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Bhagat Singh, the Tradition of Martyrdom and Hindutva

Written by Shamsul Islam | Published on: March 23, 2016

March the 23rd (2016) is the 85th anniversary of the martyrdom of three of India’s great
revolutionaries, Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev, who were hanged at Lahore for
working to overthrow the colonial, ‘firangee’ government. The British government
thought that with the physical elimination of these freedom fighters their ideas and
dreams of a secular and egalitarian independent India would also dissipate and disappear.
The rulers were patently wrong as these revolutionaries and heir ideals continue to be an
integral part of the people’s memory, their exploits sung far and wide in people’s lore.

On this 85th anniversary of their martyrdom we should remember, and not overlook the
fact, that though it was the British colonial powers who hanged them, there were at the
time organisations like Hindu Mahasabha, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and
the Muslim League in pre-1947 India which not only remained alien to the ideals of these
revolutionaries but also maintained a criminal silence on their hanging.

It is both comic, ironical and shocking therefore that, of these three communal outfits, it
is the RSS—which consciously kept itself completely aloof from the anti-colonial
struggle –that has, of late, laid claim to the tradition and contributions of these great
revolutionaries. Literature is being produced and the discourse too seeks to appropriate
them with false a-historic linkages to Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev.

During the NDA I regime when its two senior swayamsewaks, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and
Lal Krishan Advani ruled the country, they had made the astonishing claim that Keshav
Baliram Hedgewar, founder of the RSS met Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev in 1925
and continued attending meetings with these revolutionaries and even provided shelter to
Rajguru in 1927 when he was underground after killing Sanders.[i]

In 2007, for the first time in its history, the Hindi organ of the RSS, Panchjanya came out
with a special issue on Bhagat Singh. In the whole body of pre-Partition literature of RSS
we do not find even a single reference to these martyrs. In fact, RSS literature of the
contemporaneous period is full of anecdotes showing its indifference to revolutionaries
like Bhagat Singh.

Madhukar Dattatreya Deoras, known as Balasahab Deoras, the third chief of the RSS,
narrated an incident when Hedgewar saved him and others from following the path of
Bhagat Singh and his comrades. Interestingly, this appeared in a publication of RSS
itself:
“While studying in college (we) youth were generally attracted towards the ideals of
revolutionaries like Bhagat Singh. Emulating Bhagat Singh we should do some or
other act of bravery, this came to our mind often. We were less attracted towards
Sangh (RSS) since current politics, revolution etc. that attracted the hearts of youth
were generally less discussed in the Sangh. When Bhagat Singh and his companions
were awarded death sentence, at that time our hearts were so excited that some
friends together [we] vowed to do something directly and planned something
terrible and in order to make it succeed decided to run away from homes. But to
run away without informing our Doctorji [Hedgewar] will not be proper,
considering it we decided to inform Doctorji about our decision. To inform this fact
to Doctorji was assigned to me by the group of friends.

“We together went to Doctorji and with great courage I explained my feelings
before him. After listening to our plan Doctorji took a meeting of ours for
discarding this foolish plan and making us to realize the superiority of the work of
Sangh. This meeting continued for seven days and in the night from ten to three.
The brilliant ideas of Doctorji and his valuable leadership brought fundamental
change in our ideas and ideals of life. Since that day we took leave of mindlessly
made plans and our lives got new direction and our mind got stabilized in the work
of Sangh.”[ii]

Moreover there is ample proof available in the documents of the RSS that establish that
the RSS denounced movements led by revolutionaries like Bhagat Singh, Chandrashekar
Azad and their associates. There are passages in the Bunch of Thoughts [collection of
speeches and writings of Golwalkar treated as a holy book by the RSS cadres] decrying
the whole tradition of martyrs:
“There is no doubt that such men who embrace martyrdom are great heroes and
their philosophy too is pre-eminently manly. They are far above the average men
who meekly submit to fate and remain in fear and inaction. All the same, such
persons are not held up as ideals in our society. We have not looked upon their
martyrdom as the highest point of greatness to which men should aspire. For, after
all, they failed in achieving their ideal, and failure implies some fatal flaw in
them.”[iii]

Golwalkar goes on to tell the RSS cadres that only those people should be adored who
have been successful in their lives:
“It is obvious that those who were failures in life must have had some serious
drawback in them. How can one, who is defeated, give light and lead others to
success?”[iv]

In the whole body of pre-Partition literature of RSS we do not find even a single
reference to these martyrs. In fact, RSS literature of the contemporaneous period is full of
anecdotes showing its indifference to revolutionaries like Bhagat Singh.

