A Bunch of thoughts by M.S. Golwalkar is a text book for RSS, they read and cherish it more than any other book on the planet. But, it is vile book that spews hatred against Muslims and Christians without end. Its bigoted author Golwalkar was the head of fanatic Right Wing Hindu Nationalist Organisation called Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS). Out of some 310 times he mentions or talks about Muslims, I examine the first forty time the work mentions Muslims. And, whenever Golwalkar mentions Muslims, I feel it is either an insult or maligns Muslims and often Christians as well.
“The failure of Indian history to assimilate the Muslims into the national society, as it had succeeded in assimilating the earlier invaders”… Mentioned in Introduction
So, are Muslims Indians/Invaders? Next, everyone can see that Muslims are well integrated in Indian Society, for God’s sake even Obama saw it, but not to Golwalkar. For Golwalkar Muslims will integrate in the ‘national society’ once they start donning tilak and chanting bhajans. Only after Muslims cease to be Muslims and become Hindus will he accept that Muslims have assimilated in India.
“They committed the blunder that by giving concessions to Muslims at the cost of the majority, they could win them over!” … Introduction
What concessions were given to Muslims? SC/ST were given concessions and they have come long way from where they were during independence. RSS was completely opposed to establishment of Sachar Committee because it could bring out the truth in terms of how backward and disadvantaged Muslims of India were. And the report confirmed that Muslims were far behind general public and in certain parameters they have fallen behind even SC/ST.
“The Muslims, Christians and Jews etc., have perfect upasana swatantrya, freedom of worship so long as they do not seek to destroy or undermine the faith and symbolism of the national society.” … Introduction
This essentially shows the mindset of Golwalkar. He thinks RSS is the master of India and will dictate what needs to be done. Also, note that he says that National Society of India excludes Muslims, Christians and Jews
“The national history of the Muslim period should be re-written giving the truth without varnish and all should appreciate the best values exemplified by the heroes of authentic history.” … Introduction
Absolutely we need to stress that Jama Masjid is Yamuna Mandir and Taj Mahal is Tejo Mahalaya. Or should we talk about the fake letter that Shivaji wrote that appears as an appendix of his other book ‘We and our Nationhood defined’.
“The use of the word dharma does not preclude the inclusion of different sects and religious fellowships who may use different words for the same meanings – like the Muslim and Christian.” … Introduction
The Hypocrisy is now evident till now Muslims and Christians were not part of National Society but suddenly they are…. This is how RSS deceives and lies.
“They bear Hindu names. We find so many Hindu faces all over there, proud of their Hindu heritage, even though many of them are now Muslims by religion.”… The World Mission
Just some time ago Muslims were ‘outside invaders’ and outside ‘national society’ now suddenly they are being branded of ‘Hindu heritage’ and are being asked to have Hindu names. Can Golwalkar please clarify the confusion?
The next 7 places where Muslims are mentioned, they are mentioned in a reference point of way or as part of Muslim League.
“Countries after countries lost their soul to Islam and became Muslim countries for ever in this fashion.”… Vision of Our Work
This is mentioned as a long part of narration as to how religions in other nations collapsed because of defeat of king by adharmic barbarians, and since king was the keeper of the religion, the religion disappeared as well. Thus according to Golwalkar, Islam became dominant religion. However he forgets that Muslims ruled several parts of Europe from few centuries (like Greece, Romania, Serbia etc.) to a thousand years (Spain), however most of these countries did remain primarily Non-Muslim, so no credit to ‘national society’ for that. While looking at Indonesia, who had the ‘national society’ became Muslim country without King loosing any battles. Such prejudices and too simplistic way of thinking marks the whole life of Golwalkar. His understanding of complex issues is simplified into one or two examples that are barely one percent of the complicated worl we live in.
