Book Review
Bunch of
Thoughts by R.S.S. Chief
Golwalkar Guruji
Sahitya Sindhu
Prakashana,
Third Edition
(revised and enlarged), 1996.
1 Introduction
Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh (The R.S.S) was started in November 1925 at
By chance I got
to know Shree Satyanarayana, RSS Chief of
After detailed
study I reviewed the book in my newsletter No 18 of
In April 1994,
Deoras retired due to falling health and Prof Rajubhayya became RSS Chief.
During one of his lectures he mentioned that The Bunch of Thoughts
is our Geeta. This was reported in Sangh Sandesh published in
Thus we find that footnotes have been added on following pages :-
18. 120, 137, 156, 162,164, 192, 220, 222, 236, 242, 249, 289, 295, 315,
338, 344, 360, 367, 378, 398, 408, 466, 478, 489, 494, 524
At the end there is an index
However, this is not sufficient. For example, on page 220 we are told
that Beruari was a place in
In light of this
development, I have revised my Review and given page numbers to suit the 3rd
edition. In some places I have kept comments on 2nd edition and made
comments on the 3rd one in italics.
It seems that the
compiling of his thoughts expressed in various speeches was done by Professor
M.A. Venkata Rao. But this is not so. Professor Rao only checked the English
manuscript. The compiler wishes to remain anonymous, though the book does not
say even this much. This is most unfortunate. After reading the book one may be
dissatisfied with Guruji when it may be the compiler who is at fault.
If the reader has
any comments or suggestions whom should he write? We find no answer to this
question.
1.1 General
Impression
(A) In the
preface to 2nd edition we are told that the book has been translated
into Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Gujrathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam.
but NOT Punjabi - why?
In the 3rd
edition we are told – “the book has been brought out in almost all the
major Bharatiya languages.” So, in what Indian languages is the book NOT
available?
(B) On pages XIV
and XV we find a brief life sketch of Guruji, but it does not tell us when he
was born, where he was educated, when he obtained his M.Sc. degree, why he
resigned his job in Benares Hindu University (after all it was not a Government
Service), when he came in contact with Dr. Hedgewar and most important of all
why he was chosen by Dr. Hedgewar to succeed him. It is at this stage that an
inquisitive reader starts to become a sceptic.
Guruji in his
letter of
In fact the job
lasted till the end of January 1933 and thereafter Guruji returned to his
hometown
[ In the 3rd
edition Guruji’s Profile is given on pages xx to xxii. Yes, now we are told
when he was born and where he was educated. But the compiler still insists that
Guruji was a Professor. He now deletes the sentence – Guruji
resigned his
job in
(C) On page
xii the compiler says, "We do not claim any systematic presentation, much
less a thorough and exhaustive exposition of the
topics under
each head..."
We can
appreciate the latter, but if the compiler admits that he has not
systematically
presented the material, the reader is hardly going to feel
enthusiastic.
(D) At the end of
the book there is no index. It is a
'must' for a book like this. A
chronology also would be useful.
[In the 3rd
edition, there is an Index, but no chronology.]
(E.) On pages 613
to 627 Dr. Hedgewar's life sketch is given. How is that a "thought"
of Guruji?
[In the 3rd
edition this is given on pages 466 to 477 with a note – compiled from the
speech of Sri Guruji at the III year Sangh Shiksha Varga at
(F) There seem to
be no "thoughts" during the crucial period 1940-50.
[In the 3rd
edition there are some “thoughts” during 1947-48, on pages 528-530 but they do
not mean much. Again, there are no references.]
(G) One is not
sure whether it was Guruji who sometimes held one- sided views or whether it is
the compiler who is presenting them that way.
For example, on
page 139 we find :-
"... Prominent Sikhs are demanding and
agitating for a separate sectarian Sikh state - though under the garb of a
linguistic state, the Punjabi Suba..."
But when Guruji
came to Pune (
the demand for
Punjabi Suba is not a separatist demand. This was reported
in the famous
Marathi paper Kesari (of Lokmanya Tilak). It is something
which cannot be
forgotten as the popular conception was quite to the contrary. Moreover, it was
Guruji who said that Punjabi Hindus (Monas) should not deny that their mother
tongue is Punjabi (i.e. and create an impression that Sikhs are demanding a
separate state as they continued to say that Punjabi was their mother tongue).
But this information is not found in "Bunch of Thoughts". And that is grossly unfair.
[In the 3rd
edition refer to page 105]
(H) Details of
various speeches from which the "thoughts" are presented must be given. [we must have dates and places]
(I) As the
"thoughts" are based on events, the accuracy, authenticity and
historicity of them is important, especially as we Hindus are incredible,
unbelievable
people. We always care about the well being of others
(including our
sworn enemies) at our cost even if it means our destruction.
There is no other
community in the world like us.
If well known
fairy tales are mentioned to emphasise a point, of course, no details are
necessary.
(J) Lack of
details of historical events is striking. This makes it almost impossible to
believe the "thoughts". The events may be fresh in the minds of the
people when Guruji delivered his lectures. But our memories fade away with
time. Moreover, how is one born in say 1960 1975, to remember the events
of 1940, let alone understand them? Such
men and women would today be holding positions of Executive Engineers or
equivalent. The book fails to impress them - What to say of less capable
persons? It is therefore
essential to
answer the questions - who? where? and when? Let us see some examples to
illustrate this most important drawback.
p.91 Once (when?)
there was an education conference.
[In the 3rd
edition refer to page 68]
p124 Sometime
back (when?) a subtle propaganda was carried on about NEFA insinuating that it
was a godforsaken place. The same story has been repeated in the case of the
[In the 3rd
edition refer to pages 93/94 – NEFA stands for North East Frontier Agency. It
is on the Indian Border with
pp 130-31 There
are some who have the habit of dubbing us as narrow
and parochial in
our outlook because of our insistence on the word 'Hindu.' Pandit Nehru too
levelled the same charge when I met him once (when? where?). He said, "Why
are you always harping upon 'Hindu'? Hindu?
We should pull
down all such out-dated barriers". I calmly replied, "I totally agree
with you that we should allow fresh breeze to come in from all quarters. And I must say it is our so-called narrow
national outlook, which will ultimately help raising up our nation.
"Pandit Nehru remarked "Well, I concede that such conviction is
needed to put in determined efforts for any cause". I thanked him for
conceding at least that much. (This is totally unbelievable. Did it ever
happen?)
[In the 3rd
edition refer to pages 98/99. Nehru despised the RSS all his life and in each
speech he had said that the RSS was a communal organisation. There was a
well-known episode in December1936. Nehru was to unfurl the Congress Flag at a
public meeting, but the cord got stuck. There seemed to be no solution.
Kishansingh Pardesi, a RSS worker fearlessly climbed the pole and removed the
obstacle. Attendants were impressed and wanted to honour Pardesi. But as soon as
Nehru heard that Pardesi was a RSS worker, he just did not want to know. And
yet we are supposed to believe that Nehru met Guruji at a public function!!!]
p.142 The Christian institutions, which even to
this day, fly the Union Jack on August 15 and carry on fanatic Christian
propaganda have no fear of losing their Government grants. (Few examples must be given).
