RSS as a Terrorist Outfit: Evidence from Its Archives

A leading authority on the Hindutva FascismThis is a lengthy article divided into five parts. It gives a comprehensive understanding of the world’s largest fascist organization that uses religion as a weapon to destroy other religious communities.

RSS Modeled After Nazi & Fascist PartiesThe process of Hindutva takeover of the democratic-secular Indian polity got a huge push with Narender Modi, a seasoned RSS ideologue becoming PM of India in 2014. His commitment to the cause of Hindutva politics is unambiguous. While ruling the State Gujarat as chief minister in 2013, he had declared himself to be a Hindu nationalist.[i]It was the first time in the history of Independent India that any person occupying a constitutional office identified him/herself as Hindu nationalist. To be noted, terrorists who assassinated MK Gandhi on January 30, 1948 at Delhi, too, described themselves as Hindu nationalists. The RSS and its innumerable known and unknown organizations with open war against democratic-secular Indian polity on a large scale, his taking over as PM. The Hindutva cadres and mobs ruled the streets of India with vehemence never seen after Independence. RSS leaders declared that with Modi as PM of India was once again under a Hindu ruler after Prithvi Raj Chauhan (1178-92), almost 1000 years later! One leading RSS office-bearers Rajeshwar Singh, declared:”Our target is to make India a Hindu Rashtra by 2021. Muslims and Christians don’t have any right to stay here. So they would either be converted to Hinduism or forced to run away from here.” [ii]The terrorism is in the genes of RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh; National Volunteer Association). It was formed in 1925 by KB Hedgewar (known as Doctorji in the RSS fraternity) and his mentor BS Moonje. The former was in the Indian National Congress (INC) but left it as he was against the anti-British freedom struggle led by MK Gandhi, which treated people of all religions as part of the Indian Nation and stood for an inclusive independent India. A biography of Hedgewar published by RSS describes that he parted with INC because,”Gandhiji constantly worked with one eye on Hindu– Muslim unity…But Doctorji sensed danger in that move. In fact, he did not even relish the newfangled slogan of ‘Hindu– Muslim Unity'”.[iii]

Linkages with MussoliniThis group of HINDU NATIONALIST leaders declared India a Hindu nation where India’s Muslims were the main enemies. To tackle the Muslims, they found the Nazi and Fascist models of cleansing Jews very attractive. The Italian researcher, Marzia Casolari, has done pioneering work in making available the direct linkages between RSS and Mussolini based on Moonje’s diary. Moonje, “a politician strictly related to the RSS,” had a man-to-man meeting with Mussolini on March 19, 1931 (3.00 pm) at Rome. According to Moonje’s diary, he told Mussolini that,”I just saw this morning and afternoon the Balilla [Italian Fascist Youth Organization] and the Fascist Organisations, and I was much impressed. Italy needs them for her development and prosperity. Every aspiring and growing Nation needs such organizations… ‘Signor Mussolini–who appeared very pleased–said– Thanks, but yours is an uphill task. However I wish you every success in return.'”According to Moonje’s diary, immediately after his return from Rome, he called upon Hindu nationalist leaders to”Imitate the youth movements of Germany and the Balilla and Fascist organizations of Italy. I think they are eminently suited for introduction in India, adapting them to suit the special conditions. I have been very much impressed by these movements, and I have seen their activities with my own eyes in all details.”March 31, 1934, Moonje, Hedgewar, and Laloo Gokhale had a meeting, the subject of which was again the Hindus’ military organization, along the Italian and German lines. Moonje called upon the gathering that they should work for”standardization of Hinduism throughout India… But the point is that this ideal cannot be brought to effect unless we have our swaraj with a Hindu as a dictator like Shivaji of old or Mussolini or Hitler of the present-day Italy or Germany. But this does not mean that we have to sit with folded hands until some such dictator arises in India. We should formulate a scientific scheme and carry on propaganda for it…”According to Marzia, Moonje publicly admitted that the “military training schools of England, France, Germany and Italy inspired him to reorganize Hindu society militarily. ” Moonje’s ‘Preface to the Scheme of the Central Hindu Military Society and its Military School’ declared at the outset:”This training is meant for qualifying and fitting our boys for the game of killing masses of men with the ambition of winning victory with the best possible causalities of dead and wounded while causing the utmost possible to the adversary.”[iv]The renowned Indian historian, Professor Ramchandra Guha, underscoring the continuation of the Fascist Italian legacy by the current RSS-BJP regime, wrote recently,”The Italian State of the 1920s bears a striking resemblance to Modi’s regime today, which speaks respectfully of the Constitution while blatantly violating its spirit and essence. It appeals to ancient wisdom while displaying a contempt for modern science, which claims to exalt ancient culture while manifesting an utter philistinism in practice.”Benito Mussolini and his fascists thought they would rule Italy forever. Narendra Modi and the BJP think likewise. These fantasies of eternal rule will not come to fruition. Still, so long as the present regime remains in power, it will continue to extract a horrendous cost — in economic, political, social, and moral terms. Italy took decades to recover from the ravages of Mussolini and his party; India may take even longer to recover from the ravages of Modi and his party.” [v]

