RSSS (Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh)

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BOOK NAME: RSSS (Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh)
AUTHOR: Comptroller
PUBLISHER: Government Printing - Lahore
DATE OF PUBLICATION: 1948
The following excerpt has been taken from Pages: 4 — 9
The Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh was founded in 1925 by Keshav Rao Bali Ram Hedgewar, a Nagpur doctor. Its ideology was drawn from the belief that the whole of the Indian sub-continent was a land of the Hindus who have lived in it for thousands of years and that the Muslims in this part of the world were foreigners and intruders. This doctrine was further developed by Golwalkar (once a university lecturer in science) who succeeded Hedgewar as the Supreme Leader of the Organization in 1940.
“Golwalkar disbelieves the theory that the forefathers of the Hindus immigrated to India as recently as two or three thousand years B.C. This theory, he holds, has been concocted by Western scholars to belittle ‘the greater antiquity and superiority’ of the Hindus and to show them up as ‘mere upstarts and squatters.’ He believes that India has been the home of Hindu civilization for 10,000 years and that the Arctic regions-the cradle of the Hindu nation-together with the North Pole, were originally located in that part of India which is today known as Bihar and Orissa.
Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh (RSSS) in the Punjab
“In the Punjab, branches of the Sangh first came to notice in 1938. Dr. Sir Gokul Chand Narang, Bhai Parmanand and Dharm Vir (son-in-law of Bhai Parmanand and editor of the Hindu) were the pioneers of the movement in the Punjab. In 1938, Dr. Moonje came to Lahore with the object of meeting the representatives of various Hindu semi-military bodies and to bring them together. He set up a board of five members, but owing to lack of unity, the board did not survive for long. However, the membership of the Sangh in Lahore had risen in 1940, to 1,000. Branches were in existence at Sialkot and Amritsar. The volunteers who joined the Sangh were given training in drill and lathi and gatka fighting. When the ban on military drill by private organizations was imposed, the Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh continued to do their parades within enclosed spaces. The branches in the Punjab were closely connected with the main office at Nagpur and trained workers often used to be sent from Nagpur to the branch centers. The branches at Amritsar and Sialkot were founded in 1939 by Kishen Dev Joshi from Nagpur.
“By 1942, the membership of the Sangh in the province had risen to 10,000 including 4,000 regular volunteers, some of whom were students. Dharm Vir was still in charge of the Punjab Sangh. Its financial position was sound: volunteers and members were not required to pay subscriptions or membership fees. The funds were obtained from wealthy Hindus by periodical collections.
“In time, the activities of the Sangh were intensified and propaganda parties were sent out for the purpose of enrolling volunteers in rural areas. Branches existed in almost all towns and cities of the province. In Lahore, 40 instructors were employed and volunteers used to meet twice a week and perform physical exercises. The meetings of the volunteers were described as charchas. A central meeting of the city Sangh used to be held on Sundays and was called bodhak. Large rallies were arranged on religious festivals. On the occasion of the Dussehra festival in Lahore, in 1942, no less than 1,500 volunteers were turned out. On this occasion a torch-light tattoo including physical drill and assault-at-arms with sticks, swords and daggers was held. Hundreds of delegates were sent for the all-India rally at Nagpur. Regular camps were held in addition to the usual meetings and at some of them sham battles representing a conflict between demons and gods were practiced. In 1942, the annual rally was held at Ambala.
“An aggressive outlook had now been developed. The object of the Sangh was stated to be ‘to unite and organize the Hindus and to inculcate a political consciousness in them’. Whereas in the beginning the object of the Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh was to create a sense of self-confidence, it now aimed at establishing Hindu Raj. In the speeches made at the rallies, it was asserted that the Hindus would drive out the British and crush the Muslims. The workers of the Sangh maintained that there was religious affinity between the Japanese and the Hindus. The organization was particularly popular with the Hindu youth and students. The movement was not anti-government and its workers did not participate in the Congress civil disobedience movement of 1942.
