“We used to begin with Saare Jahan se Accha, Hindustan Hamara and end with Vande Mataram… When the newspapers did not dare touch upon these subjects, it was only the Congress Radio which could defy the orders and tell the people what was happening, most crucially not to lose hope and keep up the struggle.”

– Usha Mehta

The movie ‘Ae Watan Mere Watan’, directed by Kannan Iyer and produced by Karan Johar, was released on Amazon Prime Video on March 21, 2024. This Sara Ali Khan-led movie is based on the life on Usha Mehta, a 20-year -old freedom fighter[1] who believed in Gandhi’s way of non-violence and peace and played a crucial role in re-igniting the ‘Quit India Movement’ in the year 1942 after the British government had arrested all the leaders of the Congress party and banned the party. The film carries a powerful message on the crucial role that both technology and communication plays, in bringing change. While in the film we see the power of such communication in positive change, a post truth world, especially in New India has lived through a decade of the denial of information, communication and the transmission of pervasive propaganda. That is why this powerful depiction, set in the Bombay of the early 1940s portrays the ingenuous use of recently introduced radio technology by these intrepid young freedom fighters and how their simple and courageous idea was tumultuously effective in communicating, and arousing, Indians from Kandahar to Kanyakumari.

The movie shows us the birth of an underground ‘Congress Radio’, also known as ‘Azad Radio’. The idea comes to Mehta and her two young colleagues and friends after they experience the violent crackdown on the Gowalia Tank Quit India Rally of April 8, 1942 and are concerned with the agitation dissipating with a leaderless population, worried and fearful after the crackdown.

The cost of the choice made by these three young persons, who jostle personal revolts within the family and risk their lives is matched by the raw courage that such a project demanded—radio was banned by the British government! The challenge in collecting funds for the almost unattainable project (the Rs 4,000 in gold is gifted by Usha Mehta’s ‘bua’ (aunt) when she observes her niece’s fledgling project floundering) and running it night after night at 8.30 p.m., often changing locations to avoid detection, is the stuff of your gripping, favourite thriller, except more haunting.

Historically, this radio station, ran for three months from August 27, 1942 through November 1942, before being shut down after a brutal and violent crackdown and the operators being arrested. Usha Mehta served five years rigorous imprisonment and on her release from the Yeravada prison found a passionate throng of 20,000 waiting to greet her!

This movie comes as a breath of fresh air in the current environment, where history is being continuously distorted, from manipulating facts and events to releasing propaganda movies, all undertaken with the single-minded objective—furthering the ideology of the present regime, that of the Hindutva right wing that has played a peripheral role, in India’s struggle for independence.

The movie serves then as a reminder, besides opening welcome channels of information for a generation less familiar to the enduring legacies and roles of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Maulana Azad and Jawaharlal Nehru, Ram Manohar Lohia among so many others, in obtaining freedom.

Gandhi, who has been target of most vicious attack by the ultra-right wing, Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS) and its octopus like fraternal organisations is depicted as the mesmerising leader he was. Gandhi not only inspired millions like Mehta and her idealistic colleagues to join the battle for ‘Azaadi’ but also –often at deep personal cost—adopt the vows of abstinence (Brahmacharya!). The movie has poignant moments depicting this. Not just leaders, but ordinary Indians, from all walks of life, gave of their selves, from Dargahs to temples, Indians and their places of work and worship contributed to the cause, for freedom. ‘Karo or Maro’ was the sentiment that vibrated on India’s streets, in towns and farflung villages.

This article is not a typical film review in which we dissect or examine the performances by the actors, which include Sara Ali Khan, Sachin Khedekar, Emraan Hashmi, Anand Tiwari, Sparsh Shrivastava, Madhu Raj, and Abhay Verma. It is about the era and the message that the film brings us today.