RSS Celebrated the Holocaust & Planned to Execute it in IndiaThe most prominent ideologue of the RSS, MS Golwalkar (known as Guru Golwalkar in the RSS fraternity) who became RSS Supremo in 1940 and who is credited by the present Indian PM to have groomed him into a political leader glorified the Holocaust in the following words:”German Race pride has now become the topic of the day. To keep up the purity of the race and its culture, Germany shocked the world by purging the Semitic races’ country—the Jews. Race pride at its highest has been manifested here. Germany has also shown how well-nigh impossible it is for races and cultures, having differences going to the root, to be assimilated into one united whole, a good lesson for us in Hindusthan to learn and profit by.” [vi]Golwalkar, finally, following into the footsteps of Hitler, arrived at the following solution for the minority problem in India,”From this standpoint, sanctioned by the experience of shrewd old nations, the foreign races in Hindusthan must either adopt the Hindu culture and language, must learn to respect and hold in reverence Hindu religion, must entertain no idea but those of the glorification of the Hindu race and culture, i.e., of the Hindu Nation and must lose their separate existence to merge in the Hindu race, or may stay in the country, wholly subordinated to the Hindu Nation, claiming nothing, deserving no privileges, far less any preferential treatment not even citizen’s rights. There is, at least should be, no other course for them to adopt. We are an old nation: let us deal, as old nations ought to and do deal, with the foreign races who have chosen to live in our country.” [vii]Hatred for Democratic-Secular IndiaContrary to the principles of democracy, the RSS repeatedly demanded India to be ruled under a totalitarian regime. Golwalkar, while delivering a speech before the 1350 top-level cadres of the RSS in 1940 declared,”RSS inspired by one flag [saffron], one leader and one ideology is lighting the flame of Hindutva in every corner of this great land.” [viii]This slogan of one flag, one leader, and one ideology was directly borrowed from the programs of Nazi and Fascist parties of Europe.The English organ of the RSS, Organiser, on the very eve of Independence (August 14, 1947) editorially chalked out its concept of Nation in the following words:”Let us no longer allow ourselves to be influenced by false notions of nationhood. Much of the mental confusion and the present and future troubles can be removed by the ready recognition of the simple fact that in Hindusthan only the Hindus form the Nation and the national structure must be built on that safe and sound foundation…the Nation itself must be built up of Hindus, on Hindu traditions, culture, ideas and aspirations.”Golwalkar Planned Massacre of Muslims So RSS under Golwalkar was committed to the cleansing of Muslims from India. He was personally involved in this evil project, as was corroborated by the first home secretary of Uttar Pradesh, Rajeshwar Dayal, and a senior bureaucrat in his autobiography.”I must record an episode of a very grave nature when the procrastination and indecision of the UP Cabinet led to dire consequences. When communal tension was still at fever pitch, the Deputy Inspector General of Police of the Western Range, a very seasoned and capable officer, B. B. L. Jaitley, arrived at my house in great secrecy. He was accompanied by two of his officers who brought with them two large steel trunks securely locked. When the trunks were opened, they revealed incontrovertible evidence of a dastardly conspiracy to create a communal holocaust throughout the province’s Western districts. The trunks were crammed with blueprints of great accuracy and professionalism of every town and village in that vast area, prominently marking out the Muslim localities and habitations. There were also detailed instructions regarding access to the various locations, and other matters which amply revealed the sinister purport.Greatly alarmed by those revelations, I immediately took the police party to the Premier’s [Govind Vallabh Pant of the INC] house. In a closed room, Jaitley gave a full report of his discovery, backed by all the steel trunks’ evidence. Timely raids conducted on the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) had brought the massive conspiracy to light. The whole plot had been concerted under the direction and supervision of the Supremo of the organization [Golwalkar] himself.[ix]Of course, Pant, an RSS mole in the Congress, took no action despite Golwalkar present in the area. He was never charged for this attempt of the massacre of Muslims.

