The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the organisations connected to it have roots extending to every nook and corner of the country up to village level and across all sectors of social activity. Today, our national society cannot act or think of anything minus the RSS. This has given sleepless nights to the Congress and Leftist organisations, their intellectuals, and their media. For this reason, people from Rahul Gandhi up to Ramachandra Guha are engaged in relentless but unsuccessful efforts to malign this great movement. The mega RSS movement is now beyond the grasp of these organisations. The RSS has always showed its capacity to grow faster in the face of big challenges coming from outside. In challenging times, the real metal of dedicated workers manifests itself.
The history of using Government machinery to ban or control the RSS began during the British Raj. The RSS’s involvement in the freedom struggle and its potential as a strong opponent was realised by the British Government. Shri Guruji Golwalkar writes: “The Government (of the then Central Provinces and Berar) sent out a circular in 1932 prohibiting its servants from taking part in the activities of the Sangh… There was an uproar in the province at the thoughtless and anti-national step of the Government… A censure motion against the Government was moved in the Assembly. It was supported not only by the Hindu members but also the Muslim, Christian, Parsi and all other members… The ministry itself had to quit office shortly after that.”
The Congress Government misused the opportunity after the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi to ban the RSS. Hardly two months before Gandhiji’s murder, the intention of Nehru to malign the RSS was clear when he wrote a letter against the RSS on 7-12-1947 to the Chief Ministers of States.
Nehru Government knew very well that Nathuram Godse was an active leader of ‘Hindu Mahasabha’ and the editor of Hindu Rashtriya, the official magazine of Hindu Mahasabha when Gandhiji was assassinated. Within five months of the murder of Gandhiji, in July 1948, Nehru appointed the founding leader of Hindu Mahasabha and its then national president Nirmal Chatterjee to the high office of the High Court judge at the same time putting its other prominent leaders in jail for assassinating Gandhiji. Nehru’s dirty politics did not stop there; he turned the blame on the RSS to cover up his faults and banned the RSS knowing fully that it was in no way connected with the assassination. Still, Hindu Mahasabha was not banned because of Nehru’s personal love and closeness to Nirmal Chatterjee.
PRESSURE ON RSS TO JOIN CONGRESS
The malicious political game against the RSS is explicit in the question: Why did the Congress Working Committee pass a resolution on 7-10-1949 requesting the RSS to join the Congress Party? Home Minister Sardar Vallabhai Patel also wrote a letter on 11-9-1948 to Guruji Golwalkar requesting the RSS to join Congress. He wrote, “I once again ask you to give your thought to my Jaipur and Lucknow speeches and accept the path I had indicated for the RSS. I am quite certain that therein lies the good of the RSS and the country, and moving on that path, we can join hands in achieving the welfare of our country… I am thoroughly convinced that the RSS men can carry on their patriotic endeavour only by joining the Congress and not by keeping separate or by opposing.” Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel with the knowledge of Congress leadership repeatedly said the RSS was not involved in Gandhiji’s murder. Just before the ban, on 6-1-1948, Sardar Patel in a Congress rally, publicly praised members of the RSS as patriots and strongly criticised some in the ruling Government who said the RSS should be “strangled to death.”
The court trying Gandhiji’s murder, as well as the Kapoor Commission, strongly criticised not the RSS but the Nehru Government for not providing sufficient protection to Mahatma Gandhiji even though there had been five unsuccessful murder attempts earlier. The Congress Government did not show the care and caution required to provide police protection to Gandhiji which even the British Government had shown.
The Congress Government arrested Shri Guruji at midnight on 1-2-1948 and banned the RSS on the 4th of February. On 27-2-1948, within a month of Gandhiji’s assassination, Patel wrote a reply to Nehru: “I have kept myself almost in daily touch with the progress of the investigations regarding Bapu’s assassination case. All the main accused have given long and detailed statements of their activities. It also clearly emerges from the statements that the RSS was not involved in it at all.”
