Nehru’s Word: The RSS does not believe in peaceful methods or satyagraha

The sudden withdrawal of the ban on government servants participating in activities of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), in place for almost six decades and left untouched in the last decade of BJP rule, has led to speculation that this is the BJP’s peace overture to the RSS.

The RSS was first banned on 4 February 1948 in the aftermath of the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. Then RSS chief M.S. Golwalkar and over 25,000 Sangh activists were arrested. Demands for the ban to be withdrawn surfaced soon after, and led to a discussion within the government. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was a major participant in this discussion. Excerpts from his letters and notes illustrate his position on the issue.

My dear Vallabhbhai,

I am dealing here with some matters referred to in your letter of the 15th… If, at this juncture, we remove the ban on the RSS and continue it on other groups, this will be widely interpreted as our encouraging certain fascist elements in India.

The RSS has a definite ideology which is entirely opposed to that of the government and the Congress. They oppose definitely the idea of a secular State. In fact, their ideology strikes at the root of our Constitution, present and future. If they continue to hold that ideology, their activities are definitely unconstitutional. The least they can do is to make clear publicly that they renounce this ideology and all activities to further it.

I remember Bapu telling me after his first meeting with [M.S.] Golwalkar (RSS chief from 1940-73 — Ed.) that he was partly impressed by him, but at the same time he did not trust him.

After his second or third meeting, he expressed a very strong opinion against Golwalkar and the RSS and said that it was impossible to rely upon their word. They appear to be highly reasonable when talked to, but they had no compunction about acting in exact contradiction to what they said. My own impression has been the same.

I believe that we have been receiving reports from various parts of the country telling us of undesirable activities by the RSS. I suggest, therefore, that we should be very careful in taking any new step about the RSS at the present juncture.”

(Letter to Vallabhbhai Patel, 27 October 1948)

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Dear Shri Golwalkar,

In the course of the last year, both the central government and the provincial governments have received a mass of information in regard to the objectives and activities of the RSS. This information does not fit in with what has been stated by you in this behalf. Indeed, it would appear that the declared objectives have little to do with the real ones and with the activities carried on in various forms and ways by people associated with the RSS.

These real objectives appear to be completely opposed to the decisions of the Indian Parliament and the provision for the proposed Constitution of India. The activities, according to our information, are anti-national and often subversive and violent. You would appreciate therefore that mere assertions to the contrary do not help very much.

I would gladly see you but, apart from my being very fully occupied since my return from Europe, I do not think such an interview will serve any useful purpose.

(Letter to M.S. Golwalkar, 10 November 1948)

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For some time past, intelligence reports have stated that large scale arrangements are being made by the RSS to challenge the authority of [the] government by satyagraha and other means… It is stated that RSS action might take place at the time during the Congress session in Jaipur and when a large number of Congress leaders and ministers from all over India are conglomerated at Jaipur. It is hoped that absence of ministers would delay governmental action.

All this has to be provided for so that immediate steps might be taken. On the last occasion when the RSS was declared illegal, there had been no previous preparation or sufficient intimation... Care might be taken to avoid a repetition of this.

In order to meet any widespread movement, it is necessary to arrest and intern the leaders and prominent workers of the movement in good time. It must be remembered that satyagraha is just a word which the RSS uses. They have no conception of what satyagraha means and no intention of following the spirit of satyagraha conceived by Mahatma Gandhi or the Congress. It is in fact a mere cloak for other activities.

RSS is essentially a body that functions secretly. What it does or says in public has no relation to what it carries on in secret. Therefore, an open satyagraha movement will only be a cloak for other activities which may be very dangerous.

Probably, and indeed it is stated, that a number of prominent RSS leaders will go underground long before the satyagraha starts. That is not the way of satyagraha. It means that the underground people will work for other ends while public attention is diverted by the satyagraha.

Provincial governments should stay in readiness, should know exactly who to deal with and who to arrest and intern, and should have a certain latitude to take necessary action. The situation in Delhi requires particular care, not only because Delhi is the capital but also because it is a centre for such activities… I suggest that the home ministry confer with the chief commissioner of Delhi and issue instructions to provincial governments as soon as possible.

(Note to the home ministry, 5 December 1948)

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We have received numerous warnings about the activities of the RSS and their intention to start satyagraha in the near future... For the RSS to talk of satyagraha is rather a contradiction in terms... The RSS has been essentially a secret organisation with a public façade, having no rules of membership, no registers, no accounts, although large sums are collected. They do not believe in peaceful methods or in satyagraha. What they say in public is entirely opposed to what they do in private...

The RSS is typical in this respect of the type of organisation that grew up in various parts of Europe in support of fascism. It attracts people, essentially from the lower-middle class, many of them frustrated, many of them with vague ideas and little thought behind them.

(Letter to chief ministers, 6 December 1948)

Selected and edited by Mridula Mukherjee, former professor of History at JNU and former director of Nehru Memorial Museum and Library