Even Sardar Patel Underlined Massacre of Muslims During Partition by the RSS It is well-known that the then Home Minister of India, Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel, had a soft corner for the RSS and continues to be a favorite with the RSS. However, even Sardar Patel found it difficult to defend the RSS for its role in Muslims’ post-Partition massacre. In a letter written to Golwalkar (the then Supremo of the RSS), dated September 11 1948, Sardar Patel stated:”Organizing the Hindus and helping them is one thing but going in for revenge for its sufferings on innocent and helpless men, women and children is quite another thing…” [x]Highly Decorated Indian Police Officer on RSS Terrorism Under Modi RuleOther honest senior officials dared to bring in public domain record RSS’ terrorist activities. How RSS spread hatred and terrorized minorities of India in less than a year of Modi first term as the PM (2014-19) of India was described in detail by one of the most decorated cops of India, Julio Ribeiro, former ambassador to Romania and recipient of the Padma Bhushan, a prominent national award in the following words. Petrified as a Christian, he wrote on March 17, 2015:Today, in my 86th year, I feel threatened, not wanted, reduced to a stranger in my own country. The same category of citizens who had put their trust in me to rescue them from a force they could not comprehend have now come out of the woodwork to condemn me for practicing a religion that is different from theirs. I am not an Indian anymore, at least in the eyes of the Hindu Rashtra proponents.Is it coincidence or a well-thought-out plan that a small and peaceful community’s systematic targeting should begin only after the BJP government of Narendra Modi came to power last May? ‘Ghar wapsi’, the declaration of Christmas as ‘Good Governance Day’, the attack on Christian churches and schools in Delhi, all added to a sense of siege that now afflicts these peaceful people.Christians have consistently punched above their weight — not as much as the tiny Parsi community, but just as noticeably. Education, in particular, has been their forte. Many schools, colleges, and related establishments that teach jobs have been set up and run by Christians. They are much in demand. Even diehard Hindus have sought admission in such centers of learning and benefited from Christian teachers’ commitment and sincerity. Incidentally, no one seems to have been converted to Christianity, though many, many have imbibed Christian values and turned ‘pseudo-secularist’.A Christian general headed the Indian army, the navy more than once, and the air force. The country’s defense forces have countless men and women in uniform who are Christians. How can they be declared non-Indians by Parivar hotheads out to create a pure Hindu Rashtra?Tragically, these extremists have been emboldened beyond permissible limits by an atmosphere of hate and distrust. The Christian population, a mere 2 percent of the total populace, has been subjected to a series of well-directed body blows. If these extremists later turn their attention to Muslims, which seems to be their goal, they will invite consequences that this writer dreads to imagine.[xi]What Golwalkar’s favorite RSS student, Modi, did to Gujarat Muslims in 2002 would be clear from the following words of an editorial in a prominent English daily of India, Hindustan Times,”Daughters were gang-raped in front of their fathers and then had their heads bashed in. Their fathers were doused with petrol and set on fire. Their property was looted. Their businesses were destroyed. And the police stood by and did nothing.[xii]

For RSS, Muslims & Christians are Internal Threat No One & Two RespectivelyThe ‘Holy’ book for the RSS cadres Bunch of Thoughts, has a long chapter titled as ‘Internal Threats’ in which Muslims and Christians are described as threat number one and two respectively. This chapter opens with the following statement.”It has been the tragic lesson of the history of many a country in the world that the hostile elements within the country pose a far greater menace to national security than aggressors from outside.” [xiii]While treating Muslims as hostile element number one, Golwalkar goes on to elaborate,”Even to this day there are so many who say, ‘now there is no Muslim problem at all. All those riotous elements who supported Pakistan have gone away once for all. The remaining Muslims are devoted to our country. After