyzing the present position of the mission and derived certain facts. From 1961 to 1965 we made continuous efforts to place before the government various demands of teachers. It had two effects. First the idea was that teachers organization is only for fulfilling the demands of teachers. When we face difficulties and when we have the need, we make use of the organization. Otherwise we don’t’ have any need to think of the organization. This attitude has taken deep root. During this period, as the teachers organization did not say anything before teachers about our own society, our nation and our relation with it and the expectation of the society from us, teachers on the strength of organized power only ‘learnt to take’ but did not learn to give something. Secondly it came to our notice that raising personal or general demands has an immediate aim after fulfilling of which man turns away from the organization. To save the organization from this mentality it should have such aims before it that will keep the organization active for a prolonged period of time.

From the assessment our work from 1961 to 1985 the following facts sprang up :

1. Teachers consider the organization only as a means of fulfilling their interests. This attitude is responsible for the poor condition of teacher’s organization.]
2. Teacher’s organization very rarely touches upon the problems of education in the country. But “Education is our core concern and we know its problems, we shall guide the society and the country in this regard.” This idea never arose in the minds of the leaders of our organization. As a result we did not take steps in the right direction.
3. Because of the above mentioned self centered and attitude of teacher’s organization the distance between the society and the teachers is constantly widening. The society has started considering teachers as selfish, where as teachers are expressing the view that they have nothing to do with the society since the Govt. is paying their Salary. This distance between the teachers and the society and their separation is neither in the interest of teachers nor in the interest of parents nor in the interest of education. We must fill-up this gap in a planned way.
4. The effort to rouse the feeling of nationalism in the field of education and intensify it either by the teacher’s organization or by the Govt. or through any other medium is almost zero. The Govt. is making every attempt to resist systematic way the rise in the feelings of nationalism. In reality when feeling of nationalism intensify more and more, a person begins to practice sacrificing certain demands for the cause. As a result educational development picks up momentum of the nation.

5 . The experience of these 25 years shows that the thoughts of our co-workers were also based on the well being of the society. There was no feeling about what I would get out of it. The thought was centered on what we could do keeping in mind the progress of the society and the nation. We realized that the AISTF was not free from defects. There was another point when we were thinking of the education system of the whole country, it was found that only ‘secondary teachers ’ organization was not enough for the task. Under these circumstances, we decided to build Akhi Bharatiya Rashtriya Sahikshik Mahasangha, although at this time the AISTF was under our total influence. Yet our workers thought it necessary to set up a new organization. It was in 1988 that the declaration was made of the launching of this new organization, ABRSM.

From 1988 to 2002 we have been controlling both the organizations. But our aim is different and much wider. The well-being of the country and the nation is of primary importance to us. So, one argument among the ‘workers’ was now that our organization has started functioning and because we had no opportunity to rouse nationalist outlook while working with the communists, we should leave AISTF. Although almost every body agrees to this suggestion, its has become necessary to consider once more whether it will be in the national interest to leave an organization recognized all over India and allow the communists to recapture it. It was therefore decided that we should stary in the AISTF to forestall any negative development. So we shall have to strengthen ABRSM to achieve our motto, intensify feeling of nationalism and to move forward with a new vision on education and society.

We should make every effort to promote intimate relationship between the teachers and the nation. This is our main task. It is quite encouraging that our workers are realizing this.

Seventeen years have past since ABRSM was launched. When it was established, we were totally active in AISTF. So, it took us about four to five years to reorient our activity to ABRSM. It also took quite sometime to set up the organizational structure of ABRSM. Even today we are not in a position to say that the influence of working in another organization in the past has totally ended. We can only say that workers have agreed to accept this change. Their self-confidence has now dependent, so that they will be able to understand it. This confidence of the workers is very important.

We are planning to reach all the states by the end of 2006 and have our units in every State. We shall make an endeavour to cultivate among the teaching community an intimacy with nationalist feelings
The new dimension that we tried to add to our work has become firmly rooted. We are working with three projects on education (1) the teaching of English and teaching through the medium of English-its effects on society (2) physical education (3) the teaching of science and spiritual education which should be imparted simultaneously. The organization has decided to discuss this at the national level. The organization has begun to deliberate on the poor states of physical education all over India. In spite of the interests shown by educationists and in inspite of accepting and including it in the National Policy on Education, every successive government has neglected it.

To reduce the gap with the society different programmers are being taken up by ABRSM.
The topic of rousing nationalist feeling throughout the country has assumed that nature of an ideological fight. For over hundred and fifty years the British tried every method so that national feelings do not grown among Indians, pride for the country is not roused, no self confidence grows in them and Indians are cut off from their roots scrapped . All these policies should have been changed after independence. Unfortunately, even after 60 years of independence our education policy has been aping Macauly model still. For the sake of our existence we must continue this fight at the national level on this issue. We have already taken steps in this direction.

The time has now come to implement the ideas that ‘our workers’ and friends expressed (in the filed of education) some 25 to 27 years ago. These are no new dimensions They are only an expansion of those dimensions with which ABRSM was launched. The day is not far off when under the leadership of our workers the organization will make its contribution in the field of education and among teachers. It is our aim to build up an organization which will guide the society on the basis of Indian Philosophy of life in the 21st century and make it intimately and actively associated with nationalist outlook. Simultaneously we should train up such teachers who will be able to import these ideas. We have started working in this direction to expand the above mentioned dimensions. It is not the end of this process. After sometime it will have to be developed further. It is my belief that the workers of that time will do the needful then.

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