RSS: MARKETING FASCISM AS HINDUTVA Shamsul Islam INTRODUCTION With ‘Swayamsevaks’ (Volunteers) like Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Lal Krishan Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi ruling India country, courtesy the National Democratic Alliance, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh1 (RSS) has accelerated its old favourite pastime of minority-bashing and playing havoc with a democratic-secular India. Sarsanghchalak or the Supreme Leader of the RSS, KS Sudershan while addressing a rally on the eve of the 75th founding day of the RSS in Nagpur, called upon the Muslims and Christians of the country to prove their patriotism. Recently, the RSS at the end of its Bangalore session on March 7, 2002, came out with another warning to the Muslims, “Let the Muslims understand that their real safety lies in the good-will of the majority”. This statement came in the aftermath of the carnage of the Muslims allegedly organized by the cadres of the RSS in Gujarat. How the Muslims and other minorities could earn RSS ‘good-will’ was clear by the following words of an editorial in the largest circulated daily in India, Hindustan Times, “Daughters were gang-raped in front of their fathers and then had their heads bashed in. Their fathers were doused with petrol and set on fire. Their property was looted. Their businesses were destroyed. And the police stood by and did nothing.”2 It is really atrocious that an organization, which had been banned twice for anti-national activities by the Government of India after Independence should pose as the controlling authority of patriotism in the country. Should we once again refresh the memory of the RSS brass that their rabid communal organization was banned in 1948 for collaborating in the murder of Mahatma Gandhi,3 and in 1992 it was again banned for demolishing the Babri mosque at Ayodhya? Do we also need to tell the RSS that misadventures like the demolition of the Babri mosque and the large scale pogrom of the Muslims in Gujarat by its outfits only served the strategic goals of the enemies of India like the ISI who wanted to see an India fractured, and at war with itself? The RSS and its leadership historically have been great worshippers of Hitler and Mussolini and their ideas. Nazism and Fascism have greatly moulded the ideological as well as organizational frameworks of the RSS. They do not hide this love. The RSS does not hate minorities only, it publicly wants to build up an India of Manu’s dehumanizing ideas and establish a theocracy in which the Dalits/Untouchables, lower castes, downtrodden and women amongst the Hindus will have no humane or respectable existence. It is high time that the people of this country and outside scrutinize the record (of patriotism and loyalty to the Nation) of the RSS itself. Unfortunately, the RSS which is fond of demanding unwavering and unflinching loyalty to the nation from the minorities is loyal neither to the Constitution of India nor to the National Flag. The RSS is an organization which openly decries the existence of a democratic, federal and secular India; and these characteristics are the ‘Basic Features’ of the Constitution of India. It is an organization which not only openly decried the Freedom Movement against the British rule but also made fun of the great martyrs like Bhagat Singh and his companions who laid down their lives for the liberation of the Motherland. This study is based on official documents of RSS/Savarkar In order to know the truth we will simply have to make access to the literature and publications of the RSS and its different outfits, specially the writings of MS Golwalkar who, as a philosopher and guide, is religiously followed by the bosses and cadres of the RSS. Here it is attempted to present the original and official viewpoints of the RSS on different aspects of Indian nationalism, so that there is no room to allege that they have been misrepresented. It must be stressed here that it is the need of the hour that we know about the RSS and its game plan. It is no more a fringe organization now that the present BJP rulers have declared their open allegiance to the RSS. They have even told the Nation that the RSS to them is what Gandhi was to Nehru! Interestingly, the RSS, despite these claims and declarations, refuses to accept any political role for itself! It claims to be just a cultural organization of the Hindus. It is hoped that with all these facts available (from horse’s mouth itself) this Nation gets familiarized with the real face and intentions of the RSS, otherwise it may be too late to save our dear Motherland. Hitler and Mussolini as Gurus The Italian researcher of Indian politics, Marzia Casolari has done pioneering work in tracing the fraternal links between the RSS founders on the one hand and Fascism and Nazism on the other. After a laborious search of different archives in India and abroad she has been able to unearth, “the existence of direct contacts between the representatives of the (Italian) fascist regime, including Mussolini, and Hindu nationalists demonstrates that Hindu nationalism had much more than an abstract interest in the ideology and practice of fascism. The interest of the Indian Hindu nationalists in fascism and Mussolini must not be considered as dictated by an occasional curiosity, confined to a few individuals; rather, it should be considered as the culminating result of the attention that Hindu nationalists, especially in Maharashtra, focussed on Italian dictatorship and its leader. To them, fascism appeared to be an example of conservative revolution.”4 After going through the archival evidences she comes to the conclusion that, “by the late 1920s, the fascist regime and Mussolini had considerable popularity in Maharashtra. The aspect of fascism which appealed most to the Hindu nationalists were, of course, both the militarisation of society and what was seen as real transformation of society, exemplified by the shift from chaos to order. The anti–democratic system was considered as a positive alternative to democracy which was seen as a typically British value...The first Hindu nationalist who came in contact with the fascist regime and its dictator was BS Moonje, a politician strictly related to the RSS. In fact, Moonje had been Hedgewar’s mentor, the two men were related by an intimate friendship. Moonje’s declared intention to strengthen the RSS and to extend it as a nation–wide organisation is well known. Between February and March 1931, on his return from the Round Table Conference, Moonje made a tour of Europe, which included a long stop–over in Italy. There he visited some important military schools and educational institutions. The highlight of the visit was the meeting with Mussolini. An interesting account of the trip and the meeting is given in Moonje’s diary and takes 13 pages…The Indian leader was in Rome during March 15 to 24, 1931. On March 19, in Rome, he visited, among others, the Military College, the Central Military School of Physical Education, the Fascist Academy of Physical Education, and, most important, the Balilla and Avanguardisti organisations. These two organisations, which he describes in more that two pages of his diary, were the keystone of the fascist system of indoctrination — rather than education — of the youths. Their structure is strikingly similar to that of the RSS. They recruited boys from the age of six, up to 18: the youth had to attend weekly meetings, where they practised physical exercise, received paramilitary training and performed drills and parades…According to the literature promoted by the RSS and other Hindu fundamentalist organisations and parties, the structure of the RSS was the result of Hedgewar’s vision and work. However, Moonje played a crucial role in moulding the RSS along Italian (fascist) lines. The deep impression left on Moonje by the vision of the fascist organisations is confirmed by his diary.”5 The contents picked up from Moonje’s diary by Marzia are quite startling. “The Balilla institutions and the conception of the whole organisation have appealed to me most, though there is still no discipline and organisation of high order. The whole idea is conceived by Mussolini for the military regeneration of Italy. Italians, by nature, appear ease–loving and non–martial, like Indians generally. They have cultivated, like Indians, the work of peace and neglected the cultivation of the art of war. Mussolini saw the essential weakness of his country and conceived the idea of the Balilla organisation…Nothing better could have been conceived for the military organisation of Italy...The idea of fascism vividly brings out the conception of unity amongst people... India and particularly Hindu India needs some such institution for the military regeneration of the Hindus: so that the artificial distinction so much emphasised by the British, of martial and non–martial classes amongst the Hindus, may disappear…Our institution of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh of Nagpur under Dr. Hedgewar is of this kind, though quite independently conceived. I will spend the rest of my life in developing and extending this Institution of Dr. Hedgewar all throughout Maharashtra and other provinces”.6 Moonje had a personal audience with Mussolini on March 19, 1931 at 3 pm, in Palazzo Venzia, the headquarters of the Fascist government. The meeting has been recorded in the diary on March 20 in the following words, “I shook hands with him saying that I am Dr Moonje. He knew everything about me and appeared to be closely following the events of the Indian struggle for freedom…Then he asked me if I have visited the University. I said I am interested in the military training of boys and have been visiting the Military Schools of England, France and Germany. I have now come to Italy for the same purpose and I am very grateful to say that the Foreign Office and the War Office have made good arrangements for my visiting these schools. I just saw this morning and afternoon the Balilla and the Fascist Organisations and I was much impressed. Italy needs them for her development and prosperity. I do not see anything objectionable though I have been frequently reading in the newspapers not very friendly criticisms about them and about your Excellency also. ‘Signor Mussolini: What is your opinion about them?’ ‘Dr Moonje: Your Excellency, I am much impressed. Every aspiring and growing Nation needs such organisations… ‘Signor Mussolini – who appeared very pleased – said – Thanks but yours is an uphill task. However I wish you every success in return.’ ‘Saying this he got up and I also got up to take his leave.’”7 According to Marzia’s account, “Once Moonje was back in India, he kept the promise made in his diary and started immediately to work for the foundation of his military school and for the militant reorganisation of Hindu society in Maharashtra. He really did not waste time, for, as soon as he reached Pune, he gave an interview to The Mahratta. Regarding the military reorganisation of the Hindu community, he stressed the necessity to ‘Indianise’ the army and expressed the hope that conscription would become compulsory and an Indian would be put in– charge of the defence ministry. He finally made a clear reference to the Italian and German examples: ‘In fact, leaders should imitate the youth movements of Germany and the Balilla and Fascist organisations of Italy. I think they are eminently suited for introduction in India, adapting them to suit the special conditions. I have been very much impressed by these movements and I have seen their activities with my own eyes in all details.’ ’’ According to Moonje’s diary on March 31, 1934, Moonje, Hedgewar and Laloo Gokhale had a meeting, the subject of which was again the military organisation of the Hindus, along the Italian and German lines. Moonje told the gathering, “I have thought out a scheme based on the Hindu Dharm Shashtra which provides for the standardisation of Hinduism throughout India... But the point is that this ideal cannot be brought to effect unless we have our own swaraj with a Hindu as a dictator like Shivaji of old or Mussolini or Hitler of the present day Italy or Germany... But this does not mean that we have to sit with folded hands until (sic) some such dictator arises in India. We should formulate a scientific scheme and carry on propaganda for it…” According to Marzia Moonje publicly admitted that his idea of militarily reorganising Hindu society was inspired by the “military training schools of England, France, Germany and Italy” Moonje’s ‘Preface to the Scheme of the Central Hindu Military Society and its Military School’ says at the outset: ‘This training is meant for qualifying and fitting our boys for the game of killing masses of men with the ambition of winning victory with the best possible causalities (sic) of dead and wounded while causing the utmost possible to the adversary’.8 Isn’t it what the RSS cadres, while undertaking the cleansing of the Muslims in Gujarat recently, meticulously put into practice? The other great mentor of the RSS, VD Savarkar also had great liking for Hitler’s Nazism and the Fascism of Mussolini. While delivering the Presidential address to the 22nd Session of the Hindu Mahasabha in 1940 at Madura he said, “There is no reason to suppose that Hitler must be a human monster because he passes off as a Nazi or Churchill is a demi-God because he calls himself a democrat. Nazism proved undeniably the saviour of Germany under the set of circumstances Germany was placed in…”9 Savarkar went on to severally criticise Nehru for opposing Fascism and Nazism in India. According to him, “Who are we to dictate to Germany, Japan or Russia or Italy to choose a particular form of policy of government simply because we woo it out of academical attraction? Surely Hitler knows better than Pandit Nehru does what suits Germany best. The very fact that Germany or Italy has so wonderfully recovered and grown so powerful as never before at the touch of Nazi or Fascist magical wand is enough to prove that those political “isms” were the most congenial tonics their health demanded”.10 Savarkar went on to support Hitler’s anti–Jewish pogroms and on October 14, 1938, he suggested the following solution for the Muslim problem in India: “A Nation is formed by the majority living therein. What did the Jews do in Germany? They being in a minority were driven out from Germany”.11 These champions of Hindu nationalism also believed in the superiority of the Aryan race like Hitler and the Nazis. Racism is the common tie, which binds them. Hindus happened to be Aryans belonging to the National race whereas Muslims and Christians were treated as foreigners because they followed religions, which took birth in non-Aryan foreign lands. The RSS divided religions professed in India into two categories, Indian and foreign. Interestingly, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism were declared to be of the Indian variety but were not accorded the status of independent religions. These were simply treated as part of Hinduism. MS Golwalkar, ideologue of the RSS who came to head the organization after Hedgewar, naturally, inherited a love for Fascism and Nazism from his seniors. He continued to idealize the Nazi cultural nationalism of Hitler, which was nothing else but ‘ethnic cleansing’, in the following words, “The other Nation most in the eye of the world today is Germany. This Nation affords a very striking example. Modern Germany strove, and has to a great extent achieved what she strove for, to once again bring under one sway the whole of the territory, hereditarily possessed by the Germans but which , as a result of political disputes, had been portioned off as different countries under different states…German pride in their Fatherland for a definite home country, for which the race has traditional attachments as a necessary concomitant of the true Nation concept, awoke and ran the risk of starting a fresh world-conflagration, in order to establish one, unparalleled undisputed German Empire over all this ‘hereditary territory’. This natural and logical aspiration of Germany has almost been fulfilled and the great importance of the ‘country factor’ has been once again vindicated even in the living present. Come we next to the next ingredient of the Nation idea - Race, with which culture and language are inseparably connected, where religion is not the all- absorbing force that it should be. 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”.12 Love for dictators & Neo-Nazis These are not Mussolini and Hitler only who have been favourites of RSS. In fact, diverse totalitarian ideologies and regimes of the modern world have special attraction for RSS. Whatever, world may be saying about murder of democracy and denial of basic human rights to Noble laureate Aung San Sui Kyi in Burma by the military junta [which also runs one of the biggest drug cartels in the world] RSS, shamelessly, enjoys close affinity with this gang of murderers of democracy. According to a report in the official organ of the RSS, ‘Organizer’ [February 28-March 5, 2000, p. 20.] filed by its own correspondent in Burma under the caption, “Sanatan Dharma Swayamsevak Sangh is 50. Myanmar Ministers Grace the Occasion”, “The 50th anniversary of the Sanatan Dharma Swayamsevak Sangh (SDSS) was held at the National Theatre on Mayoma Kyaung Street, Yagnon, recently. Secretary-2 of the State Peace and Development Council, Lt. Gen. Tin Oo attended the meeting. The programme was attended by ministers and senior military officers. Minister for Commerce, Brig. Gen. Pyi Sone; Minister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement, Maj Gen. Sein Htwa; Minister for Health, Maj. Gen. Ket Sein were among the prominent persons who attended the function…The Secretary-2 delivered speech at the function.” This report appears with two photographs. In one photograph five military Generals including second in command of the military junta, Lt. Gen. Tin Oo, are standing on the stage in the midst of SDSS leadership wearing khaki shorts. In the other photograph leading lights of the Burmese military junta are seen sitting in the front row of the auditorium. When the present day Europe is shocked by the resurgence of fascist groups in France, Germany and Austria, RSS true to its breed is celebrating this fascist revival. One can feel this rejoicing in the article, “Resurgence of Nationalism” by Atul Rawat in Organizer dated May 26, 2002: “The post-September Eleven world is a different place to live. People all over the world are growingly becoming more and more nationalistic and patriotic…The recent presidential elections in France have clearly indicated the large amount of support that has come to exist for ultra