Shamsul Islam | Courtesy: CounterCurrents

Friends from India and abroad who are concerned about the increasing threats to the democratic-secular Indian polity from the Hindutva organizations have been feeling the need for a concise document on the anti-national game-plan of the RSS and other like-minded offshoots. The need of such a document is rightly felt for countering the Hindutva propaganda at all levels. The following document is an attempt to accomplish this objective. It is hoped that equipped with this document all those who love India as a democratic-secular nation and want to save our beloved country from the Hindutva onslaught would be able to challenge the fountain-head of the Hindutva politics; RSS. This document is based solely on the documents drawn from the RSS archives.

AGAINST SECULAR INDIA

The editorial (titled ‘Glorious Hindu Nation’) in the maiden issue of the English organ of RSS dated July 3, 1947 strongly rejected any talk of an Indian nation where Hindus and Muslims would stay as equal partners. It branded the concept of a composite Indian nation as a British conspiracy and went on to decry Mr. Hume (one of the founders of the Indian National Congress) for advancing the theory that

“Muslims were equal partners in this land of the Hindus—Hindusthan—and propagated the theory that Hindus and Muslims combined could only make a nation. Unfortunately, neither the Hindu masses nor the leaders could see the trap and they began to honestly believe that India’s salvation lay in Hindu-Muslim unity, for which they strove with all their might. Things proceeded according to British plan and the Muslims began to claim equal partnership in the country.”[i]

Importantly, Organizer in an editorial (titled ‘Whither’) on the very eve of Independence, dated 14 August, 1947, while rejecting the whole concept of a composite nation wrote:

“Let us no longer allow ourselves to be influenced by false notions of nationhood. Much of the mental confusion and the present and future troubles can be removed by the ready recognition of the simple fact that in Hindusthan only the Hindus form the nation and the national structure must be built on that safe and sound foundation…The nation itself must be built up of Hindus, on Hindu traditions, culture, ideas and aspirations.”[ii]

DENIGRATING THE NATIONAL FLAG

The RSS English organ Organizer in its editorial (titled ‘The Nation’s Flag’), dated July 17, 1947, while reacting to the news that the committee of the Constituent Assembly of India on national Flag had decided in favour of Tricolour as the National Flag since it was acceptable to all parties and communities wrote:

“We do not at all agree that the Flag ‘should be acceptable to all parties and communities in India’. This is sheer nonsense. The Flag represents the nation and there is only one nation in Hindusthan, the Hindu Nation, with an unbroken history extending over 5,000 years. That is the nation and the flag must symbolize that nation and that nation alone. We can not possibly choose a flag with a view to satisfy the desires and wishes of all the communities. That is to complicate matters and is unwarranted and entirely unnecessary…We cannot order the choice of a flag as we order a tailor to make a shirt or coat for us…

“If the Hindus in Hindusthan had a common civilization, culture, customs and manners, a common language and common traditions, they had also a flag, the oldest and the noblest in the world, just as they and their civilization are the oldest in the world. That is the historical perspective through which the question of our National Flag should be approached and not in the slipshod manner in which it is being done at present. It is true that temporary misfortunes following foreign invasions and all the horrors that attended them threw the National Flag of Hindus into the shade. But all knew that it is bound to rise again one day to its pristine glory and greatness. There is something immensely endearing to the nation’s heart and soul in this unique colour of the Flag which is the colour peculiar to the morn [morning] when life-giving sun makes his slow but majestic appearance in the east. In the same way, our forefathers have handed down this glorious flag of ours as the life-giving force to the world. It is only the ignorant and the malicious who can not find or appreciate this peculiar charm, nobility and grandeur in the Flag—a charm, nobility and grandeur as glorious as that of the sun itself. This Flag and this alone can be the true national Flag of Hindusthan. That and that alone will be the only one acceptable to the nation. There is growing evidence of this insistent demand on the part of the public and the Constituent Assembly would be well advised to carry out their wishes.”[iii]

Shockingly, RSS organ Organizer on the eve of Independence of India carried a long piece, ‘Mystery behind the Bhagwa Dhawaj’, which while demanding hoisting of saffron flag at the ramparts of Red Fort in Delhi openly denigrated the choice of the Tricolour as the National Flag.