On the other
hand, if a Hindu educational institution starts Hindu prayers and Gita
recitation. Government comes down with a heavy-hand with threats to stop its
grants. (This is unbelievable but true. One such example was published in
Marmik a Marathi weekly of
[In the 3rd
edition refer to page 107]
p146 There is a
Victory Pillar near
[In the 3rd
edition refer to pages 110/111]
p167 An eminent
American Professor (who?) once asked me (when?) the question "Muslims and
Christians are of this land alone. Why don't you
consider them as
of your own?" [In the 3rd edition refer to page 126]
pp 168-9 - Over a
hundred years ago, (when?) some Germans settled there (i.e. in
Madhya
Pradesh. But when war broke out in 1914,
he was promptly detained, lest his attachment to
[In the 3rd
edition refer to page 127]
p174 - Once
(when?) Pandit Nehru had remarked at
assimilated in
historical times the Hunas and Shakas. (This is unbelievable).
….. In spite of this
rational and positive approach, there are some who imagine that the concept of
Hindu Nation is a challenge to the very existence of the Muslim and the
Christian co-citizens and they will be thrown out and exterminated. (Dear, oh dear. Nehru was just such a
man)
[In the 3rd
edition refer to page 131]
p191 Guruji
mentions a disgraceful incidence here. But once again he is
vague about the
details. He says - to cite an instance, in those days
(year?) a Hindu
girl was abducted by a Muslim in NWFP and the problem
was posed before
the Central Assembly (by whom?) where our prominent
leaders (who?)
were present. A Muslim Congress leader (who?) lightly
brushed aside the
incident saying "After all boys are boys and girls are
girls.” At that
insulting remark not one of the Hindu leaders present there raised a voice of
protest. None dared to ask why, if it was just a case of boys and girls it
always happened that the Muslim boys kidnapped only Hindu girls and not Muslim
girls? On the other hand, they enjoyed the remark as a piece of humour! (Guruji
forgets one thing - those leaders were NOT Hindu leaders. They were Congress leaders. They despised the
word Hindu).
[In the 3rd
edition refer to page 144.It was Bhai Paramanand who raised the question of
kidnapped Hindu girls, in the Central Legislative Assembly Approximate date 23 June 1937. The Muslim
leader was Dr Khansaheb, a good friend of Nehru. Congress Party members of the
Legislative Assembly shamelessly laughed at Khansaheb’s remarks – Oh, this is
question of boys chasing girls. Savarkar denounced those Congress members as
eunuchs. But Guruji does not want to mention Savarkar.]
p.192 In fact
history was 'invented' to suit their slogan of Hindu-Muslim
unity. To give an example of one such invention, a
well known scholar of
our country
(who?) has written (where?) that there is hardly an instance on
record to show
that Hindus were forcibly made to embrace Islam!
[In the 3rd
edition refer to page 145]
p200 - Once
(when?) a prominent leader (who?) suggested to us, "Of course we have no
objective to what you propound regarding the Hindu Nation and all that. But why
not put the same diplomatically as 'Bharatiya' instead of
'Hindu’ as the latter appears offensive these
days". And he also quoted
the famous
Sanskrit axiom of na bruyad satyamapriyam. (one should not
utter unpleasant
truth). What a fine way of circumventing truth
(But is this not
what Guruji did himself? Did he not bless
the founding of
Bharatiya Jan Sangh in order to defeat Hindu
Maha-Sabha?).
[In the 3rd
edition refer to page 150]
pp206-7 Once
(when?) we invited a prominent Congress leader (who?) who
later became an
important Central Cabinet Minister - to preside over one of our functions at
But he assured
them that he would not compromise his principles. He came.... of huge audience
of about three lakhs (300,000) was also present. He stood up to give his
presidential speech. He said "To
whom else, if not the Hindus, does this
(How many RSS
workers believe in this story?)
[In the 3rd
edition refer to page 156/7.The name of the congress leader is given as
Kailashnath Katju, but no date is given. If we know the date it is possible to
refer to archives of say – Times of
P231 Assurance
given by the Education Minister of U.P. (who?) for the removal from the
textbooks of references to our national heroes and the
banning of
celebration of Hindu festivals in schools,
(when and to whom
was the assurance
given?)
[In the 3rd
edition refer to page 175]
p232 The Chief
Minister of
committee (what
sub-committee?) whether he had any intention of carving out a separate state,
completely out of the domain of Union of India. (when
did this happen?)
[In the 3rd
edition refer to page 176]
Chapter
XVI Internal Threats I
p.240 Pandit
Jawaharlal Nehru gave the Muslim League a clean chit of patriotism saying that
it was not the old Muslim League but a new patriotic
party devoted to
their community and religion! (when did
Nehru say this?)
[In the 3rd
edition refer to page 182]
p 242 . One of
our Central Ministers (who?) declared "Every Muslim life is sacred to
us". [In the 3rd edition refer to page 183]
p 248 .Our late
President Dr. Rajendra Prasad, had once gone to
p249 - There is
the case of a village (no name?) where, in the last census, (when?) the
Christian missionaries got the whole population entered as Christians. [In
the 3rd edition refer to page 188]
p 251 ... Some
years ago (when?) the Madhya Pradesh Government appointed a committee to report
on the activities of these Christian missionaries. [In the 3rd
edition refer to page 190. It happened in 1953, the committee consisted of
Justice Niyogi and Justice Rege. They produced a damning report on the
activities of the Christian missionaries, but the Congress government sent
aside the report.]
p 254 -In a
pamphlet circulated at an international gathering of Christian
Fathers in
forth to start
centres of Christian influence all along our coast.
[In the 3rd
edition refer to page 192/3]
Some time back
(when?) news had leaked out in papers that an agreement had been reached
between the Christian missions in our country and the Muslim League that the
two should join together and between
themselves
partition the country. [In the 3rd edition refer to page 193]
pp 254-5 A few
years ago, (when?) there was an All-India Conference of Christians (where?) wherein they were
called upon to pledge themselves to establish Christian Empire in Bharat. And one of our central Ministers (who?) was
present there to bless the proceedings.
[In the 3rd
edition refer to page 193]
pp 283-4 - Once
(when?) a prominent leader of Andhra (who?) had publicly declared that if a
separate
[In the 3rd
edition refer to page 216]
pp 287-8 - One of
the leaders of Maharashtra (who?) once stated (when?) that he had no time or
desire to think of the Chinese aggression on our borders so long as the
Mysore-Maharashtra border dispute was not settled to his satisfaction. (This is
extremely one-sided - Veer Savarkar said at that time - "I would not worry
even if the whole of
[In the 3rd
edition refer to page 219]
p. 289 .Already
in the case of Berubari we have seen the constitution being amended to empower
the parliament - which in fact means the ruling party - to give away parts of
our motherland to foreign states. (Where on earth is Beruari? When was the constitution being amended? Who was advocating such an amendment? What was the foreign state?)
