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The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), celebrating its centenary, recently held a 3-day lecture series in Delhi. While some political factions claim the RSS had a negligible role in India’s independence, historical facts tell a different story. The RSS, and its founder Dr. Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, were vocal in their opposition to the British from the beginning. The organization itself participated in movements like the Civil Disobedience and the Quit India movement.
In 1897, during a ceremony celebrating Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee, sweets were distributed to schoolchildren. Eight-year-old Hedgewar refused to accept the sweets, discarding them in a trash can. In 1907, when the British administration imposed a ban on singing ‘Vande Mataram’ in public places, young Hedgewar sang the anthem in his class at Neil City School, in front of a government inspector, leading to his expulsion.
Hedgewar’s involvement extended to the Anushilan Samiti in Bengal. Born in Nagpur, Hedgewar was associated with Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak. During his medical studies, he was connected with the Anushilan Samiti, a leading revolutionary organization in Bengal, Calcutta. In 1915, during World War I, when Ras Bihari Bose and Sachindra Nath Sanyal planned a nationwide revolt in military cantonments, Dr. Hedgewar emerged as a prominent leader of the movement in Central India.
Initially, Dr. Hedgewar also had connections with the Congress. In 1920, during the 20th session of the Congress in Nagpur, Dr. Hedgewar and Dr. B.S. Hardikar were entrusted with the responsibilities of all arrangements. Under his leadership, approximately 1,200 volunteers were recruited to manage the event. At the time, he served as the Joint Secretary of the Nagpur Congress and was also a member of the reception committee for the session.
Following the successful Congress session in Nagpur, Dr. Hedgewar became one of the important leaders of the province. In April 1921, he was chosen as one of the 12 members of the Tilak Swaraj Fund Committee for the Central Province. In May 1921, he was also elected to the District Congress. His growing popularity increased with his role in the Non-Cooperation Movement.
Dr. Hedgewar stood against British orders. On February 22, 1921, Dr. Hedgewar declared, “Not a single liquor shop will be allowed to operate in Nagpur.” The court imposed a ban on meetings, participation, or any involvement in public ceremonies for one month. He was later imprisoned. After spending a year in jail, Dr. Hedgewar returned to the national movement in 1922.
On April 13, 1923, the Jhanda Satyagraha was organized in Nagpur, for which Dr. Hedgewar trained his volunteers. To organize the Rashtriya Swayamsevaks in the freedom struggle, he, along with Seth Jamnalal Bajaj, Nilkanthrao Deshmukh, M.S. Aney, and Babasaheb Khaparde, established the Wardha Parishad. The first session of the Wardha Parishad was held in Nagpur in October 1923. In 1924, Dr. Hedgewar began using the press to promote the goal of complete freedom and emerged as a fiery editor. In 1925, Hedgewar established the RSS with his associates.
In 1926-27, the RSS’s reach was limited to Nagpur and its surrounding areas. Meanwhile, the revolutionary Rajguru, who was studying at the Bhonsala Vidyalaya in Nagpur, became a volunteer. Around the same time, Bhagat Singh met Dr. Hedgewar in Nagpur. In December 1928, after avenging Lala Lajpat Rai’s death by assassinating police officer Saunders, the revolutionaries successfully escaped from Lahore. Dr. Hedgewar arranged for Rajguru to stay at the farmhouse of Bhaiyaji Dani in Umred.
During the Simon Commission’s visit to India in 1927, a nationwide boycott was organized. In Nagpur, RSS volunteers were at the forefront of strikes and demonstrations. In 1928, during the Vijayadashami celebrations, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s elder brother, Vithalbhai Patel, was present as the chief guest. The Sangh formed a training camp in Wardha on Swaraj (April 27-28, 1929), which was attended by hundreds of volunteers.
Dr. Hedgewar stated, “The British government has repeatedly promised to free India, but every such assurance has proved false. It is now clear that India will have to achieve freedom through its own strength.”
The Congress passed a resolution declaring complete independence as its goal at the historic Lahore session in December 1929 and called for Independence Day to be celebrated across the country on January 26, 1930. Dr. Hedgewar expressed his happiness over this decision of the Congress. He issued a circular to all branches associated with the RSS, instructing them to hoist the national flag at 6 pm on Sunday, January 26, 1930, and to conduct lectures on the meaning and necessity of freedom. Thus, Independence Day was celebrated with great enthusiasm in all the branches of the Sangh.
In 1930, Mahatma Gandhi called for the launch of the Civil Disobedience Movement, which culminated in the historic Dandi March on April 6. The Sangh had already deliberated on its stand. In early November 1929, a 3-day meeting of all the Sanghchalaks was convened, where it was decided to provide unconditional support to the movement.
The Sangh formulated a clear policy that Dr. Hedgewar and selected leaders would personally participate in the Satyagraha. On July 21, 1930, Hedgewar led the Satyagraha, which was attended by 3,000 to 4,000 people. Around 10,000 people gathered in Pusad, en route to Wardha and Yavatmal, to support the movement. Hedgewar was sentenced to 9 months in jail for his role.
On August 8, 1931, during the Garhwal Day, several volunteers were injured when they violated Section 144 and took out a procession, which was lathi-charged by the police. During the Vijayadashami of the same year, Dr. Hedgewar, who was still in jail. In his absence, a message was read in the RSS branches in the villages, “Until the slavery of the country is over and the entire society becomes strong and self-reliant, we will not indulge in any kind of comfort.”
