The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has welcomed the BJP government’s move to teach the history of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in Delhi schools, but with a blunt reminder: tell children the truth. Delhi unit president Saurabh Bharadwaj said the RSS’s social work can be taught, but students must also learn that it played no role in the freedom struggle, that its parent body Hindu Mahasabha formed governments with the Muslim League and even urged Hindus to join the British Army during World War II, and that Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse was linked to both the RSS and the Hindu Mahasabha. He asked CM Rekha Gupta whether the complete history of the RSS will be taught or only selected parts.
Addressing a press conference, AAP Delhi unit president Saurabh Bharadwaj stated, “It is fine to teach about any institution that is a part of history. Just as Akbar, Ashoka, Nadir Shah, Hitler or Mahatma Gandhi are taught, but the truth should be told, not false glorification. I demand that the complete history of the Bharatiya Jan Sangh, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and the Hindu Mahasabha along with the BJP should be taught.”
Laying out historical facts, Saurabh Bharadwaj said, “The Hindu Mahasabha was founded in 1915 and its prominent leaders were Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and Shyama Prasad Mukherjee. After this, the RSS was formed in 1925. At the time of independence, the Hindu Mahasabha was 32 years old and the RSS was 22 years old, but there is no contribution of either towards India’s independence in history. Both opposed the Quit India Movement of 1942 and did not participate in it. Mahatma Gandhi was leading the Quit India Movement, while the RSS and the Hindu Mahasabha were appealing to Hindus to join the British Army and fight in the Second World War.”
Explaining the political role, he added, “Since the Hindu Mahasabha was political, the RSS was made non-political. Even today, the RSS calls itself non-political, yet interferes in every decision of the BJP. In the name of Hindu interests, in 1941 the Hindu Mahasabha formed a government with the Muslim League in Bengal, where Shyama Prasad Mukherjee became a minister. From 1942 to 1947, they ran a coalition government with the Muslim League in Sindh as well. Then from 1943 to 1945, they also ran a government with the Muslim League in the North West Frontier Province. At that time, provincial governments were formed and these leaders kept making governments with the Muslim League through the hard work of Hindus.”
He further said, “When India became independent, the RSS and the Hindu Mahasabha showed no interest in the celebrations. Today, the BJP calls people ‘anti-national’ for not celebrating even a cricket victory, but it did not take part in the independence celebrations itself. The RSS opposed the national flag (the Tricolour) and continued this opposition for decades after independence. For nearly 50–52 years, the RSS did not hoist the Tricolour at its headquarters. Nathuram Godse, the assassin of the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi, was associated with both the RSS and the Hindu Mahasabha.”
Stressing on the need for balance, Saurabh Bharadwaj said, “History contains both good and bad, so there is no problem. Good aspects such as ‘shakhas’ and training in arms and weapons should be taught, but their political history must also be taught. History books mainly focus on political history, with less emphasis on social reformers. That is why their political history must certainly be taught to children. I welcome this decision of the BJP government in Delhi, but I want to ask CM Rekha Gupta whether the complete history of the RSS will be taught or only selected parts. Our only concern is this.”