[In the 3rd
edition refer to page 220. Now we are told that Beruari was in west
p 310 --And as
for violence in speech there appears to be no limit to it. Pandit Jawaharalal
Nehru once (when?) publicly appealed to political leaders in the country to be
restrained in their criticisms. And it
was he who condemned those who differed from his political views as gaddar i.e.
traitors! (where? when?) [In the 3rd
edition refer to page 235]
p311 --Sri C.
Rajagopalachari has stated (where? when?) that: he would prefer partition of the country to what
he calls 'imposition of Hindi'.
[In the 3rd
edition refer to page 236]
p 334 -- Recently
(when?) a few Muslim gentlemen (no names?) some of them belonging to the ruling party also, have
objected to the singing of the present fraction of Vande Mataram in the Urdu
schools of Bombay Corporation. [In the 3rd edition refer to page
253]
p348 --Once
(when?) during the war, English planes were seen flying over
(How can we
accept this incredible story without some reference?)
[In the 3rd
edition refer to page 264/5 – the claim of Guruji is absurd.British pilots did
not have to go over
Chapter
XXIV Fight to Win (I)
p388 --Recently
(when?) our worthy Home Minister (who?) said many [things against political
parties in the Rajya Sabha and subsequently a secret circular was circulated by
the Congress that all those who criticise the Government and Pandit Nehru
should be treated as traitors. Pandit Nehru has, no doubt, in his reply to
Acharya Ranga's letter of objection, said that the expression was improper. But
mark, he has only said 'improper' and not 'untrue.'
[In the 3rd
edition refer to page 295.]
p463 --Some years
ago (when?) news had appeared in papers that a prominent social worker (who?)
along with a group of untouchables and non-
Hindus wanted to
make a forcible entry into the
[In the 3rd
edition refer to page 354]
p. 464 There was a case of sacrifice of a Harijan
youth in one of the villages in
[In the 3rd
edition refer to page 355]
p471 -- Our
Government recognises the existence of the “Christians” but
not of the
Hindus. The Government has classified all the non-Christians
as tribals as
distinct from Hindus. (Very important, but no references!)
[In the 3rd
edition refer to page 360]
p519 --When ban
was imposed on the Sangh and I was put behind the
bars. (what
year?) [In the 3rd edition refer to page 398. The RSS was
outlawed on 4 February 1948]
p526 --The
gentleman who had manoeuvred to divert to
of arms bound for
our country, when he was our ambassador there, was
later appointed
as the Governor of one of our states'
(How vague and
unimpressive can
one be! What was the name of the
traitor? Where and
when was he our
ambassador? Of what state was he made the Governor?)
[In the 3rd
edition refer to page 403.The traitor was Asaf Ali. Nehru appointed him
firing was
ordered to suppress a political agitation. A gentleman (who?) wrote to the
Congress President (who?) asking how a Government run by Congress committed to
non-violence could resort to firing. The Congress President replied, "Our
policy of non-violence is applicable only towards the British and not towards
our people". And that gentleman published the correspondence in papers.
(The story is true but without reference and details no one will believe it) [In
the 3rd edition refer to page 404]
1.2 Comments and criticism. (Thoughts on "Thoughts")
After reading
"Bunch of Thoughts" we feel it necessary to comment on what has been
and has not been said in the book so that the reader would get a true picture
of the subject matter.
1.2.1 Historical Mistakes
p80 --Veer
Savarkarji wrote a beautiful book 'Hindutva' and Hindu
Mahasabha based
itself on that pure philosophy of Hindu Nationalism.
But in its
[Our comment -
What Guruji is suggesting here is distasteful and false,
Veer Savarkar's
book Hindutva came out in 1923 when Guruji was a boy of
seventeen.
Judging by the contents of the above paragraph it seems that
Guruji is
referring to a session of Hindu Mahasabha after 1923. Mr. Indu
Prakash published
a book in 1966 entitled “Hindu Mahasabha, its contribution
to
It is true that
"Hinduism is Nationalism" was not engrained in the minds of Hindu
Mahasabha followers in the early years. But the same also applies to the
R.S.S., which was founded in 1925. “How can an organisation restricted to
Hindus only be called National? As the R.S.S. admits only Hindus is it not a
communal organisation?” Those questions were being raised by staunch Hindus in
1931. This situation was changed by Barbarao Savarkar (elder brother of
Veer Savarkar). His formidable research work 'Rashtra Mimansa’ came out in
1934. In it he proved that in
Moreover, what
Hindu Mahasabha leaders have been saying all along is
this: if congress
represents all the sections of Indian society it should not recognise the
Muslim League as representing the Muslims. But if it does, Congress
automatically ceases to represent the Hindus also and must recognise Hindu
Mahasabha as representing the Hindus. It is distressing to see that Guruji is
misquoting this clear cut position of Hindu – Mahasabha]
[In the 3rd
edition refer to page 60. Instead of accepting our criticism, the compiler now
cleverly deletes the words
p114 --The
founder of Islam too was a great and powerful man. He could
inspire those uncivilised
people, torn asunder by feuds and factions, with the sense of human values
and roused in them the urge and the organised power to build empires. (This is
utter nonsense. Arabs were civilised people. It was Islam that induced
barbarism, bigotry and intolerance in Arabs)
[In the 3rd
edition refer to page 86. The compiler cleverly deletes the word – uncivilised. By what authority does he make these changes? ]
p l44 -- Even in
the last-ditch battle between the Hindus and the British at
[In the 3rd
edition refer to page 109. The word close relative has been replaced by a
fellow caste-man].
p355 -- When
Chengiz Khan was planning to invade our country he came to know that a large
number of people here had embraced Buddhism. So he made a show of becoming a
Buddhist and then invaded. Many of the Buddhists here, seeing that he was their
co-religionist, went forward to welcome him. The result was, Chengiz Khan could
raise mountain-high heaps of human heads - all under the non-violent cover of
Buddhism
(This is
preposterous. It never happened. Gulam
dynasty kings were then on the throne of
[In the 3rd
edition refer to page 270. The compiler has not corrected this mistake.]
1.2.2 Reactionary Hinduism
This unfortunate
title has been given to some "thoughts" on pages 79/80.
[In the 3rd
edition refer to pages 59/60].
Guruji is trying
to say that instead of reacting to external forces from time to time, there
should be continuous daily preachings, meetings and group prayers as practiced
by the R.S.S. This is only partly true.
We Hindus did not
(and still do not) react vigorously to atrocities committed
on us by our
enemies as any other community would. If we did, we would not be facing
insults, abuses and humiliations even today. In May 1988 human excreta was
thrown at Dagadu Halvai’s
After the defeat
of
They were forced
to pay for their crimes. Quisling was hanged in
for collaborating
with
Guruji says
"even if Prophet Mohammed had not been born and Islam had not come into
existence, we would have taken up this work just as we are doing it
today". This may have happened but then the R.S.S. would have been an
organisation similar to the Scouts movement or a Red Cross Society or a Sadhu
Samaj. Its work being undertaken by the Educational Institutions, as in most
countries.
