I must record an episode of 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 seasons 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 trucks securely locked. When the trucks were opened, they revealed incontrovertible evidence of a dastardly conspiracy to create a communal holocaust throughout the Western districts of the province. The trunks were crammed with blueprints of great accuracy and professionalism of every town and village in that vast areas, 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 their sinister purport.

Greatly alarmed by those revelations, I immediately took the police party to the Premier's(Pant's) house. There, in a closed room, Jaitley gave a full report of his discovery, backed by all the evidence contained in the steal trunks. Timely raids conducted on the premises of the RSS had brought the massive conspiracy to light. The whole plot had been concerted under the direction and supervision of the supremo of the organisation himself. Both Jaitley and I pressed for the immediate arrest of the prime accused, Golwalkar, who was still in the area.

Pantji could not but accept the evidence of his eyes and ears and expressed deep concern. But instead of agreeing to immediate arrest of the ring leader as we had hoped, and as Kidwai would have done, he asked for matter to be placed for consideration by the Cabinet at the next meeting. It was no doubt, the matter of political delicacy as the roots of the RSS had gone deeply into the body politic. There were also other political compulsions and RSS sympathisers, both covert and overt, were to be found in the Congress party itself and even in the Cabinet. It was no secret that the presiding officer of the Upper House, Atma Govind Khar, was himself an adherent and his sons were openly members of the RSS.

At the Cabinet meeting there was the usual procrastination and much irrelevant talk. The fact that the police had unearthed a conspiracy which would have set the whole province in flames and that the officers concerned deserved warm commendation hardly seemed to figure in the discussion. What ultimately emerged was that a letter should be issued to Shri Golwalkar pointing out the contents and nature of the evidence which had been gathered and demanding explanations thereof ...

Golwalkar, however, had been tipped off and he was nowhere to be found in the area. He was tracked down southwards but he managed to elude the couriers in pursuit. This anfractuous chase continued from place to place and weeks passed. Come 30 January 1948 when the Mahatma, that Supreme apostle of peace, fell to a bullet fired by an RSS fanatic. The whole tragic episode left me sick at heart ... (Source: The Radiance Viewsweekly, 10-16 October, 1999)

RSS: Demonising Religious Minorities

The Sangh Parivar (SP) ideology openly proclaims the Muslims, the Christians and the Communists as the enemies of the Hindu nation. It is around this that different issues are given religious veneer, which in turn prompt the people like Dara Singh and Godse to light the match or pull the trigger to finish off the 'enemy' ...

In the last five decades country had witnessed whipping up of 'anti-Muslim' passion by different organs of SP by falsely propagating that Islam (was) spread through sword, that Muslim kings destroyed Hindu Temples, that Muslims are more loyal to Pakistan, and that they are polygamous and produce more children. Similarly at the (time) of partition an intense 'hate Gandhi' atmosphere was created by RSS propaganda, which ended in (his) assassination ..

Now they have turned the hate campaign against the Christians and the recent murders are taking place in its backdrop, a continuum of the communal riots directed against Muslims and the murder of Mahatma Gandhi. Here it is important to note that since Gandhiji's murder the proliferation of RSS into SP has ensured a 'division of labour' because of which the Khakhi clad volunteer does not have to wield the lathi against the 'enemies of Hindu nation'.

The 'clever' organisation of SP ensures that these 'dedicated soldiers' of SP can later be disowned by the RSS or SP to protect the organisation from wrath of law. This disowning is possible, as there is no proper record keeping of the membership of these organisations ...

Apart from nabbing the culprits ... it is equally or more important to counter the 'hate ideology' which is demonising country's minorities. The fight against the communal forces must not confine itself to the legal battles. We must oppose these forces in cultural, ideological and political spheres to strengthen the liberal, tolerant ethos of the society. (Source: P.R. Ram in The Indian Currents, 13-19 September, 1999)