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The lesson was not lost on the other religious communities.Sikh and Hindu politicians refused to support it, and they organized demonstrations to protest a Muslim League ministry.Communal riots soon erupted all over Punjab.To keep law and order during the partition process, the British created a boundary force.Among the British and many Congress leaders, there was the hope that the large minority communities on both sides of the border would continue to live peacefully in the new states.110 However, the administrative personnel of the minority community in the two Punjabs shifted to the other side.Moreover, the border police was terminated in September.The violence reached a peak in September, and subsided when the minority communities of West Pakistan fled to India.The population transfer on both sides of the border was far from smooth.In a 16 September 1947 visit to a shakha in Delhi, Mahatma Gandhi pleaded with the swayamsevaks to let the government handle law and order in the increasingly tense capital city.A large number of these refugees were businessmen, and many prospered in India.Thousands of swayamsevaks were recruited to organize rescue squads, to provide food and medicine, and to organize temporary residential quarters for the refugees when they arrived in India.There is even a certain romantic nostalgia in their reminiscence.Many recall the demands put on their talents and ingenuity, and in their recollection, they found themselves equal to the task.By the beginning of 1948, between 600,000 and 700,000 were attending some 7,000 shakhas.Gandhi was horrified at the violence in the capital city of independent India, and took the ultimate step to stop it.He had consistently insulted the Hindu nation and had weakened it by his doctrine of ahimsa.He never did anything about the Muslim fanatics.Leaders of both groups were arrested.By August 1948 most of the detainees were released, and Golwalkar himself was released on 5 August.If you with Government power and we with organized cultural force combined, we can eliminate this menace [communism].Following this advice, Patel broke off his discussion with Golwalkar.Golwalkar’s travel restrictions had been temporarily lifted in October so that he could confer with government officials in Delhi.When the discussions were terminated, he was again arrested and returned to Nagpur.Birla, one of India’s leading industrialists.Several months after the first meeting, Ranade again met Patel, and according to Ranade, Patel told him that swayamsevaks should join the Congress and help build up the party’s organizational base.Patel instructed Mauli Chandra Sharma to leave for Nagpur to work with Golwalkar in revising the constitution.‘There is no compromise undertaking of any kind given to the government.’150 Between August and November 1949 Golwalkar made an extensive tour of India.Its leaders were now prepared for it to take on a more activist orientation.The decision immediately set off a controversy within the ruling party, with Patel’s supporters generally supporting the action and Nehru’s supporters opposed to it.On 17 November 1949 the Congress Working Committee rescinded its earlier decision.Some believed that the leadership of the Congress had neither the commitment nor the capacity to inspire the sacrifices needed for national rejuvenation.Many felt that the new political order rested on foreign concepts which not only undermined India’s Hindu identity but also were contrary to India’s historical, social and political legacies, and they were not prepared to admit that the ancient wisdom was irrelevant in the contemporary period.The end result was a decision to get far more deeply involved in politics than Golwalkar had originally anticipated.Also like other revivalists, he was convinced that only Hindu thought would motivate the population to achieve independence and to restructure society.If you try other and foreign methods we shall either gain our end of national awakening with tedious slowness, painfully and imperfectly, if at all.A recurrent theme in belief systems is the identification of hostile forces which plot against the nation and which are responsible for the ‘disruptive’ strains in the country.Because Christians are culturally different, they have separated themselves from the ‘national soul’.However, Islam is viewed as a more serious problem because of the size of the Muslim community, the recent history of communal animosity between Hindus and Muslims, and the existence of Muslim states in the subcontinent.They [Muslims] look to some foreign lands as their holy places.They call themselves ‘Sheiks’ and ‘Syeds’.Sheiks and Syeds are certain clans in Arabia.How then did these people come to feel that they are their descendants?That is because they have cut off all their ancestral national moorings of this land and mentally merged themselves with the aggressors.By this he does not mean physical strength in the conventional sense.Rather, he is referring to the calm resolve needed for commitment to disciplined activity.The second virtue, which Golwalkar calls ‘character’, is a personal resolve to commit oneself to a noble cause.These two virtues, however, must be guided by ‘intellectual acumen’, the third virtue.Lastly, ‘fortitude’ is a virtue which permits the honourable person to persevere in a virtuous life.To summarize, the virtuous life is, above all, characterized by industriousness combined with a zealous and painstaking adherence to dharma.Because disorder and anarchy are presumably strengthened by human ‘passion’, the individual must diligently tame and discipline his energies.He [the politician] does not represent the soul of the people or its aspirations.The sheaths of maya are removed as the individual increasingly realizes that he is, in reality, the Brahma itself.The reward to this realization is release from the bonds of material existence, the merging of the