Undoing the Republic

Shamsul Islam

First time in the history of independent India, minister of the Cultural Affairs in the current Modi government, Prahlad Singh Patel has shocked the nation by glorifying M S Golwalkar, the 2nd Supremo of the Rashtriya-swayam Sevak (RSS ) and the most prominent ideologue of the RSS till date, on his birth anniversary, February 19. In a tweet he wrote:
("Remembering a great thinker, scholar, and remarkable leader #M S Golwalkar on his birth anniversary. His thoughts will remain a source of inspiration & continue to guide generations. @prahladspatel @secyculture0 GOI @PMO India @PIB Culture @pspoffice")

These claims about Golwalkar being "great thinker, scholar, and remarkable leader [whose] thoughts will remain a source of inspiration & continue to guide generations" made by the minister Patel who must have been appointed as minister after taking oath that he would abide by the democratic-secular constitution of India, need to be compared with the facts and activities of Golwalkar as recorded exclusively in the archives of RSS.

Golwalkar as the most prominent ideologue of the RSS denigrated every symbol which represented an all-inclusive India.

Golwalkar while addressing a Gurupurnima gathering in Nagpur on July 14, 1946, stated:
"It was the saffron flag which in totality represented Bharatiya [Indian] culture. It was the embodiment of God. We firmly believe that in the end the whole nation will bow before this saffron flag."

On the eve of independence when Indian Constituent Assembly adopted Tricolour as its National Flag, the English organ of the RSS, Organiser, in its issue dated August 14, 1947, denigrated this choice in the following words:
"The people who have come to power by the kick of fate may give in our hands the Tricolour but it will 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."

So according to the RSS Indian National Flag was never to be respected by Hindus. It was a bad omen and injurious for the country.

Even after independence it was the RSS which refused to accept it as the National Flag. Golwalkar while denouncing the choice of Tricolour as National Flag in an essay entitled 'Drifting and Drifting' in the book Bunch of Thoughts 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…. Ours is an ancient and great nation with 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 utter void, this utter vacuum in our minds?"

The RSS, contrary to the principles of democracy, constantly demanded India to be ruled under a totalitarian regime. Golwalkar while delivering a speech before the 1350 top level cadres of the RSS in 1940 declared,
"RSS inspired by one flag [saffron], one leader and one ideology is lighting the flame of Hindutva in each and every corner of this great land."

This slogan of one flag, one leader and one ideology was directly borrowed from the programmes of Nazi and Fascist parties of Europe.

The RSS is also dead against federal structure of the Constitution, again a 'basic' feature of the India polity according to the highest court of justice in India. 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 recognise the fact of one nation and destroys it. It must be completely uprooted, Constitution purified and unitary form of government be established."

The Bible of the RSS, Bunch of Thoughts, has an exclusive chapter titled, 'Wanted a unitary state' in which Golwalkar demanded,
"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 [sic], 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…

MS Golwalkar (known as Guru Golwalkar in the RSS fraternity) who is credited by the present Indian PM to have groomed him into a political leader declared:
"If, as is indisputably proved, Hindusthan is the land of the Hindus and is the terra firma for the Hindu nation alone to flourish upon, what is to be the fate of all those, who, today, happen to live upon the land, though not belonging to the Hindu Race, Religion and culture."

It would be like the Jews under Hitler and Mussolini. Thus Golwalkar glorified the Holocaust in the following words:
"German Race pride has now become the topic of the day. To keep up the purity of the race and its culture, Germany shocked the world by her purging the country of the Semitic races-the Jews. Race pride at its highest has been manifested here. Germany has also shown how well-nigh impossible it is for races and cultures, having differences going to the root, to be assimilated into one united whole, a good lesson for us in Hindusthan to learn and profit by."
[Golwalkar, MS, We Or Our Nationhood Defined, Nagpur, 1939, pp. 34-35.]

