Of late, it has become fashionable for the old establishment media, in their new avatars, to

spread the line that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its leaders did not
participate in the freedom struggle. So, we have an article which authoritatively claims that
‘Hedgewar, the freedom fighter, was a pre-RSS Congressman, arrested and sentenced to a
year’s imprisonment for his role in the Khilafat movement (1919-1924) – and that was his
last participation in the freedom struggle.’

Here is the picture of Dr Hedgewar, in 1930, that is five years after he started the RSS,
participating in the forest Satyagraha launched by Mahatma Gandhi.

Dr Hedgewar participating in the 1930 satyagraha against the British

In 1930, when the Sangh was five years old, the Congress, having passed the resolution for
complete independence a year earlier in December 1929, had announced that it would
celebrate 26 January, 1930, as Independence Day. Following this, Dr Hedgewar wrote to all
the Sangh officials:

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The Congress has declared ‘independence’ to be its goal and the Congress Working
Committee has announced that 26 January 1930 be celebrated as ‘independence day’
throughout the country. It is but natural that all of us should feel heartened that this all-
India national body has come close to its goal of independence. It is, therefore, our duty
to cooperate with any organisation that works keeping this purpose foremost. Therefore
all shakas of the RSS should organise the gathering of all the Swayam Sevaks at six ‘o
clock in the evening and salute the national flag which is the saffron flag. The true
meaning of independence and how to present its goal must form the essence of the talk.
Since we have accepted this goal of the Congress, the party must be congratulated for it.
The report of this programme must be sent to us.
(Dr Hedgewar’s letter dated 21-January-1930, Rakesh Sinha, Dr Keshav Baliram Hedgewar,
Publications Division, 2015, p.95)
For those who would like to criticise Dr Hedgewar for calling the saffron flag as the national
flag, let us remember that a year later in April 1931, the Congress Working Committee would
appoint a flag committee which would also include Moulana Abul Kalam Azad and it would
recommend the saffron flag as the national flag in its final report with the following words:

We felt that the flag must be distinctive, artistic, rectangular and non-communal.
Opinion has been unanimous that our national flag should be of a single colour except
for the colour of the device. If there is one colour that is more acceptable to the Indians
as a whole, even as it is more distinctive than another, one that is associated with this
ancient country by long tradition, it is the Kesari or saffron colour. ...
The Sangh as an organisation nevertheless kept away from all agitation-based politics. Not
only did it keep away from Congress agitations it also never took part in the Hindu Maha
Sabha ones. When the Maha Sabha announced its agitation against the Nizam, the
Bhaganagar Satyagraha, the RSS refrained from participating in it.

A prominent former member of the RSS from Poona, who was with the Hindu Maha Sabha
then, was very angry with the RSS for this. His name was Nathuram Vinayak Godse. He
openly accused the RSS of frittering away the Hindu energy. Despite great respect that the
Sangh had for Veer Savarkar, on 8 April 1940, in Poona, the RSS head Bhaurao Deshmukh
gave a reply to the fringe elements in the Hindu Maha Sabha:

First of all, I wish to tell the malicious minds that the RSS is neither a military force for
the Hindus nor the military wing of the Hindu Mahasabha. The Sangh’s endeavor is to
make the Hindus nationalists in the true sense...
It is interesting to note that though individual leaders of the Congress and Hindu Mahasabha
praised the RSS for its discipline, the absence of untouchability and the services it rendered,
both the organisations wanted the Sangh to be under their political control. When the RSS

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refused to play party, scouts for both the parties, the Indian National Congress and the Hindu
Mahasabha accused the Sangh of being communal and anti-Hindu respectively.

Bose and Hedgewar

Despite strict non-involvement of the RSS in political movements directly, the Sangh was
ready to help any political movement indirectly by supplying its cadre and allowing it to give
their faculties and facilities, provided it worked for the cause of India’s welfare.
Trailokyanath Chakravarty (1889–1970) was a Bengali revolutionary and freedom fighter. He
met Dr Hedgewar who promised him that Sangh would provide him with cadre for the future
revolution he was planning. (Satyavrata Ghosh, Remembering our revolutionaries, Marxist
Study Forum, 1994 p.57) Sangh also helped Rajguru when the revolutionary lived as a
fugitive.