As the Sangh’s increasing role in the freedom movement grew, the enthusiasm of the workers increased. Simultaneously, the government also felt threatened. Then, on December 15, 1932, the Central Province government issued a circular prohibiting its employees from joining the RSS. Protests were held against it.
On March 7, 1934, when this circular was debated in the Central Province Legislative Assembly, the government, police officers, and intelligence officers were stunned. Because most of the MLAs, who were expected to support the government, opposed the ban on RSS people. The debate lasted for 3 days. This also increased the popularity of the Sangh.
As the movement intensified in the country, the propagation of the Sangh also increased. Inspired by the revolutionary spirit and ideas of Dr. Hedgewar and Babasaheb, Pachalgaonkar Maharaj merged his organization, the Mukteshwar Dal, into the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. This patriotic initiative lasted for about six months and resulted in the establishment of 25-30 new branches.
The clarity of Dr. Hedgewar’s ideals and the need for the Sangh’s mission left a deep impression on several prominent national leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Veer Savarkar, Subhash Chandra Bose, and Shyama Prasad Mukherjee. His ability to express the Sangh’s perspective in simple yet profound words earned him respect and attention.
A direct witness, Palekar, writes that a training camp started on December 22, 1934, in which 1,500 volunteers participated. Soon after, during the Wardha winter camp of December 25, 1934, the RSS became a topic of widespread discussion due to Mahatma Gandhi’s visit. When Gandhi arrived at the camp, the volunteers welcomed him with a disciplined cheer, demonstrating the Sangh’s system, unity, and sense of dedication.
During the Congress session in Faizpur, Uttar Pradesh, in December 1936, a strange incident occurred. During the daily flag hoisting ceremony, the tricolor got stuck in the middle of a 90-foot-tall flagpole. Despite several attempts, no one could raise it any further. At that moment, a young man named Kishan Singh Pardesi quickly climbed the pole and successfully hoisted the flag. The crowd was overwhelmed by his courage and resolved to honor him publicly.
However, when it was discovered that he was an RSS volunteer, the proposed honor ceremony was abruptly canceled, which was an example of the biased mentality of the Congress leadership at the time. When Dr. Hedgewar learned of the incident, he called Kishan Singh Pardesi, honored him with silverware, and advised him that “Wherever you see any obstacle in the work of the country, remove it – even if you have to risk your life.”
During his tour of several districts in Maharashtra in December 1937, Dr. Hedgewar introduced Veer Savarkar to the activities of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. On December 12, 1937, Savarkar was given a grand welcome in Nagpur and taken around the branch. Seeing the well-organized movement and the dedication of the volunteers, Savarkar became extremely emotional.
On April 29, 1939, Gandhian leaders forced Subhash Chandra Bose to resign from the post of Congress President. As a result, on May 3, 1939, with the help of his associates, he established the Forward Bloc as an independent organization and launched a campaign to unite all nationalist forces outside the Congress. Bose was expelled from the Congress in September 1939, amidst the outbreak of World War II.
In early 1940, the veteran Bengali revolutionary Trailokyanath Chakraborty undertook a nationwide tour to organize veteran revolutionaries for the freedom struggle. After touring Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, he reached Nagpur, where he unexpectedly encountered Dr. Hedgewar. Overwhelmed, Hedgewar embraced him warmly. Chakraborty requested Dr. Hedgewar to channel the entire organizational strength of the Sangh into his revolution.
On June 20, 1940, Subhash Chandra Bose himself came to meet Dr. Hedgewar. By then, his health had deteriorated considerably. On the same day, he entrusted the responsibility of the Sangh to M.S. Golwalkar in the presence of several senior volunteers. Dr. Hedgewar passed away on June 21, 1940.
In 1942, the Congress launched the Quit India movement, warning the British to leave India. In this struggle, the volunteers of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh also played an active role.
Meanwhile, in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, the Asti-Chimur rebellion took place under the leadership of Ramakant Deshpande, in which Shri Gurudev Seva Mandal and RSS volunteers participated. In this struggle, 125 Satyagrahis were tried, and many volunteers, including several senior officials, were put in jail. During this struggle, several British officers were killed, and many volunteers lost their lives. The movement rapidly spread to Bawali (Amravati), Asti (Wardha), and Chimur (Chandrapur). The news of the Chimur rebellion was also broadcast on Berlin Radio. In this region, the movement was jointly led by Congress’s Uddhavrao Korekar and RSS officials Dada Naik, Baburao Begde, and Annaji Sirs. In this struggle, RSS volunteer Balaji Rajapurkar was martyred by British bullets.
The Sangh remained consistently active in the Quit India movement. British intelligence reports stated that the Sangh’s work was rapidly increasing by May-June 1943. Its leaders were running training camps in many places, where people were given rigorous training and exercises. On September 20, 1943, a secret meeting of the RSS was convened in Nagpur, where the strategy of potential action was discussed if the Azad Hind Fauj (INA) entered India with Japanese assistance.
Another unique piece of evidence of this intention was seen when senior Sangh leader Babasaheb Apte, while addressing the Gurudakshina festival in Jabalpur on December 12, 1943, declared, “The atrocities of the British are unbearable. We must prepare ourselves to liberate the nation.” By the end of 1943, the intelligence reports on the RSS, which are now preserved in the National Archives, clearly recorded that the organization was continuously moving forward with a well-planned strategy towards achieving independence.
