To Claim RSS Association With The Tricolour,Sangh Chief Mohan Bhagwat Plants Lie In Televised Speech
Hedgewar issued a circular on 21 January 1930, asking all RSS shakhas to welcome the Purna Swaraj resolution of the Congress by showing respect to the bhagwa dhwaj as the national flag, instead of the tricolour.
In a blatant distortion of facts to claim an association with the national flag, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat presented a falsified version of a circular issued by RSS founder Dr KB Hedgewar on 21 January 1930. The circular, instead of supporting Bhagwat’s assertion on the RSS’s fealty to the tricolour, shows that the RSS went out of its way to distance itself from the tricolour and embrace its own bhagwa dhwaj, or saffron flag.
Delivering the first of his three-part lecture on the RSS’s perspective on the “Future of India” at Vigyan Bhavan on 17 September, Bhagwat said in his nationally televised speech, “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.”
Bhagwat was referring to the Indian National Congress’s resolution of 19 December 1929, which asked Indian nationalists to fight for complete self-rule, independent of the British Empire. This was followed by Jawaharlal Nehru hoisting the tricolour on 31 December 1929 at Lahore. The Congress also urged Indians to celebrate 26 January 1930 as the “Independence Day.”
Responding to the development, Hedgewar issued a circular on 21 January 1930, asking all RSS shakhas to welcome the Purna Swaraj resolution of the Congress by holding meetings of their respective swayamsevaks on 26 January that year and showing respect to the bhagwa dhwaj as the national flag, instead of the tricolour.
“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 organize 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, which was originally written in Marathi, was reproduced in Hindi as part of the collection of Hedgewar’s selected letters published by NH Palkar. The collection, titled “Dr. Hedgewar: Patraroop Vyaktidarshan”—Rendezvous Through Letters—was published in 1989 with an introduction by Palkar, a loyal RSS cadre who is also known for writing the first hagiographic account of Hedgewar. The account was published in 1964, shortly after Hedgewar’s death, and has an introduction by Hedgewar’s successor, the RSS chief ideologue MS Golwalkar, who terms Palkar “a dedicated RSS worker from his childhood.”
Bhagwat’s distortion of the 1930 circular of the RSS is part of an effort to use the Vigyan Bhavan event to explain the Sangh’s position on key ideological issues for which it has faced flak from its ideological adversaries.
The RSS’s stand on the national flag has always remained a matter of controversy. In January 2017, the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi attacked the RSS for not hoisting the national flag at its headquarters for over five decades after Independence. “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,” he claimed.
His allegation was not without basis. On several occasions in the past, the RSS has expressed its dislike for the tricolour and held that saffron should be the colour of the national flag, as it is the colour associated with Hinduism.
An editorial published in the 14 August 1947 edition of the RSS mouthpiece Organiser said: “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.”
Similarly, in his book, Bunch of Thoughts, Golwalkar wrote: “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?”
In his speech, Bhagwat sought to make a distinction between the tricolour and the bhagwa dhwaj, saying the latter is worshipped by swayamsevaks as their “guru” to which they offer “guru dakshina” every year. Simultaneously, while asserting that the RSS has always respected the national flag, he casually planted the lie and distorted Hedgewar’s 1930 circular.
Courtesy: www.caravanmagazine.in
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“Full prepared..going to win,” Congress MP KC Venugopal ahead of Kerala polls
EC not functioning as a neutral institution: Venugopal
Congress MP K. C. Venugopal on Monday raised concerns over the election schedule announced by the Election Commission of India for the upcoming Kerala Assembly election, questioning the timing of the poll dates and alleging that the schedule leaves limited time for campaigning.
Speaking to news agency ANI in Delhi after the poll panel announced elections in five states and Union Territories, Venugopal said that the Congress and the United Democratic Front (UDF) are fully prepared for the elections and confident of victory. At the same time, he questioned the pattern of dates announced by the Election Commission.
“We are fully prepared, we are going to win the elections... You can see how the Election Commission has set the dates. The first phase of elections is on the 9th, nominations are due until the 23rd, scrutiny is on the 24th, nominations can be withdrawn until the 26th, and after that, there are 11 days for campaigning,” he said.
“As for Kerala, there is Easter and Good Friday in the first week...The Election Commission could have announced the dates earlier... The counting date is on May 4th, so what was the point of holding elections in Kerala so early? What is their intention behind holding elections on the same day in Kerala, Puducherry, and Assam?... We are confident that we will win, but the people of the country are seeing the biased attitude of the Election Commission...,” he added.
He further stated that his party was ready for elections irrespective of the dates announced by the poll body.
“We are going to win the election. India's strategy has been set up. And we are all ready for winning this election. But one thing as far as declaring election, even though they are giving only for five days, we are going to win the election. We have no problem,” he said.
Detailing the poll schedule while questioning the time available for campaigning, he stated, “but you can see the pattern of date which the election commission announced. Yesterday they declared election, and today they notified us. The first phase of election on April 9th, filing of nomination will be over on the 23rd of this month, 24th scrutiny, 26th withdrawal of nomination. After 26, four plus seven, 11 days campaign.”
“As far as Kerala is concerned, April first week is a holy week. The holiday week means, Good Friday is there. Nobody will do anything on Good Friday. Easter is the big festival. These festivals are natural, you have to see that. Among the 11 days, working days, two, three days will go for holidays. Then hardly seven, eight days for campaigning in this election for candidates,” the Congress MP questioned.
The Congress leader said the Election Commission could have announced the dates earlier if there was a need for an early election schedule.
Questioning the urgency behind placing Kerala in the first phase of polling, he added that the counting date is much later.
“Which is the date of counting? Fourth May. Then what is the urgency of putting Kerala in the first phase without giving sufficient time for candidates? And putting Kerala, Puducherry, Assam together, what is the intention behind that?” Venugopal questioned.
He also alleged that the Election Commission was not functioning as a neutral institution.
“The Election commission is completely losing that capacity as a neutral player. You can see 14 of our prime minister's programs over and on the 15th they announce the election, 16th notification comes,” he said.
Venugopal further stated that such tactics would not affect the Congress’ prospects in the election.
“They think that this type of techniques and tactics, because of these techniques and tactics, UDF is going to lose, and Congress is going to lose. This is their complete dream only. This is not going to happen. We are very much confident at any cost, whether they are not giving any time also, we are going to win the election,” he said.
“But the people of India are watching this. The tricks of the election commission. To restrict the campaign, people of India are watching. This I want to bring into the notice of the nation. That's all,” Venugopal said.
The Election Commission of India on Sunday announced the schedule for the Kerala Assembly election. Polling in the state will be held in a single phase on April 9 while the counting of votes is scheduled to take place on May 4.