Shri Guruji was released six months after his arrest. On 2-11-1948, in a press conference, Shri Guruji issued a statement against the action of the Congress Government and said he would not be lured by the offer of Nehru or Patel to join Congress. Upon seeing the reaction of Shri Guruji, the government threatened to re-arrest Shri Guruji. Consequently, on the night of 13-11-1948, Shri Guruji was again arrested using the Bengal State Prisoner’s Act of 1818 which the Congress itself had termed as a “black law” during British rule.
Join the Congress or face action, this was the dictate of Congress to RSS. However, Guruji wrote to all swayamsevaks not to submit to any pressure. Nationwide satyagraha of the swayamsevaks followed. Many prominent personalities and newspapers such as Kesari from Pune, Tribune from Punjab, Statesman etc. condemned the government action. T.R. Venkatrama Sastri, a respected independent person from Madras who initiated discussions with the government on lifting the ban, was angry with the Government’s double face and issued a lengthy statement to the press. Due to mounting public pressure, Nehru was compelled to unconditionally lift the ban on RSS on 12-7-1949 after one year and Shri Guruji was released from jail the next day. Sardar Patel expressed his happiness on lifting the ban in a letter to Guruji: “Only the people near me know as to how happy I was when the ban on Sangh was lifted. I wish you all the best.” The Congress Party connived to politically stamp the RSS with the murder of Mahatmaji. It continued the campaign despite their knowledge of the letters of Home Minister Sardar Patel, the police investigation report, the court verdict and the Kapoor Commission report cleanly exonerating the RSS. In 1954, the Congress Government prosecuted Shri Guruji for his speech in Darbhanga, Bihar. The Patna High Court acquitted him saying: “On a perusal of the speech as a whole, it is difficult to hold that the speaker had either intended to promote feelings of such enmity or hatred… among different classes.”
The Congress leadership, especially Nehru, had differences not only with RSS but also with Dr Ambedkar, Gandhiji, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Sardar Patel and many other nationalists when they stood against the dubious political designs of the party and Nehru. The Congress was particular about putting up a candidate against Dr Ambedkar in the Bhandara by-election, at a time when the Congress refrained from contesting against AK Gopalan in Kasargode, Kerala, who was the leader of the Communist Party.
SEEKING HELP FROM THE RSS
Parallelly, many in the Congress supported the RSS covertly and overtly. Guruji (in Bunch of Thoughts) remembers that a prominent Congress leader, who later became a central Cabinet minister attended an RSS function in Delhi despite objections from many of his colleagues from the Congress. Even the Congress governments, from time to time, sought the help of the RSS in times of crisis. During the sudden Chinese attack on India in 1962, the Congress Government sought assistance from the RSS to help soldiers and civilians. As a reward for the meritorious service rendered, though a non-governmental organisation, the RSS was allowed to participate in the Republic Day parade in 1963 in their “full ganavesh” (RSS uniform), which was a unique incident in history. When Pakistan attacked India in 1965, the Congress Government asked the RSS to control traffic in Delhi City, while the police force was involved in assisting the military efforts.
It is interesting to note that many who publicly attributed Gandhi’s murder to the RSS have to face defamation cases in various courts of law. All of them had to finally escape court punishment by apologising to the RSS. The saga of apologising to the RSS for mercy started with Desabhimani, the Communist newspaper in Malayalam in 1950 which published in their calendar “January 30 as the day RSS murdered Gandhi”. Other prominent people who apologised to the RSS include journalist Abdul Gafur Noorani (A.G. Noorani), Congress leader Sitaram Kesari etc. The latest case is that of Rahul Gandhi, who is currently facing trial.
THE 1966 RULE OF “MCCARTHYISM”
In the Raghuvamsi case in 1983, the Supreme Court of India said sacking an employee for association with the RSS amounts to “McCarthyism” which means unfair and repressive political practice of publicising accusations of disloyalty or subversion with insufficient evidence to suppress opposition.
In 1960, the Congress Government resorted to the provisions of a British-era black law viz. Central Civil Services Rules, 1933, and took action against one government employee, B.G. Kedar, in Nagpur for his association with the RSS. The Nagpur Bench of the High Court quashed this action.