Those in the Congress who could not rise above the pettiness of sectarian politics had passed
the resolution in 1934 that their members could not join the RSS. Eminent historian Dr
Kanchanmoy Mojumdar reveals that four years after the resolution of the Congress against
the RSS, 'Bose reportedly sent emissaries to Hedgewar in 1939, perhaps seeking his help for
an armed uprising.'

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‘Modern Review’ (March 1941) records that ‘Dr Hedgewar died in Nagpur of high blood
pressure at the age of 51 only. Just one day before his death Subhas Chandra Bose went to
see him.’

‘Guruji’ Golwalkar was different from Dr Hedgewar in his approach to politics. Unlike Dr
Hedgewar who came from the background of the Calcutta-based revolutionary group
Anuseelan Samiti, Golwalkar had taken spiritual initiation from Swami Akandananda, a
direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna. Swami Akandananda was known for his humanitarian
services.

‘Guruji’ Golwalkar’s Guru  (right) was a direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna. He was moved
by the condition of a Muslim girl in famine and decided to serve humanity in that very
village, suspending the pilgrimage he was undertaking. 
Golwalkar shunned politics. He was more into organisation building. This was the time when
politics too had changed in the national arena. The threat of Partition had become very real.
Along with the ‘Quit India’ movement, the fate of Hindus and Sikhs in the provinces of
Western Punjab and Eastern Bengal, was becoming worrisome.

In the eventuality of Partition, towards which the events were fast gravitating despite the
bravado and empty sentimental rhetoric of Congress leaders, the Hindus and Sikhs in

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Western Punjab, as well as Hindus and Buddhist tribes in East Bengal needed to be protected
and safeguarded. So, Guruji Golwalkar felt the need to spread and strengthen the
organisation. As the RSS baiters never tire of repeating, 'Anderson and Damle point out that
Golwalkar believed that the British should not be given any excuse to ban the RSS.'

The old media in its new online webzines recycle the statement of Guruji Golwalkar
regarding the 1942 movement. The writer of the latest piece in The Wire quotes:

“In 1942 also there was a strong sentiment in the hearts of many…. Sangh is an
organisation of inactive persons, their talks are useless, not only outsiders but also many
of our volunteers did talk like this. They were greatly disgusted too.”
But the quote leaves out two important sentences: “At that time too, the routine work of the
Sangh continued. Sangh decided not to do anything directly.” The operational term here is
that the Sangh decided not to do anything directly. The British Intelligence reports did say
that they could not find any evidence to connect RSS as an organisation with the 1942
uprising. Nevertheless, the police did record many anti-British speeches made at the RSS
training camps during the same period.

The British Intelligence reported that on 27 April 1942, at the training camp of the RSS at
Pune ‘Golwalkar condemned those who were selfishly helping the British Government.’ On
28 April 1942, he declared that the Sangh has resolved to do its duty even if the whole world
goes against it and impressed on the volunteers that they must be ready to sacrifice their lives
for the cause of the country. (No.D. Home Pol. (Intelligence) Section F. No. 28 Pol).

Another report of the Home Department, Pol. F. No. 28/3/43-Pol (I) shows the anti-British
nature prevailing at the RSS camp at Jubbalpore where a speaker proclaimed that the aim of
the Sangh was to drive the British out of India and the sentiment was repeated by other
speakers.

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Achyut Patwardan, Nana Patil and Aruna Asaf Ali were some of the prominent freedom
fighters of Quit India Movement who stayed in the houses of important RSS leaders during
their struggle.
Many freedom fighters received vital assistance from the RSS. Aruna Asaf Ali took asylum
in the house of Lala Hans Raj Gupta, and Nana Patil was protected by Pandit Damodar
Satavalekar and Sane Guruji stayed with Bhausaheb Deshmukh and Babasaheb Apte.

On 16 August 1942, at Chimur in Maharashtra, many RSS workers participated directly in a

Quit India agitation which resulted in a brutal suppression by the British. Dada Naik, who
was also the head of the Chimur RSS branch, was sentenced to death by the British. The
Hindu Mahasabha leader Dr N B Khare took up his case with the authorities. Ramdas
Rampure, another RSS cadre, was shot dead by the British.