In fact, Golwalkar's book has a chapter titled 'Worshippers of Victory' in which he openly
commits to the fact that he and RSS worship only those who are victorious.
“Let us now see what type of great lives have been worshipped in this land. Have we
ever idealised those who were a failure in achieving life's goal? No, never. Our
tradition has taught us to adore and worship only those who have proved fully
successful in their life-mission. A slave of circumstances has never been our ideal.
The hero who becomes the master of the situation, changes it by sheer dint of his
calibre[sic] and character and wholly succeeds in achieving his life's aspirations, has
been our ideal. It is such great souls, who by their self-effulgence, lit up the dismal
darkness surrounding all round, inspired confidence in frustrated hearts, breathed
life into the near-dead and held aloft the living vision of success and inspiration, that
our culture commands us to worship.”[v]

Golwalkar did not name Bhagat Singh but according to his philosophy of life since
Bhagat Singh and his companions did not succeed in achieving their goal they did not
deserve any respect. According to his formula the British rulers would and should be the
natural object of worship as they were victorious and able to kill revolutionaries like
Bhagat Singh. It is difficult to find a statement more insulting and denigrating to the
martyrs of the Indian Freedom Movement than this.

It will be shocking for any Indian who loves and respects the martyrs of the Freedom
Movement to know what Dr. Hedgewar and the RSS felt about the revolutionaries
fighting against the British. According to his biography published by the RSS,
“Patriotism is not only going to prison. It is not correct to be carried away by such
superficial patriotism. He used to urge that while remaining prepared to die for the
country when the time came, it is very necessary to have a desire to live while
organizing for the freedom of the country.”[vi]

‘Shameful’ is too mild a word to describe the attitude of the RSS towards these young
freedom fighters, who had sacrificed their all in the struggle against the British colonial
powers. The last Mughal ruler of India, Bahadurshah Zafar, had emerged as the rallying
point and symbol of the Great War of Independence of 1857. Golwalkar while making
fun of him said:
“In 1857, the so-called last emperor of India had given the clarion call—Ghazio
mein bu rahegi jub talak eeman ki/Takhte London tak chalegi tegh Hindustan ki
(As long as there remains the least trace of love of faith in the hearts of our heroes,
so long, the sword of Hindustan will reach the throne of London.) But ultimately
what happened? Everybody knows that.”[vii]

What Golwalkar thought of the people sacrificing their lot for the country is obvious from
the following statement as well. He had the temerity to ask the great revolutionaries who
wished to lay down their lives for the freedom of the motherland the following question
(as if he was representing the British masters):
“But one should think whether complete national interest is accomplished by that?
Sacrifice does not lead to increase in the thinking of the society of giving all for the
interest of the nation. It is borne by the experience up to now that this fire in the
heart is unbearable to the common people.”[viii]

Perhaps this was the reason that RSS produced no freedom fighter, not to mention no
martyr in the movement against the colonial rule. Unfortunately, there is not a single line
challenging, exposing, criticising or confronting the inhuman rule of the British masters
in the entire literature of the RSS from 1925 to 1947. Those who are familiar with the
glorious Freedom Struggle of India and sacrifices of martyrs like Bhagat Singh must
challenge this evil appropriation of our heroes by the Hindutva camp which betrayed the
liberation struggle. We should not allow these communal stooges of the British rulers to
kill Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev once again.

(The author taught political science at the University of Delhi. He is a well known writer
and columnist)
For some of S. Islam's writings in English, Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi & Gujarati see the
following link:
http://du-in.academia.edu/ShamsulIslam
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: Shams Shamsul
Twitter: @shamsforjustice

[i]Rakesh Sinha, Dr. Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, Publications Division, Ministry Of

Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, Delhi, 2003.p. 160.
[ii]H. V. Pingle (ed.), Smritikan-Param Pujiye Dr. Hedgewar Ke Jeewan Kee Vibhin
Gahtnaon Ka Sankalan, (In Hindi a collection of memoirs of persons close to Hedgewar),
RSS Prakashan Vibhag, Nagpur, 1962, pp. 47-48.
[iii]M. S. Golwalkar, Bunch Of Thoughts, Sahitya Sindhu, Bangalore, 1996, p. 283.
[iv]Ibid, p. 282.
[v]Ibid.
[vi]C. P. Bhishikar, Sangh-Viraksh ke Beej: Dr. Keshavvrao Hedgewar, Suruchi
Prakashan, Delhi, 1994. p. 21.
[vii]M. S. Golwalkar, Shri Guruji Samagr Darshan, (Collected works of Golwalkar in
Hindi) Vol. 1, Bhartiya Vichar Sadhna, Nagpur, 1981, p. 121.
[viii]Ibid, pp. 61-62.

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