nationalist Jean Marie Le Pen. Although he was defeated in the elections, according to reports in world media, he was successful in getting almost 6 million votes, which is no small success keeping in view the hate campaign that was run against him in the liberal and left establishment and in media. And these are not the only leaders and parties who have gained due to the resurgence of sentiments of nationalism in their respective countries. Other countries of significance like Germany are also witnessing a similar political phenomenon. The rise of Ronald Schill has chilled many communist sympathisers. Austria has a coalition government in which the ultra nationalist Freedom Party of Jorg Haider is a partner. His is an eye opener case. When he came to power, the left lobby sought to create a spectre of ‘sky is falling’. Freedom Party has been in power as partner of others. Yet, Austria has not witnessed any great rightist calamity, the impression of which the Communist propaganda machinery had sought to create. Many other European countries are also witnessing similar trends.” Cleansing of Minorities as Priority The large scale organized killings of the Muslims and the destruction of their properties in Gujarat by the RSS cadres is the result of a well thought-out philosophy of hatred towards the minorities preached for more than three quarter of a century. However, it will not be possible to understand the rise of recent fascist Hindu nationalism without going into the history of its origin and development. The ideology of Hindu Nationalism which developed in the second half of the 19th century under the leadership of high caste Hindus had two essential elements. The first was a deep hatred towards the Muslims with a strong urge to destroy them violently. The second was a deep love and liking for the imperialist rulers. The philosophy of the Hindu Rashtra (Nation) has never lost sight of these two essential elements of its structure. ‘Anandmath’, a novel in Bengali, written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, the first most important work outlining the concept of the Hindu Rashtra, contained these two very elements explicitly. ‘Anandmath’ is the Bible even today for the Believer in the concept of Hindu Rashtra. Before quoting directly from ‘Anandmath’, it will be crucial to know a few additional facts about the novel and its author. This is the same novel in which Bankim presented the song ‘Vande Mataram.’ ‘Anandmath’ is basically the story of the Hindu Sanyasi Rebellion of the late 18th century in North Bengal of India. These rebels called themselves SANTANS (sons). This novel appeared in the year 188285, 25 years after the defeat of the Native Indians in the Great War of Independence of 1857 when even the ceremonial authority of the Muslim rulers was gone. It also must be remembered here that the British rulers in their assessment held mainly the Muslims responsible for the 1857 Rebellion and consequently penalized them heavily. ‘Anandmath’ appeared when the British sovereignty had been formally established over a large portion of India. Interestingly, Bankim, the author of ‘Anandmath’ was appointed directly to the post of Deputy Magistrate in the year 1858 by the British Lt. Governor of Bengal. He was the first Indian to be appointed to such a post in the aftermath of 1857. When Bankim retired as the District Magistrate in 1891 he was conferred the titles of Rai Bahadur and CIE by the British Crown. Let us now go through a few relevant passages of ‘Anandmath’. Thus wrote Bankim about the defenders of the Hindu Dharma, the Sanyasi rebels in part III and section I of the novel: “They would go to villages and inquire from Hindus, if they wanted to worship Vishnu? When the crowd had collected they would torch the house of the Muslims. When those poor chaps ran for their lives, the Santans would plunder all their assets and distribute the spoils to new converts. These new converts would naturally be happy to receive their share of loot. Then they would be taken to a temple to swear allegiance at the feet of Mother. People realized that it was highly beneficial to become Santans… Thus enticed, the number of Santans in the villages grew by leaps and bounds….They began to attack the Muslims at sight…Their whole villages were burnt to ashes.” The following are the minutes of a meeting of the Santans as described in the novel, “The Santans started shouting. Somebody raised the cry, Kill, kill all Muslims…Somebody said, ‘Brother, a day will come when we will destroy a mosque in order to build a temple of Krishna’ ” And here are graphic details from ‘Anandmath’ of a post-victory jubilation of the Hindu Army: “The night of the great victory was a night of great revelry. Hari, Hari, could be heard every where on the earth. The Santans went wild with the chanting of Vande Mataram and Jagdish Hare. Some started kicking dead bodies of the enemies and some started robbing…Under penalty of death the Santans forced travelers and house-holders alike to shout Vande Mataram. Some plundered candy shops for sweets, others the dairy shops for milk and butter. They declared themselves to be BRAJ GOPE and asked for GOPIS. The city and villages became furious with excitement. People exclaimed that Muslims had been defeated. Now it was the rule of the Hindus in the country. The moment they saw a Muslim, the Hindus ran after him to kill him…The Santans set fire to the homes of the Muslims and plundered their properties. Innumerable Muslims were killed like this. Many of them shaved off their beards and put up a tilak of chandan.. They too started chanting Ram, Ram. They declared themselves to be Hindus”. The recent pogrom of the Muslims in Gujarat is witness to innumerable re-enacting of this scene from ‘Anandmath’. In fact, the re-enactment of this scene of ‘Anandmath’ is one of the games which is played in the shakhas. Bankim as a pioneer of the cause of the Hindu Rashtra was very clear in his liking for the British rulers. His comparison of the British rulers with Muslims is very meaningful. In ‘Anandmath’, a leader of the Hindu Army, BHAVANAND, explains the difference to a ‘new recruit’ in the following words: “You have to know that the British would never run away to save his life whereas a Muslim runs away. The moment he begins to perspire, he seeks cold drinks. The British are very determined and tenacious. Then consider the question of courage: A cannon ball falls only on one spot. But a crowd of Muslims would run away if one single cannon ball fell among them. On the other hand, not even a single British would run away even if dozens of cannon balls should fall in their midst”. Can there be bestowed greater praise then this one on the imperialist masters? The British masters who had fettered Mother India were depicted as wonderful souls. They were great and were there for our salvation! This love for the British masters and exploiters is further exhibited in the last lines of the ‘Anandmath’. The debate on the Hindu Rashtra is concluded with the following words: “Without the British rule there is no chance of resurgence of the Hindu Dharma…It is our duty to make the British our rulers…The SANTAN rebellion was organized with the sole object that the British should be crowned as the rulers…the British are our friends and more- over there is no such power which can defeat the British in war.” The ‘Anandmath’ which heralded the Hindu nationalist movement, is full of such perceptions and facts. In fact the recent upsurge of Hindu nationalism with its fascist attitudes is the continuation of the same ‘Anandmath’ legacy. ‘Anandmath’ propagated that the destruction of the Muslims as such was very essential for the establishment of the Hindu Rashtra. RSS facilitating the job of anti-national forces The ISI, the dreaded intelligence network of Pakistan, is working overtime in its attempts to subvert the secular-democratic Indian State; there can be no two opinions on this count. (Though there is no guarantee that the CIA and KGB, the intelligence agencies of the USA and Russia respectively, would like to have a United India) However, the much-talked about designs of the ISI for the dismemberment of India need deeper probing. There are many serious questions that require proper and objective responses. Is it the complete truth that only the ISI is trying to foment communal trouble in this country? Did not the communal fascist act like the demolition of the Babri mosque by the cadres of the RSS in 1992 and the recent carnage of the Muslims in Gujarat, turn India into a communal volcano to the joy of organizations like the ISI? Are not there communal elements well-entrenched in our country, enjoying state support, which are out with full force to destroy the communal peace of the country? Are these not forces that are making the job of the ISI easier? Organizations like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Hindu Jagran Manch (HJM) and Bajrang Dal (BD), and other affiliates of the RSS, after using Gujarat as a laboratory for the religious cleansing of the minorities specially Christians and Muslims for more than three years, are spreading their tentacles throughout India. The leaflets containing highly provocative statements like, “Muslims are filth of the gutter, don’t let them enter in your houses”, or “wherever Christian priests have gone in the world, they loot the people. Lies and deceit