Tribute to the Encyclopedia of RSS

 

 

 

 Anyone who stops learning is old, goes the adage. Madhav Govind Vaidya, Baburao, as he was known to many, was one person who took this seriously. An avid reader and a writer at the same time, Baburao ji was active at 97, to prove that age is only a number.

 

Baburao ji was one of the few persons I had the privilege to depend on when I was asked to take on the responsibility as editor of Organiser. “You have to learn on the job”, he said. “But remember, doctor’s mistakes get buried, advocate’s mistakes are hanged but editor’s mistakes have the bad habit of getting printed”, he added.

 

Often his subtle humour was very evident in his dialogues. During one of our many meetings, a colleague of mine from the Organiser came in with some physical complaint. Baburao ji heard him out patiently and said, “I am a vaidya only by surname”. But then he quickly suggested some practical remedy too. On another occasion when he was honoured by the Madhya Pradesh government one newspaper wrongly reported him as a pracharak (full-time worker) of the RSS. He called up the reporter and pointed out the error saying, “my pracharak nahi hoon, my pracharakon ka baap hun”.

 

By virtue of his long years in the RSS especially at the fountainhead of the organisation, Nagpur, his concepts were very clear and at times very different from general observations. As editor of Organiser, I had innumerable occasions to interact with him and seek guidance on a number of issues. In one such interaction, he pointed out that it is better not to refer to RSS as an organisation. Looking at my bewildered look he explained that RSS is not an organisation in the society, it is organisation of the society (Sangh samaj me ek sanghatan nahi hai, samaj ka sanghatan hai).

 

Another word that he advised me to avoid was the term “Sangh Parivar”. Although this umbrella term is freely used to designate any and every institution and individuals associated with the RSS, his indication was towards hyphenating the RSS with “Left organisations” or parties. “We cannot prevent others from using this term but we should not give credibility to it by using it ourselves”, he explained. On a similar note he also suggested that we in the Organiser should not project ourselves as the ‘mouthpiece’ of the RSS. We reflect the views of the RSS and its officials but we are not the official spokespersons of any organisation he used to say.

 

This was at a time when there were serious discussions about having a spokesperson for the RSS. There were conflicting opinions. A section of the journalists who were close to the RSS but working in different publications were of the view that the RSS should have an official spokesperson. Their argument was based on the factual news gathering and reporting difficulties and also on the dis-information campaign in the face of absence of official hand out. In one of the meetings to discuss this issue Baburao ji was among those who opposed the idea. Ironically, after a few days he was himself made the first official spokesperson of the RSS. He carried out that responsibility with finesse and perfection worth emulating.

 

I was not comfortable with the idea of the RSS having an official spokesperson. If one wants to understand the RSS one has to attend shakha and work with the RSS, I suggested. But Baburao ji corrected me saying one has to be firm in one’s convictions but also follow aapat dharma, that is change with times. During the 2014 elections he maintained more or less a similar approach to the projection of one single person as the Prime Ministerial candidate. Ideally, the RSS is not in favour of projecting an individual. But in some special circumstances one cannot be too conservative and rigid he explained. Besides, his argument was that the methodology of the RSS and a political party could be different. As long as both do not lose sight of their goal it is fine was his opinion.

 

The best part of conversations with Baburao ji was the clarity and unbiased opinions that he could project with ease and élan. He could approach any issue with a logical mind, analyse without prejudice and come out with choice of suggestions. He had a long stint as editor of  Nagpur Tarun Bharat and was a repository of journalistic experience. It was natural for a person like me, neither trained in journalism nor a graduate in English, to run to him for advice. He would never disappoint me and would always suggest a way out of the situation or suggest a point of view on a subject. But he would always reiterate one thing; every generation has to learn that the fire is hot. “So, make mistakes and learn. But don’t repeat the same mistakes, make new ones”, he once said with his characteristic charming smile.

 

In Baburao ji’s death, we have lost a colossus of a person, an encyclopedia on the RSS, journalism, Sanskrit and much more than what one can comprehend. After all he was one of the very few surviving veterans of the RSS who has not just seen but worked closely with all the six Sarsanghachalaks of the RSS.