Golwalkar's Fight for Justice after Gandhiji’s Assassination

 Golwalkar's Fight for Justice after Gandhiji’s Assassination

On the evening of 30th Jan. 1948, Golwalkar was present at a meeting of prominent citizens of Madras organised by the Sangh. Tea was being served and Golwalkar was holding the cup in his hands. Suddenly, before he could take it to his lips, the evil tidings came – somebody had shot Gandhiji dead at the Birla Bhavan in Delhi during his prayer meeting. On hearing the terrible news, Golwalkar put down his cup, and sat still for a long moment, lost in thought. Then he exclaimed in anguish – ‘What a misfortune for the country!’ Cancelling the rest of his tour, he flew back to Nagpur. Before leaving Madras, he sent telegrams of condolence to Pt. Nehru, Sardar Patel and Shri Devdas Gandhi. At the same time he also issued a country-wide directive to keep all Sangh Shakhas closed for thirteen days as an expression of grief over the tragedy.

On returning to Nagpur, he immediately wrote letters to Pt. Nehru and Sardar Patel expressing his deep sense of anguish over Gandhiji’s tragic end. In his letter to Pandit Nehru, he wrote, in essence, “The attack on such a deft helmsman who held so many diverse natures in a single string bringing them to the right path, is indeed a treacherous act not merely to an individual but to the whole country. No doubt you, that is the Government authorities of the day, will deal suitably with that traitorous individual. But now is the testing time for all of us. The responsibility of safely steering the ship of our Nation ahead in the present troubled times with an unruffled sense of judgement, sweetness of speech and single-minded devotion to the Nation’s interest is upon all of us.”
In the letter to Sardar Patel, Golwalkar wrote: “Let us shoulder the responsibility that has fallen upon us by the untimely passing away of that great unifier, keeping alive the sacred memories of that soul who had tied diverse natures in a single bond and was leading them all on a single path. And let us, with the right feelings, restrained tone and fraternal love, conserve our strength and cement the national life with everlasting oneness.”
Golwalkar concluded both the letters by saying: “On behalf of the Organisation which is built on this faith and on this basis oneness, I pray at the Feet of the All-Merciful Lord to guide all the children of this Nation on the right path and inspire them for the building up of a pure and powerful national life.”
Both these letters show how utterly noble Golwalkar’s mind was and how deep his reverence for the departed leader, as also his sincere offer of cooperation in that hour of national crisis. The Sangh Swayamsevaks held condolence meetings at Nagpur and elsewhere to pay homage to Gandhiji. Golwalkar circulated a similar message through the Associated Press also. In it too he had appealed preserving the nation’s unity and fellow-feeling among all the countrymen. But in the wake of the terrible tragedy, wild propaganda against the Sangh became the order of the day. Reckless, motivated rumours became rife. Everywhere, an explosive atmosphere against the Sangh was sought to be built up. Instead of reciprocating Golwalkar’s call for co-operation and goodwill, dastardly designs were made to link the Sangh with Gandhiji’s assassination.

Golwalkar had met Gandhiji a number of times, and Gandhiji had even addressed Swayamsevaks during the terrible days of the partition. He had also made a laudatory reference to Golwalkar. Though Golwalkar had difference with Gandhiji on issue like the Khilafat movement and Muslim appeasement, but they had nothing but praise for Gandhiji’s exceptional qualities. Golwalkar paid rich tributes to Gandhiji in 1969, during the later’s birth centenary year. In an article in ‘Yugavani’, a Marathi magazine published in Nagpur, he wrote : ‘Nobody can deny the pre-eminent position of Gandhiji among those great men who made a decisive impact in the political field during the past fifty years. His extraordinary greatness is reflected in the religious, social, economic and other aspects of his life. Nobody else had such a hold on the people’s mind.’
In the same article Golwalkar added: “Gandhiji was a devout Hindu. He tried to make the Government enact effective laws to ban slaughter of the cow, a point of honour for the Hindus. He also made many- sided efforts– economic, social, educational and so on– for the uplift of our neglected, so-called untouchable brethren so that they could acquire status of respect in the society. He strongly criticised the conversion activities by Christian missionaries of uneducated, simple-minded and economically underprivileged vanavasi and other deprived sections of our countrymen. He expressed himself strongly against the materialistic ideologies and systems like Socialism and Communism, which advocated violence and lawlessness and led the society away from a life of culture and restraint. Because of all these qualities the people will always have– and should have– great love and reverence for Gandhiji.”
