Sardar Patels letter to Nehru

New Delhi
27 February 1948
My dear Jawaharlal,

Thank you for your letter dated 26 February 1948 which I received just now.
I have kept myself almost in daily touch with the progress of the investigation regarding Bapu's assassination case. I devote a large part of my evening to discussing with Sanjevi the day's progress and giving instructions to him on any points that arise. All the main accused have given long and detailed statements of their activities. In one case, the statement extends to ninety typed pages. From their statements, it is quite clear that no part of the conspiracy took place in Delhi. The centres of activity were Poona, Bombay, Ahmednagar and Gwalior. Delhi was, of course, the terminating point of their activity, but by no means its centre; nor do they seem to have spent more than a day or two at a time, and that too only twice between 19 and 30 January. It also clearly emerges from these statements that the RSS was not involved in it at all.. It was a fanatical wing of the Hindu Mahasabha directly under Savarkar that [hatched] the conspiracy and saw it through. It also appears that the conspiracy was limited to some ten men, of whom all except two have been got hold of. Every bit of these statements is being carefully checked up and verified and scrutinised, and where necessary, followed up. Sanjevi devotes a considerable time every day to it. Senior officers of Bombay and CP are in charge of the investigation. Delhi police hardly comes in the picture.

Of course, it is impossible for us at this stage to publicise any of these things or to say anything publicly about what is being done to unearth the conspiracy. Every item of information that is being communicated to us through sources, known and unknown, real, anonymous or pseudonymous, is being investigated of information that is being communicated to us through sources, known and unknown, real, anonymous or pseudonymous, is being investigated. More than 90 percent of these have been found to be just imagination. Most of these have been directed to the activities of RSS men in various centres. We have followed this up, and except vague allegations that sweets were distributed or joy was expressed, hardly anything of substance has been found in them. After having dealt with these matters at first hand and discussed these matters in detail with Sanjevi and other officers who are in charge of this investigation, including the Public Prosecutor of Bombay, Mr. Pettigarah, who has been advising the investigators on legal points, I have come to the conclusion that the conspiracy of Bapu's assassination was not so wide as is generally assumed, but was restricted to a handful of men who have been his enemies for a very considerable time --the antipathy can be traced right to the time when Bapu went for his talks with Jinnah, when Godse went on a fast and some others of the conspirators went to Wardha to prevent him [Bapu] from going.

Of course, his assassination was welcomed by those of the RSS and the Mahasabha who were strongly opposed to his way of thinking and to his policy . But beyond this, I do not think it is possible, on the evidence which has come before us, to implicate any other members of the RSS or the Hindu Mahasabha. The RSS have undoubtedly other sins and crimes answer for, but not for this one. If you have any time, I would be glad to send to you Sanjevi and Rana, DIG, CID, Bombay, who are here. They could explain to you the whole case as it has emerged from the investigation. They say they will take another ten days or a fortnight, at the end of which the case will be ripe for being placed in the hands of the Public Prosecutor. As soon as the Public Prosecutor is ready, we hope to appoint a Special Judge to try the case in Delhi.