“Even during the days of Muslim domination great saints and sanyasins rose to continue that tradition. All those stalwarts – Chaitanya, Tulsidas, Surdas, Jnaneshwar, Ramananda, Tukaram, Ramanuja, Madhwa, Nanak and a host of such others – flooded the land from one end to the other with religious devotion.” … Vision of Our Work
He continues from the above paragraph and says that Buddhism died in India, because it did not have sages to revive it, completely ignorant of the fact that Buddhism lost patronage in India because Buddhist Kings lost wars making Buddhism became an orphaned religion, with no money and no centres of learning. He then talks about how ‘our dharma’ survived this. But the hard question for him to answer is that if these people were allowed to propagate ‘our dharma’ and they were doing it openly, how bad could the Muslim rule be, where people are freely allowed to propagate their religion and win followers from among even Muslims. For example, Nanak’s permanent companion was Bhai Mardana, a Muslim usually referred as ‘The First Sikh’.
“He (ie Britishers) carried on an insidious propaganda that we were never one nation, that we were never the children of the soil, but mere upstarts having no better claims than the foreign hordes of the Muslims or the British over this country.” … Vision of Our Work
What! After making Muslims Indians and appealing them to have Hindu names, we are back to “foreign hordes of Muslims”. How many flips like this should we expect Mr. Golwalkar? Also, please note that here Muslims are again disenfranchised from having an inferior claim of being Indians.
“Would they not have risen uncompromisingly, heroically as one man against all such machinations of the British and the Muslim, prepared to shed their last drop of blood for maintaining the scared integrity of the motherland?”… Our Motherland
Talking about Partition, he talks about our motherland (our being defined as those devoted to scriptures like Puranas, for the rest the motherland isn’t theirs, specially Muslims). If integrity of motherland was that important, why did every Hindu Mahasabha/RSS leaning leader submitted to partition so easily. The easy answer is that they knew if this big chunk of Muslims remained in India, there would never be a Hindu Rashtra with close to 60% Hindus in India, but if Hindus made close to 90% of India, that is a different story. That is why Right Wing leaning politicians like Patel, did not even want J&K, he had said it is a Muslim majority state and must go to Pakistan. It is well documented that he was ready to give up claim for J&K for Hyderabad.
“There are some others who justify Partition saying, “After all, Hindus and Muslims are brothers. Partition is just a brotherly division of their property.” But have we never heard of children cutting up their mother saying that she is their common property?” … Our Motherland
The man’s obsession to treat India as an actual physical being is sickening. If he wanted India not to be divided so much, why did he not come out in favour of Cabinet Mission Plan. Can he produce any shred of evidence that he or RSS supported Cabinet Mission Plan to keep India united.
“Was not the whole of our country, until recently, under the foreign domination of the British? Before that, was not part of our country under Muslim domination for centuries?” … Our Motherland
As if Muslims are not Indians and are like British, who came ruled and took its riches to Britain, never to come back. Muslims again are being treated as ‘the other’ and not Indian, but are still expected to Hindu names. Mohan Bhagwat is a perfect hypocrite, he understands all this but chooses not to tell this from the podium when he wants to improve image of his organisation.
“If, today, we say that what we have lost to the aggressors, whether they be the Muslims or Chinese, is not ours but belongs to them by right, then it only means that we have lost the will to fight, that we have forsaken our manliness to the extent that we have begun to glorify our defeats and humiliations.” … Our Motherland
This is again goes on to say that Pakistan’s creation was an act of Muslim aggression, while it was an act of a population first asking for its fair representation in politics and law making. After that was denied, came the demand for Pakistan and the way to save it, The Cabinet Mission Plan. Neither RSS nor Hindu Mahasabha came out in favour of Cabinet Mission Plan to save India from being partitioned. These crocodile tears they shed today must not mislead anyone, they wanted partition to happen, it is hard to make India a Hindu Rashtra if 33% of population is Muslims, but if Muslims are reduced to 9.7% we are talking business.
“It (Bhartiya) is commonly used as a translation of the word ‘Indian’ which includes all the various other communities like the Muslim, Christian, Parsi, etc., residing in this land. So, the word ‘Bhartiya’ too is likely to mislead us when we want to denote our particular society. The word ‘Hindu’ alone connotes correctly and completely the meaning which we want to convey.”… Children of Motherland
This is from the chapter ‘Children of Motherland’. Golwalkar says that children of motherland are Hindus, and he explains that Hindus is correct and Bhartiya is wrong because the word Bhartiya includes other communities like Muslim, Christian, Parsis. The fact is however much Bhagwat shouts from the podium, in his heart is Golwalkar and Golwalkar’s rejection of Muslims, Christians and other communities.
