Agnivesh served as a cabinet minister in the state of Haryana.
29 Facts About Agnivesh
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Agnivesh is best known for his work against bonded labour through the Bonded Labour Liberation Front, which he founded in 1981.
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Agnivesh was a founder of the World Council of Arya Samaj, an organisation distinct from Dayanand's Arya Samaj, and served as its president from 2004 to 2014.
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Agnivesh had served as the chairperson of the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery from 1994 to 2004.
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Agnivesh was born in a Brahmin Hindu family as Vepa Shyam Rao on 21 September 1939, in Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh.
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Agnivesh's father died when he was only four years old.
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Agnivesh was then brought up by his maternal grandfather, who was the Diwan of the princely state Sakti, in present-day Chhattisgarh.
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Agnivesh studied Law and Commerce, and then became a lecturer in management at the St Xavier's College in Kolkata.
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In 1970, Agnivesh founded Arya Sabha, a political party based on the principles of Arya Samaj.
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Agnivesh became a member of the Legislative Assembly of Haryana in 1977, and served as a cabinet Minister for Education in 1979.
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Agnivesh played a role in negotiations with Indian Maoists in 2011, when he, along with civil liberties activists Kavita Srivastava, Rajinder Sachar, Gautam Navlakha, Manu Singh and Harish Dhawan helped free five abducted policemen in February.
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Agnivesh was known to have urged the then prime minister, Manmohan Singh, in 2013 to initiate a dialogue with the Naxalites.
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Agnivesh took part in the 2011 anti-corruption protests in India in August of that year.
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Agnivesh testified before the Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery at the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva.
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In 2005, Agnivesh was part of a two-week campaign against female foeticide that travelled across India.
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Agnivesh argued at a conference on economic development and religion sponsored by the World Bank that people should be allowed full freedom of movement across borders through the elimination of all passports and immigration laws.
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Agnivesh joined the Arya Samaj in 1968 and took the vow of sannyasa in 1970.
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Agnivesh was a proponent of interfaith dialogue and was a member of the Board of World Leaders for the Elijah Interfaith Institute.
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Agnivesh was a board member of the KAICIID Dialogue Centre established in Vienna in 2012 by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, together with the governments of Austria and Spain.
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Agnivesh advocated the rights of marginalised people in society and went to Pakur district of Jharkhand to address a rally of farmers and tribal members.
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Agnivesh led the 'Raj Bhawan Chalo' march on the death anniversary of journalist Gauri Lankesh in September 2018.
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Agnivesh was a participant in the Indian reality television show, Bigg Boss, as a house guest, in November 2011.
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In 2005, Agnivesh stated that the Puri Jagannath Temple should be opened to non-Hindus; this led to the priests of the temple condemning his remarks as "purely anti-Hindu in nature" and burning his effigy.
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On 8 November 2011, the Supreme Court condemned Agnivesh for hurting the sentiments of Hindu People by commenting on the Amarnath Pilgrimage.
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On 17 July 2018, Agnivesh was attacked in Jharkhand by a mob allegedly consisting of BJP workers, when he was there to attend the 195th Damin Mahotsav at Littipara.
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Agnivesh's assailants accused him of being sympathetic to Christian missionaries, and "against Hindus".
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Agnivesh died on 11 September 2020 at 6:30 pm at the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences, in New Delhi, at the age of 80, due to multiple organ failure.
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Agnivesh had liver cirrhosis and had been on ventilator support for two months.
29.
Agnivesh's funeral was attended by many who were freed from bonded labour by his work, several of whom were children at the time.