Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's Tryst with Terrorism:
Past & Present
[This article based mainly on the documents from the RSS archives appeared as introduction in ‘Godse’s Children: Hindutva Terror in India’ by Subhash Gatade (2013), published by Pharos Media & Publishing Pvt Ltd., New Delhi (www.pharosmedia.com] . It has become more relevant as the Hindutva juggernaut has speeded up its run devastating India.]
Despite
shrill public denials by the RSS top-brass that its swayamsevaks or cadres
never indulged in terrorist activities, the RSS chief, Mohan Bhagwat, while
addressing a meeting of the RSS members on January 10, 2011, at Surat (Gujarat)
made a significant statement saying that
“[of]
the majority of the people whom the government has accused (in various blast
cases), a few had left voluntarily and a few were told by the Sangh that this
extremism will not work here so you go away.”[i]
It
was a candid admission by the Supremo of the RSS who was naturally better
informed about the happenings within his organization which works in a
clandestine fashion that many of these alleged terrorists were part of the RSS.
This statement raises few questions which RSS as an organization must answer.
The first is that RSS must share the names of those terrorists who left
‘voluntarily’ or were asked to ‘go away’ with the people of this country and
especially with the police investigating agencies of the Indian State. In fact,
the latter should have by now put Mohan Bhagwat under scanner to seek the names
of these ‘terrorists’ not only in order to verify whether the ones so far
arrested were the same who were referred to by Mohan Bhagwat but also to know
about others who may still be indulging in terrorist activities and have not
been brought to book as yet.
The whole issue raises another pertinent
question. When RSS claims that a particular person indulging in terrorist
activities is not its member, how do we verify it? Do
we have an authenticated list of RSS members which can be referred to in case
of need? The reality is that there is no such list and in the absence of such a
list for an organization which functions in a regime of secrecy it becomes a
convenient alibi for the RSS to deny its actual linkages with the individuals
and organizations indulging in terrorist activities.
The
individuals and organizations indulging in recent terrorist activities having
close linkages with Hindutva philosophy
and organizations like RSS should not surprise anybody. Any sectarian and
theocratic organization which is programmed to the cleansing of religious
minorities and undoing of a democratic-secular India has to be intolerant and
extremist in its ideological moorings as well as functioning. RSS is no
exception to this rule. A careful perusal of the documents from the RSS archives
makes it clear that terrorist activities being indulged by persons and
organizations associated with it are the outcome of an ideological mould
outlined by its mentors.
The RSS as flag-bearer of the Hindu nationalism always
believed in the superiority of the Aryan race like Hitler and the Nazis. Racism
is the common tie, which binds them. Hindus happened to be Aryans belonging to
the National race whereas Muslims and Christians were non-Aryans; foreigners
because they followed religions, which took birth in non-Aryan foreign lands.
The RSS divided religions professed in India into two categories, Indian and
foreign. Interestingly, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism were declared to be of
the Indian variety but were not accorded the status of independent religions.
These were simply treated as part of Hinduism. Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar
(1906-1973), the most prominent ideologue of the RSS who came to head the
organization after Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, naturally, inherited deep love for
Fascism and Nazism from his seniors and stood for cleansing of the followers of religions which originated in foreign
lands. He idealized the Nazi cultural nationalism of Hitler, which was nothing
else but ‘ethnic cleansing’ of non-Aryans, in the following words which
appeared in his book We or Our Nationhood
Defined (1939); a book which became Geeta
(or Bible) of the Hindutva politics:
“The other Nation most in the eye of the world today
is Germany. This Nation affords a very striking example. Modern Germany strove,
and has to a great extent achieved what she strove for, to once again bring
under one sway the whole of the territory, hereditarily possessed by the
Germans but which, as a result of political disputes, had been portioned off as
different countries under different states…German pride in their Fatherland for
a definite home country, for which the race has traditional attachments as a
necessary concomitant of the true Nation concept, awoke and ran the risk of
starting a fresh world-conflagration, in order to establish one, unparalleled
undisputed German Empire over all this ‘hereditary territory’. This natural and
logical aspiration of Germany has almost been fulfilled and the great
importance of the ‘country factor’ has been once again vindicated even in the
living present.