Confidential reports blamed two persons for these uprisings. One was Dada Naik who, the
report said, was 'was largely behind the recent disturbances' and the other was Sant Tukdoji
Maharaj, who was closely associated with the RSS, and was suspected to have been involved
in disturbances at Chimur. Later Sant Tukdoji Maharaj became one of the co-founders of the
Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP).

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Sant Tukdoji Maharaj (right) is seen here with Sant Gaadge Maharaj. Both were fierce social
reformers. Tukodji Maharaj was associated with the RSS and was targeted by the British. He
sang not only about the Divine and freedom. He also sang Bhajans on the need for hygiene
and the need for toilets.  
That Guruji Golwalkar did not blame the British overtly for India’s downfall is another
canard spread by the old media. In fact, throughout his term as the head of the RSS, he took
extraordinary care not to blame external agencies for any of the problems of Hindu society
and also the Sangh. For example, in the case of religious conversions, he forbade his
followers to put the blame on Christians and Muslims. In this context he stated:

Many workers appear to take delight in blaming others for all ills. Some may put the
blame on the political perversities, others on the aggressive activities of the Christians
or Muslims and such other faiths. Let our workers keep their minds free from such
tendencies and work for our people and our Dharma in the right spirit, lend a helping
hand to all our brethren who need help and strive to relieve distress wherever we see it. 
[Bunch of Thoughts, p.277]
When the ban on RSS could not be legally sustained by the Nehru government and was lifted,
Guruji said to the cadre, who uttered intemperate words about Nehru, thus:

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Do not let your minds be overcome with bitterness for those who, you feel, have done
injustice to you. If the teeth were to bite the tongue do we pull out the teeth? Even those
who have done injustice to us are our own people. So we must forget and forgive. 

[Left]: ‘Guruji’ Golwalkar with Ram Manohar Lohia: Photo courtesy Tapan Gosh. [Right]
‘Guruji’ Golwalkar with Sant   Tukdoji Maharaj during the founding of the VHP
The Wire’s article associates this view of Guruji Golwalkar with the Bengal famine. Here it
should be remembered that during the Bengal famine it was Dr Shyamaprasad Mukherjee, a
Hindu Mahasabha leader, closer to the RSS than others, who was instrumental in fighting the
famine through relief centres. Madhusree Mukerjee had brought to light the agony
Shyamprasad Mukherjee felt and the service he rendered during the famine in her classic
‘Churchill’s Secret War’ (Tranquebar, 2010). British historian James Hartfield points out that
Mukherjee called on the cultivators not to sell to government agents, saying 'the bureaucracy
has taken away the food for the army and for exports'. He also points out that many of Bose
supporters worked in the relief centres run by Shyamaprasad Mukherjee.

His magnanimity and ability to rise above the partisan interests reached a new height when
during the Chinese aggression, he declared that in that hour of crisis instead of criticising we
should stand with the government. ‘We are a hundred and five more’, he quoted
Mahabharata. The stopping of a serial which bitterly attacked Nehru’s blunders on the

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Chinese aggression, in the RSS magazine ‘Organiser’, made Sitaram Goel, a great intellectual
and a fearless historian, a lifelong bitter critic of the Sangh.

However, the services which the RSS rendered to the Indian army, made Nehru revise his
own views of the RSS. The Prime Minister who had declared that he would not give even a
single inch of land for their flag in the country now invited RSS to participate in the Republic
day parade.

References:

-Dina Nath Mishra, RSS: Myth and Reality, Vikas Publishing House, 1980
-Kavita Narawane, The Great Betrayal, 1966-1977, Popular Prakashan, 1980
-C.P.Bhishikar, Shri Guruji, Pioneer of a new era, Sahitya Sindhu Prakashana, Bangalore,
1999
-Kanchanmoy Mojumdar, Saffron versus green: communal politics in the Central --Provinces
and Berar, 1919-1947, Manohar, 2003
-James Heartfield, Unpatriotic History of the Second World War , London, Zer0 Books, 2012
-Rakesh Sinha, Builders of Modern India: Dr. Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, Publications
Division, 2015

The ideologues of the RSS clan are working overtime to create a narrative of latter's
participation in India's anti-colonial freedom struggle. This project got impetus after
the electoral victory in 2014 of RSS/BJP which was celebrated as the return of the
Hindu rule after 1000 years. While attempting it they are least bothered about the
contemporary history as it unfolded and have no regard even for the facts available in
the RSS archives. The latest to undertake this task is C. K. Saji Narayanan ('Don’t
Foist Fear Onto Nationalism' in Outlook, February 5, 2018) who is more brazen to
prove that RSS was in the thick of the freedom struggle.

