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April 7 made a gala evening, in the stately auditorium of Vigyan Bhawan. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was on the dais to release a much-awaited biography. He was flanked by Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Sarsanghchalak KS Sudarshan, I&B Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Mr Rakesh Sinha, author of the book. It was the Hindi biography of Dr Keshav Baliram Hedgewar (1889-1940), freedom fighter and RSS founder, published by the Publication Division, Ministry of I&B, under its Builders of Modern India series. The author of the book teaches political science in a Delhi University-affiliated college-and frequently contributes to several news dailies.
What made the occasion significant was the very fact that Hedgewar-disregarded at best and maligned if recalled by the media and academia of this country-was finally on the centrestage. The man who organised and inspired millions of youth with patriotic fervour had himself only ignominy to suffer. Ironically, the man whom the British always identified as a threat, was pilloried along with his organisation, the RSS, as pro-British by the Leftists (who themselves were in league with the British with regard to Quit India). But now the pariah patriot, survived by a great legacy, has come to the fore-history turning full-circle indeed.
The origin of the book, the author informed, could be traced to his MA dissertation on the "Political ideas of Dr KB Hedgewar" in 1988. But it was based on secondary sources like RSS literature. Meanwhile, Hedgewar's birth-centenary was celebrated nationwide by the RSS in 1989. It also prompted a backlash of articles in national dailies. And needless to say, the 'secular' media contemptuously projected Hedgewar's life and works in poor light, dubbing him a Hindu revivalist and pro-British or dismissing him outright as a rustic with no locus standi. I can't help but observe one contrast: 1989 was also the centenary of Jawaharal Nehru (1889-1964), who thought himself a Hindu by no more than an accident of birth and who was convinced that India could be better served by weakening and disowning its Hindu identity.
When a Delhi University Political Science topper (1989) Rakesh Sinha appeared for his M Phil interview, his dissertation earned a few raised brows from the interviewers: "What is the difference between you and Nathuram Godse?"
According to me, the best answer would be that Godse's submission- 'May it please Your Honour'-was finally declassified by an unwilling Government after three decades through a Supreme Court order. But Hedgewar still awaited 'privilege'. But fortunately, the wait is over, and the credit goes to Sinha and Ministry of I&B.
What lends credibility to Sinha's work is the extensive use of primary source materials. Hedgewar had spent his entire life in pre-Independence India. So the author had to plod through the archival materials of the Home Department (Political), judicial files, newspapers (1902-1946), biographies and the private papers of BS Moonje, Veer Savarkar etc. He conducted his project without ever seeking any assistance from the ICSSR or the ICHR.
Hedgewar gave an indelible orientation to the country and Hindu society in his brief lifespan. We could see sparks of patriotism in him since childhood. Young Keshav was just eight in 1897, when the diamond jubilee of Queen Victoria's accession to the throne was celebrated. Sweets were distributed but he threw his share away into the dustbin. "How could we celebrate the Queen's enthronement," said he. "Didn't the British snatch the throne of Bhonsle's?" Again, in 1901, when King Edward VII's succession to Crown was celebrated, he said it was a matter of shame for Indians.
Hedgewar was 13 when both his parents died of the plague and three brothers were visited with dire poverty. He was called on to become the backbone of what remained of the family. But it seems amazing that concern for nation filled his young mind despite his bleak personal conditions. Shivaji was his original ideologue of patriotism. In 1905 he faced rustication from Neel City High School of Nagpur for shouting Vande-Mataram before a British Inspector. Unlike others, he never apologised. He later joined the Rashtriya Vidyapeeth of Yoetmal, which had been established by some nationalist leaders to impart nationalist education.
In 1910, Hedgewar went to study medicine in Medical College, Calcutta, at the end of which we find him graduating into Dr Hedgewar. But to everyone's surprise, he refused to open a private consultancy. The British Criminal Intelligence Department had compiled a list (called 'Book 1914') of people with active links with revolutionaries. It was for this reason, when Hedgewar wanted to join the British Indian Army as a doctor, he was denied permission. The wartime army had high presence of Indian recruits sent to Mesopotamia and North Africa. Hedgewar had a dangerous plan to preach sedition inside the army in the 1857 style. He refused to practice as a professional doctor and chose to remain a bachelor to better serve the cause of society and the country.
The arrival of Mahatma Gandhi on the Indian political scenario weakened the extremist school. Like him, Hedgewar too liked the idea of a mass awakening rather than isolated acts of revolution. Hence, he lent every possible support for the success of the Non-Cooperation Movement. The Central Province's Administrative Report 1920-21 bears testimony to the intensity of the movement in the Central Province. Hedgewar was arrested and put to trial on charges of sedition - or waging war against His Majesty's Government. Later, he was sentenced to one year's rigorous imprisonment.
When he came out of prison, the situation in the country had changed. Gandhi had withdrawn Non-Cooperation, following the Chauri Chaura incident. The Swaraj Party, broken away from the Congress, had an agenda of getting elected to the Legislative Assembly to incapacitate the British empire from within. Hedgewar preferred the Congress method of a mass movement. But he also felt the need for such an organisation as would shape the mind, heart and character of young men according to the Indian ethos. He felt this was the only way they could become worthy soldiers of India's freedom struggle as well as nation-builders.
It is with this view that the RSS was formed on Vijaya Dashami Day in 1925 in Nagpur. It targeted primarily Hindu youth. Since Hindus formed the core of the country, Hedgewar felt that if they could be strong, then Muslims would drop their separatist agenda and live together with the majority community as a country. Guided by a great vision of national unity, he built the RSS from scratch. He travelled extensively to expand and consolidate the organisation which was meant to inculcate sense of discipline and unity among Hindus as well as concern for one another. The Sangh continued to support the Congress when Gandhi launched the 1930 Civil Disobedience Movement. The Government of the Central Province prohibited the participation of any of its employees in the RSS. Ironically, the Congress Governments in Himachal and elsewhere is even today betraying that same Raj mindset.
Hedgewar tried to launch revolutionary
activities at the onset of World War II. But due to failing health, he
did not succeed. The great patriot passed away on June 21, 1940. But the
RSS sapling which he planted has now grown into a vast banyan tree in the
service of the nation. The organisation continues to engage itself in social
service and has gained a reputation for its work. However, it is unfortunate
for society that the RSS has been consistently branded as communal by 'secularists',
some of whom do not even believe in democracy and coexistence. But the
Sangh is open-minded: "If you come, with you, if you don't come, without
you, if you oppose in spite of you, the work of Hindu consolidation will
go on."
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