Author: Atal Behari Vajpayee
Publication: www.foil.org
Date:
URL: http://www.foil.org/politics/hindutva/abv.html
[Note from the Hindu Vivek Kendra:
This was posted on the website of Forum of Indian Leftists (FOIL), an organisation
based in the USA.]
I came in contact with the RSS in
1939 through Arya Kumar Sabha, a youth branch of Arya Samaj, in Gwalior-then
a princely state which was not part of any province. I came from a strong
'sanatani' family. But I used to be at the weekly 'satsang' of Arya Kumar
Sabha. Once Shri Bhoodev Shastri who was a senior worker of Arya kumar
Sabha, and a great thinker and an expert organiser, asked us: "What do
you do in the evenings?" "Nothing", we said, because the Arya Kumar Sabha
used to meet in the morning on every Sunday. Then he recommended us to
go to the shakha. Thus I started going to the Shakha in Gwalior. It was
my first association with the RSS. At that time the shakha in Gwalior had
just begun. It had only Maharashtrian boys, and naturally all the swayamsevaks
used to speak only Marathi. I started going to the shakha regularly. I
liked the games played in the shakha as well as the weekly 'bauddhiks'
(intellectual discourses).
A pracharak, Shri Narayanrao Tarte
had come from Nagpur to start the shakha. He was indeed a superb human
being; a very simple man, a thinker and an expert organiser. What I am
today is the making of Shri Tarte. Next to him I was inspired by Deendayal
Upadhyaya and Bhaurao Deoras. Gwalior was then not within the field of
Bhauraoji. But once he had come to Gwalior with Shri Balasaheb Apte who
was the then Bauddhik Pramukh. Apteji was very soft-spoken. We were soon
drawn towards him. I had talked with him for only a few minutes. But the
same year (1940) when I went to see the first year Officers' Training Camp
(OTC), I came in close contact with him. I went there just to attend the
valedictory function of the camp, not for training. Dr. Hedgewar had also
come there for the some time. I first saw him there. When Doctorji was
ill I went to see him. In 1941 when I was in High School I did my first
year OTC. In 1942 when I was in Intermediate class I did my second year
OTC, and I did my third year in 1944 when I was doing my B.A.
When I wrote 'Hindu Tan-man Hindu
Jeevan' I was a student of class X. After completing my graduation from
Gwalior I did my M.A. from the DAV College in Kanpur, because there was
no post-graduate college in Gwalior. I then got State Government's scholarship
also. Owing to Partition, I could not complete my Law. And then in 1947,
I decided to give up my studies to come out as a whole-time worker of the
RSS. Till 1947 I did the RSS work at the shakha level and carried on my
studies. I also participated in the Quit India Movement in 1942 and was
jailed. I was then studying for my Intermediate examination. I was arrested
from my native village Bhateshwar in Agra district. I was then 16.
My father was not attached to the
RSS, but my elder brother was. He would go to the shakha. Once he went
to the winter camp where he created a problem. He said: "I cannot take
my food with the other swayamsevaks. I shall prepare my food myself." And
see how deftly the RSS handled the situation. The 'sarvadhikari' (superintendent)
of the camp complied with his request and provided him all the necessary
thing for preparing his food. After taking his bath and properly adjusting
his sacred thread, etc., he started cooking his food. On the first day
he prepared the food for himself. the next day, however, he could not prepare
it and joined the queue of all swayamsevaks for partaking of the food.
Within 44 hours he was changed.
The RSS does not change only individuals.
It changes also the collective mind. This is the beauty of the RSS ethos.
In our spiritual tradition an individual can attain a great height. Even
self-realisation is possible if one undertakes the right 'sadhana' and
also attain 'nirvana.' But what about the society? Nobody thinks about
his obligation to the society in general. Now for the first time the RSS
thought about it and concluded that by changing individuals we shall change
the society. Had the sarvadhikari at the camp scolded him and not allowed
him to prepare his food himself his spiritual development would have been
thwarted, whereas in the RSS within 44 hours he was a changed boy. This
is the "secret method" of the RSS. That is how society is changed. It is
true that it is a long process but then there are no short-cuts, no instant
recipes.
Gandhiji had praised the RSS for
the absence of untouchability in the organisation. Only the RSS organises
the society. Other movements only divide the society by emphasising distinct
'identity', different 'interests', special 'status', etc. They only encourage
untouchability by constantly reminding the so-called untouchables of their
"separateness." "You are being insulted. You have no place in society."