On 7-11-1966, there was a massive anti-cow slaughter protest in front of Parliament, involving lakhs of people including sanyasis under the leadership of the RSS and Jana Sangh. Many protesters were killed when the police opened fire on them. The Congress Government panicked and sought other recourse to suppress the RSS. On a query raised by the Finance Ministry, the Congress Government under the leadership of Indira Gandhi by “a reply letter” dated 30-11-1966, “prohibited” government employees from associating with the RSS under Rule 5(1) of the Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1964. In the letter, the government equated the RSS with a communal radical organisation, Jamaat-e-Islami. The government said it has “always held the activities of these two organizations to be of such a (political) nature”. In the same year, the Congress Government appointed a Judicial Commission headed by retired Justice J.L. Kapur, mainly to publicise the role of the RSS in Gandhi’s assassination. The Kapur Commission submitted its report in 1969, categorically saying contrary to the Congress’s expectation that the RSS had no role in Gandhiji’s assassination. In 1967, the Congress Government passed the Unlawful Activities (Prevention Act) also.
The 1966 anti-RSS direction was reiterated again by orders dated 25-7-1970 and 28-11-1975. On the 3rd and 4th of July 1975, the Congress Government banned the RSS along with Jamaat-e-Islami, Anand Marg and CPI (ML) under rule 33 of the Defence and Internal Security of India Rules, 1971. However, in the order dated 28-11-1975, the government asked all departments to resort to the constitutional provision regarding summary dismissal of employees associated with the RSS “without any enquiry”. However, in 1977, the fascist Congress regime was thrown away by the people of India in the election, and the Janata Party came to power. Then the ban on the RSS was lifted. Still, a government order dated 23-4-1977 said: “Consequent upon the lifting of the ban on organizations… action may be taken against Central Government employees if they come to notice for participation in the activities of the political organizations, under the normal service rules.” Congress always propagated the RSS as a political organisation.
In 1980, the Janata Party Government collapsed and the Congress again came to power. The Congress Government again issued an order dated 28-10-1980 drawing the attention of government departments to the old 1966 provision banning government employees from joining the RSS. The said order also strangely conveyed that no complaint should be entertained by government departments from organisations like the RSS: “No notice should be taken by government and its officers, local bodies, state-aided institutions of petitions or representations on a communal basis, and no patronage whatsoever should be extended to any communal organization.” This is the last obnoxious order which prevailed over Government employees and Government departments.
On 10-12-1992, four days after the demolition of the disputed structure in Ayodhya, the RSS was again banned by invoking the Unlawful Activities (Prevention Act), 1967, by the Congress Government. There was widespread allegation that the Narasimha Rao Government had facilitated the demolition. The Congress Government, to save its face, banned the RSS. But the Tribunal to which the matter was referred, after a lengthy trial found: “No other particulars or facts have been given against the RSS nor any evidence or material in support of grounds mentioned in the ban notification have been given.” The Tribunal set aside the government notification that banned the RSS.
State governments ruled by anti-RSS parties also tried their best to suppress the RSS activities in various ways. Congress governments in several states banned government employees from associating with the RSS. The J&K Government banned government employees from joining the RSS and Jamaat-e-Islami. In Madhya Pradesh, this was done by amending the MP Civil Services (Conduct) Rules by the Digvijay Singh Government in 2000 which was lifted in 2006. A similar ban was lifted in Gujarat in the year 2000. Similarly, the Himachal Pradesh Government lifted the ban in 2008. In 2015, Chhattisgarh Government permitted its employees to associate with the RSS. Haryana Government also allowed the employees to join the RSS and Jamaat-e-Islami in 2021 saying “the earlier issued letters… in 1967, 1970 and 1980 are hereby withdrawn with immediate effect as they are no longer relevant.”