are their religion. The Christian priests teach people to tell lies, to steal in the name of religion…they curse the Hindus, and decry the Hindu religion. Awaken Hindus and struggle against these thieves who lie, who rob you of your rights, and bring these people to their senses”, or “One addition in the population of Christians or Muslims is not only the addition of an anti-Hindu, but of an anti-national person.” Such leaflets issued on behalf of the VHP, HJM and BD which used to be confined to Gujarat only are now circulating in different parts of the country. The fascist ideas contained in these leaflets are not the brainchild of some hotheaded cadre. Golwalkar unhesitatingly wanted to model his Hindu Rashtra (Nation) on Hitler’s totalitarian and fascist pattern as is clear from the following words of his in the same book: “It is worth bearing well in mind how these old nations solve their minorities problem. They do not undertake to recognize any separate element in their polity. Emigrants have to get themselves naturally assimilated in the principal mass of the population, the National Race, by adopting its culture and language and sharing in its aspirations, by losing all consciousness of their separate existence, forgetting their foreign origin. If they do not do so, they live merely as outsiders, bound by all the codes and conventions of the Nation, at the sufferance of the Nation and deserving no special protection, far less any privilege or rights. There are only two courses open to the foreign elements, either to merge themselves in the national race and adopt its culture, or to live at its mercy so long as the national race may allow them to do so and to quit the country at the sweet will of the national race. That is the only sound view on the minorities problem. That is the only logical and correct solution. That alone keeps the national life healthy and undisturbed. That alone keeps the nation safe from the danger of a cancer developing in its body politic, of the creation of a state within a state. 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 the 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”13 In fact, the Bible of the RSS cadres, ‘the Bunch of Thoughts’, the compilation of the writings of MS Golwalkar, the ideologue of the RSS, has a long chapter titled, ‘Internal Threats’ , in which the Muslims and Christians are described as threats number one and two respectively. The Communists get the honour of being ‘Enemy’ number 3. 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.”14 While treating the Muslims as hostile element number one he 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”15 Elaborating further on the ‘Muslim Enemy’, Golwalkar presents his thesis which was religiously used by the VHP goons for exterminating the Muslim localities in Gujarat recently, in the following words: “Within the country there are so many Muslim pockets, i.e., so many ‘miniature Pakistans’, where the general law of the land can be enforced only with certain modifications, and the whims of the miscreants have to be given the final say. This acceptance, indirect though it may be, implies a very dangerous theory fraught with possibilities of the destruction of our national life altogether. Such ‘pockets’ have verily become the centers of a widespread network of pro-Pakistani elements in this land… The conclusion is that, in practically every place, there are Muslims who are in constant touch with Pakistan over the transmitter…”16 While deliberating on the ‘Internal Threat’ number two, he says, “such is the role of the 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”.17 Lies & more lies to hide criminal deeds In the post-independence era it has not been possible for the pro-RSS elements to defend such shameless fascist attitudes towards the minorities and neutrality towards the British masters. The book We or Our Nationhood Defined, which was openly circulated by the RSS during the British rule and had gone into four editions, is now suddenly presented as if its authorship is disputed or it had been withdrawn by the RSS. The RSS machinery started spreading different theories about the authorship according to their own requirements. Interestingly, even though this book glorified the German dictator Adolf Hitler at a time when the British were engaged in a life and death struggle against him during the World War II, the British authorities did not ban it. The obvious reason for allowing the book to be freely circulated was that such literature was essential for the imperialist policy of ‘divide and rule’. The ‘Operation Authorship Cover-up’ still continues. Former Prime Minister Chandrashekhar while participating in the confidence motion debate in Lok Sabha on 28.3.98 raised the issue of this book once again. He was perturbed by the fact that the BJP Government was following the diktat of the RSS whose ideological guru had authored the above book, which contained fascist ideas and preached hatred for the minorities which was extremely detrimental for the democratic polity of the country. Home Minister L. K. Advani intervened to say that the author of the book, Guruji, had distanced himself from the book and declared to have no relation with the book. This is Mask One. Subsequently the mouthpiece of the RSS, Organiser, dated May 31, 1998 carried a story titled ‘The Fascist Identified’ by David Frawley. The story gave another interpretation to the issue of the authorship. It said, “Those who call the RSS Fascist emphasize one book to prove it, We or Our Nationhood Defined, by B. S. Savarkar, the elder brother of the great Indian revolutionary Veer Savarkar. The book in places expresses some sympathy with the Germany of the times, the nineteen thirties, which appeared to be making great strides as a nation. Guruji Golwalkar, who later became the leader of the RSS in 1940 translated the book in 1938. Leftists like to pretend the book was written by Golwalkar and expresses long term Sangh policy, though it was only part of the general literature of the times that he was examining”. This explanation is all the more intriguing since the title of the original book has the following words about the author: “M.S. Golwalkar, M. Sc., LL. B. (Sometime Professor Benaras Hindu University).” Would this mean that Golwalkar was simply a translator and dishonestly got his name printed as author? However, this is Mask Two. It is for the consumption of the liberals and the democrats. Such explanations may help the RSS to show a humane face the world over, where Hitler is still regarded as the anti-thesis of all that is good in civilization and held responsible for the annihilation of Jews and millions of toiling people in Germany and elsewhere. It is also worth mentioning that B. S. Savarkar, the elder brother of V. D. Savarkar, was a very close associate of Dr. Hedgewar. B. S. Savarkar had formed an organisation called Tarun Hindu Sabha which he merged with the RSS in 1931. Therefore whoever is the real author of We or Our Nationhood Defined, the views contained in it represent the ideology of the RSS leadership. For the die-hard believer in the cause of the Hindu Rashtra and the cadre of the RSS, they have another mask, Mask Three: This appears in an affidavit which two important officials of the RSS, Bhausaheb Deoras (brother of a former chief of the RSS) and Rajender Singh (who became a Sarsanghchalak later) submitted before the Charity Commissioner, Nagpur. The affidavit read: “With a view to give a scientific base to propagate the idea—India being historically from time immemorial a Hindu Nation—the late Shri M. S. Golwalkar had written a book entitled We or Our Nationhood Defined, which was published in 1938”. Cleansing of minorities: Golwalkar’s direct involvement Whatever may be the controversy over the authorship of We or Our Nationhood Defined, the crucial thing is that the RSS has never modified its views about the cleansing of minorities in India, especially the Muslims. Left untouched by the British rulers they developed the organizational capability to attempt blood-baths of the Muslims in many parts of the country. The following passage from the autobiography of the first Home Secretary of UP, Rajeshwar Dayal, ICS, clearly shows the sinister designs of the RSS to break the unity of the country just on the eve of Independence. “I must record an episode of a very grave nature when the procrastination and indecision of the UP Cabinet led to dire consequences. When communal tension was still at fever pitch, the Deputy Inspector General of Police of the Western Range, a very seasoned and capable officer, B. B. L. Jaitley, arrived at my house in great secrecy. He was accompanied by two of his officers who brought with them two large steel trunks securely locked. When the trunks were opened, they revealed incontrovertible evidence of a dastardly conspiracy to create a communal holocaust throughout the Western districts of the province. The trunks were crammed with blueprints of great accuracy and professionalism of every town and village in that vast area, prominently marking out the Muslim localities and habitations. There were also detailed instructions regarding access to the various locations, and other matters which amply revealed the sinister purport. “Greatly alarmed by those revelations, I immediately took the police party to the Premier’s [chief minister’s] house. There, in