The RSS has a two-fold task before
it. One is to organise the Hindus. To build a strong Hindu society, well-knit
and rising above caste and other artificial differences. Some differences
will persist but then variety is the spice of life. Like, we have the differences
of the language. We don't want to destroy this diversity. The other task
is to assimilate the non Hindus, like Muslims and Christians in the mainstream.
They can follow the faith of their own conviction. No one can object to
it. We worship trees, animals, stones, and what not. We have hundreds of
ways of worshipping God. They can go where they want. But this country
must be looked upon as the Motherland for them. They must have a feeling
of patriotism for this country. But the Islamic division of the world into
'Darul Harab' and 'Darul Islam' comes in the way. Islam has yet to learn
the art of existing and flourishing in a country where Muslims are in a
minority. They cannot convert the whole of India to Islam. After all, they
have to live here. So they have to recognise this fact. And today it has
become a matter of grave concern and deep thinking in the Muslim countries.
Because Quran offers no guidance in this regard. It only talks of killing
kafirs or converting them to Islam. But they cannot do it always and everywhere.
How can they do it where they are in a minority? If they try to do it,
a major clash will take place and only the members of the minority will
be killed. But Muslims themselves have to change this state of affairs.
We cannot change it for them.
Congress has not correctly understood
the Muslim problem. They continue to carry on their policy of appeasement.
But to what effect? The Muslims of this country can be treated in three
ways. One is 'tiraskar' which means if they will not themselves change
leave them alone, reject them as out compatriots. Second is 'puruskar'
which is appeasement, i.e., bribe them to behave, which is being done by
the Congress and others of their ilk. The third way is 'parishkar' meaning
to change them, that is, restore them to the mainstream by providing them
samskaras. We want to change them by offering them the right samskaras.
Their religion will not be changed. They can follow their own religion.
Mecca can continue to be holy for the Muslims but India should be holier
than the holy for them. You can go to a mosque and offer namaz, you can
keep the roza. We have no problem. But if you have to choose between Mecca
or Islam and India you must choose India. All the muslims should have this
feeling: we will live and die only for this country.
I wrote "Hindu Tan-man Hindu Jeevan"
when I was studying in the tenth class. I had then said, "koi batlaye Kabul
mein jaakar kitni masjiden todin." I still stand by my words. But we (Hindus)
did pull down the structure in Ayodhya. In fact it was a reaction to the
Muslim vote-bank. We wanted to solve this problem through negotiation and
legislation. But there was no puraskar for burai (evil act). We change
burai also with parishkar. Now I think, the Hindu society has been regenerated
which was the prime task of the RSS. Earlier Hindus used to bend before
an invasion but not now. This change in Hindu society is worthy of welcome.
So much change must have come with the new-found self-assertion. This is
a question of self preservation. If the Hindu society does not expand itself
it will face the crisis of survival. We have to expand ourselves. We have
to take others along with. Now the Yadavs and the so-called Harijans are
going with us. After all we have to live as Hindus. Once a Yadav leader
came to me and said: "Don't condemn all Yadavs. All Yadavs are not with
Mulayam Singh and Laloo Prasad. A 'samskrit' (cultured) Yadav does not
like them. There can be sections of Rajput, Kurmi and Gujjar Muslims but
you cannot find any Yadav Muslim anywhere. The Yadavs never accepted Islam.
This talk of "Yadav-Muslim" Unity - MY card - is nothing more than an empty
slogan for votes."
The simple reason for my long association
with the RSS is that I like the Sangh. I like its ideology, and above all
I like the RSS attitude towards people, towards one another which is found
only in the RSS. I remember an incident, when I was in Lucknow. The Socialist
movement was its peak. Suddenly a senior socialist activist fell ill. He
was lying alone in his house, and nobody went to enquire after his well-being.
Then Acharya Narendra Deo came to know and he went to his house to see
him. The Acharya then said, "What fraternity is this in the Socialist Party?
Nobody has come to see you. It can never happen in the RSS. If a swayamsevak
does not go to the shakha only for one day the same day friends will promptly
reach his house to enquire about his well-being."
When I was ill during the Emergency,
my family members did not turn up to see me. They were afraid of being
arrested for any such action. Only the RSS workers helped me. See, how
much living contact and fraternal feeling is in the RSS. Actually the Sangh
is our family. We are all one.
In the beginning we could not spread
our work in all sections of the society because we did not have enough
workers. "Man- making" is the prime job of the RSS. As we now have more
workers, we are covering all sections of the society in all fields of life.
Changes are taking place in all spheres. But the work of man-making will
not be discontinued, it will go on. It must go on. That is what the RSS
movement is.