“Come we next to the next ingredient of the Nation
idea—Race, with which culture and language are inseparably connected, where
religion is not the all- absorbing force that it should be. German Race pride
has now become the topic of the day. To
keep up the purity of the race and its culture, Germany shocked the world by
her purging the country of the Semitic races-the Jews. Race pride at its
highest has been manifested here. Germany has also shown how well- nigh
impossible it is for races and cultures, having differences going to the root, to be assimilated into one united whole, a good lesson for us in Hindusthan [sic] to learn and profit by.”[ii] [Emphasis added]
While outlining the constituent elements of the Hindu
Nation Golwalkar raised a significant question,
“If, as is indisputably proved, Hindusthan, is the
land of Hindus and is the terra firma for
the Hindu nation alone to flourish upon, what is to be the fate of all those,
who, today, happen to live upon the land, though not belonging to the Hindu
Race, Religion or culture?”3[iii]
He
answered to his own query in the following words:
“At
the outset we must bear in mind that so far as ‘nation’ is concerned, all
those, who fall outside the five-fold limits of that idea,4[iv] can have no place in the national life, unless they abandon their differences, adopt
the religion, culture and language of the Nation and completely merge
themselves in the National Race.”5[v]
Golwalkar unhesitatingly glorified the Race theory
propagated by Hitler and Mussolini and subsequent cleansing of non-Aryans or
minorities in the following words:
“It is worth bearing well in mind how these old
nations solve their minorities [sic] problem.
They do not undertake to recognize any separate element in their polity.
Emigrants have to get themselves naturally assimilated in the principal mass of
the population, the National Race, by adopting its culture and language and
sharing in its aspirations, by losing all consciousness of their separate
existence, forgetting their foreign origin.
“If
they do not do so, they live merely as outsiders, bound by all the codes and
conventions of the Nation, at the
sufferance of the Nation and deserving no special protection, far less any
privilege or rights. There are only two courses open to the foreign elements,
either to merge themselves in the national race and adopt its culture, or to
live at its mercy so long as the national race may allow them to do so and to
quit the country at the sweet will of the national race. That is the only sound
view on the minorities problem. That is the only logical and correct solution.
That alone keeps the national life healthy and undisturbed. That alone keeps
the nation safe from the danger of a cancer developing in its body politic, of
the creation of a state within a state.”[vi]
Golwalkar as the most important ideologue of the RSS
and Hindutva brand of politics
forcefully argued for adopting the models of Hitler and Mussolini for getting
rid of the minorities from his kind of Hindu nation in the following words:
“From
this stand point, sanctioned by the experience of shrewd old nations, the
foreign races in Hindusthan must either adopt the Hindu culture and language,
must learn to respect and hold in reverence the Hindu religion, must entertain
no idea but those of the glorification of the Hindu race and culture, i.e., of
the Hindu nation and must lose their separate existence to merge in the Hindu
race, or may stay in the country, wholly subordinated to the Hindu Nation,
claiming nothing, deserving no privileges, far less any preferential treatment,
not even citizen’s rights. There is, at least should be, no other course for them to adopt.
We are an old nation: let us deal as old
nations ought to, and do deal, with the foreign races who have chosen to live
in our country.”[vii]
Golwalkar did not mince words while expressing hatred
for all those who differed with his notion of Hindu nation. For him all others
were traitors or idiots. The use of this kind of intemperate language only
showed to what extreme he and his followers could go in denigrating adversaries
to be cleansed later.
“Those
only are nationalist patriots, who, with the aspiration to glorify the Hindu
race and nation next to their heart, are prompted into activity and strive to achieve that goal. All others
are either traitors or enemies to the National cause, or, to take a charitable
view, idiots.”[viii]
This kind of philosophy was not something of the
bye-gone days of 1940s for RSS. It kept on resonating even after Independence.
In fact, another resource book for the RSS cadres, Bunch of Thoughts, the compilation of the writings of MS Golwalkar,
which appeared in 1966 had a long chapter titled, ‘Internal Threats’, (it
continued to appear in all subsequent editions) in which the Muslims and
Christians are described as threats number one and two respectively. The
Communists get the status of being enemy number 3. This chapter opens with the
following statement:
“It
has been the tragic lesson of the history of many a country in the world that
the hostile elements within the country pose a far greater menace to national
security then aggressors from outside.”[ix]
While
treating the Muslims as hostile element number one
Golwalkar
went on to elaborate,
“Even
to this day there are so many who say, ‘Now there is no Muslim problem at all.