In a statement issued to the press, Golwalkar observed “Living in these critical times the country needed a great unifier and pacifier that the great soul was” and called upon all his “brother Swayamsevaks to keep calm under any kind of situation and behave with amity and affection, and understand that the trouble, given by people who had fallen prey to misunderstanding, was also an index of the great love and respect that our countrymen felt for the great man who had brought glory to our motherland in the eyes of the whole world.” Unfortunately, even such a noble statement could not find a place in the media. Incitement against the Sangh continued unabated. In Maharashtra and some adjacent areas the hate campaign was given a Brahmin-non-Brahmin twist also. The result was that houses of a large number of people were attacked, looted and torched taking a toll of some lives also. Thousands of families were rendered homeless.
All over the country the Sangh Swayamsevaks and workers had to undergo terrible suffering both physical and mental. Still no one retaliated, nor was there any bitterness in their speech. Everything was borne in silence. Behind this suffering lay not fear but a spirit of exceptional restraint on their part. Golwalkar had also sent a directive everywhere that there must be no retaliation. Guruji was himself made the target of people’s wrath. But the extraordinary steadfastness, unique restraint and large heartedness he displayed on that occasion were but a sign of the purity of his worship of God in the form of our society. It was a moment of high tension. On February 1, 1948, thousands of people swarmed in front of Golwalkar’s residence in Nagpur and began hurling stones. They raised wild and even obscene slogans. Looking to the gravity of the situation, Swayamsevaks who came to guard his place, asked for his permission to put the attackers in their place. Golwalkar replied, “I do not want that my own countrymen’s blood should be shed in front of my house for the sake of my safety. No one need guard me. You may all go home.”
The same day police were posted at Golwalkar’s residence as a security measure, but they were removed in the evening. A public meeting was held in the Chitnis Park in Nagpur in which there were venomous outpourings against the Sangh. Again, the Swayamsevaks thought that something untoward might happen, so as a precaution they requested Golwalkar to shift to a safer place. But his reply only showed that the thought of personal safety did not so much as touch his mind. Calmly he said, “It seems the crisis all around us has unsettled you. You are highly disturbed. So it would be better if you leave me in peace. Do not worry about me at all. Why do you press me to go somewhere else? If the very people for whom I am working do not want me, where can I go and why should I? Now it is time for my sandhya, so please go home.” With these words he went into the inner room.
But the trouble the Swayamsevaks were anticipating did not errupt, because by this time police were again posted at Golwalkar’s residence and it became impossible for the miscreants to reach anywhere near it. However, in the afternoon, some anti- social elements did attack. Dr. Hedgewar’s samadhi at Reshim Bagh. They indulged in that barbarous act against the memorial of a great man who had dedicated all his life to the service of the Hindu Society. The meaning of posting police at Golwalkar’s place became clear after midnight. Golwalkar was awake. He was receiving information about the atrocities being committed on the Swayamsevaks in various places. He was in deep agony over what was happening, but it seemed he was thinking of something else. Past midnight, a police vehicle drew up at his house and he was served with a warrant. The Sarsanghachalak of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh was arrested on the charge of Gandhiji’s assassination. However, Golwalkar only smiled when he heard the charge and remained calm as ever. Quietly he prepared himself to accompany the police officials to jail. Bidding farewell to the workers present there he said, “Clouds of suspicion will soon be dispelled and we shall come out with a blemish. Till that time, there will be many atrocities, but we have to bear them with great restraint....”
The police vehicle drove off. Golwalkar was charged under Sections 302 and 120 of the Criminal Procedure Code and was clamped behind bars. What a lurid example of the depths of thoughtlessness to which unrestrained greed for power can descend and make man lose himself in trampling under feet justice and godliness. And all this came to pass in the very beginning of our country’s independence. The news of Golwalkar’s arrest spread like wild fire. Sarkaryawaha Shri Bhaiyaji Dani sent telegrams to all Shakhas, “Guruji interned, be calm at all costs.” After this, the Government undertook some more steps against the Sangh. On Feb. 2, it issued an ordinance declaring Sangh activities illegal. Charging the Sangh with violence the Ordinance said “the Government considered it its duty to put down such a fanatic manifestation of violence, and so, as a first step, the RSS was being declared illegal.” Later, on Feb. 4, it was officially announced that the Sangh was banned. Sangh workers and Swayamsevaks were arrested throughout the country. There were more than 30,000 arrests. The atmosphere in the whole country was poisoned with anti- Sangh rumours, wild charges and venomous tirades against the Sangh. So-called leaders cropped up like mushroom and began talking of finishing off the Sangh.
Rumour mongering went to the extent of implicating that Golwalkar’s direct hand in Gandhiji’s assassination and that Madanlal, the Government approver had even recognized him. Golwalkar had come to know in jail that the Sangh had been banned. When, on Feb. 5 his lawyer friend Dattopant Deshpande went to see him Golwalkar handed over to him a statement saying the Sangh was disbanded and asked him to get it published. In this statement Golwalkar said, “It has always been the policy of the RSS to be law-abiding and carry on its activities within the bounds of law. Therefore, since the Government has declared the RSS an unlawful body it is thought advisable to disband the RSS till the ban is there, at the same time denying all the charges levelled against the organisatiion.”