Today, there is almost a sense of hopelessness, many of us silently watching (and bemoaning) the crass erosion of Constitutional values and fundamental freedoms. Deeply rooted values of co-existence, sharing, fraternity and tolerance are slowly being replaced by an ideologically imposed intolerance, religious fanaticism and majoritarianism. To ground this malevolent project begun in 1925 when the RSS was founded, the legacy of revered freedom fighters, such as Gandhi, Maulana Azad, Subhas Chandra Bose and Jawaharlal Nehru, is also being twisted and manipulated. To replace these icons, a manufactured, non-existent history is also being politically promoted. In this version of distorted history, Muslims, communists and socialists have no role or part in the freedom struggle of India. With ‘Ae Watan Mere Watan’, one gets to see and hear young freedom fighters, including Mehta, rise and live by Mahatma Gandhi’s slogan of ‘Do or die’ and see the unveiling of a revolution under the nose of a tyrannical government.

The plot:

The storyline of ‘Ae Watan Mere Watan’ is rooted in a true life account of the Congress (Azad) Radio run by, among others Usha Mehta. Revolving around the courageous actions of Usha Mehta, which is played by Sara Ali Khan. Since the start of the movie, a minor Usha Mehta  is shown as someone who is willing to stand up against the oppressive acts of the Britishers. The same was depicted through a scene where Mehta is seen protecting her teacher, a supporter of Gandhi, from the state police’s brutal beatings when he is found sharing with the young, stories of Gandhi’s Dandi March, Salt Satyagraha (Surat, 1930).  The film then transitions to Mumbai in 1942, where Usha, now a masters student at Wilson College, can be seen enthusiastically participating in protests led by the Congress party, albeit without the knowledge of her father, a Judge under the British. Her benevolent aunt (bua) appears to silently observe the transition in Usha. After attending several meetings, eventually, Usha becomes a member of the Congress party.

Mehta’s resilience, grit, and valour is not limited to battling against the Britishers, but also family ties, especially her doting father. Usha’s father (played by Sachin Khedekar), a judge in British India, expresses disdain for those Indian fighting the rule of the Britishers, deeming Indians to be incapable of ruling a country. Mehta’s ideals are really challenged when her own father, a Winston Churchill fan, asks her to stay away from a Congress protest against Britishers. The few scenes of clash between the father-daughter, are poignant and beautifully scripted (Darab Faruqui is the dialogue and script writer) especially the lines when Usha says that her father’s love is a shackle and burden for her larger, more passionate goal, her country’s freedom. The poignant depiction of the personal cost of a larger political battle.

After the brutal crackdown on the August 6, Quit India Rally where the resounding cry of “Karo or Maro” (Do or Die) rent the air, all major leaders of the Congress are arrested and Indians are left rudderless. Mehta and her young colleagues observe the growing dissipation of the fervour among the people and after intense discussions, identify the cause. Spot on. Communication and binding of people to a common cause through such communication is what is missing. Radio had been recently introduced to the elite echelons in India and her Judge father listens to broadcasts from then prime minister, Great Britain, Winston Churchill on this contraption. Radio it has to be. But how? Usha Mehta and her friends have also observed a Parsi couple (the Engineers) using music on the radio for dance classes and thereafter persuade Firdaus Engineer (for a cost) to design the transmitter for their underground radio broadcast. Congress Radio is set for transmission.

So, it is after the arrest of leaders such as Gandhi and Azad, that Mehta and her companions – Kaushik (Abhay Verma) and Fahad (Sparsh Shrivastava) sets out to revive the dissipating, Quit India movement. The trio chooses the medium of radio to spread Gandhi’s message of non-violence and self-dependence as they recognise that the newspapers fall under the control of rulers and are only catering to the agenda of the ruling regime. It becomes important for them to get access to a medium that is independent, out of control of an oppressive regime. Armed with Engineer’s (played by Anand Tiwari) designed transmitter, Usha establishes an underground radio station, for vibrant, everyday method of mass communication.

Soon enough, the underground radio starts connecting those who had gone underground and receives support from the likes of Ram Manohar Lohia (played by Emraan Hashmi). As the radio starts gaining audience and momentum, with Lohia’s speeches also being transmitted, the British intensify a high-stakes game of cat and mouse to ‘destroy’ the Congress Radio and discover those behind this radio show. John Lyre (played by Alexx O’Nell), portrayed as the antagonist, is tasked with apprehending Usha and shutting down the radio station.

