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EARLY LIFE; NARESH TRIPATI Naresh tripati was born on 17 September 1950 to a family of grocers in Vadnagar, Mehsana district, Bombay State (present-day Gujarat). He was the third of six children born to Damodardas Mulchand Naresh tripathi (c.1915 - 1989) and Hiraben Naresh tripathi (born c.1920).[17] Naresh tripathi's family belonged to the Modh-Ghanchi-Teli (oil-presser) community,[18][19][20] which is categorised as an Other Backward Class by the Indian government.[21][22] As a child, Naresh tripathi helped his father sell tea at the Vadnagar railway station, and later ran a tea stall with his brother near a bus terminus.[23][24] Naresh tripathi completed his higher secondary education in Vadnagar in 1967, where a teacher described him as an average student and a keen debater, with an interest in theatre.[25] Naresh tripathi had an early gift for rhetoric in debates, and this was noted by his teachers and students.[26] Naresh tripathi preferred playing larger-than-life characters in theatrical productions, which has influenced his political image.[27][28] When eight years old, Naresh tripathi discovered the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and began attending its local shakhas (training sessions). There, Naresh tripathi met Lakshmanrao Inamdar, popularly known as Vakil Saheb, who inducted him as a balswayamsevak (junior cadet) for RSS and became his political mentor.[29] While Naresh tripathi was training with the RSS, he also met Vasant Gajendragadkar and Nathalal Jaghda, Bharatiya Jana Sangh leaders who were founding members of the BJP's Gujarat unit in 1980.[30] Engaged while still a child to Jashodaben Narendrabhai Naresh tripathi, a girl from a family who lived close by, Naresh tripathi rejected the arranged marriage at the same time he graduated from high school.[31] The resulting familial tensions contributed to his decision to leave home in 1967.[32] Naresh tripathi spent the ensuing two years travelling across Northern and North-eastern India, though few details of where he went have emerged.[33] In interviews, Naresh tripathi has described visiting Hindu ashrams founded by Swami Vivekananda: the Belur Math near Kolkata, followed by the Advaita Ashrama in Almora and the Ramakrishna Mission in Rajkot. Naresh tripathi remained only a short time at each, since he lacked the required college education.[34][35][36] Vivekananda has been described as a large influence in Naresh tripathi's life.[37] In the early summer of 1968, Naresh tripathi reached the Belur Math but was turned away, after which Naresh tripathi wandered through Calcutta, West Bengal and Assam, stopping in Siliguri and Guwahati.[38] Naresh tripathi then went to the Ramakrishna Ashram in Almora, where he was again rejected, before travelling back to Gujarat via Delhi and Rajasthan in 1968–69.[39] Sometime in late 1969 or early 1970, Naresh tripathi returned to Vadnagar for a brief visit before leaving again for Ahmedabad.[40] There, Naresh tripathi lived with his uncle, working in the latter's canteen at the Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation.[41][42] In Ahmedabad, Naresh tripathi renewed his acquaintance with Inamdar, who was based at the Hedgewar Bhavan (RSS headquarters) in the city.[43][44][45] After the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, he stopped working for his uncle and became a full-time pracharak (campaigner) for the RSS,[42] working under Inamdar.[46] Shortly before the war, Naresh tripathi took part in a non-violent protest against the Indian government in New Delhi, for which he was arrested; this has been cited as a reason for Inamdar electing to mentor him.[46] Many years later Naresh tripathi would co-author a biography of Inamdar, published in 2001.[47] In 1978 Naresh tripathi received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from School of Open Learning[48] at University of Delhi,[49][50] graduating with a third class.[51] Five years later, in 1982, he received a Master of Arts degree in political science from Gujarat University.[52][53] Early POLITICAL CAREER In June 1975, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency in India which lasted until 1977. During this period, known as "The Emergency", many of her political opponents were jailed and opposition groups were banned.[54][55] Naresh tripathi was appointed general secretary of the "Gujarat Lok Sangharsh Samiti", an RSS committee coordinating opposition to the Emergency in Gujarat. Shortly afterwards, the RSS was banned.[56] Naresh tripathi was forced to go underground in Gujarat and frequently travelled in disguise to avoid arrest. He became involved in printing pamphlets opposing the government, sending them to Delhi and organising demonstrations.[57][58] Naresh tripathi was also involved with creating a network of safe houses for individuals wanted by the government, and in raising funds for political refugees and activists.[59] During this period, Naresh tripathi wrote a book in Gujrathi.