KESAVA BALIRAM HEDGEWAR

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The veteran Communist leader E.M.S. Namboodiripad (in his one of the most critical booklet `BJP-RSS: in the service of the Right Reaction') reveals:

"One of those who were highly impressed and inspired by the Savarkar thesis was Dr.Hedgewar, the founder of the RSS. A nationalist who participated in the Gandhi led movement, he continued to be a Congressman for a decade more and participated in the 1930 Salt Satyagrah". (p.8).

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https://sites.google.com/site/rsrfaces/home/kesava-baliram-hedgewar/hedgewar-references

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Dr. Hedgewar was born in 1889 on Gudi Padwa day, the New Year for people from Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. He hailed from a Maharashtrian Deshastha Brahmin family which was originally from Kundakurti, a small village in Bodhan taluka near the border of Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh states. Near this village, the rivers Godavari, Vanjara and Haridra meet to form a Triveni sangam.

His elder brothers Mahadev Panth and Sitaram Panth ensured that he was provided with good education.

When he was studying in Neel City High School in Nagpur, he was rusticated for singing "Vande Mataram" in violation of the circular issued by the then British government. As a result he had to pursue his high school studies at the Rashtriya Vidyalaya in Yavatmal and later in Pune. After matriculating, he was sent to Kolkata by Dr. B. S. Moonje, (National President of Hindu Mahasabha) in 1910 to pursue his medical studies. After passing the L.M.&S. Examination from the National Medical College in June 1914, he completed one year apprenticeship and returned to Nagpur in 1915 as a doctor.

A born patriot, he had angrily thrown away the sweet distributed in honour of the diamond jubilee of Queen Victoria’s coronation while in school. In Kolkata, he is said to have lived with Shyam Sundar Chakravarthy^[2] and learned the techniques of fighting from the secret revolutionary organisations like the Anushilan Samiti and Jugantar in Bengal. He joined the Anushilan Samiti and had contact with famous revolutionaries like Ram Prasad Bismil.^[3]

When he returned to Nagpur, the financial condition of his family had worsened. Naturally all the people hoped that Dr.Hedgewar would open a dispensary and help his elder brothers. In fact, doctors in general commanded great respect of the people in society in those days and their income also was substantial. But Hedgewar did not intend to set up a medical practice and had made up his mind to become a full-time political activist and work for the cause of the Indian Independence.

Hedgewar came to believe that although the revolutionaries had immense determination, in a country of continental proportions it was impossible to instigate an armed insurrection. He also came to understand that mere acts of bravery and self-sacrifice on the part of a few daring and patriotic individuals will not bring independence to the country. With this clear realization, he diverted his attention to the national movement launched by the Indian National Congress.

n Nagpur, Hedgewar became involved with social work and also with the Bal Gangadhar Tilak faction of the Congress Party, through which he developed a close association with Dr. Moonje who later became his mentor of Hindu Nationalism. He also worked with Hindu Mahasabha leaders.

In the 1920 session of Indian National Congress held in Nagpur, Dr.Hedgewar was appointed as the Deputy Chief of volunteers cadre overseeing the whole function. This volunteer organisation was named as Bharat Swayamsewak Mandal and was headed by Dr. Laxman V. Paranjape (Dr. Hedgewar as his Deputy).^[4] He and his colleagues unsuccessfully campaigned for the passage of a resolution declaring 'Poorna Swaraj (complete self-rule) as the goal of the Congress.

He participated actively in the Non-cooperation movement in 1920 and undertook a brisk tour in village after village in the Central Provinces for mass awakening. He was promptly jailed and sentenced to one year rigorous imprisonment. During this time, he was also a member of the Hindustan Republican Association

Keshav Baliram Hedgewar's political career begins from 1905 ( age 16)and ends with his death in 1940. (age 51) In the first phase (1905 - 1918) of his political life, he was 'an unalloyed Tilakite. After joining National Medical College in Calcutta in 1910(age 21) with the sole aim to participate in revolutionary activities, he became active member of "Anushilan Samiti" with his code name "Koken". He was closely associated with revolutionaries like Nalini Kishor Guha. After his return from Calcutta to Nagpur, he used his contacts to organise revolutionaries with a plan of "armed revolt" which, was dropped on the advice of Tilak. Hedgewar's revolutionary group was the biggest one and consisted of 150 hard core revolutionaries.