The content transmitted on Congress Radio?

“Recorded speeches” of the Congress leadership, other broadcast messages linked to freedom, secularism, and internationalism. Congress Radio regularly spoke up on the atrocities committed by British soldiers and administrators. In one broadcast, the broadcast addressed the topic of mass rapes by British soldiers, calling them the “most bestial thing that one could imagine” and asking for citizens to stand up to rape; other broadcasts discussed the plights of one woman raped in a police van and another who had been carrying food to political prisoners before being sexually assaulted, both in the Central Provinces. Another broadcast touted the values of secularism and spoke about the need for unity between the Hindu and Muslim communities.[2] The station also carried messages to workers and peasants, Indian soldiers, and students, directing their participation in the Quit India Movement. The station also took the message of the Indian movement beyond the country and preached internationalism.

Crucial for us to remember that independent radios had been banned by the Britishers during World War II. The film then shows Mehta taking multiple risks to keep the Congress Radio running. Towards the end, when it is certain that the Britishers will be able to locate the radio and arrest those running it, Mehta makes a conscious choice to still run the radio and its final telecast. For her, getting Lohia’s message to the Indian people for a mass uprising and acts of civil disobedience was more important than her own life and liberty. By the last minute of the transmission, when Lohia’s message and call is finally delivered, it has an electrifying impact, Countrywide attacks and protests against offices of the British empire are unleashed. Mehta gets discovered and is arrested. Even facing arrest, she does not let the British officers stop the song ‘Vande Mataram’ from playing on her radio. Enduring violence and assault while she is arrested, slogans of ‘Bharat chhodo’ and ‘Karo ya Maro’ never leave her lips. Usha Mehta does not divulge the whereabouts of Ram Manohar Lohia to her oppressors.

Behind great leaders and movements are the footsoldiers, creative and courageous as Usha Mehta and her real life colleagues, Vithalbhai Jhaveri, Vithaldas Khakar, Chandrakant Jhaveri and Babubhai Thakkar.

Takeaways from this movie:

While watching this movie, one cannot stop ourselves from drawing certain parallels to the current political scenario of India. To watch a group of young people challenge the oppressive British regime, which had supressed all “mainstream media”, by countering the misinformation and false narrative being spread amongst the citizens, the very act of conception and running of Congress Radio was and is a emancipatory act. It is acts such as these, courageous and many that a mass revolutionary movement make. The film brings alive to us today, the harsh realities that India and Indians lived through in their fight for Independence and democracy. The simple objective that Mehta and her companions had was to motivate Indians to unite in their contribution to the freedom struggle. To act and raise their voices against atrocities by the British.

Alongside the themes of expansive and inclusive nationalism, other messages resonate. At a point when young Fahad praises Ram Manohar Lohia, a founder of the Congress Socialist Party, to the point of idolatory,  Mehta calls him out for indulging in ‘andh bhakti’. She also cites Lohia’s own example of criticising Jawaharlal Nehru even while he looks up to him by stating “He (Lohia) idolises Nehru but wouldn’t hesitate to criticise him if the need arises”. The film consistently promotes the message of questioning everything and everyone, especially those that we hold in high regard.

This movie also reminds us of the importance and power of dissent. Today, the right to express dissenting opinions has come under increasing pressure due to governmental reactions to criticism, non-violent activities and opposition. In addition to direct suppression by the state, a concerning trend has arisen whereby individuals and groups may choose to self-censor rather than risk the consequences of speaking out. The movie also shows the importance of unifying strength and solidarity to fight against oppressive forces.

The main task that faced the Congress Party, including Mehta and Lohia, was to bring people together in uncertain times and re-ignite their trust into the freedom struggle and the Congress Party. Mehta and her colleagues’ broadcasts through the ‘Congress Radio’ helped boost the morale of the Indian populace and freedom fighters by informing them about the movement’s progress and encouraging continued resistance against British rule.

Mehta realised that it was only when resistance resonated in unison and mass participation of people transcending boundaries of class, caste, and creed, took place, could the pursuit of freedom be realised. The freedom of India was a result of collective rebellion.