“The strength of the Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh was demonstrated in November 1946, during the extensive tour of the province, by its chief organizer and the head of the All-India Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh-Madho Rao Golwalkar. He visited Multan, Montgomery, Rawalpindi, Jhelum, Dharamsala, Amritsar, Hoshiarpur, Jagraon, Lyallpur, Sheikhupura, Sialkot and Lahore. The number of volunteers, who greeted him on parades, at these places, was estimated to be 25,000. The number of Hindu and Sikh visitors who were issued special invitations to witness the rallies, during this tour, was estimated to be 40,000. Golwalkar also visited Jhang, Kasur and Kaithal. At some of the centres, where the District Magistrates had prohibited public gatherings under section 144, Criminal Procedure Code, he held secret meetings. During this tour, Golwalkar collected about two lakhs of rupees.
“The organization became more aggressive and militarist in its outlook. The aim of the organization, as explained by Golwalkar himself at the meetings which he held, was to unite and organize the Hindus, to keep them physically fit, and to keep India united, which he declared was the sacred land of the Hindus. He urged that it behooved Hindus to maintain their ancient culture and civilization. The Congress was held responsible for the sufferings of the Hindus in Bengal and elsewhere and it was affirmed that if the Hindus wished to survive, they would have to fight the Muslims without mercy. During his tour Golwalkar also met and addressed Adhikaris (subzone organizers) in secret and urged them to teach their volunteers lathi, sword and spear fighting for crushing Muslim aggressors’. The need for preserving the utmost secrecy was stressed so as not to give away the strength of their organization to the Muslims and to the Government. He affirmed that if the activities were carried out sufficiently secretly, Government could be hoodwinked. The decision of the Punjab Government to ban volunteer organizations was reached in December 1946. The members of the Sangh, however, continued to hold meetings in private houses and temples, Public interest in the organization was thus not allowed to wane.
“On 24th January 1947, the Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh was declared an unlawful organization in the Punjab, under section 16 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act. The offices of the Sangh were searched throughout the province. There are reasons to believe that the information leaked out and the recoveries were, therefore, small. At Sialkot, two daggers, 50 lathis; at Rawalpindi, 77 spear-heads; and in Hoshiarpur, 38 wooden handles of axes were recovered. Documents of interest were seized at Amritsar, Hoshiarpur, Hissar and Karnal districts. The workers of the Sangh were apparently aware that their organization was going to be banned and therefore, even before the actual promulgation of the order under the Criminal Law Amendment Act, steps were taken to continue the activities of the Sangh secretly and to maintain enthusiasm of the members and the volunteers.
“The workers of the all-India organization visited Lahore and carried out a tour of the province accompanied by Basant Rao Agrekar-the divisional organizer.
“A novel development was observed at Tarn Taran. Till now, the Sangh had remained a purely Hindu organization. On the 8th January, 225 members of the Sangh collected from the rural areas of the Amritsar district, at Tarn Taran, to celebrate Guru Gobind Singh’s birthday. At this gathering speeches were made eulogizing Guru Gobind Singh, Sewa Ji and Rana Partap. The first two are well-known for their efforts to undermine and destroy Muslim rule in India. The reference to these historical personages was obviously made with the object of fostering a hatred of the Muslims. There was also evidence that the movement was becoming increasingly underground, and at Rawalpindi, Rohtak and Gujranwala, secret meetings were held.
“In February and March the number of members rose to 49,400. The funds rose from Rs.65,500 in January to Rs76,600 in March. Secrecy was still maintained about the activities of the organization. The bank imposed on the organization under the Criminal Law Amendment Act having been withdrawn, its volunteers once again resumed their activities openly. Much of the work was done in secret, but physical exercises were performed in the open. The removal of the ban acted as a fillip for the development of a more militant outlook. The local leader in Lahore, Dharam Vir, exhorted the workers to intensify their underground and secret activities. He argued that this was necessary because the Government of the future in Punjab would be dominated by Muslims, who would endeavour to crush their organization.”
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