a closed room, Jaitley gave a full report of his discovery, backed by all the evidence contained in the steel trunks. Timely raids conducted on the premises of the RSS ( Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh) had brought the massive conspiracy to light. The whole plot had been concerted under the direction and supervision of the Supremo of the organization himself. Both Jaitley and I pressed for the immediate arrest of the prime accused, Shri Golwalkar, who was still in the area. “Pantji [G. B. Pant] could not but accept the evidence of his eyes and ears and expressed deep concern. But instead of agreeing to the immediate arrest of the ringleader as we had hoped, and as Kidwai would have done, he asked for the matter to be placed for consideration by the Cabinet at its next meeting. It was no doubt a matter of political delicacy as the roots of the RSS had gone deep into the body politic. There were also other political compulsions, as RSS sympathizers, both covert and overt, were to be found in the Congress Party itself and even in the Cabinet. It was no secret that the presiding officer of the Upper House, Atma Govind Kher, was himself an adherent and his sons were openly members of the RSS. “At the Cabinet meeting there was the usual procrastination and much irrelevant talk. The fact that the police had unearthed a conspiracy which would have set the whole province in flames and that the officers concerned deserved warm commendation hardly seemed to figure in the discussion. What ultimately emerged was that a letter should be issued to Shri Golwalkar pointing out the contents and nature of the evidence which had been gathered and demanding an explanation thereof. At my insistence, such a letter if it were to be sent, should be issued by the Premier himself to carry greater weight. Panditji asked me to prepare a draft, which I did in imitation of his own characteristic style. The letter was to be delivered forthwith and two police officers were assigned for the purpose. “Golwalkar, however, had been tipped off and he was nowhere to be found in the area. He was tracked down southwards but he managed to elude the couriers in pursuit. This infructuous chase continued from place to place and weeks passed.” “Came January 30, 1948 when the Mahatma, that supreme apostle of peace, fell to a bullet fired by an RSS fanatic. The tragic episode left me sick at heart. ”18 Eternal belief in two-nation theory Importantly, champions of Hindutva totally agreed with the logic of the Muslim communalists and Muslim League that India consisted of not one nation but two races or nations. In fact, in this respect the RSS always echoed the philosophy of VD Savarkar who like Mohammed Ali Jinnah’s Muslim League believed in the Two-Nation Theory. While delivering the presidential address to the 19th HM session at Ahmedabad in 1937, Savarkar, openly supporting the TwoNation Theory, said: “As it is, there are two antagonistic nations living side by side in India; several infantile politicians commit the serious mistake in supposing that India is already welded into a harmonious nation, or that it could be welded thus for the mere wish to do so... But the solid fact is that the so-called communal questions are but a legacy handed down to us by centuries of cultural, religious and national antagonism between the Hindus and Moslems…India can not be assumed today to be a Unitarian and homogenous nation, but on the contrary there are two nations in the main: the Hindus and the Moslems, in India”.19 This equation of Indian nationalism with Hindu religion often drew flak from many Hindus as is evident from an incident narrated in a publication of the RSS. The incident occurred at a meeting at Banaras Hindu University, in 1929-30, where both Dr. Hedgewar and Golwalkar were present: “Doctorji explained to the gathering the meaning of the oath and asked those who were in agreement with its aims to take the oath. Doctorji used to keep always a small iron idol of Hanuman and a saffron flag. After the meeting, in the presence of Hanuman idol and saffron flag he used to go through the process of oath taking for the willing persons. The same day he used to appoint Sanghchalak and Karyavah also. When the time for the oath taking ceremony approached, some people got impatient. In the meeting some college professors and scholars were present. They said Sangh is undoubtedly good but they cannot agree to the mention of Hindu Rashtra. Doctorji refused to make any change in the oath. When people present in the meeting stressed on changing the text of the oath and offered to take the oath only after the changes were affected [Golwalkar intervened and said], “Doctorji has put before us a definite work and programme. Those who feel good about it should accept it, otherwise they should refuse. But there is no need to teach lessons to Doctorji. If he starts implementing all those suggestions which he receives while touring the country, then the coming into existence of the organization will be impossible.”20 After the meeting Golwalkar was appointed the Sanghchalak of the shakha of Banaras Hindu University. It is revealing that there is not a single line challenging, exposing, criticizing or confronting the inhuman rule of the British masters in the entire literature of the RSS from 1925 to 1947. It seems it had only one task to accomplish and that was minority-bashing or to be more specific, Muslim-bashing. Denigrating Dalits and Women According to the philosophy of the RSS there are not only minorities but also Dalits/Untouchables/Sudras and women who have to be bereft of all civil and human rights. India is said to be the biggest democracy in the world today. This may be true academically but with the presence of organizations like RSS crores and crores of Sudras or Dalits or Untouchables in India, do not have much to rejoice in this biggest democracy. It is true that Dr. BR Ambedkar, crusading for the rights of the Indian Untouchables saw to it that the Indian Constitution through it Preamble commits itself “to secure to all its citizens: Justice, social, economic and political; Liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship: Equality of status and of opportunity; and to promote among them all, Fraternity assuring the dignity of the individual…” It is also true that the Indian Constitution, through Article 17, abolishes Untouchability, declaring, “Untouchability is abolished and its practice in any form is forbidden. The enforcement of any disability arising out of ‘Untouchability’ shall be an offence punishable in accordance with law”. But the bitter reality is that in spite of these pious and sacred declarations, the wretched of the earth in this country; the Untouchables suffer open and blatant discrimination. The year 2001report of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Tribes brings out the fact that in comparison to the year 1999 when 27561 cases were filed under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, in the year 2000 this number increased to 28441. It must not be missed here that these figures in no way represent the horrendous ground reality. It is a minuscule minority of the persecuted Dalits, which dares to file complaints against persecution. Many studies and reports are available which clearly show that in a very large number of cases either the caste discrimination is tolerated as a fact of life or the official machinery in collusion with the high caste tormentor/s is able to hush up the complaints. These are the faceless-nameless Untouchable women who in far flung areas of the countryside bear the brunt of caste persecution, which almost wholly remain unreported. How seriously the incidents of atrocities of Untouchables are taken care of can be known by the disdain the Indian State shows towards the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, a statutory body. The yearly reports on the status and treatment of SCs and STs, presented by the Commission for years together are not tabled in the Parliament. Recently the National Commission for SC/ST threatened to put its annual reports on the internet if the government failed to table the same in Parliament. One of the Commission members complained that it was depressing to bring about reports on the state of STs and STs which get tabled only after four years. The eminent parliamentarian, Professor Hiren Mukherjee says that so far as the reports of the SC/ST Commission are concerned, “it has been my experience that neither Parliament nor the country takes much notice”. The President of India, KR Narayanan in his Republic Day address of 2001 had to concede: “Untouchability has been abolished by law but shades of it remain in the ingrained attitudes nurtured by the caste system”. The President of India in his address to the Nation lamented the fact that high caste male sadism seemed earmarked for Dalit women who were subjected to the most heinous forms of humiliation. An Indian Parliamentary committee admitted in July 1998 that Untouchability was prevalent in 12 prominent states of the Indian Union. The Hindu Right, which is ruling India presently, is totally unconcerned about these mounting atrocities against the Untouchables who are mainly Hindus. It should surprise nobody that the states where the maximum incidents of caste atrocities are taking place (The states of Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Haryana