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Saji claims that founder of RSS, KB Hedgewar was a staunch nationalist, suffered
imprisonment during the British rule and "directed all RSS shakhas to celebrate the
Congress’s 1929 resolution on 'total independence' by hoisting the national flag on
January 26, 1930, and spreading the message of freedom". He also tells us  that
"during Quit India, RSS volunteers also gave their lives in the Chimur agitation in
Vidarbha—while unfurling the freedom flag, an RSS volunteer was shot dead by the
police…The fourth sarsanghchalak, Prof Rajendra Singh, too is known for having
taken part in Quit India. Till independence, every swayamsevak had to take a pledge
with the words “Desh ko swatantra kar” (free the country)". According to Saji many
of the socialist and Congress underground leaders took refuge in the houses of RSS
leaders, "Aruna Asaf Ali and Jayaprakash Narayan were housed in Delhi sanghchalak
Lala Hansraj Gupta’s residence; Achyut Patwardhan and Sane Guruji were sheltered
at the residence of Pune sanghchalak Bhausaheb Deshmukh; and Krantiveer Nana
Patil at Aundh sanghchalak Pt S.D. Satwalekar’s house".
Before scrutinizing RSS claims regarding the freedom struggle in the light of pre-
Independence RSS documents, one may ask Saji that RSS leaders like Hansraj Gupta,
Bhausaheb Deshmukh and Satwalekar who offered their residences as safe haven to
the freedom struggle leaders, how that became possible? If these RSS leaders were
participating in the freedom struggle then they also should have been underground and
their houses under close watch of the British police.  
Hedgewar and freedom struggle lies as facts
We are told that Hedgewar joined the call of the 1929 Lahore Congress that on each
January 26, National Flag; the Tricolour should be unfurled publicly. RSS under the
command of Hedgewar refused to follow it. Instead  he ordered on January 21, 1930
to all the RSS shakhas to worship "rashtriye dhwaj arthat bhagwa dhwaj (national flag
i. e. saffron flag)". This order is available in a collection of Hedgewar's letter
published by RSS titled Dr. Hedgewar: Patrroop Veyaktidarshan, published in 1981.
In fact, RSS hatred for this symbol of the united freedom struggle of the Indian people
was unambiguous. Just on the eve of Independence when nation was getting ready to
watch Jawaharlal Nehru to unfurl it on the ramparts of Red Fort for the first time in
history, the RSS English organ Organizer in its issue of August 14, 1947, denigrating
the National Flag wrote that it would "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."
Hedgewar jailed as Congressman
We are told that Hedgewar as RSS leader went to jail in 1921 and 1931 during
Khilafat Movement and Salt Satyagrah launched by Gandhi. The fact is that both the
times he went to jail as a Congressman as we will know from the RSS archives itself.
According to the biography of Hedgewar penned by HV Seshadri, published by RSS
in English (1981) he was jailed for delivering an inflammatory speech in favour of the
Khilafat Movement.  He was subsequently sentenced to one year’s rigorous
imprisonment. There were two significant incidents regarding this jail term. First,
Hedgewar touted as script disciplinarian hired a costly lawyer to defend him, thus

