SHOCKED and mourning nation paid tribute to Sudarshanji. His commitment, hardline but out-of-box thinking, studious nature were remembered by many. Here is homage by some prominent leaders:
Former Prime Minister Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee: Tearful homage… thousands of salutes to the former Sarsanghachalak KS Sudarshanji over his sad demise on behalf of a grateful nation.
Senior scientist, president of Vijnan Bharati and former head of C-Dac Dr Vijay Bhatkar: We met many times, as he was keenly interested in developing swadeshi technology. He was most concerned about the problems faced by the country, basically in the field of agriculture. He wanted the youth of the country to be active in the field of technology innovation and paid keen attention whenever someone presented new ideas before him. He was interested in how we can supplement the latest technology to the ancient Indian knowledge to solve the problems faced by the country. He wanted India to be a world leader in science and technology.
BJP national president Nitin Gadkari: A strong votary of swadeshi, bio-fuel and alternative sources of energy, Sudarshanji had a vision for the progress of the country and emancipation of the downtrodden without emulating the western economic models. His death has left a void in the top echelons of the RSS, which will be difficult to fill. His departure marks the end of an era in the Sangh.
Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley: Pujya Sudarshanji, a crusader for water conservation, bio fuel and Hindi, no more. Fortunate to have lot of affection and guidance from him.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi: Sad to know about the demise of Sudarshanji. He was blessed with a sharp mind, humorous nature and always known for his simple and disciplined life.
Former BJP president M Venkaiah Naidu: Sudarshanji was a very simple man, highly intellectual person, and always guided the nationalist movement in the country. When I was general secretary and president of the BJP he advised me on various cultural and national issues.
Janata Party president Dr Subramanian Swamy: Sad to hear while in Gujarat tour that Sudarshanji passed away. He was really very good man and of great learning.
RSS National Executive member Indresh Kumar: Sudarshanji was simple hearted and straight forward person. He was not only a supporter of Tibet’s independence struggle, but was actively involved in organising support to the struggle. His most favourite idea was to Indianise Islam and Christian faiths. To achieve the goal, he even initiated dialogues with the leaders of the Christian and Muslim communities and achieved remarkable success. He tried to bring down the level of hatred among these communities.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar: May his soul rest in peace.
VHP international working president Dr Pravin Togadia: Sudarshanji left a mark whatever he did. He was a unique blend of the modern and ancient! He was very much interested in newer communication technologies to bring about transformation in the way masses communicate. He also was interested, at the same time, in astrology and Ayurveda as science! He would read a lot and was fluent in many languages, which helped him relate to people well. As a Sarsangha-chalak from 2000 to 2009 he had to face lot of tough challenges from Gujarat issue to terror allegations as well on the Sangh. He tried to cope with challenges with his agile mind, scientific but humane thinking and great sense of humour.
BMS national general secretary Baijnath Rai: Sudarshanji was a multi-dimensional personality with great intellectual capacities. He had deeply studied various civilisations, religions and philosophies of world. Besides this, he had command over economic policies which have come to light in his speeches. At the same time, he also had an intense study on Marxism and had an exposure to various scientific inventions. He strived a lot to bridge the gulf between the Indian Muslims and Christians with the Hindu society. He had personally interacted with many scholars for this purpose. He was the main speaker at the Sarva Pantha Samadar Manch of BMS, which works for the inter religious harmony among the working community and inspired thousands of workers.
Former convener of RSS Vishwa Vibhag Shankar Tatwawadi: It was shocking news to us all in UK to know that Sudarshanji is no more. He was well aware of the various problems, which had plagued our nation for long and many of which we have not got rid of even now. He had a vast store house of knowledge about varied subjects involving our ancient scriptures, science, religion, technology and also literature. He had travelled to many countries outside Bharat and I had a good fortune of travelling with him in UK, USA and Caribbean countries. He was a good orator and was equally at ease in many languages such as Marathi, Bangla, his mother tongue Kannada, English and of course Hindi. He was a good poet and a singer as well. With his unassuming style of dealing both with the elders and the youngsters he would soon become friendly with all of them. He made many friends in the foreign land. I remember his presence at the Virat Hindu Sammelan in 1989 in Miltonkens in UK and his visits to US and Caribbeans in year 2001.
ABVP national president Prof Milind Marathe: The country has lost a thinker and ideologue. He had good command over many languages and also issues. That is why he was able to guide the nation for so many years. His death is a major loss to the entire nation.
National president Jamait Ulema-e-Hind Maulana Shoel Kazmi: Sudarshanji took commendable efforts for the Hindu-Muslim unity and national integration. He played a vital role in the process of assimilation of the Muslim community in the national mainstream. The process initiated by him should be taken forward.
PCLM president RL Francis: Sudarshanji always advocated for social justice. He was a man of wide-ranging qualities. He was a strong supporter of maintaining peace and harmony among all religions. From Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) to the representatives of protestant churches, to maintain peace between Hindus and Christians he always maintained a dialogue between these two groups.