We must remember
that R.S.S. came into being in the wake of barbarous Muslim riots. By the mid
1920s Muslim riots occurred almost weekly. In August 1921 there were Mopla
riots in Malbar. In June 1923 there were riots in Sarhanpur. In August 1924
there were riots in
1.2.3 Soft spot for Gandhi
Gandhi proved to
be a curse on Hindus. And yet Guruji had deep reverence for him and this has
led him to hide Gandhi's name and at times even lie.
P191 - Once a notable Hindu personality of
those days in a largely attended public meeting declared "There is no
swaraj without Hindu- Muslim unity and the simplest way in which this unity can
be achieved is for all Hindus to become Muslims;" (This notable Hindu
personality was none other than Gandhi) [In the 3rd edition
refer to pages 144/5.
pp 240-241---During
the twenties, in a bid to win the friendship of Muslims, our leaders had called
upon the Hindus to take up the Khilafat movement, (a movement against the
British who had dethroned the King in
p363 -- Gandhiji
too preached in the same strain. Once
when the Muslims went on a rampage and attacked the Hindus in Ahmedabad, the
Hindus began fleeing from their hearths
and homes. Gandhiji castigated them saying "why are you behaving like
cowards? You take my name and repeat the
word ahimsa parrot like and run for your life under that shelter. My
non-violence is not of the cowards, it is of the brave. Instead of running away
in such a cowardly fashion it would be far better for you to fight, to kill and
get killed".
[Our comment - THIS IS A DOWNRIGHT LIE: Never
in his life did Gandhi
advocate that
Hindus must fight Muslim aggression. Very conveniently Guruji does not say when
this incidence took place.
It seems that
there were Muslim riots in
non-violence of
the brave but so disgusting was his attitude that Kanahyalal Munshi, a trusted
lieutenant of Gandhi, resigned from the Congress Party on 22nd June 1941.
Speaking at a
public meeting at Bombay on 4th October 1941, Savarkar said, "There were
Muslim riots in Ahmedabad and because of influence of Gandhi, Hindus fled, but
when Muslims tried the same in Bombay no Hindu ran away and the Muslims were
routed.” Where did Guruji get his
information from? ]
1.2.4 R.S.S. and Gandhi
Gandhi's thoughts
are well known for contradictions and vagueness. It is dangerous to draw any
conclusion from a single quotation. One must examine the events of forty years
(1908-48) before assigning any meaning to Gandhi’s preachings.
On pages 97/98
Guruji tells us:
“ Why go so
far? The present leaders of Congress
were at one time men of great sacrifice and patriotism. The people also were
inspired to follow the path of virtue because of their glowing examples. But
what is their fate today? Corruption,
nepotism and lust for power has become counter- part in their ranks. That is
why Gandhiji had advised Congress on the advent of Swaraj either to disband
itself or strictly keep itself aloof from power. But his wholesome advice was
too bitter a pill to swallow for his followers who had tasted the spoils of
power.” [In the 3rd edition refer to page 73].
On pages 309/310
Guruji repeats this theme and adds – “ the principles of
truth,
non-violence, character, patriotism have all vanished into thin air.”
[Our comments -
Nothing can be farther from the truth. The crucial elections of 1945/6 were
fought on the question of partition. Congress Party won the elections by
pretending to be staunch Hindus and declaring that they will never consent to
partition. And yet in May 1947 Nehru and Patel shamelessly accepted partition.
When they agreed to Mountbatten's proposal it happened to be Monday - Gandhi's
day of silence. How convenient! Of course when it came to making concessions to
Jinnah, Gandhi would talk to him on Monday – (e.g. September 1944). But when
fate of millions was being decided, Gandhi could not break his silence! And
next day it was too late. Gandhi said - What can I do? Patel and Nehru have
already agreed to partition. If he had any scruples he would have said – “You
won the elections by promising that there will be no partition. You cannot
betray the people and enjoy power. If you want to agree to partition you must
resign and face fresh elections.” Gandhi did no such thing. And yet Guruji
wants us to believe that Gandhi told Congress men to stay away from power as
power corrupts!
Guruji has given
us a glimpse of the Gandhian meaning of "non- violence" on page 527.
The less said about that humbug the better. The same applies to congress men's
"character". The bigotry, intolerance and hypocrisy, which Gandhi
brought with him, were unknown in Indian politics till the end of Tilak's days.
We have explained it to some extent in our Newsletter No. 16 (Intolerant
Gandhi). What 'character' is implied when Congressites like Pattabhi
Sitaram-Ayya had the audacity to say that Indian Freedom struggle started only
in 1920? (i.e. when Tilak died and Gandhi came to prominence)
As for patriotism
of Congressites, Guruji misses the crucial point. The only test for
patriotism is the protection of the interests of the Hindus. If a person
had given up his rich practice as a barrister for the freedom struggle but kept
quiet or turned a blind eye to abduction and violation of Hindu women we must
dismiss his sacrifice at once. This
attitude is vital if we have to survive as Hindus. Before we praise or evaluate the work of any
leader, we must ask the fundamental question - what did he or she do for the
Hindus? International stature, modern
ideas, economic advancement and other phrases are useless for us.
We must emphasise
that corruption and nepotism are bad. But despite these vices
1.2.5 R.S.S. and Politics
Time after time
R.S.S. leaders have proclaimed that R.S.S. is not interested in politics. The same theme is repeated on page 672. [In
the 3rd edition refer to page 517] .Howsoever we detest the
politicians it is a fact of modern life that everyone has to take an interest
in politics. Even the charities cannot remain aloof. They depend on the
Government for tax concessions, for taking action against unscrupulous
collectors who give them a bad name.
R.S.S. may not
take part in elections but it must act as a pressure group to protect the
interests of Hindus. It must not shy away from this if it wants to have any
impact on public life. Let us take some examples –
Partition of
On page 285
Guruji tells us how Sylhet district of Assam went to
Lust for power or
political office by any means is one thing, and not to accept power even in a
life or death situation is quite another thing. R.S.S. policy had been the
latter.
1.2.6 R.S.S. and Babarao Savarkar
Some aspects
normally known only to Maharashtrians have to be stated here.
Babarao Savarkar,
elder brother of Veer Savarkar, was sent to transportation for life, for his
revolutionary activities in June 1909. There was no direct evidence but he was
sentenced on Government interpretation of two poems. On 21 December 1909
There was no end
to Babarao's misfortunes. He was kept in solitary confinement in Bijapur jail
and asked to grind thirty-five pounds of wheat every day.
In January 1922,
after public outcry, he was transferred to Sabarmati jail. By September it
became clear that he would not survive for more than a few days and only then
he was released.
Despite having suffered
so much, Babarao rested for only one year. In 1923-24 he started an
organisation of young Hindus, entitled Tarun Hindu Sabha. When the R.S.S. was
started by Dr. Hedgewar in 1925 in
In 1931 Babarao
went to
Khed, Sinnar,
Babarao had hand
in some major policy decisions. He
pleaded for the separate identities of Hindu Mahasabha and the R.S.S. He also
emphasised that R.S.S. should remain under the direction of one leader only.
He was present at many Officers Training Camps. On a number of occasions he
dispelled public misgivings about R.S.S. Dr. Hedgewar passed away on 21st June.
