Murder of Mahatma Gandhi: Truth

This is one of most outrageous lie being propagated  against Sangh. Communists and self Styled Seculars has used this Lie to beat Sangh at every opportunity. 

Lets examine some facts which will try to disprove some of popular notions

Truth 1: Godse had Severed his links with RSS

Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated by  Nathuram Godse, who felt that Gandhi had betrayed the Nations cause.
The sworn enemies of RSS ganged-up  instantly and tried to use this tragic incident to finish of RSS. They accused RSS to be responsible for the Murder! RSS was banned. Sri M. S. Golwalkar, the Chief of RSS along with thousands of RSS workers were arrested.
The primary accusation against RSS was "Godse was member of RSS". The fact was Godse had severed his connections with RSS long back and had in fact turned into one of its bitter critics. Godse himself explained in the court the reason why he had severed his connections with Sangh and categorically declared “I left the RSS.” Godse didnot agree with RSS on many points; for example, its refusal to get involved in day-to-day politics or to become an appendage of any political party. Hence he decided to form a militant volunteer body by himself. Accordingly in 1942 he launched the Hindu Rashtra Dal.

Also, another fact  which most of self styled seculars ignore is Godse had stated in court that he was once a Congress member also earlier

Truth 2: Sardar Patel's statements

His speech broadcast over AIR from Lucknow, as appearing in ‘The Hindu’ of Madras, dated January 7, 1948.

“Sardar Patel realised that they (RSS) were not actuated by selfish motives. The situation demanded they should strengthen the hands of the Government and assist in maintaining peace.
“He also had a word of warning ‘to those who were in power in the Congress’. He said, ‘In the Congress those who are in power feel that by virtue, of their authority they will be able to crush the RSS. You cannot crush an Organisation by using the danda’. The danda is meant for thieves and dacoits. After all the RSS men are not thieves and, dacoits. They are patriots who love their country.”

To a letter from Pt. Nehru pressing him to find out the RSS connection in the affair, Sardar Patel categorically stated in his reply of 27th February 1948,

“I have kept myself almost in daily touch with the progress of investigation regarding Bapu’s assassination case... All the main accused have given long and detailed statements of their activities... It also clearly emerges from these statements that the RSS was not involved in it at all.”

The Verdict No. 1

The much awaited judgment over the Gandhi murder trial was pronounced. It put the seal of justice, on what was already evident - that the RSS had no hand, direct or indirect, in the crime. Nor was there any countrywide conspiracy involving thousands as was made out to be. The RSS was so completely exonerated that the name of RSS did not figure at all in the judgment even as a remote cause.

It is well known that the Government’s communiqué of February 4, 1948, banning RSS centered round many wild charges,

The communiqué said

“....... It has been found that in several parts of the country individual members of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh have indulged in acts of violence involving arson, robbery, dacoity murder and have collected illicit arms and ammunitions. They have been found circulating leaflets exhorting people to resort to terrorist methods, to collect fire arms, to create disaffection against the Government and suborn the Police and the Military. These activities have been carried on under a cloak of secrecy...

“...The objectionable and harmful activities of the Sangh have, however, continued unabated and the cult of violence sponsored and inspired by the activities of the Sangh has claimed many victims. The latest and the most precious to fall was Gandhiji himself.”

But the Government’s communiqué of July 12, 1949, announcing the lifting of the ban, did not even so much as mention any of these charges, including Gandhiji’s murder. Instead it centered round the funny argument that since RSS had agreed to have a written constitution, the Government of India had come to the conclusion that the RSS should be given an opportunity to function!

Verdict No. 2 Kapur Commission

After a lapse of over two decades, the Government again instituted another enquiry under T. L. Kapur, a retired Judge of the Supreme Court in 1966. The Commission sat at different places, - examined no less than 101 witnesses and 407 documents before it published its Report, in 1969.
One of the important witnesses was Sri R. N. Bannerjee, I.C.S. (Witness 19) who was the Home Secretary of the Central Government at the time of the murder. The evidence of Shri R. N. Bannerjee was:

“It has not been proved that they (the accused) were members of the RSS which shows that they (the accused) were believers in a more violent form of activities than mere parades, rallies, physical exercises, and even shooting practices.” (Kapur Commission Report, Vol. 1, Page 165)

The Kapur Commission categorically declared:

“An experienced administrator like Mr. R. N. Bannerjee has stated that the RSS as such were not responsible for the murder of Mahatma Gandhi, meaning thereby that one could not name the organisation as such as being responsible for that most Diabolical crime, the murder of the apostle of peace, the like of whom the world, does not see excepting after centuries.” (Ibid, page 76)

Still More Verdicts: Self Styled Seculars even had to Apologize to RSS

The Statesman on January 15, 2000 published an Article by A.G. Noorani’s “RSS & Services, A Half Century’s Gory Record” in RSS was accused of Murder of Mahatma Gandhi

When the article was published in the Statesman on January 15, 2000, the RSS office in New Delhi filed a defamation suit against A. G. Noorani, C. R. Irani, Ravindra Kumar (Editor and Managing Editor of the Statesman, respectively), and Devvrata (cartoonist), in a New Delhi court. When two of these men did not respond to the court summons, non-bailable warrants were issued against them. The case even went to the Delhi High Court. When the accused realized that they would not be able to escape the guilty verdict, they begged the court that they be allowed to submit an unconditional apology to the RSS. Finally, on February 25, 2002 A.G. Noorani submitted a written apology to the Court in which he regretted writing the article. He promised that the newspaper would publish his apology prominently within a fortnight in the editorial pages. This was done on March 3, 2002. The apology says the following:

Clarification: “We wish to clarify that the publication was made without malice and with no intention to denigrate or defame any person or persons, or RSS. We regret the publication.” (The Statesman, March 3, 2002)

Finally

So over a period of last 50 years RSS has been Declared innocent of Courts NOT ONCE NOT TWICE BUT THREE TIMES!! Never in history has any Organization been declared innocent so many times but still continues to be accused!!!

The Swayamsevaks in its "pratah smaran pranam" recalls a long list of great personalities who have enriched the national heritage at different times in history. A section of the concluding part of this invocation (in Sanskrit) is the para :

Dadabhai Gopabhandhu Tilako Gandhiradrita |

Ramano Malaviyascha Sri Subramanya Bharati. ||

Here the people mentioned are - Dadabhai Naoroji, Gokhale, Tilak, Gandhi, Raman , Madan Mohan Malviy and Subramanya Baharati . This is the new and updated version. But if you examine RSS history carefully, then you get to know that Gandhi's name was not included as an after thought. Even as early as 1946-47, when Gandhi was alive, his name was remembered along with some other living great ones; but later on, the names of the living were dropped and a new set of Stotras brought into usage. The present one is called EkAtmataa Stotra, which includes the above Sloka.

 

Please also refer RSS and Sardar Patel here