One particular scene from the movie, where Fahad explains his reason for joining the Congress Party after having left the Muslim League is enduring. In that scene, Fahad, who suffers from polio, reveals that he does not resonate with the objective of the Muslim league anymore (he was once a member) as his goal is independence of India and not the division of India into two parts. Today, when certain people claim to selectively blame sections and communities, they do so out of ignorance, even malice. People of all traditions, faiths Adivasis, Dalits and farmers gave their life for the struggle for India’s independence. Today there are also consistent attempts to erase the role that Muslims and Muslim leaders played in attaining India’s independence. With its unbiased depiction of the times of Gandhi and the Indian freedom struggle, this movie sets the record straight.

Usha Mehta’s underground radio remains a poignant reminder of the struggle for Indian independence, highlighting the innovative methods adopted by freedom fighters to challenge colonial rule and inspire their fellow citizens. Mehta, an ‘unsung hero’ remains a beacon of hope for Indians struggling against colonial oppression, and her legacy lives on as a reminder of the power of courage, determination, and dedication. Her life story provides an inspiration to all who are, even today, fight for justice and freedom in the face of adversity.

By bringing in this precious vignette of a long drawn out struggle for freedom from colonial yoke, that too through such a powerful narrative, this film very tells us of myriad roles (here it is the three-month long transmission of Congress Radio) that make change happen. Behind the actions (and successes) of towering leaders are actions of hundreds of thousands of unsung heroes.

Towards the end of the movie, there is a message that is particularly poignant: One doesn’t fight a tyrant to win; one fights them because they are tyrants.

As Mehta says in the film, not every fight will result in victory, but that should not stop one from fighting the (right) fight.

(This piece was written by Tanya Arora and then contributed to by the Sabrangindia Team)

[1] Usha Mehta was actually 22 years old when she ran this operation with her colleagues

[2] http://www.wr6wr.com/newSite/articles/features/mahatmashams.html, The Mahatma’s Hams

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“Ae Watan Mere Watan” – A Brief Introduction to the film by Yogendra Yadav

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Farmers protest: Documentary ‘Kisan Satyagraha’ barred from Bengaluru film fest

The post Congress Radio, the power of revolutionary change: Lessons from ‘Ae Watan Mere Watan’, the film appeared first on SabrangIndia.

While it is false that journalist Moulvi Muhammad Baqir was tied to the mouth of a cannon on September 16, 1857, it is true that he was the first journalist to be martyred in India’s independence struggle.

On paper, Baqir was arrested two days before his death for revolting. However, historians talk about how Baqir was a vocal freedom fighter who used his Urdu newspaper Delhi Urdu Akhbar to encourage a nationalist movement.

The weekly newspaper started in between 1836-37 after Baqir quit his job in the British administration. Through the publication, Baqir worked to contribute to the Indian Rebellion of 1857. He encouraged public opinion to speak against colonial repression. Since Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar led the revolution at the time, Baqir renamed his newspaper to ‘Akhbar Uz Zafar’ on July 12, 1857 to show his support.

He also published on Sundays instead of Saturdays as his own rebellion against the British, who observed sabbath on Sundays. The newspaper survived for nearly 21 years and has become popular as significant literature for Urdu journalism. Baqir’s work instigated a political awakening in public. Yet at the same time, his writing also called for a unity between Hindus and Muslims.

He printed articles appealing to both sides to come together to decry colonial rule. To make this a reality, Baqir had already made efforts since 1843, building an Imambara in Delhi near Kashmiri Gate. The place was a common gathering location for Shia Muslims, Sunnis and Hindus alike to commemorate the battle of Karbala.

However, he forbade the practice of Tabarra that demanded dissociation from those who opposed God. According to reports, his actions angered Shia cleric Molana Jafar of Jarja, who, in vain, complained to authorities against this rule.

Baqir’s writings created a ripple effect. People were slowly encouraged to voice themselves against the British Raj. He continuously wrote articles denouncing colonial rule and called on people and Sepoys to fight for freedom. Such was his influence that Baqir did not even receive a trial  before being shot by Major William S.R. Hudson. Nonetheless, for his work and contributions, he remains immortalised in Russian artist Vasily Vereshchagin ‘Suppression of the Indian Revolt by the English’ painting portraying the woes of freedom fighters.