individual soul with Brahma.This doctrine was developed in the Bhagavadgita.Arjuna, as a seeker of release from earthly bonds, could then proceed to the final stage of enlightenment, confident that his ‘acts’ will not predestine him to a reincarnation.To act contrary to them is an egocentric act that is disruptive of the social order ordained by the divinity.The social organism is sustained through the contribution of an individual’s talents.The set of talents which any person possesses is determined by this ‘genetic code’.Such a person is referred to as a karmayogin.While all forms of bhakti are recognized as valid steps on the path to complete realization, one form is considered superior to all others.People go to temples and try to concentrate on the idols taking them as emblems of the Almighty.These emblems neither weep nor smile nor show any reaction, unless of course the persons are devotees of extraordinarily high merit.The mental progression involves bursting through a set of circles of attachment.It has achieved its goal when the individual experiences a greater loyalty to the nation than to any other ‘lower’ form of attachment.It leaves instruction in higher forms of realization to more specifically religious teachers.In a sense, swayamsevaks are a lay order whose activities are as important, if not more so, than the activities of traditional priests.The metaphor of the Divine Mother is used to describe both the nation and the ‘sacred’ geography where the nation resides.Both are material emanations from the shakti.The division of the subcontinent in 1947 is described as ‘rape’.Those who threaten the nation of the ‘sacred’ geography are portrayed as lustful masculine figures.The nation has a ‘sacred’ geography, encompassing an impressive amount of real estate.Golwalkar’s successor, for example, talks of a loose federation to achieve the desired unity.Besides a ‘sacred’ geography, the nation is said to possess a soul, referred to as ‘chiti’ by one prominent spokesman.32 Chiti is a kind of higher law that takes precedence over any political institutions or manmade rules.33 It determines the social framework within which dharma is worked out.As we shall explain below, a special category of people are the legitimate interpreters of chiti.The concept of a national soul rests on the assumption that the cultural heritage of India is derived from a common source.The scheme provides for two systems of representation.The occupational assemblies at the firm and regional levels would jointly determine work standards, management of job training, research, and advancement within the occupation.The local and regional firm assemblies would jointly determine production, product distribution, wage policy, living and working standards.The scheme is intended to reduce the opportunities for both social conflict and exploitation.The major purpose of the two sets of assemblies is to establish a set of checks against possible exploitation of the workers in any part of the productive process.The scheme seeks to funnel interest articulation through one organization rather than have interests contend against each other through separate functionally antagonistic organizations.This does not necessarily mean that they are saintly rebels.Indeed, theoretically, their major function is to bring human law and divine will closer together.Of course, they have the legitimate right to oppose human law and custom when either offends their enlightened conscience.Apparently, they would be recognized for their wisdom and selflessness and voluntarily accepted as legitimate interpreters of the higher law.He reportedly said, ‘the office of Sarsanghchalak .Even a shepherd boy sitting on it would say nothing but right, and do nothing but right.’44 Golwalkar’s successor was also accepted with little overt opposition.The feeling of inequality, of high and low, which has crept into the Varna system is comparatively of recent Origin .But in its original form, the distinctions in the social order did not imply any discrimination of big or small, high or low, among its constituents.English is associated with the elites of government, business and education.Yet these same individuals must at least give the appearance of detachment and must not be too involved in the affairs of the world.The office itself appears to have brought charisma to Golwalkar and Deoras, his successor.Neither demonstrated charisma before assuming office.Questioned on this issue, Golwalkar said, ‘My feeling is that nature abhors excessive uniformity.’ He went on to explain that he had ‘no quarrel with any class, community or sect wanting to maintain its identity so long as that identity does not detract from its patriotic feeling’.‘A reformist’s attitude is alright.But a mechanical leveller’s attitude would not be correct.Let the Muslims evolve their own laws.In its blueprint of the ideal society, political power is held to be illegitimately exercised unless restrained by ‘constitutional’ sages who interpret dharma.Samskars are Hindu rites associated with the transitional phases of life.The rite is a sacrament of initiation which is administered prior to a youth’s training in his duties as a member of the community.61 The sacrament symbolizes a cultural and spiritual rebirth that is attained through discipline and learning.As we shall show, the ideological purpose of the discipline is to create a loyalty to national symbols that supercedes any ‘lower’ form of attachment.As the student progresses in ‘realization’, the boundaries of ego identity will crumble until he merges his own ego with the nation.The training programmes foster comradeship by developing close personal bonds between the participants and by inculcating an allegiance to common symbols.Membership in a shakha varies between 50–100 male participants.To have more than 100 is considered dysfunctional for group solidarity.By keeping the units small and oriented to a neighbourhood, participants in a