1940. What would happen to R.S.S? Babarao sent his scheme to Advocate Kelkar of
Nagpur. He too wanted Guruji to succeed Dr. Hedgewar, but wanted an advisory
body of some prominent men like Kakarao Hedgewar, Shree Ghatate, Shree Padhye
and Baburao Kelkar. Guruji succeeded Dr Hedgewar but there was no advisory
board (And now R.S.S. started to drift away from the intentions of its
founders. Only six months earlier i.e. in January 1940, there were elections
for office bearers of Hindu Mahasabha. Guruji, despite the support of Babarao,
got. forty votes while Indra Prakash got eighty votes. Guruji now became anti
Hindu Mahasabha, anti Savarkar).
On 1 June 1942
Babarao's famous book Hindu Nation: Yesterday, Today,
Tomorrow, came
out, only to be proscribed three months later. In it, this is what he says
about R.S.S.
"It has
attracted many men. It has taught military discipline to thousands of
youngsters. It has kept the flame of Hinduism burning. But it should not now
feel satisfied with mere numbers of disciplined men. One by one R.S.S. must try
its strength by undertaking various tasks. It must create experts in various
fields. R.S.S.
workers have vowed to protect Hindu religion and culture. They must therefore
protect Hindus from aggression of foreigners (Muslims). If this happens R.S.S.
will flourish and progress. Otherwise it will stop to grow and with that the
aspirations of the Hindu Society will be dashed..."
[Note - Babarao's
fears were justified. Mr Jagannath Prasad Varma, a Hindu Mahasabha leader of
co-operate with
Hindu Maha-Sabha in seeking rescue of abducted Hindu women and protecting
Hindus from attacks of Muslim thugs.]
By July 1944
Babarao's health grew very serious. Next month he was sent to
".Guruji, I
am passing away. I am therefore opening my heart to you. R.S.S. has come a long
way but it still has far to go. It's no good repeating all the time. Numbers
are important but that is not everything. We must have men who are experts in
Economics, Military Affairs, Politics, Administration, Spying and other fields.
R.S.S. is mine. I have sown its seeds. Please accept my suggestions with
affection. The dissension between Hindu Mahasabha and R.S.S. is a bad omen.
Efforts to unite Hindus are resulting in disunity. I am on my deathbed. I cannot change the
situation. I beg of you to do the needful so that I may die in peace".
Guruji was
greatly touched. On 16th March 1945 Babarao passed away.
Professor D.N.
Gokhale of
1979 was the
centenary year of Babarao's birth. Professor D N Gokhale published a second
edition of Babarao's biography (in Marathi) including the two missing pages.
But R.S.S. behaved as if Babarao never existed. Just a year later Mr Malkani
published his book "The R.S.S. Story". There is no mention of
Babarao. Our letter to him on this subject remains un-replied.
Babarao's name
has been excluded from the morning prayer pratasmaran
of R.S.S. It
includes the names of great men who inspire us. Surprising
enough it even
includes the name of Gandhi but not of Babarao.
1.2.7 No
respect for and no credit given to Veer Savarkar.
Just like
Babarao, Veer Savarkar too is not included in the pratasmaran of R.S.S.
They cannot find anything inspiring in his life long struggle for protecting
and defending the rights of Hindus!
1983 was the
centenary year of Veer Savarkar's birth. In August, 1984 some
six thousand
Swayamsevaks (workers) had gathered in
|
pp. 128
-130 ) [In the 3rd
edition refer to pages 97/8. |
Explanation of
Arya, Bharatiya, Hindu. See
"Hindutva" by Veer Savarkar, published 1923. |
|
pp.
194-196 ) and pp.
394-395) [In the 3rd
edition refer to pages 147/8 & 300/301] |
Appeasement
whets appetite. Savarkar had
said this all along his life. |
pp. 225-226
)-Hindus have no divided loyalty. Savarkar said this all the time.
[In the 3rd
edition refer to page 170.
|
pp 225 -.226 [In the 3rd
edition refer to page 170]. |
Conversion
subverts loyalty Savarkar said
this publicly in 1951 and he warned about the activities of Christian
Missionaries as early as 1937. |
|
pp. 233 –256 [In the 3rd
edition refer to ages177-194 ]. |
Internal
threats : The Muslims The
Christians Savarkar had
expounded these thoughts all along his life. |
|
p. 231 [In the 3rd
edition refer to page 175.]. |
Falsification
of history.
Savarkar warned about this tendency in 1937. |
|
pp. 236 – 237 [In the 3rd
edition refer to page 179/180.] |
Muslim game in Savarkar warned
about this in 1941. |
|
pp. 372-376 [In the 3rd
edition refer to page 283-8]. |
-Martyrs Savarkar said
this in his book "Tejasvi Tare" (1929) also in a public speech in |
|
pp. 473-474 [In the 3rd
edition refer to page 362. |
- Importance of
census for Hindus. Savarkar
explained this at the time of census of 1931. |
And because of
this contempt for Savarkar, R.S.S. has still got foolish notions about the
perpetual threats - Muslims and Christians.
Let us see how.
1.2.8 Danger from the Muslims
[We find that Preface to Second Edition has been deleted by the compiler. Our comments are still are valid.]
It is astonishing
that despite the bitter experience of the psyche of Muslims (say from
1920-1970) Guruji should be so complacent. In the preface to the second edition
we find - page vii ...” Guruji in his reply to one of his queries of Sri
Jeelany (an Arab journalist) had suggested, "Can we not share each others
festivals? (The answer is No according to Koran). Our most popular social
festival is Holi. Suppose in this Holi festival a Muslim sprinkled with a
little coloured water. Do you think that the injunctions of the Koran are
violated? (Once again the answer is Yes.
Did Guruji ever read any translation of Koran?) Why not regard it as a social
affair? “
The compiler
carries on “The post Emergency Holi and Raksha Bandhan, at quite a few places
have indeed witnessed such touching scenes. It must be noted that some of these
programmes were attended by dignitaries from Muslim community mainly because of
the initiative taken by the R.S.S. and the close links established between the
leaders of R.S.S. and the Muslims.”
[Our comment -
What we are not told is how short lived was this atmosphere.
R.S.S. workers,
like the blind followers of Gandhi Nehru and Company are
still running
after the mirage of Hindu Muslim unity! Remember nothing,
learn nothing. We
quote a famous example towards the end of World War II.
Dr. N.B. Khare, a
staunch Hindu, was a member of the Viceroy's council during May 1943 - June
1946. He was in charge of the Department of Indians
overseas. Due to
war ships were requisitioned for carrying soldiers, arms,
ammunition and
supplies. Moreover, there was danger from submarines and
torpedoes. So
Indian Muslims could not make their Haj pilgrimage to
Without making
Muslims to beg for it, Dr. Khare got into his head that he must facilitate this
pilgrimage! He says - I appealed to the Secretary of State (for India) in
1944 to secure his permission for this pilgrimage and I impressed upon him that
it was improper to keep the Musalmans away from the pilgrimage for a long time
because it was a religious duty enjoined upon them (surely they could wait till
the war was over) and requested him to spare a naval ship for its
protection. The Secretary :of State (for India) accepted my suggestion and
the Haj pilgrimage was arranged in 1944.On account of this Musalmans all over
India, right from Peshawar to Tuticorin arranged a grand party and presented me
with an address in the Anglo Arabic College, Delhi. The silver casket in which this address was
presented was embossed by some scenes from
(how touching -
Khare calls this behaviour-Hindu tolerance)
And yet, just
three years later the same Muslims were after Khare's
blood. Only
soldiers with fixed bayonets saved him from being lynched.