“The people who have come to power by the kick of fate may give in our hands the Tricolour but it never [sic] 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.”[iv]

It was in July 1947 that the Constituent Assembly of Independent India deliberated on the issue of the National Flag of the country and adopted the Tricolour as the national Flag. However, RSS under the leadership of M. S. Golwalkar refused to accept as one. While addressing a Gurupurnima gathering in Nagpur on July 14, 1946, stated that it was the saffron flag which in totality represented their great culture. It was the embodiment of God: “We firmly believe that in the end the whole nation will bow before this saffron flag.”[v]

Even after independence when the Tricolour became the National Flag, it was the RSS which refused to accept it as the National Flag. Golwalkar opposed this choice of the national Flag in an essay entitled ‘Drifting and Drifting’ (reproduced from in the book Bunch of Thoughts, a collection of Golwalkar’s writings in English published by the RSS in 1966). Citing examples of ‘Drifting’ from the Hindutva goals by the Founding Fathers, Golwalkar wrote:

“…Our leaders have set up a new flag for our country. Why did they do so? It is just a case of drifting and imitating. How did this flag come into being? During the French Revolution, the French put up three stripes on their flag to express the triple ideas of ‘equality’, ‘fraternity’ and ‘liberty’. The American Revolution inspired by similar principles took it up with some changes. Three stripes therefore held a sort of fascination for our freedom fighters also. So, it was taken up by the Congress. Then it was interpreted as depicting the unity of the various communities-the saffron colour standing for the Hindu, the green for the Muslim and the white for all the other communities. Out of the non-Hindu communities the Muslim was specially named because in the minds of most of those eminent leaders the Muslim was dominant and without naming him they did not think that our nationality could be complete! When some persons pointed out that this smacked of a communal approach, a fresh, explanation was brought forward that he ‘saffron’ stood for sacrifice, the ‘white’ for purity and the ‘green’ for peace and so on. All these interpretations were discussed in the Congress Committees during those days. Who can say that this is a pure and healthy national outlook? It was just a politician’s patchwork, just political expediency. It was not inspired by any national vision or truth based on our national history and heritage. The same flag has been taken up today as our State Flag with only a glorious past. Then, had we no flag of our own? Had we no national emblem at all these thousands of years? Undoubtedly, we had. Then, why this void, this utter vacuum in our minds?”[vi]

AGAINST NAMING THE COUNTRY AS INDIA

When the Constituent Assembly decided to name the country as India, it was RSS which vehemently demanded it to be named as ‘Hindusthan’, the land of and for Hindus. In an editorial (titled ‘Hindusthan’) in its English organ, Organizer dated July 31, 1947, it demanded that whether it was the issue of naming it or finalizing the character of its polity, the exclusive Hindu character must be guaranteed. It read:

“Great responsibility rests on the shoulders of the men now sitting and discussing details about the constitutional structure of Free Hindusthan. Posterity will judge them by their actions. Let them not betray the nation and her cherished ideals and aspirations. Let their guide be the innermost feelings and aspirations of the vast majority of the people of this country. Unquestionably, they want their Mother Country to be named and known as Hindusthan. [Italics as in the original] the word Hindusthan spontaneously brings to mind happy association of oneness of people of this land, their common culture, common history, common law and the common glorious ancestors, while the word India denotes the anti-thesis of these. It has nothing to inspire the nation. On the other hand, there is a whole chain of events that makes us feel ashamed and our souls revolt. This alone is enough justification to cast away the name India and adopt the natural one, Hindusthan. There can be no compromise on this. Those who are bent upon compromise, sacrificing fundamental principles are not only shirking their responsibility to the nation but they are thereby doing the greatest harm to it.” The editorial concluded with the following demands: “Emphatically; the National Flag should be the traditional Hindu flag, the National Language, Hindi, and this dear homeland of ours, Hindusthan.”[vii]

MUSLIMS, CHRISTIANS & COMMUNISTS AS INTERNAL THREATS

The ‘Holy’ book for the RSS cadres Bunch of Thoughts, has a long chapter titled as ‘Internal Threats’ in which Muslims and Christians are described as threat number 1 and 2 respectively. Communists are played at 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.”[viii]

While treating Muslims as hostile element number 1 he goes 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.”[ix]

He goes on to spit venom against common Muslims in the following words:

“…within the country there are so many Muslim pockets, i.e., so many ‘miniature Pakistans’… The conclusion is that, in practically every place, there are Muslims who are in constant touch with Pakistan over the transmitter…”[x]

While deliberating on the ‘Internal Threat’ number 2, the Christians, he says,

“such is the role of Christian gentlemen residing in our land today, 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.”[xi]

RSS DEMANDED TRANSFER OF DELHI MUSLIMS TO PAKISTAN

Organizer dated September 25, 1947, demanded that all Muslims residing in Delhi should be repatriated to Pakistan. It wrote:

“Delhi for long formed part of the Punjab and since the exchange of population has been undertaken between West Punjab [Pakistan] and East Punjab [India], the right and only course left for the Government is to evacuate the Muslims of Delhi to west Punjab. It is pointed out that any other course would lead to grave trouble again, for the public mind, still remains disturbed due to fear that Muslims would create further trouble whenever they get an opportunity.”[xii]

Golwalkar’s hatred for Muslims was inexhaustible and never-ending. So far as his hatred for Muslims was concerned there was no difference in his views contained in We or Our Nationhood Defined in 1939, or his hatred for Muslims in 1960. 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.”[xiii]

Shockingly, no proofs were given and law and order machinery was not informed about such a critical situation but this Guru of Hate continued spitting venom against patriotic Indian Muslims. His only purposed seemed to be to create mob-hysteria against Muslims. More shocking was that Indian State took no action against Golwalkar for creating enmity between 2 major religious communities of India.

For Golwalkar and RSS, Communists are described as ‘Internal Threat’ number 3 as the latter rise in defence of a democratic-secular Indian polity and challenge the Hindutva forces which are working overtime to undo an all-inclusive India.[xiv]

RSS DECRIED THE DEMOCRATIC-SECULAR CONSTITUTION OF INDIA

The second sarsanghchalak of the RSS, MS Golwalkar led the organization during 1940-1973. What RSS thought bout the Indian Constitution would be clear from the following words of his reproduced from Bunch of Thoughts:

“Our Constitution too is just a cumbersome and heterogeneous piecing together of various articles from various Constitutions of 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! Some lame principles form the United Nations Charter or from the Charter of the now defunct League of Nations and some features form the American and British Constitutions have been just brought together in a mere hotchpotch.”

In fact, RSS wanted this Constitution to be replaced by Manusmriti or Codes of Manu. When the Constituent Assembly of India had finalized the Constitution of India RSS was not happy. Organizer in an editorial (‘The Constitution’) on November 30, 1949, complained:

“The worst about the new constitution of Bharat is that there is nothing Bhartiya about it. The drafters of the Constitution have incorporated in it elements of British, American, Canadian, Swiss and sundry other constitutions. But there is no trace of ancient Bhartiya constitutional laws, institutions, nomenclature and phraseology in it…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.”[xv]

RSS IS COMMITTED FOR CONVERTING DEMOCRATIC-SECULAR INDIAN INTO A HINDU RASHTRA

Against Secularism

The RSS is committed to establish a Hindu Rashtra in opposition to a Secular India will be clear by the perusal of the oath (pratigya) which every member must take before admission into the RSS and prayer (pararthana) which is recited in its meetings.

Oath:

“Before the all-powerful God and my ancestors, I most solemnly take this oath, that I become a member of the RSS in order to achieve all round greatness of Bharatvarsha by fostering the growth of my sacred Hindu religion, Hindu society, and Hindu culture. I shall perform the work of the Sangh honestly, selflessly with my heart and soul, and I shall adhere to this goal all my life. Bharat Mata Ki Jai.”[xvi]

Thus they are not faithful to the Indian Nation as it exists as a legal entity but want to subvert it into a theocratic state like Muslim League which created Pakistan in the name of Islam.

Prayer:

Affectionate Motherland, I eternally bow to you/O Land of Hindus, you have reared me in comfort/O Sacred Land, the Great Creator of Good, may this body of mine be dedicated to you/I again and again bow before You/O God almighty, we the integral part of the Hindu Rashtra salute you in reverence/For Your cause have we girded up our loins/Give us Your Blessings for its accomplishment…”[xvii]

AGAINST DEMOCRACY

What kind of political system the RSS wants to usher in and run will be clear from the following words of MS Golwalkar’s speech which he delivered before the 1350 top level cadres of the RSS at Resham Bagh, the RSS headquarters at Nagpur in 1940:

“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.”[xviii]

AGAINST FEDERALISM

The RSS is also dead against federal structure of the constitution, again a ‘Basic’ feature of the India polity. This is clear from the following communication of Golwalkar which he sent to the first session of the National Integration Council in 1961. It read:

“Today’s federal form of government not only gives birth but also nourishes the feelings of separatism, in a way refuses to recognize the fact of one nation and destroys it. It must be completely uprooted, constitution purified and unitary form of government be established.”[xix]

Even in 1954 Golwalkar while presiding over one anti-federalism conference at Bombay demanded: “India should have Central Rule and from administrative point of view states should be administered territories.”[xx]