“Some of the Sikhs, Jains, Lingayats and Aryasamajists declare that they are separate from Hindus. Some prominent Sikh leaders are demanding and agitating for a separate sectarian Sikh State – though under the grab of a linguistic State, the Punjabi Suba. And strengthen their demand some of them have stooped to justify the creation of a separate State for Muslims, i.e., Pakistan.” … Children of Motherland
This is the root cause of why RSS opposes Lingayats demand for being classified as a different religion than Hinduism. Coming to Sikhs, he wants Sikhs to call themselves Hindu, but then says that these Sikhs want a separate state like Muslims. The fact is that Sikhism is not Hinduism, and Sikhs are not Hindus, just like Lingayats.
“They find that for being anti-Hindu, the Muslims got an independent State of their own.” … Children of Motherland
This is where today’s propaganda of ‘Hindu Khatre mein hai’ comes from. It started here as ‘Government of India, ie Congress Government is anti-Hindu’, and anyone other than Hindus get favours from the government. Completely ignoring the fact the SC/ST are Hindus and have got most favours from the government. Muslims on the other hand are worse off in certain parameters than SC/ST. And it is this RSS and its political stooge the BJP that objected to even formation of Sachar Commission to find out the political, economic and social conditions of Muslims of India. If anything, except for the Nehru Government, every single government of India has treated Muslims as second class citizens, because of organisations like RSS, because if anyone wants to do anything for Muslims to bring them to normal standards, they shout appeasement and Anti-Hindu.
The next 6 times the word Muslim comes is in terms of Golwalkar’s defence that the Caste System is not root of Hindu loss of power. He puts responsibility on people like Jayachand and Man Singh who drove their own away for sake of foreign hordes.
This is another classic show of his mentality, where Muslims are always portrayed as foreign aggressors, even if they were born in India, lived all their life in India and died in India. To Golwalkar such people will always be foreigners. Even those who became Muslim became foreigners by association. For example, both Ghori and Ghazni are in ‘India’ as defined by even RSS, but Mahmud of Ghazni and Mohammed of Ghori are foreigners because they accepted Islam. This is his mentality, full of contradictions because of his hatred of Muslims.
“Some wise men of today tell us that no man is born as Hindu or Muslim or Christian but as a simple human being. This may be true of others. But for a Hindu …. About the others, they are born to this world as simple unnamed human beings and later on, either circumcised or baptised, they become Muslims or Christians.” … Children of Motherland
Can’t say about Christianity, but certainly circumcision is not the criteria for being a Muslim. One can be perfectly good Muslim even if he is not circumcised. This is the level of ignorance Golwalkar had about Islam. And diddly squid is what his followers know about Islam.
“The famous instance of Shivaji who sent back honourably and laden with presents the beautiful daughter-in-law of the Muslim Subhedar of Kalyan captured in war (though it appears exceptional in the eyes of the foreign, especially Muslim, historians) is a very ordinary instance symbolic of the sublime culture of this land.”… For a Virile National Life
Maligning Muslims with false propaganda, saying that it is common for Muslims to rape every woman of the defeated kings. Since he narrated one incident, I will narrate an incident as well. Shivaji’s daughter-in-law, Yesubai, wife of Sambhaji and Shivaji’s grandson Shahu (then a boy of 8 years) was taken prisoner by Zulfikar Khan Nusrat Jung. When they were brought to Aurangzeb’s camp, Aurangzeb ordered that Yesubai and Shahu to be accommodated in enclosed quarters near his daughter’s and next to his own tent. For the next 18 years, they were fixed a generous allowances and given adequate number of servants to serve them. Zinat-un-Nisa, Aurangzeb’s daughter treated Shahu like his own son and Yesubai like his own sister. This was a time time when Yesubai’s and Shahu’s family wanted to slit their throats, Aurangzeb not only protected Yesubai and Shahu but also gave Shahu title of ‘Raja’. He also allowed a tutor to be appointed for the boy by the name of Jyotiyaji Kesarkar, Shahu received training in riding, hunting and swordsmanship through Aurangzeb.