[Ref. My
Political Memoirs by Dr. N.B. Khare, 1971, pp.214 and 310]
It is worth
noting that the same British administration banned the famous Hindu pilgrimage
to Pandharpur in
Let us return to
the post emergency situation. Mrs. Gandhi declared a state of emergency on 21
June. 1975 so that she could stay in power. It was lifted in February. 1977.
During this eighteen-month period a friendship developed between R.S.S. workers
and some Muslims who were imprisoned in the same jails. Elections to Indian
Parliament were held in early 1977 at which Janata Party won handsomely and
Mrs. Gandhi and her Congress Party lost heavily. R.S.S. was largely responsible for Janata
Party's.success. And yet Muslim riots continued unabated. That is the
truth. Over the next two years there were Muslim riots in Benaras, Sambal,
Aligad. Jamshetpur, Krishnanagar,
Here are some
details:
In October 1977
there was a procession of a Hindu idol, which was taken out with police
permission. While passing through a Muslim locality, Muslims objected to it and
refused to allow it to pass. When with the help of the Police, the procession
restarted, Muslims threw stones on it from their roadside housetops and the
idol was smashed to pieces. Many Hindus and even some Policemen were injured.
In March- 1978
Muslims started a riot at Sambal, a Taluka place in
Moradabad
District (Utter Pradesh). One Government officer had refused
an application of
a local Muslim. That was sufficient cause to declare
hartal and
Muslims tried to force the Hindu shopkeepers to close their shops - when they
refused to do so, Muslims started looting and burning their shops. It was a weekly bazaar day at Sambal and many
villagers from nearby places had come to Sambal for shopping. When the riot started, these villagers took
refuge in a nearby sugar factory. When
Muslim rioters reached that place they surrounded the factory and killed some
hundred persons and threw their bodies in a nearby lake. Three days later the
bodies were taken out and burnt.
In October 1978 a
wrestling match took place between a Hindu and a Muslim and the Muslim was
defeated. The Muslim mob became enraged
and murdered the Hindu wrestler. The riot continued for several days and was
instigated by
those residing in
In May 1979
serious riots took place at these two places.
[Ref. - Hindu
Nationalism - a view point by S.R. Date, 1984, pp.31/32]
Thus, the romance
between R.S.S. workers and the Muslims did not last for even one year. In fact,
in 1977 there were 188 Muslim riots, 36 people were
killed and 1122
injured. In 1978 there were 219 Muslim riots, 108 people
were killed and
1807 injured.
1.2.9 Danger from Christians
R.S.S. is just as
smug about Christians as it is about Muslims. On page viii there is reference
to an interview of the Archbishop of Ernakulam appearing under the caption
"Silent Revolution in Indian Churches" (Indian Express, 5th December 1978) in which
he has highlighted the new trends of falling in line with the Hindu mainstream,
such as singing bhajans, performing arati, adopting Hindu names, using Sanskrit
expressions and so on, among the religious customs and modes of Christians in
Bharat. He has justified with pride these new changes by saying, "The
church has to become more and more local, drawing its cultural nourishment from
the local soil. It is in the fitness of things to draw on the rich resources of
Hindus.
[Our comment -
How blind to reality can one be? A very informative article on the same subject
appeared in 3rd December 1983 issue of Manoos, a Marathi weekly of Pune (
Mr. Ajit Kanitkar
of Trivendram writes - Cardinal Joseph Parakattil heads
the movement for Indianisation.
In a book entitled The Church in
Cultural
Integration (1971) the Cardinal says -
"If
Christianity has to make headway in the nationalistic
In other words,
despite the prolonged work of the missionaries, not many Hindus have embraced
Christianity. To make conversion easy
Christians should appear to be identical with Hindus. The missionaries have made a long list -
You may pray on the floor
Greetings can be made with palms touching
each other (namaskar)
It is permissible to remove footwear
before entering a church
Like Hindus you may use essence, lamp and
offerings (dhoop, deep,
naivaidya)
Prayers can be in Sanskrit - You may say
Aum Yeshu Christaya Namah / Aum
Meriputraya Namah
Christian institutions should use Hindu
names like
Jyotiniliyam Sarvodaya Vidyalaya,
Nirmala Bhavan.
(A church in Kanyakumari is called Puneet
Mata Upakar Church )
Motto of a Christian school in Trivendram
is
Tamaso Ma Jyotirgamaya
Hindu names are OK
Missionaries should wear saffron colour
clothes, nuns should
wear saffron colour saries. They also should wear khadi clothes
on certain occasions.
Kathakali dances depict episodes from
Ramayan and Mahabharat.
But now a Kathakali dance shows the last
days of Jesus.
Like Bhagvad-Gita a ‘Giri Gita’ has been
written in Sanskrit. It is sermon
on the mount of the New Testament.
All this
appearance is only for increasing the rate of conversion to Christianity.
Cardinal
Parakattil says further in his book -
"There are
those... they will naturally feel that this is a stunt, a trick by which we
wish to trap them into conversion. This objection is no doubt a serious
one...Church will not have her true identity in
indianised. Once
they see that what is primary in the Church is not an institution - a foreign
institution, but a community in every way native to our land, they will not
consider us aliens or have the grounds for the resentment they have now".
How gullible
should we be!]
1.2.10 Misconceptions about Sardar Patel
Hindus have a
soft corner for Sardar Patel. But this is, on the whole, unwarranted. Guruji
simply repeats the misconceptions. On pages 238-239 [In the 3rd
edition refer to page 181].he tells us - "An incident happened in the
wake of the massacres and mass expulsion of Hindus from
Needless to say,
all our workers were released soon after. We were fortunate that we had in
Sardar Patel a person with an iron will to face the reality in those days."
[Our comment - This
is a gross misrepresentation of facts. In the crucial elections of 1945/6
Sardar Patel solemnly promised that he will never surrender to the Muslim
League demand for partition - "Sword will be met with sword". That
was his famous slogan. Gullible Hindus believed such propaganda and voted the
Congress Party into power. And what was power used for? For crushing the Muslim
League? Oh no: For crushing the Hindu
Mahasabha who fought tooth and nail to prevent partition. Patel became Home
Minister in the Viceroys Council on 2nd September 1946. On 2nd October 1946
(Gandhi's birthday) police raided Veer Savarkar's house and arrested his
secretary, Mr G H Damle and bodyguard, Mr Appa Kasar. At the same time
"Agrani" the paper of Nathuram Godse and Nana Apte, was asked to
provide a cash security bond for 6,000 Rupees, by Morarji Desai, the then Home
Minister of Bombay. On Desai's orders Savarkar's house was kept under strict
police surveillance ever since congress came to power. But there was no
restriction on the activities of the Muslim League who had their headquarters
in Bombay. Jinnah declared 16th August 1946 as a day of Direct Action. This
resulted in the Great Calcutta killing -
some 5,000 Hindus were killed and 15,000 injured - and yet no action was taken
against the Muslim League. There were serious Muslim riots in Bombay itself in
early September, so serious that Viceroy Lord Wavell felt it necessary to visit
the riot affected area (218 Hindus were killed, 653 injured).