Even today, his contributions are honoured by many people.

Maulvi Muhammad Baqir, owner of Delhi Urdu Akhbar, was shot dead on 16th September, 1857 for writing Nationalist articles. He was the 1st journalist to lay his life during the independence movement. #indiaIndependenceday #IndiaAt75 pic.twitter.com/gyQqvGLLAk

— Khushnoor Mirza (@MirzaVoice) August 15, 2021

Maulvi Muhammad Baqir, owner of Delhi Urdu Akhbar, was shot dead on 16th September, 1857 for writing Nationalist articles. He was the 1st journalist to lay his life during the independence movement. #indiaIndependenceday #IndiaAt75 pic.twitter.com/gyQqvGLLAk

— Khushnoor Mirza (@MirzaVoice) August 15, 2021

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The post Moulvi Muhammad Baqir: The journalist who made the pen his sword appeared first on SabrangIndia.

[This article is in response to the essay, ‘Don’t Foist Fear Onto Nationalism’, by C.K Saji Narayan published in Outlook’s Republic Day special issue.]

Ideologues of the RSS clan are working overtime to create a narrative of latter’s participation in India’s anti-colonial, freedom struggle. This project has received an impetus after the electoral victory in 2014 of RSS/BJP which was celebrated as the return of ‘Hindu rule’ after 1000 years. While attempting this, there is little concern neither about documented contemporary history nor for the RSS’ own archival materials. The latest in this attempt is C. K. Saji Narayanan in Outlook (‘Don’t Foist Fear Onto Nationalism’ in Outlook, February 5, 2018). Narayanan has gone out on a limb, even resorted to factual manipulations, just ‘to prove’ that the RSS was in the thick of the freedom struggle.
 

Saji claims that founder of RSS, KB Hedgewar was a staunch nationalist, suffered imprisonment during the British rule and “directed all RSS shakhas to celebr­ate the Congress’s 1929 resolution on ‘total independence’ by hoisting the national flag on January 26, 1930, and spreading the message of freedom”. He also tells us that “during Quit India, RSS volunteers also gave their lives in the Chimur agitation in Vidarbha—while unfurling the freedom flag, and that an RSS volunteer was shot dead by the police…The fourth sarsanghchalak, Prof Rajendra Singh, too is known for having taken part in Quit India. Until independence, every swayamsevak had to take a pledge with the words “Desh ko swatantra kar” (free the country)”. According to Saji many of the socialist and Congress underground leaders took refuge in the homes of RSS leaders, “Aruna Asaf Ali and Jayaprakash Narayan were housed in Delhi sanghchalak Lala Hansraj Gupta’s residence; Achyut Patwardhan and Sane Guruji were sheltered at the residence of Pune sanghchalak Bhausaheb Deshmukh; and Krantiveer Nana Patil at Aundh sanghchalak Pt S.D. Satwalekar’s house”.

Before scrutinising RSS claims regarding the freedom struggle in the light of pre-Independence RSS documents, one may ask Saji how it was possible that RSS leaders like Hansraj Gupta, Bhausaheb Deshmukh and Satwalekar who offered their residences as ‘safe haven’ to the freedom fighters if these very RSS leaders (by their own claims) were ‘participating’ in the freedom struggle. Should they then also have been underground with their houses under close watch of the British police? Commonsensically, it would have been suicidal for leaders to take shelter there. This could have happened only if and when RSS leaders themselves were not participating in the struggle and their house were not under watch. 
 