etc) are the states where either the RSS/BJP have substantial social base or are being ruled by them. In fact, Uttar Pradesh, which for last several is being ruled by BJP/RSS and allies stands first in atrocities against the Untouchables and women. The Hindustan Times in its editorial, ‘Murderers Call the Shots’ while describing the depressing scenario in Uttar Pradesh wrote, “It has become routine for the landless Dalits to be treated as outsiders, humiliated, beaten and murdered, and their women raped and paraded naked, often as public spectacles to teach the entire community a lesson. The perpetrators almost always belong to the upper castes, who know that the political system is their monopoly, that they will get away with almost any outrage. It is hardly a matter of surprise, therefore, that in the course of just one week, two massacres have taken place in Uttar Pradesh, in Jahrana and Hasanpur in Aligarh and Fatehpur districts. A little girl has been raped, women and children have been murdered by the torchbearers of feudal pride. What was till now a free run for the Ranvir Sena in Laloo Yadav’s Bihar seems to becoming a predictable pattern in Rajnath Singh’s UP…If the Dalits are complaining that the BJP-led government patronizes the upper castes, they are telling the truth. What was Naresh Majhi’s crime that his employers burnt alive his wife and five children in early April? A bonded labourer at a brick klin in Hathras, Majhi had merely demanded his wages. On June 9, a Dalit was savagely beaten and his wife burnt alive in Kusumpur village in Jalaun district in UP in front of the entire village because the family had dared to campaign against the upper caste candidate in the panchayat elections.”21 This kind of fascism does not seem to be the monopoly of UP. How grave the situation is in the Capital of India itself, can be known by the following report from correspondent, Sanjay K Singh in ‘The Statesman’: “The worst of Indian caste prejudices was demonstrated in the heart of Delhi, in a function attended by among others, Mr. LK Advani. Organizers of a function in the Vasant Kunj Institutional Area forced 10 families to leave their homes at 5 a.m. on February 1, because the latter’s presence would have ‘polluted’ the atmosphere at a havan. Mr. Advani attended the havan, which was followed by his laying the foundation stone for the Vedic Studies programme and social services. The organizers, the Sri Rama Vitthal Shikshana Sewa Samiti and the Sudesh Foundation, who had taken out newspaper advertisements announcing the function on February 1, could not be contacted despite repeated efforts by the correspondent…. The 10 families who were unceremoniously dragged out of their homes and asked to shift to a forest area 300 meters away, at 5 a.m. on February 1, belong to the Jusadh caste (originally from the Mahoba area in Uttar Pradesh). They were told by the organizers that their presence at the venue of the havan would be inauspicious. ‘Meri taang tooti hui hai aur mujhe phir bhi jane ko kaha kyonki hum jusadh hain. Bade log to dus baje aaye lekin hamen subah paanch baje hi thhannd mein bhaga diya (I have a broken leg but they told me to leave because I belong to a lower caste. Though the VIPs came at 10 a.m., we were forced to shift at 5 a.m. when it was freezing cold)’, said 55 year old Jamuni Devi.” 22 Doubtlessly, with the ascendancy of the Hindu Right to power at the national level in India there has been a spurt in caste-related violence, along with communal violence. In fact, persecution in the name of caste and communal violence may not be two different things for the Hindu Right. If the Untouchables are targeted for the sins of being of low birth, so are minorities like the Muslims and Christians, who mainly come from the Dalit/Untouchable stock. Another important point not to be missed here is that the RSS/BJP may be the leading lights in spreading castecommunal hatred in the country, but parties like the Congress with thoroughly casteist leadership have also been responsible for the present situation. It is interesting to note the response of the Hindu Right led by the RSS/BJP to this escalating violence against the Untouchables. Their oft-repeated ready-made answer is that the Hindu society has no caste antagonism; it was the Muslim/Christian rulers who injected the caste conflict into Hindu society. However, with scriptures like Manusmriti (which were enforced thousands of years before the arrival of Christians or Muslims in India) around it is difficult to agree with this thesis. Manusmriti or Manavadharmasastra, believed to be composed in 1500 BC, presents in totality the system of jurisprudence of Hinduism. The great German Indologist Max Muller got this translated as the ‘Laws of Manu’ which was first published in the series, ‘The Sacred Books of the East’. There have been other international editions in different languages of Europe. It has been translated into almost all the languages of India. Manu as a saint and learned Brahmin holds a place of reverence in the high caste Hindu world of thought. There has been a demand to install a magnificent statue of Manu in the Parliament House in Delhi, though one such statue stands outside the High Court of Rajasthan in Jaipur, despite strong protest from the organizations of Dalits. How holy and sacred is Manusmriti for the Hindu Right needs no probe with the following utterances of the philosopher and guide of Hindutva, VD Savarkar and RSS. According to Savarkar, “Manusmriti is that scripture which is the most worshippable after the Vedas for our Hindu Nation and which from ancient times has become the basis of our culture-customs, thought and practice. This book for centuries has codified the spiritual and divine march of our nation. Even today the rules which are followed by crores of Hindus in their lives and practice are based on Manusmriti. Today Manusmriti is the Hindu Law.”23 When the Constituent Assembly of India had finalized the Constitution of India the RSS was not happy with its direction. Its organ, The Organizer complained editorially, “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.”24 The RSS continued vigorously its campaign for the enforcement of Manu’s Codes in India. Sankar Subba Aiyar, a retired High Court Judge, wrote in the same RSS organ, “Even though Dr Ambedkar is reported to have recently stated in Bombay that the days of Manu are ended it is nevertheless a fact that the daily lives of Hindus are even at the present day affected by the principles and injunctions contained in the Manu Smrithi and other Smrithis. Even an unorthodox Hindu feels himself bound at least in some matters by the rules contained in the Smrithis and he feels powerless to give up altogether his adherence to them.”25 It is to be noted here that Dr. Ambedkar himself burnt a copy of the Manusmriti on the banks of the Narmada river in 1928. What kind of civilization the RSS wants to build by enforcing the laws of Manu, can be known by having a glimpse of the laws prescribed by Manu for the Dalits/Untouchables and women. Some of these dehumanizing and degenerate laws, which are presented here, are self-explanatory. Laws of Manu concerning Dalits/Untouchables26 (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. (2) One occupation only the lord prescribed to the Sudras, to serve meekly even these (other) three castes. (3) Once-born man (a Sudra), who insults a twice-born man (belonging to the other three castes) with gross invective, shall have his tongue cut out; for he is of low origin. (4) If he mentions the names and castes (gati) of the (twice-born) with contumely, an iron nail, ten fingers long, shall be thrust red-hot into his mouth. (5) If he arrogantly teaches Brahmanas their duty, the king shall cause hot oil to be poured into his mouth and into his ears. (6) With whatever limb a man of a low caste does hurt to (a man of the three) highest (castes), even that limb shall be cut off; that is the teaching of Manu. (7) He who raises his hand or a stick, shall have his hand cut off; he who in anger kicks with his foot, shall have his foot cut off. (8) 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. (9) If out of arrogance he spits (on a superior), the king shall cause both his lips to be cut off; if he urines (on him), the penis; if he breaks wind (against him), the anus. (10) If he lays hold of the hair (of a superior), let the (king) unhesitatingly cut off his hands, likewise (if he takes him) by the feet, the beard, the neck, or the scrotum. (11) A man who is not a Brahmana ought to suffer death for adultery (samgrahana); for the wives of all the four castes even must always be carefully guarded. (12) A (man of) low (caste) who makes love to a maiden (of) the highest (caste) shall suffer corporal punishment; he who addresses a maiden (on) equal (caste) shall pay the nuptial fee, if her father desires it. (13) A Sudra who has intercourse with a woman of a twice-born caste (varna), guarded or unguarded, (shall be punished in the following manner): if she was unguarded, he loses the part (offending) and all his property; if she was guarded, everything (even his life). Tonsure (of the head) is ordained for a Brahmana (instead of) capital punishment; but (men of) other castes shall suffer capital punishment. (14) Let him never slay a Brahmana, though he have committed all (possible) crimes; let him banish such an (offender), leaving all his property (to him) and (his body) unhurt. Laws of Manu concerning women27 1. Day and night woman must be kept in dependence by the males (of) their (families), and, if they attach themselves to sensual enjoyments, they must be kept under one’s control. 