As regards the RSS in Delhi, I am not aware of any prominent men or active workers whom we have left out. We hear all sorts of reports from somebody or the other regarding a certain person being an active member or not. In some cases, on such reports, arrests were made, and we soon found representations coming from Congressmen themselves testifying to their Congress sympathies and anti-RSS views. We had to release them. In other cases, on arrests of RSS people being made on similar information, both we and the Provincial Governments are being accused of rounding up innocent people. In the case of a secret organisation like the RSS which has no records of membership, no registers, etc., securing of authentic information whether a particular individual is an active worker or not is rendered a very difficult task. Nevertheless I am assured that practically all the important workers of RSS in Delhi have been rounded up. Indeed, some knowledgeable people tell me that we have rounded up more than necessary. I have already asked Provincial Governments, including Delhi, to let us know what has been the result of these arrests, how many have been arrested, how many have been released, what has been revealed in searches, etc. As soon as these reports come in, we shall have to consider our next step. If there are any key men who are still at large, I should like to know their names, so that we can follow them up that police and the local authorities who are in Delhi or elsewhere have an appreciable number of RSS sympathisers. Here again, however, the difficulty is to locate the men. Whenever I have received the least information about the names, and particulars of any RSS men in Government service, I have communicated them to Sanjevi or Mehra. In some cases, Government servants in Delhi have already been arrested for RSS activities. Delhi's quota of RSS arrests compares favourably with that of any other place or province. I doubt, therefore, whether the accusation can be substantiated that Delhi police or local authorities have been inactive on account of RSS sympathies. However, I shall again have a discussion with Mehra on the particular problems which you have mentioned and see what further action could be taken.

Yours sincerely,
Vallabhbhai Patel

Note: I guess Jaswant Singh might have missed this letter his in his “exhaustive research”

Is TOI - Toilet of India

Todays Times of India has a screaming headline Anti-Sardar Patel book sold from RSS HQ in Gujarat. The reporter Ashish Vashi reoports with baited breath that Seshadri ji’s bookj `The Tragic Story of Partition'  has unflattering references to Nehru and Patel as Seshadri clubs both and holds them responsible for partition!

Following are the excerpt which he found most offending. I am still trying very hard to find the anti sardar reference in this

``When the new Viceroy Lord Mountbatten announced on 3rd June 1947 the plan of transfer of power, it came as a stunning blow to the people. For that plan, approved by Nehru and Patel, had envisaged cutting up Bharat and creation of Pakistan! ... The great and trusted leaders of Congress had turned their back on the sacred oaths they had taken, and the pledges they had administered to the people. What took place on the August 15-15, 1947, was this gross betrayal of the nation's faith, the betrayal of the dreams of countless fighters and martyrs who had plunged into the fire of freedom struggle with the vision of Akhand Bharat in their hearts.''

On another page, Seshadri writes: ``The Working Committee met in a tense atmosphere. Everybody felt depressed at the prospect of Partition. The Viceroy's proposals were accepted without much discussion. As a matter of fact, Jawaharlal and Vallabhai were already committed to the acceptance of the proposals. There was no critical examination...''

People go to Toilet to excrete human waste, It seems TOI has taken that place for Intellectual waste

Jaswant Singh: The Misfit

Jaswant Singh was born on 3 January 1938  to Late Thakur Sardar Singhji & Shrimati Kunwar Baisa, in Jasol village in Rajasthan's Barmer district formerly a part of the princely state of Jodhpur.

Mr. Singh studied at the Mayo College, Ajmer and was first batch at the National Defence Academy in Khadakvasla. In 1957, he was commissioned to the Central India Horse Armoured Regiment(21st King George V's Own Horse) where he achieved the rank of Major. In Army,  he found it difficult to adjusting to grueling life in Army. In his book, A Call to Honour - In service of Emergent India he describes the Army training  to be exaggerated, needlessly loud and overbearing and which is a daily assault on his  sensibilities, and  free spirit.

It was all clearly so exaggerated, needlessly loud and overbearing, and especially concentrated too, so as to break us in quickly. And for most, that breaking-in was permanent. As I tried to cope with the daily assault on my sensibilities, and upon my incurably free spirit, this ‘understanding’ helped me arrive at just the appropriate response: ‘I must preserve myself and not sink into the anonymity of totally submissive obedience.

Spoken like a True blooded ruler who is used to giving orders(Hukums) to lesser mortals & not taking one. It was not long  before he realised that Army is not his cup of team.

I already knew, had perhaps always known, that I was not going to be in the army for good.