These have not been some stray ideas of the RSS ideologue on Indian Federalism. The ‘Holy’ for the RSS cadres, Bunch of Thoughts, has an exclusive chapter titled, ‘Wanted a unitary state.’ While presenting his remedy to the federal set-up of India Golwalkar wrote:

“The most important and effective step will be to bury deep for good all talk of a federal structure of our country’s Constitution, to sweep away the existence of all ‘autonomous’ or semi-autonomous ‘states’ within the one state viz., Bharat and proclaim ‘One Country, One State, One Legislature, One Executive’ with no trace of fragmentational, regional, sectarian, linguistic or other types of pride being given a scope for playing havoc with our integrated harmony. Let the Constitution be re-examined and re-drafted, so as to establish this Unitary form of Government and thus effectively disprove the mischievous propaganda indulged in by the British and so unwittingly imbibed by the present leaders, about our being just a juxtaposition of so many distinct ‘ethnic groups’ or ‘nationalities’ happening to live side by side and grouped together by the accident of geographical contiguity and one uniform supreme foreign domination.”[xxi]

RSS & CONSPIRACIES ARE TWO SISDES OF THE SAME COIN

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. The book confesses:

“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.”[xxii]

How RSS indulges in conspiracies 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 religion in order to gain the confidence of Delhi Muslim League for knowing their conspiracies.”[xxiii]

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, on 14 March 1948, Prasad wrote:

“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.”[xxiv]

IF any RSS supporter feel that the above RSS documents reproduced are fake, author invites them to file criminal defamation case.

Shamsul Islam is a retired Professor of University of Delhi.Email: notoinjustice@gmail.com

For some of S. Islam’s writings in English, Hindi, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali, Telugu, Punjabi, Urdu & Gujarati see the following link:

https://du-in.academia.edu/ShamsulIslam

Facebook: shams shamsul

Twitter: @shamsforjustice

REFERENCES:

[i] Organizer, July 3, 1947.

[ii] Organizer, August 14, 1947.

[iii] Organizer, July 17, 1947.

[iv] Organizer, August 14, 1947.

[v] MS Golwalkar, Shri Guruji Samagar Darshan (collected works of Golwalkar in Hindi), Bhartiya Vichar Sadhna, Nagpur, nd., volume I, p. 98.

[vi] MS Golwalkar, Bunch of Thoughts, Sahitya Sindhu, Bangalore, 1996 [first edition 1966], pp. 237-238.

[vii] Organizer, July 31, 1947.

[viii] MS Golwalkar, Bunch of Thoughts, Sahitya Sindhu, Bangalore, 1996, p. 177.

[ix] MS Golwalkar, Bunch of Thoughts, Sahitya Sindhu, Bangalore, 1996, pp. 177-78.

[x] MS Golwalkar, Bunch of Thoughts, Sahitya Sindhu, Bangalore, 1996, p. 185.

[xi] MS Golwalkar, Bunch of Thoughts, Sahitya Sindhu, Bangalore, 1996, p. 193.

[xii] Organizer, September 25, 1947.

[xiii] M. S. Golwalkar, ‘From Delhi to Rampur Muslims are Conspiring’ Organizer, December 12, 1960.

[xiv] MS Golwalkar, Bunch of Thoughts, Sahitya Sindhu, Bangalore, 1996, p. 195.

[xv] Organizer, November 30, 1947.

[xvi] Shakha Darshikha, Gyan Ganga, Jaipur, 1997, p. 66.

[xvii] Shakha Darshikha, Gyan Ganga, Jaipur, 1997, p. 2

[xviii] MS Golwalkar, Shri Guruji Samagar Darshan (collected works of Golwalkar in Hindi), Bhartiya Vichar Sadhna, Nagpur, nd., Volume I, p. 11.

[xix] MS Golwalkar, Shri Guruji Samagar Darshan (collected works of Golwalkar in Hindi), Bhartiya Vichar Sadhna, Nagpur, nd., Volume 3, p. 128.

[xx] MS Golwalkar, Shri Guruji Samagar Darshan (collected works of Golwalkar in Hindi), Bhartiya Vichar Sadhna, Nagpur, nd., Volume 3, p. 70.

[xxi] MS Golwalkar, Bunch of Thoughts, Sahitya Sindhu, Bangalore, 1996 [first edition 1966], p. 227.

[xxii] Sadanand Damodar Sapre, Param Vaibhav Ke Path Par, Suruchi Prakashan, Delhi, 1997, p. 64.

[xxiii] Sadanand Damodar Sapre, Param Vaibhav Ke Path Par, Suruchi Prakashan, Delhi, 1997, p. 86.

[xxiv] Dr. 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.