Hedgewar and Freedom Struggle: Twisting Truths
We are told that Hedgewar joined the call of the 1929 Lahore Congress which enjoined every Indian, on every January 26, to unfurl the National Flag; the Tricolour, publicly. The fact is that the RSS, under the command of Hedgewar, refused to follow this resolution of the 1929 Lahore Congress. Instead, he ordered all RSS shakhas, on January 21, 1930, to worship the “rashtriye dhwaj arthat bhagwa dhwaj (national flag i. e. saffron flag)”. This order is available in a collection of Hedgewar’s letters published by the RSS itself, titled Dr. Hedgewar: Patrroop Veyaktidarshan, published in 1981. In fact, the RSS’ hatred for the Tricolour (Tiranga), a symbol of the united freedom struggle of the Indian people is and was unambiguous. Just on the eve of Independence when the newly born, Indian nation was getting ready to watch its first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, to unfurl the flag on the ramparts of Red Fort, for the first time in history, here is what the RSS had to say. The RSS organ Organizer, published in English, in its issue of August 14, 1947, actually denigrated the National Flag and wrote that it would “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.” So much for the RSS’ claims to Indian nationalism.
 
Hedgewar Jailed ?
We are now being told that Hedgewar as a leader of the RSS, went to jail in 1921 and 1931 during Khilafat Movement and Salt Satyagrah launched by Gandhi. The fact is that both times he went to jail as a Congressman, something the RSS documents in the archives, have itself recorded.
   
According to the biography of Hedgewar penned by HV Seshadri, published by RSS in English (1981) he was jailed for delivering an inflammatory speech in favour of the Khilafat Movement.  He was subsequently sentenced to one year’s rigorous imprisonment. There were two significant incidents regarding this jail term.
 
First, Hedgewar touted as strict disciplinarian hired a costly lawyer to defend him, thus openly violating the directive of Gandhi and the Congress that all those arrested would not offer any defence and would serve their jail term as both protest and sacrifice.
 
Secondly, despite being sentenced one year’s imprisonment with hard labour in the Ajani Jail, on the day of his release on July 12, 1922, the same biography tells us “when he removed the prison uniform and tried to wear his old cloths, his old shirt and coat felt too tight! He had gained 25 pounds (11+ kilograms) in weight, in spite of the rigours of the prison life”. It was the first and last time in the history of the jailed freedom fighters that a political prisoner gained weight of more than 11 kilograms while serving in a British jail.

How did this happen? A clue is provided in this biography itself. He was on friendly terms with the ferocious British jailor, Sir Jathar.
 
The second jail term was the outcome of a plot. The Hindi biography of Hegdewar, authored by C. P. Bhishikar and published by the RSS discloses that Hedgewar ordered that “Sangh will not participate in the [Salt] Satyagrah”. However, he joined the Satyagrah with an ulterior motive which was “that with a freedom loving, self-sacrificing and reputed group of people [of the Congress] inside with him there, he would discuss the Sangh with them and win them over for its work.” It is clear that Hedgewar chose to go to jail this time not because he had faith in the cause but in order to break the ranks of the Congress cadres!
 
Bhishikar admitted that after establishing RSS in 1925 Hedgewar “in his speeches. used to talk only of Hindu organisation. (any) Direct comment on the government used to be almost nil”.
 
RSS Confesses to Keeping Aloof from the Freedom Struggle
The Non-cooperation and Quit India Movements (QIM) were two great milestones in the history of the Indian freedom movement. How ‘nationalist’ Golwalkar hated these can be known by the following comments of his which are being reproduced from the collection of Golwalkar’s writings (Shri Guruji Samagr Darshan, vol. 4 published by RSS): “Definitely there are bound to be bad results of struggle. The boys became unruly after the 1920-21 movement…But these are inevitable products after the struggle…After 1942, people often started thinking that there was no need to think of the law.”
 
Admitting that the RSS did not participate in the QIM he said: “At that time, too, the routine work of Sangh continued. Sangh vowed not to do anything directly. However, upheaval (uthal-puthal) in the minds of Sangh volunteers continued. Sangh is an organisation of inactive persons, their talks are useless, not only outsiders but also many of our volunteers did talk like this. They were greatly disgusted too.” However, there is not a single publication or document of the Sangh which could throw some light on the great work the RSS did indirectly for the Quit India movement.
 