Shri Deshpande tried to send Golwalkar’s directive all over the country by wire, but all those wires were stopped in Nagpur itself by the Govt. Still the directive was circulated everywhere through other means and was published in the newspapers also. The funny part was that the first paper to publish it on Feb. 6 was Pakistan’s ‘Dawn’! Indian newspapers only followed suit. Some people even thought that this was the end of Sangh. The opponents of the Sangh might have well heaved a sigh of relief at the thought that this country-wide challenge to them was once and for all crushed out of existence.
During those days the then D.I.G. Hira Chand Jain once went to the jail to interrogate Golwalkar and directed the jailer to produce Golwalkar before him. Thinking that Golwalkar might have become quite unnerved on being arrested on such serious charges as murder and conspiracy, the D.I.G., who was quite a hefty figure placed his foot on the table and began to smoke just to overawe Golwalkar. When Golwalkar was brought the D.I.G. tauntingly remarked, “Oh, so you are Guru Golwalkar the Sarsanghachalak! But you appear so thin and fragile!” Instantly, Golwalkar retorted, “Dr. Hedgewar had not considered the size required for the Sarsanghachalak, otherwise he would have made you or some buffalo as the Sarsanghachalak!”
Taken aback at Golwalkar’s cutting rejoinder, the police officer immediately put down his foot and said to the jailer, “Get a chair for Guruji.” After Golwalkar was seated the D.I.G. asked, “Guruji what do you know about Mahatma Gandhiji’s assassination?” Golwalkar replied, “Why should I tell you? Whatever I have to say I will say in the court. And I shall also see that Pt. Nehru and Sardar Patel will have to be present in court.” By this time the Government had also realised that its efforts to involve Golwalkar or the Sangh in this affair would fall flat in the court. Consequently on Feb. 7 the Government suddenly withdrew the charge of conspiracy of murder and issued a new ordinance ordering Golwalkar’s internment under the National Security Act.
In jail, Golwalkar remained quite calm and serene as ever. He never thought of what rights he enjoyed as a security prisoner and what facilities he could demand. For the first few days, he was not even given newspapers. Later on this facility was made available to him. But during his stay in jail he was never very much interested in reading newspapers. Similarly in the initial days he was given just a durrie, a bedsheet and two blankets. All the same he never asked for anything. He was content with what was made available. Once his spectacles were damaged and he found it difficult to read. This also gave him a constant headache. But he neither asked the jail authorities to get his glasses repaired nor complained about his headache.
Golwalkar was very particular about keeping his cell and the surrounding areas spotlessly clean. Not a piece of paper would be seen lying around. He also gave lessons in cleanliness to the prisoner deputed to attend on him. Golwalkar would ask him to bathe first before taking his bath. His behaviour with the other prisoners and the warders too was full of affection. He took interest in their domestic affairs also. Even when he was alone in his cell, he was quite at ease with himself. Rather he looked upon this solitude as another opportunity for meditation that had come his way eleven years after Sargachhi. He had a set routine in jail- getting up at five in the morning, he would perform his morning duties, then pace up and down his room reciting the Gita. Before taking his bath, he would regularly perform Yogasanas, which he would teach his other jail mates also. After that a few hours were spent in Sandhya, meditation and such other spiritual practices. The time till the lunch hour would be spent in reading works like Dnyaneshwari, Tukaram Gatha, Valmiki Ramayana, Tulsi Ramayana, Mahabharata, Dasbodha etc.
Golwalkar would sit in the same position for reading as when he sat for meditation. Nobody ever saw him reading while reclining or pacing up and down. Apart from meditation, Golwalkar would spend his time in recalling various Sangh Shakhas and the Swayamsevaks there. Referring to this in his speeches later on Golwalkar once said, “I was alone in room and I had the full 24 hours to myself. Many of these would be spent in recalling various Shakhas and the Swayamsevaks which had visited there. It was as if a meeting was going on and I was getting acquainted with them. Such an exercise in imagination was no doubt painful, but I ignored it and kept on doing my duty.” What a complete identification with the work and workers of the Sangh!
