Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat in an attempt to ‘clear confusion’ over the organisation’s ideology, lied during his televised speech on September 17.
Delivering the first lecture of the three-part series on the RSS’ perspective of the “Future of India” at Vigyan Bhavan, Bhagwat claimed that RSS founder Dr KB Hedgewar on 21 January 1930, had issued a circular asking all its supporters to march past with the tricolour in support of the Congress’ 1929 resolution on “Purna Swaraj.”
Bhagwat said, “When Congress passed the resolution for Purna Swaraj [complete independence], Doctor saheb [Hedgewar] issued a circular asking all [RSS] shakhas to march past with the tricolour.”
However, this is a convenient lie. Hedgewar had, in fact, urged the RSS swayamsevaks to “worship the national flag that is the saffron flag,” reported The Caravan.
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In the circular dated 21 January 1930, Hedgewar wrote, “This year Congress has resolved to make ‘independence’ as its objective, and its ‘Working Committee’ has announced that Sunday 21-1-30 will be celebrated as ‘Independence Day’ throughout Hindustan. […] Therefore, all the shakhas of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh should organise meetings of their swayamsevaks at their respective Sangh places at six in the evening on Sunday 21-1-30 and worship the national flag that is the saffron flag.”
The circular, originally in Marathi, is part of a book of Hedgewar’s selected letters translated to Hindi. Titled “Dr. Hedgewar: Patraroop Vyaktidarshan”, the book’s introduction is written by NH Palkar, an RSS loyalist described by RSS’s chief ideologue Gowalkar as “a dedicated RSS worker from his childhood.”
RSS’ stand on its saffron flag, which is associated with the colour of Hinduism, has been a controversial one. An editorial in RSS mouthpiece ‘Organiser’, published on the eve of independence, read: “The people who have come to power by the kick of fate may give in our hands the Tricolour but it [shall] 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.”
Hedgewar’s successor, Golwalkar, has also expressed similar views about the national flag, “Our leaders have set up a new flag for the 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.”
Earlier in 2017, Congress president Rahul Gandhi had also attacked the Hindu outfit for not hoisting the tricolour at its headquarters. He said, “For 52 years after the Independence, the RSS did not have a tricolour at their headquarters in Nagpur. They used to salute the saffron flag, not the national flag.”
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