New Delhi : PM Narendra Modi, addressing the centenary celebrations of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), said the organisation has never harboured bitterness despite facing attempts to file false cases. He highlighted the Sangh’s historical contributions, noting, “The Sangh has fought against the atrocities of the British. Their only interest has always been love towards the nation.”
PM Modi added, There have been many attempts to crush the spirit of the RSS and put allegations against them. False cases have also been filed. Yet, the RSS has never fought with intent of revenge. According to RSS mouthpiece The Organiser, following Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination in 1948, M. S. Golwalkar — who had succeeded RSS founder Keshav Baliram Hedgewar as the second Sarsanghchalak — was arrested at midnight on February 1 and the organisation was banned on February 4.
The Organiser account says that investigations soon confirmed the RSS had no role in Gandhi’s assassination. Golwalkar was released after six months but re-arrested in November 1948 following what the RSS described as pressure from the then Congress government under Jawaharlal Nehru to join its fold. Nationwide satyagrahas by swayamsevaks followed, and mounting public pressure eventually led to the unconditional lifting of the ban on July 12, 1949, with Golwalkar freed the next day.
Guruji was jailed on false charges and even faced torture behind bars. Yet, when he walked free, he reminded everyone that just as one does not pull out their own teeth when they accidentally bite the tongue, one should not turn against one’s own society, PM Modi said.
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