All those riotous elements who supported Pakistan have gone away once for all.
The remaining Muslims are devoted to our country. After all, they have no other
place to go and they are bound to remain loyal…It would be suicidal to delude
ourselves into believing that they have turned patriots overnight after the
creation of Pakistan. On the contrary, the Muslim menace has increased a
hundredfold by the creation of Pakistan, which has become a springboard for all
their future aggressive designs on our country.”[x]
Deliberating further on this enemy number one,
Muslims, Golwalkar presented his thesis in the following words which provided
excuse to the VHP cadres for exterminating the Muslim localities in Gujarat in
the year 2002:
“Within
the country there are so many Muslim pockets, i.e., so many ‘miniature
Pakistans’, where the general law of the land can be enforced only with certain
modifications, and the whims of the miscreants have to be given the final say.
This acceptance, indirect though it may be, implies a very dangerous theory
fraught with possibilities of the destruction of our national life altogether.
Such ‘pockets’ have verily become the centers of a widespread network of
pro-Pakistani elements in this land…The conclusion is that, in practically
every place, there are Muslims who are in constant touch with Pakistan over the
transmitter…”[xi]
While deliberating on the ‘Internal Threat’ number
two, he stated that the Christians were indulging in activities which were
not only irreligious
but also anti-national.[xii] According to him the Christians
residing in India were,
“out
to demolish not only the religious and social fabric of our life but also to
establish political domination in various pockets and if possible all over the
land.”[xiii]
Golwalkar’s
hatred for minorities, specially, Muslims was inexhaustible and never-ending.
In this regard there was no difference in his views contained in We or Our Nationhood Defined (1939), or
his hatred for Muslims in 1960s. In fact, this hatred got wilder. While
addressing the leading RSS cadres of south India in Bangalore on November 30,
1960, he declared:
“Right
from Delhi to Rampur, Muslims are busy hatching a dangerous plot, piling up
arms and mobilizing their men, and probably biding their time to strike from
within…”[xiv]
There was no substantiation or proofs offered for such
a serious allegation against whole of the Muslim community residing in the
western Uttar Pradesh. If this was so it should have been brought to the notice of the law and order machinery
in the area. RSS was under legal obligation to inform the home ministers at the
Centre and the state of Uttar Pradesh (as it is part of it). It was never done
because Golwalkar and RSS were simply interested in poisoning the minds of its
cadres. More importantly the Indian State took no action against Golwalkar for
spreading such a canard against common Muslims. It is not difficult to
understand that it was due to such hate preaching against Muslims and
Christians by the top brass of the RSS that large scale cleansing of minorities
could be successfully undertaken by its swayamsevaks
in different parts of India.
The
central publication house of the RSS, Suruchi
Prakashan,
Delhi,
published a book in 1997, titled Param
Vaibhav Ke Path Par (ON THE ROAD TO GREAT GLORY) penned by Sadanand Damodar
Sapre, a senior RSS functionary. This book contained details of more than 40
organizations created by the RSS for different tasks but more importantly it
described how many of these organizations are run in a clandestine manner for
hidden agendas. This publication showed that the whole network ran like a
well-organized mafia through its subsidiaries and satellites. There has always
been a conscious attempt to create confusion about its different fronts which
provide RSS with the opportunity to dissociate with any of these as per its
convenience. For instance it used Hindu Jagaran Manch (HJM) for attacking
Christians in late 1990s and when public opinion, media and Parliament seemed
to turn against it, RSS denied any relation with HJM. However, according to
this publication Hindu Jagaran Manch was created by the RSS as admitted in the
above mentioned publication.
“From the point of view of Hindu awakening this kind
of forums [like Hindu Jagran Manch] at present are active in 17 states with
different names like ‘Hindu Manch’ in Delhi, ‘Hindu Munani’ in Tamilnadu,
‘Hinduekjut’ in Maharashtra. These are
forums, not associations or organizations, that’s why it is not required to
have membership, registration and elections.”[xv] [Emphasis added]
It is clear that such organizations with no record of
membership, no registration and no internal elections are created by the RSS.
Such an organizational model provides an opportunity to RSS to disown any
individual or organization.