The second phase of his political career began with his active participation in the Amritsar Congress in 1919 and soon he was elected the secretary of the Central Provinces Congress Committee. His differences with Tilak and Moonje came on the surface on the question of World War I and Non Co-operation Movement respectively. He refused to toe Tilak's line of "passive co-operation" during the war period (1914-1919) and separated himself from the political forum of Tilakites i.e. Rashtriya Mandal and formed Nagpur National Union to campaign for complete Independence. Thus he foresaw the Congress resolution of complete independence in 1930. Moreover, the most conspicuous political action of Hedgewar was his voice against both imperialism and capitalism. He moved a parallel resolution in the subject committee of Nagpur session of the Congress in 1920 stating - "the goal of the Congress is to establish a republic in India and free the countries of the world from exploitation by capitalist countries".

His differences with Moonje who was described as his "mentor" occurred on two very important issues. Firstly, Hedgewar opposed Moonjels candidate Vijay Raghavachariar for Presidentship of the Congress in the Nagpur session of the Congress (1920) on the ground that he attended Governor's party. The differences between the two became more acute on the question of non co-operation movement. Hedgewar refused to toe sectarian approach and jumped in the Movement with vigour and virulence and was sentenced to one year rigourous imprisonment on August 21, 1921 by the court with the remark that his defence was "more seditious than his speech".

An important incident is revealed by Sri Aurobindo's biography that Hedgewar the then secretary of C P Provincial Congress went to Pondicherry to draw back Aurobindo, who had been living sequesteral life since 1910 and was considered by Hedgewar as only alternative to fill the lull created by Tilak's death before the Nagpur Congress, in to politics. Hedgewar requested him to accept the Presidentship of the Congress in that hour of great crisis of leadership. Being a pioneer of cultural renaissance and a man of non compromising character, Aurobindo was fittest person to lead the Congress and freedom struggle. However Aurobindo declined.

Hedgewar's vision for declaring complete Independence was transformed into action with Congress decision to observe Jan 26, 1930 as Independence Day. His circular to RSS Shakhas reads, "that the Indian National Congress too has adopted a goal of Independence naturally gives us immense joy. It is our duty to co-operate with any orgainsation working for the cause... Therefore on the evening of 26.1.1930 all the shakhas of the RSS should hold rallies of Swayamsevaks at their respective places and worship national flag i.e. the Bhagwa Dhwaj. Through speeches it should be explained what is the meaning Independence and why we should work with the end in view. The rallies should conclude by complementing the Congress for accepting the goal of Independence."

The British Government tried to prove the RSS as the conspiratorial group, but in the absence of any proof it abysmally failed to do so. It left no opportunity to suppress the organisation. During Hedgewar's imprisonment in 1930s under the provocation of the British, the owner of Mohile Bara, where the RSS shakhas used to take place dragged the issue into the court and forced the closure of the shakha there.

Hedgewar's sympathiser Bhosale Lakshman Rao provided ground for the RSS activities. But soon after his death in 1932, Bhosale's children who were in the protection of the British Raj went to court and forced the RSS to stop shakha in Tulsibagh's land in 1934. Anti-imperialist struggle was complemented by RSS activities and despite the ideological commonality between the RSS and the Hindu Mahasabha on the question of Hindu nationalism, Hedgewar preferred Congress to Hindu Mahasabha. He and the RSS did not lend support to the strategy and tactics of the Mahasabha and instead accepted the hegemony of the Congress as the only prime platform to lead the freedom struggle.

http://indiansaga.com/whoswho/hedgewar1.html

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https://sites.google.com/site/rsrfaces/home/kesava-baliram-hedgewar/hedgewar-references

Shyam Sundar Chakravarthy (12 July 1869 – 7 September 1932), alternately spelled as Shyam Sundar Chakravarty or Shyam Sundar Chakravarthi (Bengali: শ্যাম সুন্দর চক্রবর্তী), was an Indian revolutionary, independence activist and journalist from Bengal. He was born in Bharenga, Pabna in Bengal Presidency (currently in Bangladesh). He belonged to the "Pabna Group" of Bengali revolutionaries along with Abinash Chakravarty and Annada Kaviraj.^[1] In 1905 he was the sub-editor of the revolutionary journal Sandhya. In 1906, He joined with Bengali nationalist newspaper Bande Mataram as an assistant to its editor Sri Aurobindo and later became its editor.^[2] In 1908, he was deported to Burma.^[3] Later he became an adherent of the non violent methods of Indian National Congress and an office bearer of the Swaraj Party.^[4] He founded and edited the newspaper "The Servant" in 1920 to promote the Non-cooperation movement.^[5][6]