As the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh(RSS) observes its centenary year, its institutional journey, ideological evolution, and contemporary footprint attract a great deal of attention not only in India but also globally.
Those who want to understand the progressive unfoldment of the organisation, the final address of its founder, Dr Keshav Baliram Hedgewar should hold special significance.
The address was delivered on 4 June, 1940 on the last day of an RSS training camp held at Nagpur. Neither ceremonial nor rhetorical, that brief speech was a distilled articulation of purpose in which there were no references to power, politics, or personal legacy; he instead emphasised organisation, character, continuity, and an unbroken commitment to national life. Eighty-five years later, as the Sangh completes a hundred years of existence, those words read like a living compass guiding its journey.
Dr. Hedgewar had spent the last few months of his life suffering from extremely poor health. Despite that, he continued with the RSS work. Finally, Gopalrao Ogale, Editor of Maharashtra and some other prominent people convinced him to go to Rajgir in Bihar in January 1940 for his treatment. Hedgewar stayed there for two months. In April, he again had to return there. He again came back from Rajgir to Nagpur on May 16, 1940 to attend the RSS training camp at Pune. But he remained quite unwell and was suffering from high fever for the next 24 days, i.e., the whole duration of the camp. On June 4, he made a short speech with great effort and addressed the Swayamsevaks(volunteers). That proved to be his last message.
He said, “I do not feel that I am in a fit condition today to say even a few words to you. As all of you know, I have been confined to bed for the last twenty-four days. From the point of view of the Sangh, the last one year has been a glorious period. Today, I am seeing before me the Hindu Rashtra in miniature. Because of my illness, it has not been possible for me to get acquainted with each one of you individually, even though I have been in Nagpur for so many days.
Though you and I are not acquainted with each other, what is it that draws my heart towards you and your hearts towards me? That is surely the result of the philosophy imbued in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Even if there is no previous contact, Swayamsevaks warmly talk to one another even at the first meeting. And even before they talk to each other, they become mutual friends! The smile on the face itself is enough for them to identify one another.
How did the swayamsevaks from Punjab, Bengal, Madras, Bombay, Sind, etc., with differing behavioural backgrounds, come to love one another? It was possible because they all belong to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
All the swayamsevaks of the Sangh love one another as they love their own brethren. Even children of the same mother sometimes quarrel among themselves in regard to property. But such quarrels can never take place among swayamsevaks.
“I have been confined to the four walls of my house for the last twenty-four days. But, while my physical body was there, my mind was continuously moving here amidst you all. I felt an irrepressible urge to participate in yesterday evening’s programme for at least a few moments, at least for prayer. But because of doctors’ strict instructions, I had to deny myself that pleasure.
You are all leaving for your respective places today. I bid you all a loving farewell. Though the parting is painful, there is no cause for sadness. You are all returning to fulfil the very purpose for which you came here. I want you to take the vow that you will not forget the Sangh till your last breath. Let nothing distract you. May there never come an unfortunate moment in your lifetime when you will be obliged to say, “I was a swayamsevak of the Sangh some five years ago.” Let us all remain swayamsevaks till the very last breath of our life. Let us keep ever aglow our resolve to work for the Sangh ideal through body, mind and soul. Everyday, before going to bed, let us ask ourselves, ‘How much Sangh work did I do today?’
Outlining the larger purpose of RSS, he said, “Mere execution of the routine programmes of Sangh or daily physical presence at Sanghasthan (a place where daily shakha of the RSS takes place) is not enough for achieving our goal. Remember, we have to organise the entire Hindu society from Kanyakumari to the Himalayas. In fact, our main area of operation is the vast Hindu world outside the Sangh. The Sangh should not be the preserve of only the swayamsevaks, but must cover the entire Hindu people outside the Sangh fold. Our object should be to show to the people the true path of national salvation. That true path is none other than ‘ORGANISATION’. Hindus can save themselves only through such an organisation.”
Sharing his vision for the future, he spoke, “As we continue our efforts, a golden moment will arrive when the entire Bharat will stand as one, undivided and indivisible entity. No power on earth will then cast its malicious eyes on Hindusthan. We have not set out to assault anybody. But we must always be vigilant and resist any outsiders’ efforts to assault us. I am not telling you anything new. Every swayamsevak must regard the Sangh work as his sole mission in life. I am confident that you will all depart from here with the firm conviction ingrained in the depths of your hearts that the Sangh work alone has the utmost priority in your lives. I bid you all farewell with this assurance.”
With deteriorating health, he was taken to the Mayo Hospital on June 15 for a special check-up. After a series of tests at the Mayo Hospital, he was shifted to the residence of Babasaheb Ghatate.
On June 20, his condition deteriorated further The doctors got ready to give him the lumbar puncture. Dr. Hedgewar had realised that the end was near.
He called MS Golwalkar near him and told him, in the presence of senior functionaries of the RSS, “Well, hereafter you have to shoulder the responsibility of the Sangh.” On Friday, June 21, 1940, the founder of the RSS, Dr. Keshav Baliram Hedgewar took his last breath.