True to its nature RSS takes recourse to conspiracies
often. It can be known by the following disclosure in Param Vaibhav Ke Path Par about a case in Delhi immediately after
partition:
“Swayamsevaks had
posed to have adopted Musalman [sic] religion
in order to gain the confidence of Delhi Muslim League for knowing their
conspiracies.”[xvi]
What
these Swayamsevaks, impersonating as Muslims, on the eve of Independence were
doing was made clear by none other than Dr. Rajendra Prasad who later became
first President of the Indian Republic. In a letter to the first Home Minister
of India, Sardar Patel, he wrote on March 14,
1948,
“I
am told that RSS people have a plan of creating trouble. They have got a number
of men dressed as Muslims and looking like Muslims who are to create trouble
with the Hindus by attacking them and thus inciting the Hindus. Similarly there
will be some Hindus among them who will attack Muslims and thus incite Muslims.
The result of this kind of trouble amongst the Hindus and Muslims will be to
create a conflagration.”[xvii]
The following passage from the autobiography of the
first Home Secretary of UP, Rajeshwar Dayal, ICS [precursor of IAS], clearly
shows the sinister and criminal designs of the RSS to organize a pogrom of
Muslims in the western Uttar Pradesh (the largest province in the Indian Union)
and thus break the unity of the country just on the eve of Independence.
“I must record an episode of a very grave nature when
the procrastination and indecision of the UP Cabinet led to dire consequences.
When communal tension was still at fever pitch, the Deputy Inspector General of
Police of the Western Range, a very seasoned and capable officer, B. B. L.
Jaitley, arrived at my house in great secrecy. He was accompanied by two of his officers
who
brought with them two large steel trunks securely locked. When the trunks were
opened, they revealed incontrovertible evidence of a dastardly conspiracy to
create a communal holocaust throughout the Western districts of the province.
The trunks were crammed with blueprints of great accuracy and professionalism
of every town and village in that vast area, prominently marking out the Muslim
localities and habitations. There were also detailed instructions regarding
access to the various locations, and other matters which amply revealed the
sinister purport.
“Greatly alarmed by those revelations, I immediately
took the police party to the Premier’s [chief minister’s] house. There, in a
closed room, Jaitley gave a full report
of his discovery, backed by all the evidence
contained in the steel trunks. Timely raids conducted on the premises of
the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) had brought the massive conspiracy to
light. The whole plot had been concerted under the direction and supervision of
the Supremo of the organization himself. Both Jaitley and I pressed for the
immediate arrest of the prime accused, Shri Golwalkar, who was still in the area.
“Pantji [G. B. Pant] could not but accept the evidence
of his eyes and ears and expressed deep concern. But instead of agreeing to the
immediate arrest of the ringleader as we had hoped, and as Kidwai would have
done, he asked for the matter to be placed for consideration by the Cabinet at
its next meeting. It was no doubt a matter of political delicacy as the roots of
the RSS had gone deep into the body politic. There were also other political
compulsions, as RSS sympathizers, both covert and overt, were to be found in the Congress Party itself and even in the Cabinet.
It was no secret that the presiding officer of the Upper House, Atma
Govind Kher, was himself an adherent and his sons were openly members of the RSS.
“At the Cabinet meeting there was the usual
procrastination and much irrelevant talk. The fact that the police had
unearthed a conspiracy which would have set the whole province in flames and
that the officers concerned deserved warm commendation hardly seemed to figure
in the discussion. What ultimately emerged was that a letter should be issued
to Shri Golwalkar pointing out the contents and nature of the evidence which
had been gathered and demanding an explanation thereof. At my insistence, such a letter if it were to
be sent, should be issued by the Premier himself to carry greater weight.
Panditji asked me to prepare a draft, which I did in imitation of his own
characteristic style. The letter was to be delivered forthwith and two police
officers were assigned for the purpose.
“Golwalkar, however, had been tipped off and he was
nowhere to be found in the area. He was tracked down southwards but he managed
to elude the couriers in pursuit. This infructuous chase continued from place
to place and weeks passed.