Golwalkar, finally, following into the foot-steps of Hitler, arrived at the following solution for the minority "problem" in India; Muslims and Christians who were declared belong to foreign races,
"From this stand point, sanctioned by the experience of shrewd old nations, the foreign races in Hindusthan must either adopt the Hindu culture and language, must learn to respect and hold in reverence Hindu religion, must entertain no idea but those of the glorification of the Hindu race and culture, i.e., of the Hindu nation and must lose their separate existence to merge in the Hindu race, or may stay in the country, wholly subordinated to the Hindu Nation, claiming nothing, deserving no privileges, far less any preferential treatment not even citizen's rights. There is, at least should be, no other course for them to adopt. We are an old nation: let us deal, as old nations ought to and do deal, with the foreign races who have chosen to live in our country."

The 'Holy' book for the RSS cadres Bunch of Thoughts (collection of writings of Golwalkar and a RSS publication), has a long chapter titled as 'Internal Threats' in which Muslims and Christians are described as threat number one and two respectively. 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."

While treating Muslims as 'Internal Threat' number one, Golwalkar 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."

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…"

According to him every Muslim in India is untrustworthy and disloyal,
"Even today, Muslims, whether in high positions of the Government or outside, participate openly in rabidly anti-national conferences."

While deliberating on the 'Internal Threat' number two, 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."

The English organ of the RSS, Organiser, on the very eve of independence (August 14, 1947) when Golwalkar was the boss of the RSS, editorially chalked out its concept of the Hindu nation in the following words excluding all minorities from the Indian nationhood:
"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."

RSS regards followers of Islam and Christianity as emigrant or foreigners and demands their cleansing as these two religions are declared to be foreign religions. However, RSS has no respect for Indian religions like Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism as these are not treated as independent religions but part of Hinduism. Guru Golwalkar set the agenda by declaring that,
"the Buddhists, the Jain, the Sikh are all included in that one comprehensive word 'Hindu'."

In fact, Golwalkar learnt this denial to Sikhism, Jainism and Buddhism the status of independent religions from senior Hindutva icon, VD Savarkar who believed that the followers of,
"the Arya Samaji, the Brahmasamaj, the Devasamaj, the Prarthana Samaji and such other religions of Indian origin are Hindus and constitute Hindudom, i.e., the Hindu people as a whole".

It is well-known that the then Home Minister of India, Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel, had a soft-corner for the RSS and continues to be a favourite with the RSS. However even Sardar Patel found it difficult to defend the RSS for its role in the post-Partition massacre of Muslims. In a letter written to Golwalkar (the then Supremo of the RSS), dated 11 September 1948, Sardar Patel stated:
"Organising the Hindus and helping them is one thing but going in for revenge for its sufferings on innocent and helpless men, women and children is quite another thing…"

Golwalkar's lie on cow-slaughter paved the way for nation-wide lynching of Muslims.

With Modi's coming to power as PM in 2014 RSS zealots started lynching Muslims blaming them for cow-slaughter, apart from burning and looting their properties. The ideological basis for such nation-wide lynching was provided by Golwalkar, who as a shamelessly declared that cow-slaughter,
"Began with the coming of foreign invaders to our country. In order to reduce the population to slavery, they thought that the best method to be adapted was to stamp out every vestige of self-respect in Hindus…In that line cow slaughter also began."

The inference was clear; Muslims were responsible for starting the cow-slaughter in India. It was immaterial to this Indian heir of Nazi propagandist Paul Joseph Goebbels that the claim that beef-eating started with the arrival of the Muslims in India was not even in keeping with the Vedic version of history as narrated by the 'Hindu' chroniclers. Swami Vivekananda regarded as a great Hindu philosopher by the RSS, while addressing a meeting at the Shakespeare Club, Pasadena, California, USA (February 2, 1900) on the theme of 'Buddhistic India' told the gathering:
"You will be astonished if I tell you that, according to old ceremonials, he is not a good Hindu who does not eat beef. On certain occasions he must sacrifice a bull and eat it."

On another occasion he went on to disclose,
"There was a time in this very India when, without eating beef, no Brahmin could remain a Brahmin; you read in the Vedas how, when a Sannyasin, a king, or a great man came into a house, the best bullock was killed…"

RSS under Golwalkar demanded Manusmriti as Indian constitution.

Those who believe that RSS wants cleansing of Muslims and Christians know only half of the reality. Its project of Hindu nation demands sub-human existence for Sudras (Dalits) and Hindu women. The Constituent Assembly of India finalised the Constitution of India on November 26, 1949, RSS was not happy. Its organ, Organiser in an editorial on November 30, 1949, complained:
"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."