“When we say “This is the Hindu Nation”, there are some who immediately come up with the question, “What about the Muslims and the Christians dwelling in this land? Are they not also born and bred here? How could they become aliens just because they have changed their faith?” But the crucial point is whether THEY remember that they are the children of this soil. What is the use of merely OUR remembering?” … For a Virile National Life
Clearly, irrespective of whatever definition of a Hindu RSS gives in its Public Relations talks this is the reality. Clearly Golwalkar’s reply to the argument makes it amply clear that when they say Hindu nation it excludes Muslims and Christians. Muslims and Christians need to prove their loyalty to India before they could be classified as Indians, this will be further detailed by Golwalkar when he explains that the biggest threats to India are Muslims and Christians.
“An eminent American Professor once asked me the question, ‘Muslims and Christians are of this land alone. Why don’t you consider them as of your own?” To that, I put him a counter-question: “Suppose one of our countrymen goes to America, settles there and wants to become an American citizen. However, he refuses to accept your Lincoln, Washington, Jefferson and others as his national heroes. Would you then call him a national of America? Tell me frankly.” He said, “No.”” … For a Virile National Life
There is no way to verify this anecdote, it is like me narrating, I once met an RSS worker whom I asked, “Muslims and Christians are of this land alone, why don’t you consider them as your own?” Instead of answering my question he asked, “Suppose someone goes to America, settles there and wants to become an American citizen. However, he refuses to accept Lincoln, Washington and Jefferson and other as his national heroes. Would you then call him a national of American?” To this I replied, “In a democracy, everyone has a right to make his own heroes, there are millions of Americans who loathe Lincoln and support the Confederates. Even today, in Southern America you can find the Confederates flag flying. The thing is that because you come from a caste ridden, undemocratic organisation that does not value free speech or free thinking this is a big thing for you. But for democrats and free thinkers like me, this is a non-issue.”
“So, all that we say is that the Muslims and Christians here should give up their present foreign mental complexion and merge in the common stream of our national life. Everybody knows that only a handful of Muslims came here as enemies and invaders. So also, only a few foreign Christian missionaries came here. Now the Muslims and Christians have enormously grown in number. They did not grow just by multiplication as in the case of fishes. They converted the local population. We can trace our ancestry to a common source, from where one portion was taken away from the Hindu fold and became Muslim and another became Christian. The rest could not be converted and they have remained as Hindus. Now, how did the converts leave their ancestral home? Was it out of their own sweet will and out of conviction of the superiority of those faiths? Well, history does not record a single notable instance of that sort. On the contrary, history tells us that the reason was the fear of death or coercion or the various temptations of power, position, etc., or the desire to please the powers that be by adopting their ways and customs and finally even taking to their faiths.” … For a Virile National Life
Saying that everyone who accepted Islam or Christianity accepts it out of fear for his life or temptations of power, position, etc. means that Islam and Christianity have nothing good to offer to people. The only way people would become Muslims is through opportunism or coercion. Let me ask him, what could have possible coerced Mohammed Ali to accept Islam? Mohammed Ali, was one of the most stubborn free men. He spent time in jail for refusing to do something that he did not believe in, his wealth and career received a major setback when he stuck to his guns as Cassius Clay. What could have coerced Mohammed Ali to accept Islam? Nothing, accept the good he saw in Islam. The first converts to Islam went through severe persecution, people were coercing the first Muslims to leave Islam, but they stuck to it out of the truth and goodness they found in Islam. Similarly, why would anyone become a Christian when Christians were being fed to hungry lions in Colosseums in Europe? The only reason why someone would become a Christian is this scenario was when he found truth and goodness in Christianity. The bigoted mind Golwalkar, cannot comprehend this simple fact, that it is possible for people to leave one religion and convert to another because they see truth and goodness in it.
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