all, they have no other place to go, and they are bound to remain loyal’….It would be suicidal to delude ourselves into believing that they have turned patriots overnight after Pakistan’s creation. On the contrary, the Muslim menace has increased a hundredfold by the creation of Pakistan which has become a springboard for all their future aggressive designs on our country.” [xiv]He goes on to spit venom against common Muslims in the following words,”…within the country there are so many Muslim pockets, i.e., so many ‘miniature Pakistans’…The conclusion is that, in practically every place, there are Muslims who are in constant touch with Pakistan over the transmitter…” [xv]According to him, every Muslim in India is untrustworthy and disloyal,”Even today, Muslims, whether in high positions of the Government or outside, participate openly in rabidly anti-national conferences.” [xvi]While deliberating on the ‘Internal Threat’ number two, he says,”Such is the role of Christian gentlemen residing in our land today, out to demolish not only the religious and social fabric of our life but also to establish political domination in various pockets and if possible all over the land.” [xvii]This book from Guru of Hate, Golwalkar denigrates the Indian Constitution, the concept of equality, justice, and the Tricolour, the national flag. It attracts at least 20 Indian Penal Code charges but continues to be sold in all Indian languages and the best-seller for RSS.RSS Linkages with the International Terrorist Organizations: Report in The New York TimesThe world obsessed with Islamist terrorism has not bothered to notice a new terrorism network developing fast in India and its neighborhood between Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and two ultra-nationalist Buddhist groups of Myanmar and Sri Lanka against minorities in the area. In a startling and focused disclosure, The International New York Times (October 16, 2014) in an editorial titled ‘Deadly alliances against Muslims’ wrote:”On his 79th birthday in July, the Dalai Lama appealed to Buddhist extremist groups in Myanmar and Sri Lanka to stop instigating attacks against Muslim minorities that have killed scores. Instead, in an affront to Buddhism’s core message of compassion, those groups’ leaders announced an alliance to make common cause against Muslims.’The time has come to ally internationally,’ Galagodaththe Gnanasara, the leader of the radical Sri Lankan Buddhist group Bodu Bala Sena, announced at a convention held in Colombo last month. The guest of honor was Ashin Wirathu, a Buddhist radical whose picture Time magazine put on its July 1 cover as ‘The Face of Buddhist Terror.’ The government of Prime Minister Mahindra Rajapaksa ignored pleas by Sri Lankan Muslim and Christian civil groups, fearful of more anti-Muslim violence in their country, to deny Mr. Wirathu a visa. Granting Mr. Wirathu a visa can only reinforce many Muslims’ fears that the government — and perhaps more powerful regional allies — back Bodu Bala Sena, which translates as Buddhist Power Force.”Last week, Mr. Gnanasara claimed he was in discussions ‘at a high level’ with the right-wing Indian Hindu group Rashtriya Swayam Sevak to form what he called a ‘Hindu-Buddhist peace zone’ in South Asia. A Rashtriya Swayam Sevak spokesman, Ram Madhav, promptly denied that there were any such discussions. But Mr. Madhav, now general secretary of India’s governing Bharatiya Janata Party, has written comments sympathetic to Bodu Bala Sena and Mr. Wirathu’s group 969 in Myanmar on his Facebook and Twitter accounts.”It is folly for the governments of Mr. Rajapaksa in Sri Lanka, President Thein Sein of Myanmar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India, or their political allies, to give even the appearance of tolerating these Islamophobic groups in a region that has too often been convulsed by religious sectarian violence. They should condemn this mad alliance before it can spread further.” [xviii]Neo-Nazi mass murderer of Norway, Breivik’s linkages with the RSSGnanasara’s revelation that ultra-orthodox Buddhists in South Asia are entering into deadly alliances with RSS for cleansing minorities in the region was not first of its kind. Neo-Nazi mass murderer of Norway, Anders Behring Breivik, glorified Indian’ Hindu Nationalists.