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openly violating the directive of Gandhi and the Congress that all those arrested would
not offer defence. Secondly, despite one year’s imprisonment with hard labour in the
Ajani Jail, on the day of his release on 12 July 1922, the same biography tells us
"when he removed the prison uniform and tried to wear his old cloths, his old shirt and
coat felt too tight! He had gained 25 pounds (11+ kilograms) in weight, in spite of the
rigours of the prison life". It was first and last time in the history of the jailed freedom
fighters that a political prisoner gained weight of more than 11 kilograms while
serving the British jail. How it happened the clue is provided in this biography itself.
He was on friendly terms with the ferocious British jailor, Sir Jathar.
The second jail term was the outcome of a plot. The Hindi biography authored by C.
P. Bhishikar and published by the RSS discloses that Hedgewar ordered that "Sangh
will not participate in the [Salt] Satyagrah". However, he joined the Satyagrah with an
ulterior motive which was "that with a freedom loving, self-sacrificing and reputed
group of people [of the Congress] inside with him there, he would discuss
the Sangh with them and
win them over for its work.” It is clear that Hedgewar chose to go to jail this time not
because he had faith in the cause but in order to break the ranks of the Congress
cadres. Bhishikar admitted that after establishing RSS in 1925 Hedgewar "in his
speeches used to talk only of Hindu organization. Direct comment on the government
used to be almost nil".
The RSS Confession of Keeping Aloof from the freedom struggle
Non-cooperation and Quit India Movements (QIM) were two great milestones in the
history of the Indian freedom movement and how nationalist Golwalkar hated these
can be known by the following comments of his which are being reproduced from the
collection of Golwalkar's writings (Shri Guruji Samagr Darshan, vol. 4 published by
RSS): "Definitely there are bound to be bad results of struggle. The boys became
unruly after the 1920-21 movement…But these are inevitable products after the
struggle…After 1942, people often started thinking that there was no need to think of
the law."
Admitting that RSS did not participate in the QIM he said: "At that time too the
routine work of Sangh continued. Sangh vowed not to do anything directly. However,
upheaval (uthal-puthal) in the minds of Sangh volunteers continued. Sangh is an
organization of inactive persons, their talks are useless, not only outsiders but also
many of our volunteers did talk like this. They were greatly disgusted too." However,
there is not a single publication or document of the Sangh which could throw some
light on the great work the RSS did indirectly for the Quit India movement.
According to Savarkar's collected works in Hindi (Samagr Savarkar
Wangmaya published by Hindu Mahasabha in 1963) the fraternal organization of
RSS, Hindu Mahasabha [HMS] led by the Hindutva icon, VD Savarkar went to the
extent of running coalition governments with the Muslim League in Bengal, Sind and
NWFP in 1942 when Congress was under ban and patriotic Indians were being shot
dead for daring to carry the Tricolour. In Bengal Syama Prasad Mookerjee was deputy
CM in the Muslim League ministry. Hindu Mahasabha also organized recruitment

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camps for the British army in India when Subhash Chander Bose was trying to liberate
India militarily. RSS never expressed opposition to these anti-national activities of
HMS.
Those Hindutva intellectuals who are busy constructing RSS role in the freedom
struggle need to be honest to the pre-Independence RSS documents. Both Hedgewar
(RSS chief 1925-40) and Golwalkar (1940-73), were opposed to the united freedom
movement as its goal was an all-inclusive India. Golwalkar denounced the freedom
struggle   (Bunch of Thoughts, 1966, RSS publication) as "territorial nationalism"
which "had deprived us of the positive and inspiring content of our real Hindu
Nationhood and made many of the ‘freedom movements’ virtually anti-British
movements". It was this ideological commitment to building Hindu rashtr in India
that apart from Hedgewar who went to jail as Congressman, Golwalkar, Deendayal
Upadhyaya (prominent RSS cadre since 1937) and LK Advani (RSS activist since
1942) never participated in the freedom struggle.

A response to the essay, 'Don’t Foist Fear Onto Nationalism', by C.K Saji Narayan
published in Outlook’s Republic Day special issue.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, in 1920, started the non-cooperation movement in India in

an attempt to overthrow the British rule from the country. Coupled with the Khilafat
movement that sought to support the caliphate during the first World War, Gandhi attempted
to forge a utopian alliance of Hindus and Muslims in India by merging the two very different
movements in the country. Both communities had very different motives and objectives, with
the Hindus wanting to achieve ‘Poorna Swaraj’ while the Muslims wanted to support the
Caliph of the Ottoman Empire. 