There was mass
killing of Hindus in Noakhali and
In May 1947
Morarji Desai demanded a cash security bond of 20,000
Rupees from the
English paper Maratha (of late Lokamanya Tilak). And at the same time he
confiscated previous 5,000 rupees case security of that paper.
On 3rd June Patel
and Nehru officially accepted partition. They must have obviously accepted it
in secret some time between 22nd March and 3rd June. It became more imperative to crush
anti-partition newspapers. In July, Morarji Desai confiscated the 6,000 Rupees
cash security of Agrani and closed down that paper. Nathuram Godse promptly
started a new paper "Hindu Rashtra" the very next day (16th July
1947). Other Marathi newspapers like KAL,
KESAR and TRIKAL
were similarly harassed.
Further events in
brief.
15th August 1947
- Partition - Dominions of India and
Patel was
minister for Home Affairs, Information and Broadcasting. Using his powers he
imposed virtual censorship on newspapers.
All India Radio was under his direct control. He ensured that the news of Muslim atrocities
on Hindus was systematically suppressed day in and day out. He was impotent to
stop atrocities on Hindus but he made sure that Hindus of India did not know
about them and did not take revenge on Muslims in India, he was responsible for
relations with various princely states and using strong arm tactics (i.e. the
Indian Army Units stationed in the states) he ensured that power was
transferred into the hands of Congress Party followers only. A striking example is
January 1948
Gandhi's infamous
fast unto death to force the Government of India to give 55 crore rupees to
as long as
Muslims were safe Patel was not disturbed. Though Savarkar's house was under
surveillance for nearly a year. police were not rushed to his house. On the
contrary, his bodyguard was arrested and taken away! Savarkar, aged 65, had been bed-ridden for a
year and was saved from the lynching mob by the bravery of his secretary
Balarao Savarkar, Tendulkar and Shinde. But his younger brother Narayanrao who
lived elsewhere was not so lucky. He
never recovered from the attack of hooligans and died in October 1949.
This took place
in the special court from 22nd June 1948 to 10th February 1949.
There was an attempt to implicate Savarkar but it failed and he was
exonerated. Let us assume that Patel was
helpless and had to include Savarkar in the list of those accused. But how can
anyone justify what followed?
As soon as he was
declared innocent Savarkar was served with a notice under an order of the Delhi
Magistrate prohibiting him from leaving the Red
Fort area. And
thus Patel ensured that there was no public jubilation. A few hours later,
by another order under the Punjab Public Security Measures Act, Savarker was
externed and was prohibited from entering the Delhi area for a period of three
months and was escorted by police straight to his house in Bombay.
1948/49
R.S.S. was
declared illegal by Patel on 4th February 1948. In November 1948 a Satyagraha
(civil disobedience) was started and eventually the R.S.S. ban was lifted on
11th July. 1949, i.e. a full five months after Savarkar was declared innocent.
In May 1949, Government of East Punjab banned public celebrations of Savarkar’s
birthday.
1950
March - East Bengal (now
April 2nd - Nehru
Meets Liaquat Ali (Prime Minister of
4th - Savarkar is arrested in
The growing rift
between Sikhs and non-Sikh Hindus in that province.
It is against
this background that we have to examine Guruji's remarks about Sardar Patel. Patel was not an alien from some distant
lands. He was born and brought up in
And now let us
turn to the interview, which Saradar Patel gave to Taya Zinkin, reporter of the
Guardian, in those days (April, 1950).
Though Patel had suffered a heart attack only six months earlier, he
came to
"... You
know Gandhi was murdered by one of them. But we are not going to stand any
nonsense. We have no option but to protect our Muslims, no matter what
go on shooting
as many Hindus as is necessary to protect our Muslims.
Taya Zinkin adds
(in 1962) - The refugees of 1948 have not gone back.
Indeed another
million and a half have come.
[Ref. - Reporting
We wish to remind
the reader that through Liaquat Ali - Bhulabhai Desai
pact of February
1945 the Muslim League had made considerable progress towards the creation of
On page 239
Guruji says -
Sardar Patel was
aware that Western U.P. had continued to be a powerful Muslim pocket as before.
He did not want that it should be linked to West
from
Bhave, Muslims
were allowed to resettle first in Gurgaon district. Now, over
does not tell us
the whole story. Why were these Muslims
allowed to resettle
in
[In the 3rd
edition refer to pages 181/2].
December- 1947 it
was known that Asaf Ali the Indian Ambassador in the
1.2.11 Misconception about Revolutionaries
In Chapter XII
Guruji explains how the Indian freedom struggle became based on negative
nationalism and how this led to disastrous results. Once again this is
one-sided view and not based on correct information. Let us first deal with
the revolutionaries. Savarkar was the Crown Prince of Indian revolutionaries
and not just an isolated revolutionary as depicted on page 185. It is interesting to know some of his
philosophy from his experiences of the prison in the
Even in the very
harsh prison conditions Savarkar started educating fellow prisoners. He says,
" Being
political prisoners they cared nothing for knowledge. Their motto was action.
What do we want with pure knowledge?
They would say, action and sacrifice, that is what we need...I
further brought home to them the fact that if winning freedom was difficult enough,
retaining it after it had been won was more difficult still... In a free
nation no constructive work can be undertaken by those who were ignorant of
subjects like history, economics and science of politics and government.
I cited them the
instance of
of progress. This
has been ever the lesson of history. And its best illustration is the French
Revolution of 1789. Blind fury is ever national suicide; and if it is not
controlled in time it exposes a country to danger from without as well as to
danger within its own domains. That is the lesson of that revolution for all time
to come.
The story of the
anarchy in
The moderates can
claim among them economists, administrators and statesmen of the highest rank
like Gokhale, R C Dutt, Ranade and Sir T Madhaurao. Have you anyone to rival
them?
Heroism, to do
or die, is not enough.
(Ref. My Transportation for Life, by Veer
Savarkar, 1984, pp.164-66)
These are the
POSITIVE thoughts of Savarkar, 13 years before the R.S.S. was born, at a time
when Guruji was only 6 years old. And all this was published as a book in 1927
when Guruji had started studying for M.Sc. It is therefore quite absurd to
suggest that the patriotism of Indian Revolutionaries was based only on the
hatred of the British.
