The Wire of late has become the favourite leftist propaganda website of those who hate Hinduism and the idea of Hindu nationalism. In just last month, the propaganda website published a report with insinuations about BJP President Amit Shah’s son, spread lies about censorship by Modi government, spread faulty statistics about anti-dalit atrocities, and have generally published a string of propaganda stories.
Among the myriad of propaganda stories, was an article on the RSS’ role in the freedom struggle.
The article in the wire quotes :
“In 1942 also there was a strong sentiment in the hearts of many. At that time too, routine work of Sangh continued. Sangh vowed not to do anything directly.” This RSS ideologue clearly spells out that fighting against the British has not been part of their agenda, “We should remember that in our pledge we have talked of freedom of the country through defending religion and culture, there is no mention of departure of British from here.”
The above quote is gross misrepresentation of facts, as prominent leaders like Aruna Asaf Ali, Shivaram Rajguru etc were hosted in the houses of RSS leaders. Despite being a political opponent, Lala Hans Raj Gupta hosted Aruna Asaf Ali in her house while Shivaram Rajguru was hosted by doctorji himself.
The author also conveniently forgets about the role of RSS in Chimur Revolution where RSS workers were killed and were even sentenced to death. In a strong speech Guruji made on Varsha pratipada day in 1942, he said :
“It is our great good fortune that we are born in these dangerous times which we must view as most auspicious. The golden moment that arrives in the history of the nation after centuries, is coming our way. If we sleep at such a crucial hour no one would be more unfortunate than us. He only achieves immortal fame who stands up foursquare in the face of adversities. Let us therefore face the present adversity with serenity and determination. Consider it as an excellent opportunity to bring out the best in us.” “Rejuvenation of a fallen nation should be possible at the most within one generation. But what is our condition today? Even after 17 long years of strenuous efforts, our work has remained far too limited. The Sangh stands by the Truth and so it will certainly succeed and redeem its pledge. Once we give our word we shall have to prove its worth even if we have to sacrifice ourselves in the process. So keep aside all your thoughts about family and your personal fortunes for a period of at least one year. Adopt this life of treading on a razor’s edge. Be prepared to be hard to yourself. Concentrate all your time, all your thoughts and all your energy on this very task. We have to be vigilant about this and steel ourselves for achieving the success of our Cause”
(Shri Guruji-pioneer of a new era page 46-47)
In the speech, Guruji clearly saw the British rule as dangerous and considered a matter of great fortune to born in such times and thus, this speech itself bursts the bubble that The Wire wanted to build.
The Quit India movement was launched and the RSS did not participate in it, which later became a cause of ridicule and criticism.
Sangh believes that the Quit India movement was launched in a haste, which later went on to become a cause of partition of India. But that in no way meant the the sangh did not participate in, or care about, India’s independence movement.
In a speech to labour party leader Shri Thengadi Guruji said :
“Placed their views before Shri Guruji; the gist what he said in reply is as follows: Right from the beginning, the Sangh has decided to observe certain constraints in some matters. So, when Doctorji decided to participate in the satyagraha, he directed the Swayamsevaks to keep out of it and conduct the Shakha work with regularity. He had kept the Sangh as such out of the agitation. Still as such constraints can be kept aside at a critical time like this if by doing so it would help the attainment of freedom, because the work of the Sangh as also all such constraints are meant for achieving an ideal, and freedom is our immediate goal. It would have been good if the Congress had taken the Sangh and other such organizations into confidence before launching the movement. But it is not necessary to be put out merely because it did not do so. The freedom for which the movement is meant to achieve is freedom for all, not just for the Congressmen. So there is no place for institutional ego in such matters. However, the fact that the Congress leaders did not make what they considered adequate preparations before giving the necessary directive for the agitation is a matter of grave concern. As a result, the people had to confront the British Government quite unprepared. There was no well-thought-out-plan. Not that in times of revolution everything will happen as per the plan. Still, some plan is necessary, and if it needs to be changed the initiative should be with the leaders. Such is not the position today. So, the situation is not under the control of the leadership, nor is it in a position to guide and channelise the people’s upsurge of feelings and actions. For any revolutionary movement to be so very bereft of planning is highly suicidal. Despite all this, there should be no objection to the Sangh jumping into this agitation if only that would have helped in the attainment of the goal. But on careful thought, I have realised that we cannot reach our goal even if we took part in it with all our might. Some people have an exaggerated notion of the Sangh’s present strength. In particular, people in areas where the Sangh is strong imagine that it is equally strong in other parts of the country as well. But the fact is, it is not so. Along with your own adequate strength, some other favourable factors are also needed for the success of an agitation, – as for instance, active sympathy of the general public, resentment against the government in important departments like the army, the police etc. It is difficult to say how deeply concerned the people are, and how they would react when the time to act comes. But even if we assume that all such factors would be favourable for a revolution, I feel an agitation that we may conduct with all our might can succeed only in a limited area – say, from Belgaum to Gondia. So it is obvious that this would not take us to our goal. For, our area of influence is limited only to the middle of the country. In the event of a successful revolution the freed area would be attacked by enemy forces from all sides, and if the government forces entered the area their atrocities on the people would leave the people in deep despair. The result would be just the opposite of what was envisaged. “In such a situation, I think the Sangh’s participation in the movement would serve no purpose. I am not thinking of our safety as an organisation, but from the point of view of a strategy an agitation at this time, would lead to nothing but further frustration in the minds of the people.”
(Shri Guruji-Pioneer of a new era-page 48,49)
This reply from Guruji clearly shows that Guruji was not even concerned about the safety of swayamsewaks and thought that participation in such an event would not be strategically a good step.
Though concocted versions may say that RSS never participated in the freedom struggle, but the truth would always win over rhetoric and propaganda. But well tried The Wire. May you get more funding to continue your propaganda.
Editor’s note :
An earlier version of this article claimed that a quote included by ‘The Wire’ did not exist in the said book. After communicating with RSS functionaries, we realised that the quote does in fact exist and hence, we have updated this article accordingly.
However, as proven by this article, the Sangh did see the British rule as a dangerous phenomenon and something that needed to be fought. The non participation in the Quit India Movement was because the Sangh felt it was launched in haste and would result in partition.
We feel ‘The Wire’ did quote selectively to give a completely different picture to it’s readers.