He left Army on 22 November 1966 within just nine years of short service. His official reason for resigning was “to join politics” however there are some who say he premature retirement in 1966 to help the maharaja of Jodhpur manage the royal household. A wise career decision I guess…

What ever may be the reason, he did join politics. His political antipathy for the Congress and particularly for Sardar Patel could have been due to his royal connection. In 1947, Patel had used tact and pressure on the princely states to merge with India. Patel has always been seen negatively by the maharajas and their families.

One would have expected him to join Jan Sangh, founded by Shyama Prasad Mookerjee in 1951  but he fought the election on the Swatantra Party ticket in 1967; the Congress candidate defeated him. For the unaware, Pt. Nehru captured the essence of Swantrata Party when he described it as “the rich man's party” backed by princely rulers and industrialists and opposed to Nehruvian socialism.  In 1971, Swatantra Party secured only 8 seats in the Lok Sabha and after Rajaji's death in 1972, it declined rapidly. The Swatantra experiment ended in 1974 by merging with Bharatiya Kranti Dal led by Charan Singh.

In 1980, He became one of founding members of BJP. However just like in Army even in BJP he was a misfit. He did not believe in the ideology of BJP's or its parent, the RSS. He even maintained his distance from the RSS and its thinking. It is well known he  never joined the Ram temple movement or other such explosive political events.  At best his opportunistic association with BJP can be termed as Marriage of convenience. 

In BJP, he enjoyed the best opportunities that the BJP had to offer, but he was never a mass leader; he was never a popular figure with whom party cadres identified with. He was just a political lightweight who enjoyed power. In fact even, the research of his book was made possible also because of the stature he enjoyed during five years as Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha.

Even while being a senior party leader occupying important positions inparty and parliament, Jaswant Singh embarrassed BJP on several occasions. 

In July 2006, Singh released a book titled A Call to Honour: In Service of Emergent India.A controversy erupted immediately after the release of the book, in which Singh insinuated that a mole had existed in the Prime Ministerial Office during the tenure of Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao, who had leaked information to American sources. Soon after, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh challenged him to name the mole. In response, Singh sent a letter to him. The letter, Singh said later, had no signature, and no name of any mole. Jaswant Singh then backed off, saying his views on the subject were based on a "hunch".

It was high time BJP got rid of Misfits…

Sardar Patel and RSS

Also Read Murder of Mahatma Gandhi: Truth

There is an ongoing debate in the country on who took initiative to Ban RSS after tragic murder of RSS.  Following is screen capture of one of most authoritative books (The Hindu nationalist movement and Indian politics: 1925 to the 1990s ...By Christophe Jaffrelot) which throws some light on this issue. More important is the reference list used by the author. 

If only Jaswant had spend even half the time he spend studying Jinnah to study his parent organisation of 30 years!!! Moreover, If you want to blame Patel for banning RSS then you should also credit him for unbanning RSS after all both these incidents occurred under his watch as home minister. In fact, After Gandhi’s murder, it would have been more difficulty to unban RSS than ban it. If Patel really wanted he could have finished of Nascent RSS.

Sardar Patel supported Hindu activist against Gandhi’s candidate for presidency of congress 

Patel invites RSS to Merge with Congress and his belief that RSS is a patriotic organisation. And how he chides congress for trying to crush RSS

How Patel didnot believe that RSS was not responsible for Murder of Gandhi and how Nehru pressurized him to act

Nehru was Paranoid!

How RSS was brutally repressed

Congress passes resolution authorizing Swayamsewaks to be part of congress

Gujarat Ban of Jinnah: India-Partition Independence is an overreaction

Gujarat government had on Wednesday night banned Singh's controversial book on Jinnah alleging it is an attempt to defame the image of the country's first Home Minister Vallabhbhai Patel by "questioning his patriotic spirit".

I fully agree with BJP’s decision to expel Jaswant Singh, he had crossed the laxman rekha. But banning the book is NOT ACCEPTABLE! 

I agree with what Jaswant Singh said

"The day we start banning books, we ban thinking.

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