2. Her father protects (her) in childhood, her husband protects (her) in youth, and her sons protect (her) in old age; a woman is never fit for independence. 3. Women must particularly be guarded against evil inclinations, however trifling (they may appear); for, if they are not guarded, they will bring sorrow on two families. 4. Considering that the highest duty of all castes, even weak husbands (must) strive to guard their wives. 5. He who carefully guards his wife, preserves (the purity of) his offspring, virtuous conduct, his family, himself, and his (means of acquiring) merit. 6. As the male is to whom a wife cleaves, even so is the son whom she brings forth; let him therefore carefully guard his wife, in order to keep his offspring pure. 7. No man can completely guard women by force; but they can be guarded by the employment of the (following) expedients: 8. Let the (husband) employ his (wife) in the collection and expenditure of his wealth, in keeping (everything) clean, in (the fulfilment of) religious duties, in the preparation of his food, and in looking after the household utensils. 9. Women, confined in the house under trustworthy and obedient servants, are not (well) guarded; but those who of their own accord keep guard over themselves, are well guarded. 10. Women do not care for beauty, nor is their attention fixed on age; (thinking), ‘(It is enough that) he is a man,’ they give themselves to the handsome and to the ugly. 11. Through their passion for men, through their mutable temper, through their natural heartlessness, they become disloyal towards their husbands, however carefully they may be guarded in this (world). 12. Knowing their disposition, which the Lord of creatures laid in them at the creation, to be such, (every) man should most strenuously exert himself to guard them. 13. (When creating them) Manu allotted to women (a love of their) bed, (of their) seat and (of) ornament, impure desires, wrath, dishonesty, malice, and bad conduct. For women no (sacramental) rite (is performed) with sacred texts, thus the law is settled; women (who are) destitute of strength and destitute of (the knowledge of) Vedic texts, (are as impure as) falsehood (itself), that is a fixed rule. In the Hindi heartland there is a recent flood of low-priced mass editions of Manusmriti. In one of such editions by one of the biggest publishers of pocket books in Hindi, the back cover has the following illuminating description of Manusmriti. “The Manusmriti is the oldest social system of the world which establishes constitution and justice. Largely the social and judicial systems of today’s India are modeled after this book. It is an essential book for each family, organization and society.”28 Such publishers are unconcerned about the poison and hatred, which Manusmriti carries and conveys against the Untouchables and women. There seems to be an inherent relationship between the mass publication of such books (with increasing violence against the lower castes and women in the country) and the rise of the Hindu Right. It is high time that we realized that the RSS and Hindu Right’s dream of recreating the golden past is fraught with terrible dangers. Whatever it may be saying about Muslims and Christians as dangerous minorities it is, indeed, depriving the Hindu Dalits and women of all their human rights. Their love for the scriptures like Manusmriti only underlines the fact that the real targets are the Dalits and women of the Hindu society. RSS markets anti-women literature which propagates sati & wife-beating The story does not end here. The country is flooded with low priced anti-woman literature, which is being published and marketed by an organization, which has close affinities with the RSS. Astonishingly, this publication house has even been allotted stalls at railway stations. Here is a glimpse from a book, which is in the question-answer form and available openly. “Question: - What should the wife do if her husband beats her and troubles her? Answer: - The wife should think that she is paying her debt of her previous life and thus her sins are being destroyed and she is becoming pure. When her parents come to know this, they can take her to their own house because they have not given their daughter training to face this sort of bad behaviour. Question: - What should she do if her parents don’t take her to their own house? Answer: - Under such circumstances what can the helpless wife do? She should reap the fruit of her past actions. She should patiently bear the beatings of her husband. By bearing them she will be freed from her sins and it is possible that her husband may start loving her.”29 There is blatant preaching in favour of the inhuman Sati as we will see in the following: “Question: - Is ‘Sati Pratha’ (viz., the tradition of the wife being cremated with the dead body of the husband on the funeral pyre) proper or improper? Answer: - A wife’s cremation with the dead body of her husband on the funeral pyre is not a tradition. She, in whose mind truth and enthusiasm come, burns even without fire and she does not suffer any pain while she burns. This is not a tradition that she should do so, but this is her truth, righteousness and faith in scriptural decorum.”30 Against Democratic-Secular-Federal India Loyal to National Flag? The RSS since its inception in 1925 hated anything which symbolized the united struggle of the Indian people against the British rule. The case of the Tricolour is a most pertinent one. In December 1929 Congress at its Lahore session adopted Purna Swaraj as the national goal and called upon the people to observe January 26, 1930 as Independence Day by displaying and honouring the Tricolour (the Tricolour was by consensus considered the flag of the national movement by this time). In response to this Dr. Hedgewar as Sarsanghchalak issued a circular to all the RSS shakhas to worship the bhagwa jhanda (saffron flag). The RSS leaders like Murli Manohar Joshi may go to unfurl the Tricolour at Lal Chowk of Srinagar, Kashmir, in order to hypocritically demonstrate their patriotism, but the fact is that the RSS openly decries and denigrates the national flag as we see in the following statements. Golwalkar while addressing a Gurupurnima gathering in Nagpur on July 14, 1946, stated that it was the saffron flag, which in totality represented their great culture. It was the embodiment of God: “We firmly believe that in the end the whole nation will bow before this saffron flag.”31 Even after Independence when the Tricolour became the National Flag, the RSS refused to accept it as the National Flag. Golwalkar while discussing the issue of the national flag in an essay entitled ‘Drifting and Drifting’ in the book Bunch of Thoughts, an RSS publication, has the following to say: “Our leaders have set up a new flag for our country. Why did they do so? It just is 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?”32 But most shocking is how RSS English organ, Organizer, decried and denigrated the choice of Tri-colour as National Flag on the eve of Independence (14 August 1947). “The people who have come to power by the kick of fate may give in our hands the Tricolour but it never [sic] 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.” It is really unfortunate that RSS which claims to uphold the sovereignty of India and greatest patriotic Hindu organizational hates this great symbol of Indian State. RSS must explain how it is different from those who want to overthrow democratic-secular Indian polity. Rejects Constitution of India How loyal the RSS is to the Constitution of India can be known by the following statement of Golwalkar: “Our Constitution too is just a cumbersome and heterogeneous piecing together of various articles from various Constitutions of the Western countries. It has absolutely nothing which can be called our own. Is there a single word of reference in its guiding principles as to what our national mission is and what our keynote in life is? No!”33 Anti-Secularism The RSS demands total loyalty to the Indian Nation from the minorities. It is another thing that it does not feel it proper to be loyal to the constitutional-legal set up of this very Nation. The study of Prarthana (prayer) and Pratigya (oath) as practised in the shakhas of the RSS is an example of how Indian nationalism has been equated with Hinduism, in the same way as the Muslim League had combined Islam with nationality. Significantly, both the Prarthana and Pratigya are in direct contravention to the existence of an Indian Secular State where secularism is an important ‘Basic Feature’ of the Constitution of India. It is very important to note here that other groups which have been decrying and opposing the Indian constitutional set-up have been facing the might of the Indian state in the form of bullets or jails, but here is the RSS, which openly rejects the legitimacy of the constitutional system of the country, still allowed to have a free run of the country. Just imagine the Prime Minister and Home Minister of our country, who have taken the oath to uphold the integrity of a democratic and secular