“Came
January 30, 1948 when the Mahatma, that supreme apostle of peace, fell to a
bullet fired by an RSS fanatic. The tragic episode left me sick at heart.”[xviii]
Rajeshwar Dayal’s shocking narration of
Golwalkar’s evil design to cleanse western parts of Uttar Pradesh of all
Muslims was further corroborated by another senior RSS pracharak (preacher or whole timer), Krishna Gopal Rastogi in his
autobiography, Pracharak Jiwan (Life
of Preacher). While describing an
incident in which he personally led a mob of armed
Hindus against Muslims in Kaliar town situated between Roorkee and Haridwar
went on to state without any remorse how he did not spare even a young Muslim
girl. According to Rastogi’s gut-wrenching version:
“It
was an old locality inhabited by the Muslims. They, armed with daggers, spears,
guns were fully prepared to meet any situation. When I learnt of their
intentions to attack some Hindu areas, I organized 250 people including some
known gangsters and raided Kaliar. Then a strange thing happened. While we had
been killing men in one of the houses, we spotted a very beautiful young girl.
The assailants led by me were instantly enamoured. They even started fighting
among themselves to take possession of the girl.
“I
faced an extremely awkward situation and did not know what to do. I tried my
best to get the assailants to focus on real issues. I abused and threatened
them but they would not listen to me. And suddenly the solution came. The girl
was after all causing this trouble and had to be eliminated. I took my gun and
shot her. She died. My associates were shocked and returned to the work. Though
it was against our principle to assault a woman, but it was done in an
emergency and I still regret it.”[xix]
This
autobiography was released with a laudatory preface by K. S. Sudarshan, the
then Boss of the RSS. Incidentally, Rastogi was appointed in two important committees
of the Human Resource Development Ministry [education ministry] of the
Government of India headed by Murli Manohar Joshi [a senior RSS ideologue who
played prominent role in demolition of Babari mosque on December 6, 1992]
despite protests from more than 50 MPs.
The
RSS immensely hates all those institutions and objects which symbolize a
secular-democratic India. On the eve of independence when Indian Constituent
Assembly adopted Tricolour as its
National Flag, the
English organ of the RSS, Organizer,
in its issue dated August 14, 1947, denigrated this choice in the following
words:
“The
people who have come to power by the kick of fate may give in our hands the
Tricolour but it never be respected and owned by Hindus. The word three is in
itself an evil, and a flag having three colours will certainly produce a very
bad psychological effect and is injurious to a country.”
The
RSS has been demanding since its birth in 1925 that India should have saffron (bhagwa) flag of the Hindu rashtra as the national flag. Golwalkar
while addressing a gathering of leading cadres on July 14, 1946 at the RSS
headquarters at Nagpur stated that it was,
“the
saffron flag which in totality represented Bhartiya
culture. It was the embodiment of God. We firmly believe that in the end
the whole nation will bow before this saffron flag.”[xx]
The
RSS has another pet-project and that is replacing the Indian Constitution by Manusmriti or Codes of Manu. According
to Golwalkar, Uttar Pradesh (the largest province in the Indian Union)
“Our
Constitution too is just a cumbersome and heterogeneous piecing together of
various articles from various Constitutions of the Western countries. It has
absolutely nothing which can be called our own. Is there a single word of
reference in its guiding principles as to what our national
mission is and what our keynote in life is?
No!”[xxi]
For
RSS there was no ambiguity about this ‘national mission’. It was the
enforcement of Manusmriti as the law
of the land. The Constituent Assembly of India ratified the Constitution on
November 26, 1949 and on November 30, the RSS organ Organizer editorially commented:
“But
in our constitution there is no mention of the unique constitutional
development in ancient Bharat. Manu’s Laws were written long before Lycurgus of
Sparta or Solon of Persia. To this day his laws as enunciated in the Manusmriti excite the admiration of the
world and elicit spontaneous obedience and conformity. But to our
constitutional pundits that means nothing.”
It is to be noted that Manusmriti is known for its derogatory and inhuman references to
Shudras, Untouchables and women. It was for this reason that a copy of Manusmriti was burnt as a protest in the
presence of B. R. Ambedkar during historic Mahad [in Maharashtra] agitation.
The
RSS, contrary to the principles of democracy, has been constantly demanding
that India be ruled under a totalitarian regime. Golwalkar while addressing the
1350 top level cadres of the RSS at its headquarters at Nagpur in 1940
declared,
“The
RSS inspired by one flag, one leader and one ideology is lighting the flame of
Hindutva in each and every corner of this great land.”[xxii]
This slogan of ‘one flag, one leader and one ideology’ was directly
borrowed from the programmes of the Nazi and Fascist parties of Europe.