[xix] He opened Pandora’s box when declared the “Hindu Nationalist” movement of India as a key ally in a global struggle to bring down democratic regimes across the world. Just before he went to massacre many people in Norway, he released a “manifesto” of 1,518 pages, of which 102 pages dealt with the glorification of India’s Hindutva movement. It declared support to “Sanatana Dharma movements and Indian nationalists in general.”This manifesto also laid down a plan of co-operation between Neo-Nazi movements of Europe and the “Hindu Nationalist” organizations of India. It said that it was essential that these two “learn from each other and cooperate as much as possible” as “Our goals are more or less identical.” This manifesto specially mentioned the name of the fountainhead of the Hindutva politics like RSS and its subsidiaries like BJP, ABVP, and VHP in this regard.[xx]Notably, the manifesto pledged military support “to the nationalists in the Indian civil war and the deportation of all Muslims from India” as part of a larger campaign to “overthrow all western European multiculturalist governments.In the light of these facts, it can be assumed that RSS is gradually working to build an international set-up to spread and execute its politics of hatred against Muslims, Christians, and progressive elements. Its goal of cleansing minorities is being internationalized with severe repercussions for the area and the world. Modi Government’s fraternal ties with Zionist Israel make this trend more lethal. These developments pose a serious threat to the country’s democratic-secular fabric and may turn India into unwarranted conflicts.Even Father of the Nation, MK Gandhi, Not SparedHindu Mahasabha and RSS were jointly responsible for the murder of Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, was corroborated by Sardar Patel in a letter to a prominent leader of Hindu Mahasabha, Syama Prasad Mookerjee. On July 18, 1948, Sardar wrote:”As regards the RSS and the Hindu Mahasabha, the case relating to Gandhiji’s murder is sub judice, and I should not like to say anything about the participation of the two organizations, but our reports do confirm that, as a result of the activities of these two bodies, particularly the former, an atmosphere was created in the country in which such a ghastly tragedy became possible. There is no doubt in my mind that the extreme section of the Hindu Mahasabha was involved in the conspiracy. The activities of the RSS constituted a clear threat to the existence of the Government and the State. Our reports show that those activities, despite the ban, have not died down. Indeed, as time has marched on, the RSS circles are becoming more defiant and are indulging in their subversive activities in an increasing measure.” [xxi]AS A BRAHMANICAL TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONThose who believe that RSS wants cleansing of Muslims and Christians only know half of the reality. Its project of Hindu nation demands sub-human existence for Sudras (Dalits) and Hindu women. RSS wanted this Constitution to be replaced by Manusmriti or Manu Code (laws of Manu) that is notorious for its derogatory and inhuman references to Sudras, Untouchables, and women. The Constituent Assembly of India finalized India’s Constitution on November 26, 1949, RSS was not happy. Its organ, Organiser in an editorial on November 30, 1949, complained:”But in our Constitution there is no mention of the unique constitutional development in ancient Bharat. Manu’s Laws were written long before Lycurgus of Sparta or Solon of Persia. To this day, his laws as enunciated in the Manusmriti excite the world’s admiration and elicit spontaneous obedience and conformity. But to our constitutional pundits, that means nothing.”By demanding promulgation of the Manu Code in the Independent India, RSS was following its mentor, philosopher and guide VD Savarkar, who declared:”Manusmriti is that scripture which is most worship-able after Vedas for our Hindu Nation and which from ancient times has become the basis of our culture-customs, thought and practice. This book, for centuries, has codified the spiritual and divine march of our Nation. Even today the rules, which are followed by crores of Hindus in their lives and practice, are based on Manusmriti. Today Manusmriti is Hindu Law.[xxii]What kind of civilization the RSS and Hindutva camp want to build by enforcing Manu’s laws can be known by having a glimpse of the laws prescribed by Manu for the lower castes/Untouchables and women. Some of these dehumanizing and degenerate laws, which are presented here, are self-explanatory.