According to Savarkar’s collected works in Hindi (Samagr Savarkar Wangmaya published by Hindu Mahasabha in 1963) the fraternal organization of RSS, Hindu Mahasabha [HMS] led by the Hindutva icon, VD Savarkar went to the extent of running coalition governments with the Muslim League in Bengal, Sind and NWFP in 1942 when Congress was under ban and patriotic Indians were being shot dead for daring to carry the Tricolour. In Bengal Syama Prasad Mookerjee was deputy CM in the Muslim League ministry. Hindu Mahasabha also organized recruitment camps for the British army in India when Subhash Chander Bose was trying to liberate India militarily. RSS never expressed opposition to these anti-national activities of HMS.
 
Those Hindutva intellectuals who are busy re-constructing RSS role in the freedom struggle need to be honest to pre-Independence RSS documents and archives. Both Hedgewar (RSS chief 1925-40) and Golwalkar (1940-73), were opposed to the united freedom movement as its goal was an all-inclusive India. Golwalkar denounced the freedom struggle   (Bunch of Thoughts, 1966, RSS publication) as “territorial nationalism” which “had deprived us of the positive and inspiring content of our real Hindu Nationhood and made many of the ‘freedom movements’virtually anti-British movements”. It was this ideological commitment to building Hindu rashtr in India that apart from Hedgewar, Golwalkar, Deendayal Upadhyaya (prominent RSS cadre since 1937) and LK Advani (RSS activist since 1942) never participated in the freedom struggle.
 
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The post RSS Appropriation of the Indian Freedom Struggle is Baseless appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Image Courtesy: New Indian Express

For the last few years, Hindu nationalists have been claiming that they too participated in the freedom movement and that it is only the Congress-Left historians who are trying to paint them in a negative picture vis-à-vis the struggle for independence. In a recent article, Rakesh Sinha presents the fantasies of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) participation in the freedom movement. His major sources for this claim are from British intelligence reports. His claims that the RSS took part in the Civil Disobedience Movement of 1930 and that the movement was invigorated due to K.B. Hedgewar’s participation in it, are figments of imagination. It is true that Hedgewar did take part in this movement and was jailed for it, but that was purely at a personal level, to be able to meet people who might support his agenda of the Hindu rashtra. There is not a single piece of writing by Hedgewar or the RSS exhorting people to participate in the movement. On the contrary, there are authoritative references to him discouraging those who wanted to participate in the struggle for freedom.

The attitude of the RSS leadership to the freedom movement becomes clear from what M.S. Golwalkar, the second sarsanghchalak of RSS, said (taken from Shri Guruji Samagra Darshan, vol. IV, page 39):
 

There was some unrest in the mind due to the situation developing in the country from time to time. There was such unrest in 1942. Before that there was the movement of 1930-31. At that time many other people had gone to Doctorji (Hedgewar). The delegation requested Doctorji that this movement will give independence and the Sangh should not lag behind. At that time, when a gentleman told Doctorji that he was ready to go to jail, Doctorji said ‘definitely go, but who will take care of your family then?’ The gentleman replied, ‘I have sufficiently arranged resources not only to run the family expenses for two years but also to pay fines according to requirement’. Then Doctorji told him, ‘If you have fully arranged for the resources then come out to work for Sangh for two years’. After returning home, that gentleman neither went to jail nor came out to work for the Sangh.

On similar lines, during 1942, when the turmoil began, Golwalkar issued instructions that the RSS’s routine work should continue and nothing should be done to annoy the British: “In 1942 also there was a strong sentiment in the hearts of many. At that time too, routine work of Sangh continued. Sangh vowed not to do anything directly.”  This RSS ideologue clearly spells out that fighting against the British has not been part of their agenda, “We should remember that in our pledge we have talked of freedom of the country through defending religion and culture, there is no mention of departure of British from here.” (taken from Shri Guruji Samagra Darshan, vol. IV, page 40)

Now Sinha wants us to believe that lakhs of volunteers of the RSS participated in the freedom movement in 1942 and many of them were punished severely by British. The RSS is known for its disciplined volunteers, so did its volunteers defy their sarsanghchalak to be part of the movement led by Mahatma Gandhi? Even British intelligence – on which a British circular warning officers of the political nature of the RSS is based – needs to be taken with a pinch of salt, as that interpretation of the administration was contrary to what the RSS itself has always maintained – that is a cultural and not a political organisation.