single shakha probably come from similar social backgrounds, which increases the chances for social solidarity within the shakha itself.Curran, on the basis of research carried out soon after India’s independence, estimated that about 60 per cent of the participants were between 18 and 25.62 Our observations substantiate Curran’s data.Shakha is held seven days a week, in the morning, the early evening, and at night.A participant decides which time is most convenient for him.63 There are also weekly and monthly shakhas for those who cannot attend on a daily basis.A gata is composed of a common age group, and the participants tend to live in a particular locality.A gatanayak is expected to be an ‘elder brother’ of the other swayamsevaks in his group and a model of ideal behaviour.The shikshak teaches the games and exercises which the swayamsevak is expected to master.He may also lead his gata in discussion, a regular feature of the shakha.Most of the mukhya shikshaks we met were young men, typically in their twenties, who looked at their work as a kind of community service.To a large extent, the success of any shakha depends on the leadership ability of a mukhya shikshak.The attrition rate in the shakha is very high.‘I have not known another man [referring to the mukhya shikshak] endowed with his demonic energy for any work he addressed himself to.Whenever he was out of town, the attendance in the shakha would fall.The committee meets weekly.Representatives from each shakha are represented on the mandal committee, and the mukhya shikshak and/or the local pracharak pass on orders and information to the lowest level of the communications circuit.Above this structure, and theoretically exercising supervision over it, are state and national assemblies.The glitter belongs to the sanghchalaks, and the pracharaks are expected to behave deferentially towards them.Most pracharaks are recruited by a state pracharak in consultation with local officials who know the applicant.The state units determine their own manpower needs and have considerable discretion in assigning their own pracharaks.Pracharaks are on probationary service for one or two years, and during this period they are referred to as vistaraks.There are also formal meetings of pracharaks at the local and national level.The ‘typical’73 pracharak is recruited in his early twenties.He is well educated, usually a college graduate.He is fluent in English and Hindi, besides the language of the area in which he works.Most of those we met were science graduates.He is a bachelor, and he has no outside employment.While the ‘calling’ is theoretically a lifelong one, about one half of those we met stated that they intended to return to the ‘secular’ world.Many mentioned that their families were exerting pressure on them to marry, to find a more prestigious job, and to make money.Others claimed that they had become pracharaks out of a sense of ‘devotion to the Motherland’, and intended to ‘sacrifice’ several years of their lives for the nation and then fulfill their duties as a householder.Despite the constitutional provision requiring the sarsanghchalak to choose his successor ‘with the consent of the Karyakari Samiti’, Golwalkar chose Balasaheb Deoras only a few days before his death, and the central executive acquiesced.A competitive election would be considered a disruptive catalyst, resulting in factionalism that would undermine the unity of the organization.This document was not made public until shortly before Golwalkar’s funeral procession.It is highly unlikely that anyone at their level would oppose the choice.No formal debate preceded Golwalkar’ s choice, nor was there a formal vote.The general secretary is usually acknowledged to be the likely successor.Both Golwalkar and Deoras were general secretaries before taking over the chief executive position.The common participation in rituals and discussions, a common uniform, and the choice of physical activities are all designed to enhance a sense of community.Shakhas are conducted on an open ground.From left to right, facing the staff, are rows of shishu, bal, taruna, and proudh.At the back is a shikshak.The shikshaks, assisted by the gatanayaks, teach Indian games and yogic exercises.The repertoire of games is quite large, and the games are all meant to build a spirit of cooperation.Either in separate gata, combinations of gata, or as a single group, the members assemble in a circle for the discussion period.Occasionally, patriotic songs are sung.Most of these songs praise Hindu warriors and heroes or describe the beauty of the Motherland.The following stanzas from two songs were recalled by a swayamsevak long after he had ceased attending a shakha.I don’t want glory in the world, nor do I yearn for a place in heaven.Only confer on me, O Mother!This is followed by the shout, Bharat Mata ki jai!They are also encouraged to visit the sick and those absent.These activities are referred to as sadhana.This is any activity in the pursuit of religious enlightenment.A loyal swayamsevak is expected to practice sadhana in shakha every day of the year.Most karyalays will provide roam and board for a visiting swayamsevak.A person who misses shakha will be visited by the mukhya shikshak and the gatanayak.They will usually visit the person at the conclusion of the daily activities to find the cause for the absence.When he [mukhya shikshak] learnt .A single shakha or a group of shakhas will meet, usually in the evening, for a prepared lecture.These are background sessions to acquaint teachers with issues to discuss at shakha.Occasionally, these meetings are utilized to explain policy decisions made at Nagpur, to seek opinions on social and political issues, or to draw the swayamsevaks’ attention to major organizational and ideological problems facing the Sangh.The participants were not at all reluctant to disagree with the official support of kabaddi, though kabaddi continues as the officially favoured game.