Savarkar came to
To overthrow the
British Raj, when Sun did not used to set on the
During World War
I there were attempts, similar to those of Subhash
Chandra Bose
twenty years later. An Indian National
Army was to be formed
out of Indian
Prisoners of war held by
Island when
Administration
but it was rejected. To fellow prisoners Savarkar said,
"... It's no good if the power in
1.2.12 Misconception about Subhash Chandra Bose
On page 185
Guruji tells us - among them, those who had the positive grasp of our national
life looked for such a revolutionary inspiration within the country, within our
own history just as a Savarkar and a Subhash Chandra
Bose were
inspired by the ideal of Shivaji. Subhash Chandra Bose, in one
of his last
interviews before he disappeared from our country, had spoken highly about the
greatness of Shivaji and had even declared that we could achieve swaraj only by
following the ideals and methods of Shivaji.
[Our comment - We
cannot find any reference for such an interview. Bose was just as anti- Hindu as Gandhi and
Nehru. When he became President of the
Congress Party in 1938, Hindu-Mahasabha members were barred from Congress. In April:- 1939 Savarkar started unarmed
struggle for the rights of Hindus in
[In the 3rd
edition refer to page 139].
In May 1939, Bose
was deposed as President of the Congress Party by Gandhi. Two months later he
was deposed as President of Bengal Provincial
Congress
Committee. After this he started his own organisation. The Forward Block. Could
Hindu Mahasabha members join it? No! In August 1939, while speaking at Pune (
Bose's letters
and lectures are compiled in the book India at Crossroads.
It makes it clear
how Bose considered the Hindu Mahasabha as his arch enemy and an obstacle to
achieving independence. So who changed his mind? Mr Jinnah
In June 1940,
Bose came to
Bose said:
"I represent the Forward Block. I am a Hindu alright.
Jinnah retorted:
"But Forward Block does not represent the Hindus. Moreover you are even ashamed to say in
public that you are a Hindu. If Savarkar was to make these concessions it would
be quite different".
After this sharp
rebuff Bose went to see Savarkar (22nd June 1940). He told Bose - Why should
you give so much importance to an insignificant man like Jinnah? A capable man like you should not rot in
Even after this,
Bose did not act as he should have. He still went to
If Bose had
really taken inspiration from Shivaji things would have been different.]
1.2.13 Savarkar after
Savarkar openly
disbanded his revolutionary organisation Abhinav Bharat, in May 1952. He said -
For overthrowing a foreign power various actions - secret plots, bomb throwing,
armed revolts, open defiance of laws etc., all are justified. But once independence is achieved the same methods
must be disbanded. The greatest enemy of
independence is anarchy. We in Abhinav Bharat were aware of this since its
inception (i.e. before Guruji was born).
It must also be
remembered that on achieving independence a Ram Rajya
cannot be created
overnight... To be impartial, it must be said that if power had been
transferred to a party other than Congress, Hindu Mahasabha,
Socialist,
Communist or any other party, they too would have made mistakes,
because of
inexperience, temptation of power and other reasons. Just as buckets drawing
water from a lake carry the same water, people in. various
parties having
come from the same society, would have more or less the same virtues and
vices...
... No matter what form of government is
adopted, there are bound to
be differences of
opinion. But now we must sink our
differences in the
ballot box-.
It is a great pity that though Guruji was
present at this lecture, such positive, constructive thinking is absent
from Bunch of Thoughts.
1.2.14 The Communist Traitors
The Bolshevik
Revolution of 1917 had its repercussions all over the world. We believe it was
Churchill who once said "If in your twenties you are not a communist, it
must be said that you have no heart, but if in your forties you are still a
communist it must be said that you have no brains". It was therefore not
surprising that young Indian intellectuals got attracted to communism. But what was disgusting was their mental
bankruptcy (a phenomenon of Gandhi era). This was exposed time and time again.
Bose himself gave
several reasons why communism will not be adopted in
1) Communism has no sympathy for
nationalism.
2)
in provoking world revolution.
3)
4)
Ideas, which will have a contrary effect.
Close association
between church and state. So Russian communism grown anti-religion
and atheistic.
between Church and State in
power in
5) Materialistic interpretation of.
history is not acceptable in
6) Weak in some aspects - follows
traditional economics.
Ref. - The Indian Struggle 1920-1942 by S
C Bose
Savarkar had also
exposed the fallacy of thinking of Indian Communists.
1st August 1937
Soviet
Russians say
"Workers of the world unite". Alright. Supposing we take a shipload
of a thousand workers and send them to
enough to look
after the interest of the majority community - Hindu.
Fascism and
Bolshevism These are intractable to us as the philosophical concepts of Dwait
and Adwait. European "isms" will lead us to disaster. At the
moment everyone is concerned about survival of his or her own nations...How
does
What is
surprising about the Indian Communists is their failure to follow their -gurus,
the Russians in dealing with Muslims. If
they had followed the Russians in this aspect, things would have been quite
different. "Religion is an opium pill" that is their famous slogan.
But they want to apply that to Hindu religion only. Russians crushed the religious fanaticism
of Muslims, Indian communists encouraged it. Every Muslim riot, they
explain, is an explosion of the suppressed masses. Savarkar asked them time and time again –
“how come the rich Muslims escape any damage?
Why are their women never abducted or molested? Why do these rioters only destroy temples and
not mosques? Why do they attack Hindu
proletariat if the riots are only caused by economic reasons?” Even those who are called Pro-Peking refuse to
see how the Chinese communist dealt with their Muslims.
1.2.15 Perverted mentality of the Congress
Members
On pp.186-198
Guruji explains how the nationalism of Congress based
solely on the
hatred of the British, led to capitulation to Muslims and
eventually to
tragic partition. There are some important aspects which
are missing: [In
the 3rd edition refer to pp 139 to 150].
1. After the
demise of Lokmanya Tilak in August 1920 Gandhi came to the
forefront and
literally reduced the Congress Party to a bunch of sheep.
Dr. Hedgewar used
such words during a public lecture in Pune on 30th April-
1938.
2. Gandhi's
fanatical support for the Khalifat movement had nothing to do with Indian
freedom struggle. One should refer to Dr. Ambedkar's book
3. It was Gandhi
himself who drafted the invitation to Amir of Afghanistan to invade
4. Towards the
end of 1923 Kemal Pasha abolished the Khalifat.
5. It was despite
such tragic failure of Gandhi's policies that Pattabhi Sitaram Ayya, the
congress historian had the audacity to say that the Indian Freedom struggle
started only in 1920. Gandhi never
reprimanded him.
6. Sometime in
1940 Gandhi wrote in Harijan "I will gladly live under the Rule of Jinnah,
as that will be a 100% Indian Raj". (He said the same about Nizam).
Savarkar retorted
- well I am a 100% Indian, so why shouldn't Jinnah
live comfortably
under me? (Ref. - Public speech at
1940).
7. Savarkar
said on a number of occasions – “When I say we want to be free
I don't want
to substitute Aurangzeb and Tipu for George and Edward. We
want to be free
from the domination of both.” (e.g. Public speech at
23rd March 1940,
8. It was never
pointed out to the Indian Muslims that before the British and the Marathas,
they were not the rulers of
Review by Dr V S
Godbole
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MK41, 8AZ