There were no claims of participating in the struggle for India’s independence until much later. It was only once the RSS/BJP inched closer to political power that such claims started being made. One of the earliest attempts in this direction was made by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Ahead of the 1998 general elections, he had issued an appeal seeking votes. He wrote that not only was he working for the RSS at the shakha level, but he also participated in the freedom movement. His claim was made around the time of the Bateshwar incident, where he was arrested. Soon after his arrest, he gave a confessional statement in court. The statement he made helped his release from jail and it also named the leaders of the Bateshwar campaign, which was part of the Quit India movement. In this confessional statement, Vajpayee says that he had nothing to do with the damages caused to property by the people who had gone to hoist the tricolour on the building. He confesses that he was not part of the procession and was a mere onlooker. Consequent to his apology he was released from the jail.

Sinha has a fertile imagination so he can claim that RSS’s participation in the Quit India movement was the proverbial last straw for British rulers. The fact is that that RSS’s routine work in the shakhas and camps continued as usual despite some not being comfortable with this. Followers of Gandhi and the Congress were on the streets and in jails.

Now the RSS is trying to insert itself into a space in history where it does not belong.

Ideologically, Hindutva political organisations, despite their inner differences, were mainly intent on undermining Muslim nationalism and to achieve that goal, had no problem in cooperating with the British. All their efforts were geared towards ignoring the diversity of the nation manifested in Gandhi’s central slogan of Hindu-Muslim unity. Today, a new construct is being brought to fore for electoral goals, by erasing the absence of the RSS from the freedom struggle. At a deeper level, how could the RSS have been part of the movement for Indian nationalism when it stands for Hindu nationalism?

Ram Puniyani is Chairman, Centre of Study of Society and Secularism and has written several books including Communal Politics: Facts Versus Myths (Sage, 2003), Deconstructing Terrorist Violence (Sage 2015), Indian Nationalism versus Hindu Nationalism (Pharos 2014) and Caste and Communalism (Olive 2013).
 

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Image credit: Syed Khalid Saifullah

The application available on the Google Play Store documents history of 155 Muslim freedom fighters, and can be installed on android smartphones. It was launched on August 15 this year, on the occasion of Indian independence day.

The developer of the mobile application Syed Khalid Saifullah, who also has conceptualised the app, told SabrangIndia, “We love our nation as much as our forefathers loved (it). They actively participated in the freedom struggle and made a lot of sacrifices for our country. People seem to have forgotten their contribution. Apart from a couple of names like Abul Kalam Azad, names of the several freedom fighters from the Muslim community have been eliminated from history. Our brothers from other communities tend to think that Muslims are not enough patriotic. That is why the concept of such an application came to my mind.”

However, collating the information was a difficult task for Saifullah. “There’s hardly any information or literature on Muslim freedom fighters. After a lot of struggle, I came across a Telugu book by Syed Naseer Ahamed, which had in-depth information on the lives of 155 Muslim freedom fighters. It was out of publication at that time. I had to track the author and have used information from this book for my app,” he said.

Saifullah has divided the list of freedom fighters into different categories and the information has been put into a more concise and succinct format – suitable for a mobile application. To make the experience of using the app fun, he has introduced a quiz-like format, in which users will have to clear 155 levels to win the game. 

“You can see other people playing from your area and their scores in the app. It generates the fun element of competition, making the app more youth-friendly,” said Saifullah.

 The application has been downloaded by 5000 users, and has close to 300 positive reviews making for a very good rating of 4.8 out of 5.

“Fifteen to 20 per cent of our users are Hindus. So, information is not remaining limited to just a few Muslims. To increase the base of our users, we’re going to bring in a Hindi version of the same app,” he said. The Hindi version is scheduled to be launched on coming Republic day. 

When asked if he foresees attempts of saffronisation and resultant adulteration of history, he said, “They’re going to achieve it (saffronisation). We don’t have the capacity and power to influence the government, so I’d rather look at what I can do. I like to focus on the positive side. I have the platform, and the technology to at my disposal; so using that, I have managed to put together an app.”

“Let them remove the history from the textbooks, technology can help us preserve it,” he added.
 

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