The
extreme hatred expressed against the National Flag, the Constitution and the
democratic polity of the nascent nation was clearly aimed at poisoning the
minds of common Hindus thus inviting them to overthrow a secular state. It is
to be noted that spread of this kind of poison against Gandhi led to his murder
by persons who were directly or indirectly related to Hindu Mahasabha &
RSS.
The
tag of terrorism on RSS is not something new. These were the anti-national
activities of the RSS due to which the organization was banned on February 4,
1948. The government communiqué banning the RSS was self-explanatory:
“In
their resolution of February 2, 1948 the Government of India declared their
determination to root out the forces of hate and violence that are at work in
our country and imperil the freedom of the Nation and darken her fair name. In
pursuance of this policy the Government of India have decided to declare
unlawful the RSS.”[xxiii]
The communiqué went on to disclose that the ban on the
RSS was imposed because,
“undesirable
and even dangerous activities have been carried on by members of the Sangh. It
has been found that in several parts of the country individual members of the
RSS have indulged in acts of violence involving arson, robbery, dacoity, and
murder and have collected illicit dacoity, and murder and have collected
illicit arms and ammunition. They have been found circulating leaflets
exhorting people to resort to terrorist
methods, to collect firearms, to create disaffection
against the government and suborn the police and the military.”[xxiv]
It is generally believed that the then Home Minister,
Sardar Patel, had a soft-corner for the RSS and he continues to be a favourite
with the RSS. However even Sardar Patel found it difficult to defend the RSS in
the aftermath of Gandhiji’s assassination. In a letter written to Golwalkar,
dated 11 September 1948, Sardar Patel stated:
“Organizing
the Hindus and helping them is one thing but going in for revenge for its
sufferings on innocent and helpless men, women and children is quite another
thing…Apart from this, their opposition to the Congress, that too of such
virulence, disregarding all considerations of personality, decency or decorum,
created a kind of unrest among the people. All their speeches were full of
communal poison.
“It
was not necessary to spread poison in order to enthuse the Hindus and organize for
their protection. As a final result of the poison, the country had to suffer
the sacrifice of the invaluable life of Gandhiji. Even an iota of the sympathy
of the Government, or of the people, no more remained for the RSS. In fact
opposition grew.
“Opposition
turned more severe, when the RSS men expressed joy and distributed sweets after
Gandhiji’s death. Under these conditions it became inevitable for the
Government to take action against the RSS…Since then, over six months have
elapsed. We had hoped that after this lapse of time, with full and proper
consideration the RSS persons would come to the right path. But from the
reports that come to me, it is evident
that attempts to put fresh life into their same old activities are afoot.”[xxv]
Hindu Mahasabha and
RSS were jointly responsible for the murder of Father of the Nation, Mahatma
Gandhi, was further corroborated by Sardar Patel in a letter to a prominent
leader of Hindu Mahasabha, Syama Prasad Mookerjee. On July 18, 1948. Sardar
wrote:
“As
regards the RSS and the Hindu Mahasabha, the case relating to Gandhiji’s murder
is sub-judice and I should not like to say anything about the participation of
the two organizations, but our reports do confirm that, as a result of the
activities of these two bodies, particularly the former, an atmosphere was
created in the country in which such a ghastly tragedy became possible.
“There
is no doubt in my mind that the extreme section of the Hindu Mahasabha was
involved in the conspiracy. The activities of the RSS constituted a clear
threat to the existence of Government and the State. Our reports show that
those activities, despite the ban, have not died down. Indeed, as time has
marched on, the RSS circles are becoming more defiant and are indulging in their
subversive activities in an increasing measure.”[xxvi]
As
per police investigations and press reports the training for terrorist
activities to the Hindutva cadres was imparted by military personnel connected
with Bhonsala Military School, Nagpur. It is important to note that this
military school was the offshoot of Bhonsala Military School, Nasik which was
established by Dr. Balkrishna Shivramji Moonje (known as Dharamaveer amongst
the RSS and Hindu Mahasabha fraternity), with the help of the
British rulers for imparting military training to Hindu youth. Dr.