 For Golwalkar Casteism is synonymous with the Hindu nation.
Faith of RSS brass in Manusmriti, naturally, leads them to believe in Casteism too which gave birth to the debased practice of Untouchability. For RSS Casteism is the essence of Hindu Nationalism. Golwalkar did not mince words in declaring that Casteism was synonymous with the Hindu Nation. According to him, the Hindu people are none else but,
"The Hindu People, they said, is the Virat Purusha, the Almighty manifesting Himself. Though they did not use the word 'Hindu', it is clear from the following description of the Almighty in Purusha-Sukta [in the 10th book of Rig Ved] wherein it is stated that the sun & the moon are His eyes, the stars and the skies are created from his nabhi [navel] and Brahmin is the head, Kshatriya the hands, Vaishya the thighs and Shudra the feet. [Italics as in the original text] This means that the people who have this fourfold arrangement, i.e., the Hindu People, is [sic] our God. This supreme vision of Godhead is the very core of our concept of 'nation' and has permeated our thinking and given rise to various unique concepts of our cultural heritage."

What kind of a Hindutva civilization the RSS under Golwalkar wanted to build by enforcing the laws of Manu, can be known by having a glimpse of the laws prescribed by Manu for the Sudras and Hindu women. Some of these dehumanising and degenerated laws are self-explanatory:
1.    For the sake of the prosperity of the worlds (the divine one) caused the Brahmana, the Kshatriya, the Vaisya, and the Sudra to proceed from his mouth, his arm, his thighs and his feet. (I/31)
2.   One occupation only the lord prescribed to the Sudras, to serve meekly even these (other) three castes. (I/91)
3.   Once-born man (a Sudra), who insults a twice-born man with gross invective, shall have his tongue cut out; for he is of low origin. (VIII/270)
4.   If he mentions the names and castes (jati) of the (twice-born) with contumely, an iron nail, ten fingers long, shall be thrust red-hot into his mouth. (VIII/271)
5.   If he arrogantly teaches Brahmanas their duty, the king shall cause hot oil to be poured into his mouth and into his ears. (VIII/272)
6.   A low-caste man who tries to place himself on the same seat with a man of a high caste, shall be branded on his hip and be banished, or (the king) shall cause his buttock to be gashed. (VIII/281)

As per the Manu Code if Sudras are to be given most stringent punishments for even petty violations/actions, the same Code of Manu is very lenient towards Brahmins.

Golwalkar was shameless in denigrating the sacrifices of the martyrs who laid down their lives for the liberation of India. In a chapter, 'Martyr, Great But Not Ideal' of Bunch Of Thoughts, he decried the whole tradition of martyrdom. After declaring that his objects of worship have always been successful lives and that 'Bharatiya culture' [which surely means RSS culture] does not adore and idealise martyrdom and do not treat "such martyrs as their heroes", he went on to philosophise that,
"There is no doubt that such men who embrace martyrdom are great heroes and their philosophy too is pre-eminently manly. They are far above the average men who meekly submit to fate and remain in fear and inaction. All the same, such persons are not held up as ideals in our society. We have not looked upon their martyrdom as the highest point of greatness to which men should aspire. For, after all, they failed in achieving their ideal, and failure implies some fatal flaw in them."

What Golwalkar thought of the people sacrificing their lot for the country is obvious from the following words of his also. He had the temerity to ask the great revolutionaries who wished to lay down their lives for the freedom of the motherland the following question as if he was representing the British.

But one should think whether complete national interest is accomplished by that? Sacrifice does not lead to increase in the thinking of the society of giving all for the interest of the nation. It is borne by the experience up to now that this fire in the heart is unbearable to the common people.

Could there be a statement more insulting and denigrating to the martyrs than this? ooo

[Link for some of S Islam's writings in English, Hindi, Urdu, Marathi, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati and video interviews/debates:
http://du-in.academia.edu/ShamsulIslam
Facebook: https://facebook.com/shamsul.islam.332, Twitter: @shamsforjustice
http://shamsforpeace.blogspot.com/
Email: notoinjustice@gmail.com]

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Vol. 53, No. 38, Mar 21 - 27, 2021