This alliance was destined to collapse since it was depending on a thin line of adhesive to
sustain. During a Khilafat agitation in the Malabar region of South India, the protestors went
rogue and attacked the local Hindu residents. Hindus were lynched, raped and murdered in
the hands of murderous and red-eyed Moplas, blinded by extremism. This incident sparked
communal tensions all over the country for the next couple of years. After the incidents of
communal violence in the country, Gandhi called off the Non-cooperation movement in
India. 

Before the non-cooperation movement, Dr Hedgewar (founder of RSS) was an active

member of the Congress. He was deeply influenced by the literary works of Bal Gangadhar
Tilak and Veer Savarkar. Hedgewar had in the past participated in the Anushilan Samiti
movement that advocated armed revolution against the British government and was arrested
several times for defiance against the British government. However, the delusion of ‘Hindu-
Muslim unity’ of the Congress made him less keen on participating in the affairs of the party,
and he ultimately left the party to start a new nation-building organisation in Nagpur (Ref: Dr
Hedgewar, Founder of RSS by Rakesh Sinha). 

In 1923, several members of the Hindu Mahasabha had led a procession on the streets of
Nagpur during the auspicious occasion of Lakshmi Pooja. As the procession advanced with
beating drums and intoxicating music, they happened to pass through an area with a mosque.

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The local Muslim youth, angered by the bhajans, attacked the procession that was passing
from the area in the front of the mosque. Several Hindus were injured and few succumbed to
injuries due to the communal clash. What followed was a near-massacre of Hindus in Muslim
majority areas of Nagpur and this led to the stepswhich Dr KB Hedgewar took next. 

According to Dr Hedgewar, the disunity and lack of organisation amongst Hindus were the
main reasons behind their suffering during riots. Unlike Muslims who act as one large unit,
Hindus are divided into multiple sects, beliefs, castes and ideologies. This made Hindus most
vulnerable to damage during communal clashes at that time. 

Despite enjoying majority status in Nagpur, Hindus were being lynched and attacked by
Muslim mobs. There was no unity amongst the community to defend themselves from the
rioters, but the Muslims managed to fund, protect and mobilise to attack Hindus.

The incident of 1923 made Dr Hedgewar think intensively about the condition of Hindus in
Nagpur, and played a major role in his decision of founding the Rashtriya Swayamsevak
Sangh in Nagpur to bring unity amongst Hindus. After founding RSS in 1925, Dr Hedgewar
started shakhas in every locality of Nagpur and trained Hindus to act as one single entity. 

Energetic Hindu youth were recruited to join the Sangh and participate in its activities.
Hindus from all castes and creeds played various games together and practised self-defence
in these shakhas regardless of their differences. By 1927, 16 shakhas were functioning in
Nagpur within merely 2 years of foundation, with a membership of over 100 active
Swayamsevaks. 

In 1927, Dr Hedgewar defied the symbolic practice of Islamic slavery by leading a

procession of 100 Swayamsevaks through a lane with a mosque in it. While the
Swayamsevaks danced to the tunes of Lord Ganesha, they were blocked by Muslim youth
when they were passing through the Mahal locality of Nagpur. 

Infuriated by the audacity of the “Kaafirs” to dance and sing songs in the glory of their gods
while passing by the mosque, the Muslim youth of Mahal tried to raid houses belonging to
Hindus in the area. Which, to their surprise, was foiled when Swayamsevaks armed with
lathis were ready to face the mob. The Muslim mob was routed and many had to flee the city
for their safety. 

This act of defiance to Islamic slavery made RSS gain a commendable reputation in the eyes
of local Nagpur residents and changed the fate of Hindus in Nagpur. Hindus were no longer
disorganised and had acquired a disciplined structure in times of chaos and violence.
Moreover, this gave Dr KB Hedgewar a sense of confidence which lead to him initiating the
same organisational strategies in other parts of Maharashtra, and gradually all over India. 

Slowly, RSS shakhas spread to every corner of India, including Muslim majority areas such
as Sindh, NWFP and East Bengal. Seva work was initiated by the Sangh in disaster-struck
areas (such as floods, droughts, etc), making the reach of Sangh gain roots and percolate deep
inside Indian society. 

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After Dr Hedgevar breathed his last in 1940, Guru Golwalkar took the charge of
Sarsanghchalak and continued the work of expanding RSS all over India. 

https://www.opindia.com/author/nivan/

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