Vanity Touched
The Government had not expected such straightforward, stern response from a person languishing in a jail. Its vanity was touched. In this mood Iyengar replies on May 24. He says, ?The Government of India regret that you should have used phrases like ?meaningless expression? and charged the Government with indulging in ?unbecoming behaviour and lack of respect for truth, justice or due process of law? such language constitutes a complete disregard of the ordinary rules of courtesy and propriety, more particularly in reply to the Government.
?In regard to your argument that an impartial tribunal should judge the charges made against the RSS, the Government of India would like you to understand that they are and must be the final judge whether the activities of an organisation or an individual are prejudicial to or subversive of the State and they cannot share that judgement with any tribunal. Indeed, any suggestion that a matter like this be referred to an impartial tribunal can only come from an unrealistic appreciation of the very elements of Public Administration.? The letter ends with the repetition of the same old charges.
End of Correspondence
Shri Guruji finally replies to this letter on June 1, 1949. The reply is again addressed to the ?Home Minister?. As to the ignorance of the basic elements of Public Administration, Shri Guruji says, ?I admit my ignorance in this behalf which I have the honour of sharing with no less a personality than Mahatma Gandhi. If this is meant to be an abiding principle of administration?well it is dangerous.?
With regard to the ?objectionable? language, used by him, Shri Guruji, taking a dig at the history of the Congress Party when the Congress had made many a humble submission to the then foreign British government, says: ?I am a plain man brought up in an organisation wherein the sense of high or low does not predominate and wherein, therefore, there is no occasion to study and use a style of language suitable for addressing rulers and masters.? He adds, ?I beg to be excused for not being able to persuade myself to confess to the charges which I know to be untrue, even to humour the Government, in spite of my regard for the persons, now in charge of the Government.? And he concludes: ?Since my direct and truthful words seem to be unpalatable to the Government, I think it best to desist from writing any further for the present.?
A Mystery
This letter of Shri Guruji was acknowledged by Shri Iyengar on June 11, 1949. So there was a stalemate. Shri T.R. Venkat Ram Shastri'sstatement was published in the morning editions of the newspaper in which he had expressed ?the continuance of the ban and the detention of the chief men in jail, is, in my opinion, neither just, nor wise, nor expedient.? And surprisingly, the same day, in the evening the All India Radio announced that the ban on the RSS has been lifted. Naturally, the people were astonished. What happened in a month from June 11 (Iyengar'sletter) to July 11, appeared to be a mystery. But it was not a mystery. The Government was on back foot. It had failed to fathom the firmness, commitment and courage of the RSS leader. It had to find out a way to end the impasse. So, Shri Moulichandra Sharma, who then happened to be the president of Janadhikar Samiti (a body for protecting people'sfundamental rights) and was a close friend of D.P. Mishra, the then Home Minister of C.P. & Berar, and trusted follower of Sardar Patel, was asked to mediate. Shri Sharma met the RSS leaders who were not in jail and also Shri Guruji who was in jail. He was plainly told that Shri Guruji or anybody in the RSS will not give anything in writing to the Government. But the Government itself found out a fig leaf. Shri Guruji would be asked by Shri Moulichandra Sharma certain clarifications on the RSS position about vital topics of national interest and importance. And Shri Guruji would reply to Shri Moulichandra Sharma'squeries. So, Shri Guruji wrote a letter to Shri Sharma, who was present with him in jail, a personal letter which begins with ?My dear Shri Moulichandraji?. This letter was written on July 10. Shri Sharma flew to Delhi with this letter and on July 12, the lifting of the ban was announced by the All India Radio. There was not a single new word in the letter to Shri Sharma. The same words and sentiments were used in a statement given in the press conference in Delhi and also communicated to the Government. But then the Government was not satisfied. Now it was satisfied by a letter written, not to them, but to a private individual.
Because of this sudden turn of events, many a people had surmised that there was some surrender on the part of the RSS or Shri Guruji. Shri Guruji nailed all these suspicions in a public speech at Nagpur, when he was accorded a public reception after his release. Shri A.D. Mani, the then Chief Editor of an English daily The Hitwad, was in the chair. Shri Mani publicly asked whether ?Shri Golwalkar had given any undertaking or assurance to the government?. Shri Guruji observed, ?I want to assure all concerned that in my negotiations I had not acted in my individual capacity. I would have preferred to lay down my life rather than do anything derogatory to the great organisation.? This is confirmed by the proceedings of the Bombay Legislative Assembly of October 14, 1949. The relevant extract is as follows:
Question No. 1503
Mr Lallubhai Makanji Patel
Will the Hon?ble Minister for Home and Revenue be pleased to state
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