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October     Last updated: October 28: 7:00 p.m.

Thirty Years Ago

“India will be saved by Dharma, not by Political manoeuvres”

“It is nothing short of a miracle that the Hindu society and Hindu Dharma have survived so long in spite of repeated aggressions. The secret of our continued existence lies in the fact that our culture has the requisite vitality to influence and absorb outside elements”, said Shri V. Shankar, ICS (Retd.) former Defence Secretary and earlier Private Secretary to the late Sardar Patel. He was presiding over the Vijaya Dashmi function of the RSS at Nagpur on October 9. Shri Guruji Golwalkar, the Sarsanghchalak, also spoke on the occasion.

Loss of direction after Sardar Patel

Shri Vidya Shankar said that the country had earned much credit in the first three years of freedom because at that time there was a wide vision and mutual cooperation and we knew the direction in which we were moving. But he regretted that all this was frittered away in the subsequent years. As a result we became so helpless that we had to appease the foreign aggressors by offering our territories to them. “Even today we find the marks of fetters on the feet of Mother India.” Making a survey of Indian history, Shri Shankar said that there was a time when India was famous as a land of Dharma, knowledge, science and art but we suffered a decline because we could not safeguard our freedom. The freedom that we got in 1947 was the result of a political settlement and we forgot its value within a few years because we kept chasing exotic ideals while other countries, including even the war-ravaged Japan and Germany, were making tremendous headway in the economic field. “Today our stock in the world is so low that Indian immigrants are suffering humiliation abroad and we are unable to come to their help.”

Hindu society is immortal

He said that there was no cause for despair even now. Hindu society has the inherent strength to face any challenge and that is why Lala Lajpat Rai called it immortal. Patriotic spirit, unity and discipline can take us to the pinnacle of progress once again. Praising the constructive work done by the RSS, he said: “Today there is a tendency to expect miracles through political manoeuvring. But that is a barren course. It is not a sin to follow Hindu culture and Dharma. The country can make more and more progress when more and more people follow the tenets of Dharma.” He said that Sardar Patel was a great admirer of the RSS which, after passing through many ups and downs in the last 45 years of its existence, has become a centre of attraction for millions of people. Shri Shankar said that he has had great respect for Guruji ever since the time he used to come to meet Sardar Patel. “He is doing a great and indispensable service to Hindu Dharma and society,” Shri Shankar said.

Drawing the attention of the audience to the main point of Shri Shankar's address, Shri Guruji said that due to lack of cooperation among the people, an unending process of disintegration had started in the country so much so that sometimes it looks doubtful that we belong to the same country. “It appears that we got freedom only to be free to fight among ourselves.” Shri Guruji said that in such a vitiated atmosphere no progress was possible. Due to lack of patriotic spirit, there is a tendency to run down everything that belongs to our own country. “There are elements which wanted China to rule over India. Bengal which had played such a notable part in the struggle for freedom, is now the centre of the activities of those who are out to destroy that very freedom.” He said that even some national leaders did not have a national perspective on the problems facing the country. “We are caught napping again and again as our enemies are wide awake. There seems to be a conspiracy to destroy the Hindu consciousness in the country. The historic mission of the RSS is to consolidate the society by instilling noble qualities of selfless service, discipline and patriotic fervour in every individual and thus prepare a dedicated force in the service of the motherland.”