Moonje formed the Central Hindu Military Education Society at Nasik in 1935 and
started the school on 12th June 1937. Interestingly he also idolized
militarization of Italian Fascist dictator. Mussolini.
According
to its website,
“The
school started functioning in the Surgana Palace in Nasik city with 90 students on its roll. The Maharaja of
erstwhile Gwalior state, His Highness Shriman Jivajirao Scindia [He hailed from
a family of native rulers which supported the British rulers in 1857 and played
crucial rule in defeating and killing of Rani Laxmi Bai.] inaugurated the main
building of the school…Such was the charisma, charm and aura of the founder,
that he made the then Governor of Bombay State, Sir Roger Lumley to lay the
foundation stone of the present main building of the school.”
Importantly,
this military establishment later supplied Hindu military officers to the
British army in its campaign to crush the attempt by Subhash Chandra Bose led Indian
National Army to liberate India from the clutches of the British rule in early
1940s. It is very clear that Bhonsala Military School was a collaborative
project conceived and executed by RSS-Hindu Mahasabha, the British rulers and
their Indian stooges; the rulers of Native India for militarization of Hindus
of India in order to suppress the democratic aspirations of the Indian masses.
It is a matter of concern that such sectarian, fascist, communal and
pro-British establishments were allowed to exist and function in independent
India. The Hindutva terrorism being witnessed today could reach to this
dangerous stage because a fascist ideology was able to have at its disposal the
lethal military mindset and machinery made available through establishments
like Bhonsala Military Schools. The most unfortunate aspect of this developing
gory saga is that all this has happened despite India being run under a
democratic-secular dispensation. Thus the terrible scenario which emerges is
that the Hindutva terrorism presents the greatest threat to the
democratic-secular-egalitarian polity of India.
Shamsul
Islam
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REFERENCES/NOTES
[i] ‘No place for radicals in RSS, says Bhagwat’, The Indian Express, Delhi, 11-01-2011,
p. 3.
[ii] MS Golwalkar, We
Or Our Nationhood Defined, Bharat Publications, Nagpur, 1939, pp. 34-35.
[iii] Ibid., p. 45
[iv] Interestingly, in Golwalkar’s writings there
are found only four constituents of Hindu nation. While explaining the
components of the Hindu nation he wrote: “In this country, Hindusthan, the
Hindu Race, with its Hindu Religion, Hindu Culture and Hindu language, [the
natural family of Sanskrit and her offsprings] complete the Nation concept…”, Ibid,
p. 43.
[v] Ibid., p. 45.
[vi] Ibid., p. 47
[vii] Ibid., pp. 47-48.
[viii]
8 Ibid., p. 44.
[ix] MS Golwalkar, Bunch
of Thoughts, Sahitya Sindhu, Bangalore, 1996, p. 177.
[x] Ibid., pp.
177-178.
[xi] Ibid., p. 185.
[xii] Ibid., p. 190.
[xiii] Ibid, p. 193.
[xv] Sadanand
Damodar Sapre, Param Vaibhav Ke Path
Par, Suruchi Prakashan, Delhi, 1997.
[xvi] Ibid, p. 86.
[xvii]
Rajendra Prasad to Sardar Patel (March 14, 1948)
cited in Neerja Singh (ed.), Nehru Patel:
Agreement Within Difference—Select Documents & Correspondences 1933-1950, NBT,
Delhi, p. 43.
[xviii]
Rajeshwar
Dayal, A Life of Our Times, Delhi,
1999, pp. 93-94.
[xix] Cited in Khushwant Singh’s weekly column in The Hindustan Times, May 12, 2001.
[xx] M. S. Golwalkar, Shri Guruji Samagar Darshan, (Collected Works of Golwalkar in
Hindi), Bhartiya Vichar Sadhna, Nagpur, nd, vol. i, p. 98.
[xxi] Bunch of
Thoughts, p. 238.
[xxii]
Shri
Guruji Samagar Darshan, vol.i, p. 11.
[xxiii]
Cited in Justice
on Trial, RSS, Bangalore, 1962, p. 64.
[xxiv]
Ibid., pp. 65-66.
[xxv] Ibid., pp. 26-28.
[xxvi]
Letter 64 in Sardar Patel: Select Correspondence1945-1950, Volume 2, Navjivan Publishing
House, Ahmedabad, 1977, pp. 276-77.
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