During his stay in jail, Golwalkar never once lost faith in the justice, truth and the ultimate triumph of Sangh. After Feb. 15, Appaji Joshi, Babasaheb Ghatate, Baccharaj Vyas, Bapusaheb Sohoni and other prominent workers of Sangh were also rounded up and lodged along with him. Once someone asked him – “We are doing Sangh work with all dedication. Then why should this calamity befall us at all?” Golwalkar replied, “It is the Sangh’s strength that has caused this calamity and it will also be because of the Sangh’s strength that it will eventually be removed. When the Sangh passes this crucial test it will grow much more strong and fast than before.” His unwavering faith and mental fortitude were also in striking evidence on yet another occasion. In Madhya Pradesh many jailed Swayamsevaks had filed habeas corpus petitions in court. As the charges under which the police had arrested them were found baseless the High Court had rejected these charges, and the Swayamsevaks began to be set free one after another. Golwalkar’s companions also urged him to get himself released by similarly petitioning the Court. But he resolutely declined saying.” Those who have arrested me will themselves set me free when they think it proper. I won’t do anything for my own release.”
The period of his internment was coming to a close on Aug. 6, 1948. Still his release was doubtful, as the Government could have extended his internment by another six months. But the Government did not do so. On the appointed day, Golwalkar was released and he returned to his residence in Nagpur. The news of his release swiftly spread among the Swayamsevaks and sympathizers and a sense of relief and joy filled their hearts. Now it was hoped that some way could be found to get the ban on the Sangh lifted. But this hope proved to be short-lived, for, immediately on his release the following restrictions were placed on his activities:
1.    To live within the Municipal limits of Nagpur, not to leave the same without the previous consent of the District Magistrate of the place in writing.
2.    Not to address any public meeting.
3.    Not to publish directly or indirectly any matter in any newspaper, journal or magazine without the previous approval of the District Magistrate.
4.    Not to engage himself or associate with any person engaged in any activity tending directly or indirectly to excite disaffection against or to embarrass the Provincial or Central Government or to promote a feeling of hatred or enmity between different classes and subjects of the Indian Dominion or to disturb public peace.
Reacting to this order Golwalkar said it just meant he was being transferred from a smaller jail to a bigger one. “Only my prison walls have been extended” – he exclaimed. On reading the fourth restriction Golwalkar smiled, as it was about not associating with people creating disaffection against the Government. In order to expose the ridiculous nature of this condition, he wrote a letter to the Government, saying “I may be provided with a list of people indulging directly or indirectly in such activities so that it would be easy for me not to associate with them!” Perhaps the Government had forgotten to include the condition that he should not also write letters to anybody. Taking advantage of this, Golwalkar wrote to Prime Minister Nehru and Sardar Patel on Aug. 11 expressing his concern over the needless ban on the Sangh. In his letter to Nehru he wrote:
“It is a fact that I could not then understand why a large number of my friends and I were arrested and detained and the subsequent steps taken in respect of the work I was representing. I have tried to convince myself by the repeated argument that the times were extraordinary and hasty and unbalanced action was its result. I do not wish to believe that persons occupying the places of highest importance can or should be susceptible to impatience, hastiness or loss of mental balance. But that is the only conclusion forced upon me when after six month’s detention, when sufficient evidence has come to light and I and my work have been absolved from all the astounding allegations laid at our door, I have been served with an order interning me in Nagpur and restricting my activities in such a manner that my release has become a fresh imprisonment in a more extensive jail.”
“But whatever the mental condition of the authorities in general and yourself in particular may have then been and may now be, I am grateful to the Almighty that he has not let my mind turn sour and that I maintain my spirit of love and friendship and oneness. I hope and expect all my co-workers to share my sentiments. I would have spread this message of love to all, preaching to all not to let feelings of hurt or rancour poison their hearts, but the restrictions laid upon me prevent me from doing this necessary duty. I would also have appreciated if instead of being placed under such unwarranted restrictions, I would have been given a chance to clear my position and to convince you of my feelings and readiness to cooperate with the Government in these crucial times. Even now I hope our rapprochement is not afar.”
“Meanwhile let us cherish now and for ever cordial friendly relations, not allowing the ghastly dream of the last few months to embitter our mutual love.”
It would be clear that all unfair, unjust tactics were being adopted by the Government even while it had become abundantly clear to it from their own investigations, that Sangh was not involved in any of those crimes foisted on its head. Even apart from the eye-opening fact of not a single Swayamsevak of Sangh was charge sheeted or much less prosecuted anywhere in the country on any of the much trumpeted charges against the Sangh, including the one of assassination of Gandhiji, the letter written by Sardar Patel to Pt. Nehru on Feb. 27th 1948 i.e., well within a month of the murder of Gandhiji is a damning evidence of the Government’s dishonesty in the whole episode. Patel wrote: “I have kept myself almost in daily touch with the progress of the investigations regarding Bapu’s assassination case. All the main accused have given long and detailed statements of their activities. It also clearly emerges from the statements that the RSS was not involved in it at all.”