Author: M.G. Vaidya
Publication: Organiser
Date: November 7, 2004
URL: http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=49&page=21
Shri M.G. Vaidya is a senior RSS
leader, journalist and former spokesman of the Sangh. A Delhi-based journal
sent a questionnaire to Shri Vaidya to interview him. He answered all of
them. But they carried only a few. Here we give a full text of the queries
and his answers, as they will help obtain a clear perspective of the Sangh.
How has the RSS changed since the
earlier times?
The RSS was founded in 1925. Many
a change has been effected as happens in any living organism. In the beginning
only schoolgoing young boys attended the Shakha. So the Shakha programmes
were conducted in the evening only. Later on, employed people came to attend;
for their convenience, the morning Shakhas were started. Afterwards, the
RSS reached the rural areas. For labourers and farmers, the night Shakhas
came to be started.
There was change in the ceremonial
uniform also. The pants as well as shirt was of the same colour, i.e. khaki.
During the Second World War, the then British Government imposed restrictions
on the drill-exercises conducted by private organisations. One restriction
was that the drill should not be conducted in uniform and the uniform was
defined as having identical colours for pants and shirt. The RSS changed
the colour of the shirt from khaki to white. Formerly long boots were an
essential part of the uniform; now ordinary boots can do.
Many changes took place in the nature
of the physical programmes also. Nagpur being its birthplace, the RSS adopted
and adapted the physical training routinely given in the akharas (traditional
gymnasiums), e.g. wielding lathi (stick), sword and spear. Later on, they
were dropped and surya-namaskar, niyuddha (similar to Judo, karate), and
yogasanas were introduced. Even some of these programmes were waived to
suit the Swayamsevaks who were above 45 years of age. A sizeable number
of Swayam-sevakas in the age group of 45-70 are daily attending the Shakhas;
for them yogasanas and dhyana are part of the programme.
The original prayer of RSS was partly
in Marathi and partly in Hindi-a typical reminder of the bilingual character
of the province named as Central Provinces and Berar, which contained eight
Marathi-speaking districts and 14 Hindi- speaking districts, with Nagpur
as the capital. When the RSS spread to different parts of the country,
it adopted its present Sanskrit prayer from the year 1940. Even the orders
in the Shakhas, which were formerly given in a mix of Marathi, Hindi and
Sanskrit, were all changed to Sanskrit. So it is a gradual evolution. The
spirit is the same, the form has changed. You can call it a gradual enfoldment.
What do you think of Mahatma Gandhi´s
assass-ination? Was it good or bad? Why?
It was bad. It hurt our culture,
our value system. The RSS condemned the crime. The then RSS chief, Shri
M.S. Golwalkar, while condoling Mahatma´s death had written to Pandit
Jawaharlal Nehru, on January 31, 1948, "This vile act is a blot on our
society." He called it an "abominable act". To Sardar Patel, in his Hindi
letter, he said, "Such a heinous and abominable incident has probably never
been witnessed before..It is difficult to find words to condemn the person
who has committed the crime." All Swayamsevaks share this sentiment.
What are the RSS views on Muslims?
Being staunch Hindus, we do not
have any prejudice against any religion. But the behaviour of the majority
of Muslims has become strange after 1947. The British rulers tried hard
to dissuade the Muslims from joining the mainstream movement for Independence.
They nurtured and nourished their separatist tendencies and the Muslims
fell victim to the British strategy. This resulted in the vivisection of
our beloved motherland. The RSS feels pained at this vivisection. It is
remarkable that 85 per cent of the Muslims, who did not go to their dreamland
of Pakistan and were destined to remain in Bharat, voted for Pakistan.
In the 1946 elections, the Congress was for ´Akhand Bharat´
and the Muslim League for divided Bharat. And in all the constituencies
reserved for Muslims, where the entire electorate used to be Muslim, 85
per cent voters voted for Partition. We could have forgotten this ´sin´,
but their attitude still persists, and many of our political parties, for
their narrow political ends, even now pamper their separatist mentality.
Instead of strengthening the 15 per cent that voted against Partition,
the Congress, which came to power in 1947, followed policies that nourished
fissiparous tendencies of pro-Partition. Why is there no uniform civil
law? Why is there a special Article 370 for J&K state? Why is Haj subsidy
given? Why are there different criteria to judge the below-poverty- line
status? They say that they want to preserve the special identity of the
Muslims. Has the separate identity of the Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists got
obliterated by following the uniform civil code? In Goa, there is a common
law on marriage and divorce for all citizens, including Muslims. Has the
religious identity of the Muslims vanished? Why is there Article 370 only
for J&K state? Is it not a fact that it is so, because it is a Muslim-majority
state? Why were 5 per cent Kashmiri Hindus hounded out of the Kashmir Valley?
Why in western Pakistan the Hindu population, which was 18 per cent in
1947, is now just 1 per cent? And in Bangladesh, why has it reduced from
38 per cent to 9 per cent? The Muslims owe an explanation for this. We
know that there are patriotic Muslims also; and they share the RSS view
of ´ one nation, one people´. Quite a few of them might be
attending the RSS Shakhas also. Even admitting that the Muslims are a religious
minority, their special rights should be restricted to the religious sphere
only. They should not be extended to political, administrative, economic
or social spheres; irrespective of the religious denominations, all have
equal rights. The value of each citizen´s vote is same, then why
this craze for separate treatment?
Why are there no Muslims in the
RSS hierarchy?
We do not maintain a religion-wise,
caste-wise or language-wise register, because we do not make a distinction
on these counts. Our setup is based on unmitigated commitment to and sacrifice
for our ideology and ideals. Those who fulfil this condition, rise high.
It will be profitable and appropriate to address this question to the Muslims.
