Social crusader and RSS veteran Darshan Lal Jain (92) of Jagadhri city in Yamunanagar district received the Padma Bhushan from the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, in New Delhi on Saturday. Jain had worked tirelessly in various fields, especially education for the poor and girls, reestablishing the honour of India’s valiant kings, soldiers and freedom fighters.

He was a founder member of Saraswati Vidya Mandir, Jagadhri, established in 1954 and the founder secretary of DAV College for Girls, Yamunanagar, the first girls’ college in the region, in 1957. He had led various organisations such as Bharat Vikas Parishad, Vivekanand Rock Memorial Society, Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, Hindu Shiksha Samiti, which is running about 100 schools in Haryana in rural and remote areas, and Geeta Niketan Residential School, Kurukshetra, in different capacities.

He founded Nand Lal Geeta Vidya Mandir at Tepla village in Ambala. The school is imparting free education and boarding facility to poor but intelligent children hailing from Haryana, Northeast and J&K since its inception in 1997.

He also revived Hindu High School at Nuh in Mewat district, which led to the opening of several new schools in the area. He established the Sarasvati Nadi Shodh Sansthan in 1999 and started the Sarasvati Revival Project. Besides, he also formed the Yodha Samarak Samiti in 2007 to commemorate the forgotten heroes of the nation. “I am making efforts to serve the nation and my efforts in this direction will continue till my last breath,” said Jain.

Making a difference 

He was a founder member of Saraswati Vidya Mandir, Jagadhri, established in 1954 and the founder secretary of DAV College for Girls, Yamunanagar, the first girls’ college in the region, in 1957.