India, are also committed to the task of creating a Hindu Rashtra as per the texts of the Prayer and Oath, a must for the RSS cadres. Prarthana: “Affectionate Motherland, I eternally bow to you/O Land of Hindus, you have reared me in comfort/O Sacred Land, the Great Creator of Good, may this body of mine be dedicated to you/I again and again bow before You/O God Almighty, we the integral part of the Hindu Rashtra salute you in reverence/For Your cause have we girded up our loins/Give us Your Blessings for its accomplishment.”34 Pratigya: “Before the all-powerful God and my ancestors, I most solemnly take this oath, that I become a member of the RSS in order to achieve all round greatness of Bharatvarsha by fostering the growth of my sacred Hindu religion, Hindu society, and Hindu culture. I shall perform the work of the Sangh honestly, disinterestedly, with my heart and soul, and I shall adhere to this goal all my life. Bharat Mata Ki Jai.”35 Thus they are not faithful to the Indian Nation as it exists as a legal entity today but want to subvert it and make it into a theocratic state. Anti-Democracy The RSS, contrary to the principles of democracy, has been constantly demanding that India be ruled under a totalitarian regime. Golwalkar while delivering a speech before 1350 top level cadres of the RSS at Madras in 1940 declared, “The RSS inspired by one flag, one leader and one ideology is lighting the flame of Hindutva in each and every corner of this great land.”36 This slogan of one flag, one leader and one ideology has directly been borrowed from the programmes of the Nazi and Fascist Parties of Europe. Against Federalism The RSS is also dead against the federal structure of the Constitution, again a Basic Feature of the India polity. This is clear from the following communication of Guruji, 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 recognize the fact of one nation and destroys it. It must be completely uprooted, constitution purified and unitary form of government be established.”37 It was because of this hatred for federalism that the RSS opposed the formation of Maharashtra with all its might. Golwalkar who always pretended to be a non-political person often presided over anti-Maharashtra formation conferences. While presiding over one such conference at Bombay in 1954, he demanded, “India should have Central Rule and from the administrative point of view states should be administered territories.”38 These have not been some stray ideas of the RSS ideologue on Indian Federalism. The Bible of the RSS, Bunch of Thoughts, (compilation of Golwalkar’s leading thoughts) which is a must for every cadre has an exclusive chapter titled, Wanted A Unitary State. While presenting his remedy to the federal set-up of India he writes, “the most important and effective step will be 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, regional, sectarian, linguistic or other types of pride being given 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 and thus effectively disprove the mischievous propaganda indulged in by the British, and so unwittingly imbibed by the present leaders, about our being just a juxtaposition of so many distinct ‘ethnic groups’ or ‘nationalities’ happening to live side by side and grouped together by the accident of geographical contiguity and one uniform supreme foreign domination.”39 The above presentation raises certain serious issues regarding future of Indian democracy. In the light of facts discussed above it should not be difficult to comprehend that RSS and its camp followers present the greatest internal danger to democratic-secular polity which ostensibly stands for justice and equality. The shocking reality is that except RSS & Hindutva clan all those who want to destroy Indian democracy (like Naxalites, militants belonging to other religious outfits and regional separatist groups) have met with brute force of the Indian State. But the former are having free run (heading central and state governments) despite open violent preaching for overthrowing the democratic-secular Indian polity. This is despite the fact that Neo-Nazis of Europe have openly disclosed their close affinity with RSS and its clan and offered to help in overthrowing democracy in India & elsewhere. Imagine if the same ideology was preached by ‘militants’ of Dalit, Muslim, Sikh or any other variety, their fate would have been sealed by bullet or jail. We urgently need to take note of the serious danger posed by RSS and its clan. They should not be allowed to undo a democratic-secular India. We should not allow them the liberty to force us to the path of a theocratic state like Pakistan. [This paper on the ideology of Hindutva was written when RSS/BJP ruled India in 2002. The Hindutva politics has become more extremist, provocative and intransigence since that time. So the dangers before Indian polity are very real even today. The present version is an updated one] ENDNOTES 1. National Volunteer Association. 2. Hindustan Times, New Delhi, March 21, 2002. 3. These were the anti-national activities of the RSS due to which the organization was banned on February 4, 1948. The government communiqué banning the RSS was self-explanatory: “In their resolution of February 2, 1948 the Government of India declared their determination to root out the forces of hate and violence that are at work in our country and imperil the freedom of the Nation and darken her fair name. In pursuance of this policy the Government of India have decided to declare unlawful the RSS.” The communiqué went on to disclose that the ban on the RSS was imposed because, “undesirable and even dangerous activities have been carried on by members of the Sangh. It has been found that in several parts of the country individual members of the RSS have indulged in acts of violence involving arson, robbery, dacoity, and murder and have collected illicit arms and ammunition. They have been found circulating leaflets exhorting people to resort to terrorist methods, to collect firearms, to create disaffection against the government and suborn the police and the military”. It is well known that the then Home Minister of India, Sardar Patel, had a soft corner for the RSS. Sardar Patel continues to be a favourite with the RSS. However, even Sardar Patel found it difficult to defend the RSS in the aftermath of Gandhiji’s assassination. In a letter written to Golwalkar, dated 11 September 1948, Sardar Patel stated: “Organizing 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. “Apart from this, their opposition to the Congress, that too of such virulence, disregarding all considerations of personality, decency or decorum, created a kind of unrest among the people. All their speeches were full of communal poison. It was not necessary to spread poison in order to enthuse the Hindus and organize for their protection. As a final result of the poison, the country had to suffer the sacrifice of the invaluable life of Gandhiji. Even an iota of the sympathy of the Government, or of the people, no more remained for the RSS. In fact opposition grew. Opposition turned more severe when the RSS men expressed joy and distributed sweets after Gandhiji’s death. Under these conditions it became inevitable for the Government to take action against the RSS. Since then over six months have elapsed. We had hoped that after this lapse of time, with full and proper consideration, the RSS persons would come to the right path. But from the reports that come to me, it is evident that attempts to put fresh life into their same old activities are afoot”. 4. Casolari, Marzia, ‘Hindutva’s Foreign Tie-up in the 1930’s-Archival Evidence, The Economic & Political Weekly, January 22, 2000, p. 219. 5. Ibid. pp. 219-220. 6. Ibid. p. 220. 7. Ibid. p. 220. 8. Ibid. p. 221. 9. VD Savarkar, Hindu Rashtra Darshan, Pune, 1963, p. 418. 10. Casolari, Marzia, Op cited. 11. Ibid. 12. MS Golwalkar, We Or Our Nationhood Defined, Nagpur, 1939, pp. 34-35. 13. We or Our Nationhood Defined, pp. 47-48. 14. Bunch of Thoughts, Bangalore, 1996, p. 177. 15. Ibid, pp. 177-178. 16. Ibid, p. 185. 17. Ibid, p. 193. 18. Rajeshwar Dayal, A Life of Our Times, New Delhi, 1999, pp. 93-94. 19. Savarkar, VD, Samagar Savarkar Wangmaya, Pune, 1963, p.296. 20. SGSD, Volume I, pp. 173-174 21. Hindustan Times, New Delhi, June 20, 2001 22. The Statesman, New Delhi, February 5, 2002, p.1. 23. Savarkar, VD, ‘Women in Manusmriti’ in Savarkar Samagar (Collection of Savarkar’s writings in Hindi), New Delhi, Volume IV, p. 416. 24. Organiser, New Delhi, November 30, 1949. 25. Manu Rules Our Hearts’ in Organiser, February 6, 1950. 26. This selection of Manu’s Laws is from The Laws of Manu edited by F. Max Muller and published in 1886. 27. Ibid. 28. Manusmriti published by Sadhna Pocket Books, Delhi. 29. Ramsukhdas, Swami, How to Lead a Household Life, Gita Press, Gorakhpur, 1999, p.43. (Gita Press has more than 15 titles denigrating women in many Indian languages including English. Some of the titles openly preach Sati and violence against women which is a crime under Indian Penal Code. Such titles are available at RSS book-stores) 30. Ibid., p. 36. 31. SGSD, Vol. I, p. 98. 32. Bunch of Thoughts, Op cited, pp. 237-238. 33. Ibid., p. 238. 34. Shakha Darshikha, Jaipur, p. 1. 35. Ibid., p. 66. 36. SGSD, Op cited, Vol. I, p. 11. 37. Ibid., Vol. III, p. 128. 38. Ibid., p. 70. 39. Bunch of Thoughts, Op cited, p. 227.