It was the middle of February 1947, when Vasantrao Oak, then Delhi Provincial Organiser of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), rushed to Nagpur by air. He informed Sri Guruji, Sarsanghchalak of RSS, that the Congress was willing to accept the Partition of the country.
Sri Guruji could not believe it. Till then he had full faith in Gandhiji’s words that “Partition will take place only on his dead body”. But when Vasantrao told that he had definite information from the responsible Congress circles, Sri Guruji had to believe.
The Partition of the country in the formation of Pakistan meant the wholesale genocide of the Hindus residing in the proposed Pakistan areas. The Calcutta killings (Aug. 1946), the Noakhali killings (Sept-Oct. 1946), the Bihar killings (Oct. 1946), attacks on Garh Ganga pilgrims in U.P. (Nov 1946), Haripur Hazara killings in NWFP (Dec 1946 and Jan 1947) had already shown the designs of the Muslim Society and the Muslim League.
Guruji Cautions Sanatanis
Sri Guruji conferred with Balasaheb Deoras. Both decided to visit Punjab as it was the main target of the Muslim League. The main aim of Sri Guruji was to warn the Hindus about the upcoming adverse situation and to boost their morale during those situations. For that he addressed mammoth public meetings at various places and met the Hindus leaders of these places and inspired them to stand and react, if needed. Also he advised them to press upon Congress leaders for the non-acceptance of the Partition.The programme of Balasaheb Deoras was to meet the main RSS workers at various places to take stock of those places and to prepare them mentally to meet the coming adverse situations. On March 3, Balasaheb was at Multan, on 4th at Layalpur and on 5th at Rawalpindi.
Pain Inflicted in Punjab by Islamists
On March 5, Muslim attacks on Hindus began simultaneously at various places in Punjab i.e. Lahore, Rawalpindi, Gujaranwala, Amritsar, Jullunder and Multan. On that day, Balasaheb was at Rawalpindi. His upcoming programme was cancelled due to the disturbances. And he returned to Lahore on March 6th. Rawalpindi was the worst affected area in these disturbances and the serious condition of that place can be imagined from the fact that even Balasahab had to come from Rawalpindi in the Muslim disguise.
Guruji Travels to Punjab
Sri Guruji was at Jammu on March 5 and his next programme was at Rawalpindi on the 6th. But Rawalpindi was also burning. So instead of going to Rawalpindi, he also returned to Lahore. Ten armed Swayamsevaks of Jammu accompanied him for security upto Wazirabad Railway Station. Another batch of armed Swayamsevaks came from Lahore at Wazirabad Station for the rest of the journey to Lahore. And Sri Guruji reached Lahore safely. Both could see themselves the actual position of Punjab.
Sri Guruji was at Jammu on March 5 and his next programme was at Rawalpindi on the 6th. But Rawalpindi was also burning. So instead of going to Rawalpindi, he also returned to Lahore
From Lahore, Sri Guruji returned to Delhi and Balasahab went to Jammu. At Jammu there was a two-day meeting of the Vibhag Pracharaks of Punjab on March 8th and 9th. In this Jammu meeting deliberation took place regarding the coming situation and what role should the Swayamsevaks play in those situations.
RSS Resists Islamic Aggression
Although the Congress was ready to accept the Partition but Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh was not. RSS policy was to try to create such a situation that the Partition could not take place on the ground, at least in the Western Bharat. For that, Swayamsevaks tried to give the message to the Hindus of Punjab, Sindh and the Frontier Province neither to leave their homes nor to run from their villages. They should stand firmly against all odds and resist the Muslim aggressions with full strength collectively.
And Hindus did so accordingly. They struggled and resisted bravely. At many places aggressors were compelled to run away. In these struggles, Muslim leaders were backing the Muslim aggressors. In addition to that the Muslim Police, Muslim Military and Muslim Administration were helping them. On the contrary, nobody was on the back of the Hindus- neither Hindu Congress leaders, nor Hindu Administration, nor Hindu Police, nor Hindu Military. For years, Hindus relied on Congress leaders. But at this juncture, when they were needed most, they turned their backs, left the battleground and ran away to Shimla and Delhi. Leaderless Hindus still fought. They fought on the basis of their ‘inner force’. From mohalla to mohallas and village to village, Hindus fought to defend themselves. At every place, Swayamsevaks remained on the forefront. Therefore, they automatically became the leaders of those places.At many places Hindus were on the victory path. But this position turned when Muslim Police and Muslim Military came on the ground. It was impossible to fight with them. That was the main reason of Hindu disaster.
The Nehru Government was not formed on August 15, 1947. It was formed on September 2, 1946. The difference between these two dates was that the Government that was formed on September 2 was the Interim Government. The Congress Ministers of this Interim Government came to an agreement with the Muslim League and the British Government and accepted the Partition of Bharat, which was announced on June 3rd from London and New Delhi simultaneously. This agreement was backed by the All India Congress Committee (AICC) held at Delhi on June 14th and 15th, 1947. The paradox was, Gandhi, who once said “Vivisect Gandhi before vivisecting India”, himself appealed to the A.1.C.C. to accept the Partition.
Nehru Govt’s Failure to Restore Normalcy
August 15, 1947 was fixed the date for the Partition. That means Nehru’s Interim Government was ruling over the whole of Bharat including the areas proposed in Pakistan.
After the decision of the formation of Pakistan, the tendency of unleashing violence among Muslims increased. They began to indulge in violent activities against Hindus openly and fearlessly. In such a situation, the essential duty of the Nehru Government was the safety of Hindus. By using Police and Military, riots should have been suppressed rigidly. Muslim rioters should have been arrested and put behind the bars. Arms collected secretly at various places should had been seized by raids.
If the Government (i.e. Congress Ministers) thought that the use of Police and Army was not appropriate then they should have inspired the Congress workers to come out from their homes taking arms in their hands and resisted hooligans in villages and cities. If this was not possible then the fourth alternative was to have such arrangements that all Muslims had to go to Pakistan and all Hindus had to come to Hindustan. But the Government and Congress used none of these four remedial alternatives. Their minds were captivated by the slogans of ahimsa and the Hindu-Muslim unity. This mental capability made them unable to differentiate between right and wrong. If the Government felt that Congress workers were unable to face Muslim hooliganism then the third alternative was to entrust this responsibility to the RSS Swayamsevaks. When the Government could request the RSS Swayamsevaks on September 2, 1946, to save the Congress Ministers (including Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel) from the Muslim League attacks at
Delhi, why was it not possible afterwards at other places?
The result was the mass scale bloodshed and displacement of Hindus unparalleled in world history.
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