A Selection of Laws of Manu Concerning Dalits/Untouchables1. For the sake of the prosperity of the worlds (the divine one) caused the Brahmana, the Kshatriya, the Vaisya, and the Sudra to proceed from his mouth, his arm, his thighs and his feet. (I/31)2. One occupation only the lord prescribed to the Sudras, to serve meekly even these (other) three castes. (I/91)3. Once-born man (a Sudra), who insults a twice-born man with gross invective, shall have his tongue cut out; for he is of low origin. (VIII/270)4. If he mentions the names and castes (jati) of the (twice-born) with contumely, an iron nail, ten fingers long, shall be thrust red-hot into his mouth. (VIII/271)5- If he arrogantly teaches Brahmanas their duty, the king shall cause hot oil to be poured into his mouth and his ears. (VIII/272)6. He raises his hand or a stick and shall have his hand cut off; he who in anger kicks with his foot shall have his foot cut off. (VIII/280)8. A low-caste man who tries to place himself on the same seat with a man of a high caste shall be branded on his hip and be banished, or (the king) shall cause his buttock to be gashed. (VIII/281)As per the Manu Code, if Sudras are to be given the most stringent punishments for even petty violations/actions, the same Code of Manu is very lenient towards Brahmins. Shloka 380 in Chapter VIII, bestowing profound love on Brahmins, decrees:”Let him never slay a Brahmana, though he has committed all (possible) crimes; let him banish such an (offender), leaving all his property (to him) and (his body) unhurt.”

Selection of Laws of Manu concerning women1. Day and night woman must be kept in dependence by the males (of) their (families), and, if they attach themselves to sensual enjoyments, they must be kept under one’s control. (IX/2)2. Her father protects (her) in childhood, her husband protects (her) in youth, and her sons protect (her) in old age; a woman is never fit for Independence. (IX/3)3. Women do not care for beauty, nor is their attention fixed on age; (thinking), ‘(It is enough that) he is a man,’ they give themselves to the handsome and to the ugly. (IX/14)4. Through their passion for men, through their mutable temper, through their natural heartlessness, they become disloyal towards their husbands, however carefully they may be guarded in this (world). (IX/15)5. (When creating them) Manu allotted to women (a love of their) bed, (of their) seat and (of) ornament, impure desires, wrath, dishonesty, malice, and bad conduct. (IX/17)The reproduced parts of the Manu Code above need no further elaboration and commentary. They are too glaringly hateful, fascist, and degenerated against Untouchables referred to as Sudras by Manu. Perhaps this was why the German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche, who contributed immensely to the growth of totalitarian ideas in Europe in the 20th century, fell in love with this work.It is to be noted here that a copy of Manusmriti was burnt as a protest in the presence of Dr. BR Ambedkar during the historic Mahad agitation in December 1927. In fact, Brahmanism as the basis of the RSS world-view, is the original Fascism in the history of human civilization.[xxiii]Use of Conspiracies for Terrorist Activities by the RSSLike any other terrorist outfit, RSS too indulges in conspiracies. It was corroborated by none other than Dr. Rajendra Prasad, who later became the Indian Republic’s first President. In a letter to the First Home Minister of India, Sardar Patel, on March 14, 1948, Prasad wrote:”I am told that RSS people have a plan of creating trouble. They have got several men dressed as Muslims and looking like Muslims who are to create trouble with the Hindus by attacking them and thus inciting the Hindus. Similarly, there will be some Hindus among them who will attack Muslims and thus incite Muslims. The result of this kind of trouble amongst the Hindus and Muslims will be to create a conflagration.” [xxiv]With these facts available in RSS’s official archives, it is not difficult to realize that RSS as a terrorist outfit represents the most lethal danger to the democratic-secular Indian polity and the world peace and the idea of co-existence. All those individuals and organizations concerned about these ideals and did not want another Holocaust must meet the challenge head-on.