SUPREME COURT AGAINST ‘MCCARTHYISM’
On different occasions, the Supreme Court saved government employees from the harassment of the Congress governments. Congress governments, just like fascist and Nazi regimes, have blatantly disregarded the constitutional principles of the right to form associations. In the Raghuvanshi case of 1983, the Supreme Court of India observed while rejecting the order of the Madhya Pradesh Government sacking a schoolteacher for associating with the RSS: “Neither the RSS nor the Jan Sangh is alleged to be engaged in any subversive or other illegal activity; nor are the organisations banned… Everyone is entitled to his thoughts and views. There are no barriers. Our Constitution guarantees that. In fact, members of these organisations continue to be members of Parliament and State Legislatures. They are heard often with respect inside and outside the Parliament… To hold otherwise would be to introduce ‘McCarthyism’ into India which is not healthy to the philosophy of our Constitution.”
Congress governments have asked the police to verify government job aspirants’ connection with the RSS to prevent their appointment to government posts. The matter came up before the Supreme Court twice, and Justice Syed Murtaza Fazalali in the Raghuvamsi case of 1983 and a three-judge Bench in the Avtar Singh case of 2011 clarified: “This Court has laid down that the whole business of seeking police report about the political belief and association of the past political activities of a candidate for public employment is repugnant to the basic rights guaranteed by the Constitution.” In the case of T.S. Vasudevan Nair, the employee had at the time of appointment to the Space Centre, suppressed the fact that during the Emergency he had been convicted in a case registered under the Defence of India Rules for having once shouted slogans. In 1988, a three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court heard the matter, held that the said appointment could not be cancelled due to such non-disclosure and directed the employer to appoint him.
There are innumerable judgments of High Courts also in favour of the RSS and condemning the acts of Congress governments. The instance began in 1955 with the Madhya Bharat High Court declaring: “No Temporary Government Employee can be removed stating that he is a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.” “Speech given at a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh programme is not an offence under Section 153A of Indian Penal Code IPC,” said the Patna High Court in 1961. Bombay High Court observed in 1962: “Any Govt Employee participating in Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh activities is not resorting to ‘Destructive Work’ and no one can be removed from Govt service based on this.” In 1967, when the Punjab Government alleged that, in their opinion, the RSS is a political party, the Punjab and Haryana High Court rejected the contention and said there was no material before the government to hold so. The High Courts of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra etc. have said that association with the RSS is not a ground for dismissal from service.
In the latest case of 2024, a division bench of the Himachal Pradesh High Court held that prima facie such orders appeared to be “patently arbitrary, illegal and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India.” However, the Congress regimes continued their malicious crusade against the RSS and harassing of its workers.
STILL, THE BAN REMAINS IN OTHER LAWS
On 12-3-2000, the then Saha Sanghachalak of RSS, Delhi, wrote in the Organiser asking the government to remove the “unlawful, undemocratic, fascist restriction on the Government servants”. In 16-6-2016, the Minister of State in a reply to the question said, “If any old order exists, we will review it.” The following day, RSS Prachar Pramukh said, “Banning RSS members from joining government service is unjust and undemocratic. But such bans hardly affect RSS work and morale of swayamsevaks.” Government Employees’ National Confederation (affiliated with BMS) wrote to the Prime Minister on 20-10-2018 on the same matter. Finally, the RSS being a lawful socio-cultural organisation, on 9-7-2024, the NDA Government “removed the mention of RSS from orders dated 30-11-1966, 25-7-1970, and 28-10-1980”.
However, it is not clear whether the banning of the RSS in other laws has been removed, as they appear on official websites. For example, the Congress Government also amended on 6-3-1976 the All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968. Para 13 of the rule elaborately discusses under the title, “The ban on participation in certain organisations like R.S.S.” By S.O. 306 dt 13-5-1975, a provision is added to the said rules, which says: “Whereas the Central Government is satisfied with respect to the organisations known as Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh that it is an organisation which is and whose members and the persons in control whereof, are indulging in activities prejudicial to the internal security, the public safety and the Maintenance of public order.” The 1968 Rules were amended in 2014 by the new NDA Government, making 13 new additions like ethical standards etc. to officers, but still the provisions against RSS remain.
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