Gurmat & Hinduism

Who are the RSS?

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which means ‘National Patriotic Organization’, is a right-wing Hindu nationalist, paramilitary, volunteer, and militant organization for Hindu males in India. The RSS is a part of the umbrella group of Hindu nationalist organisations – Sangh Parivar.

Background

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) was created in 1925 to spread the concept of India being a Hindu nation and Hindu culture. Keshav Baliram Hedgewar to set up the organisation and become its first leader, however, it is Madhavrao Sadashivrao Golwalkar who firmly established the RSS in the Indian political scene. Golwalkar was the one who developed most of the strategies that are still in use by the RSS and he gave the RSS the vision that still inspires its members. Hedgewar developed his organization as a street-fighting machine; members were well trained to fight the “enemy” and enhance passions by the disinformation campaign. The RSS continues to be a master of the rumour industry. Lower caste communities are utilised to do the dirty work of rioting once they have been initiated. The credit for this transformation goes to Hedgewar.

Golwalker

In 1940, after Hedgewar’s death, Golwalkar was made the leader of the RSS. Golwalkar openly admired Adolf Hitler and his ideas on preserving the purity of a race. Golwalkar writes in his book:

“To keep up the purity of the Race and its culture, Germany shocked the world by her purging the country of the Semitic races – the Jews. Race pride at its highest has been manifested here. Germany has also shown how well nigh impossible it is for Races and cultures, having differences going to the root, to be assimilated into one united whole, a good lesson for us in Hindustan to learn and profit by.” (Gwolikar 1939: We, or Our Nation Defined, p. 37)

The group is organised through camps where members meet and train. In their daily prayers the RSS sing before the Bhagava Dhwaj (Saffron flag), which is regarded as the supreme Guru. The slogan of the RSS is “Bharat Mata ki Jai” (Long live mother India). The mission of RSS is to unite and rejuvenate the ‘Bharat’ nation on the sound foundation of Hindu Dharma. The RSS is striving for a strong and united Hindu society and the vision of Hindutva. It’s definition of Hindu is anyone born and belonging to India. This includes Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains. The RSS is opposed to anyone who tampers with India’s unity and integrity, it has 30,000 branches in India and 35 abroad.

The RSS idealogy

On caste system:

“There is nothing to prove that it (the caste system) ever hindered our social developments. Actually caste system has helped to preserve the unity of our society.” (Bunch of Thoughts p.108)

“The history proves that Mohammadan could win over North West and north east areas easily where Budhism had shattered the pattern of caste system. Gandhar which is Kandhar now, was converted to Islam completely. But contrary to this, Hindu religion was strong in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh despite Muslim rule because caste system was strictly followed there. (Bunch of Thoughts]

On Nationhood:

“When we say, “This is the Hindu nation”, there are some who immediately come up with the question, “What about the Muslims and Christians dwelling in this land? Are they also not born and bred here? How could they become aliens just because they have changed their faith? But the crucial point is whether they remember that they are the children of this soil? …. No. Together with the change in their faith, gone are the spirit of love and devotion for the nation.” (Bunch of Thoughts)

Solution to the Minority ‘problem’:

“The foreign races in Hindustan must either adopt the Hindu culture and language, must learn to respect and hold in reverence Hindu religion, must entertain no idea but those of the glorification of the Hindu race and culture, i.e., of the Hindu nation and must lose their separate existence to merge in the Hindu race, or may stay in the country, wholly subordinated to the Hindu Nation, claiming nothing, deserving no privileges, far less any preferential treatment – not even citizen’s rights. There is, at least, should be, no other course for them to adopt. We are an old nation; let us deal, as old nations ought to and do deal, with the foreign races, who have chosen to live in our country. (We or Our Nationhood Defined)

“German race-pride has now become the topic of the day. To keep up with the purity of the race and its culture, Germany shocked the world by her purging the country of the Semitic races- the Jews. Race pride at its highest has been manifested here. Germany has also shown how well-nigh impossible it is for Races and Cultures, having differences going to the root, to be assimilated into one united whole, a good lesson for use in Hindusthan to learn and profit by” (We or Our Nationhood Defined)

The Rashtri Sikh Sangat (RSS)

The Rashtriya Sikh Sangat group, which is a branch of the main Rashrtiya Swayamsevak Sangh and is also known as the RSS which was formed in Punjab in 1986 claiming to promote Sikh-Hindu relations. The Rashtriya Sikh Sangat has 500 branches across India and publishes the magazine ‘Sangat Sandesh’. It’s main aim however is to attack and swallow the Sikh religion, and how is it trying to do this? Over the last two years, the RSS has intensified its attention on Sikh affairs in Panjab. At every given opportunity, it has tried to build inroads into Sikh institutions and attacked the basic Sikh philosophy and way of life. By any means possible it is trying to undermine the history, the beliefs and institutions of the faith.

Shamsher Singh of Lucknow was the first national and international Coordinator and convenor of Rashtriya Sikh Sangat. The next President was Chiranjiv Singh of Patiala. Gurcharan Singh Gill of Bharatpur (Rajasthan) was the next President of the organisation. The late Rulda Singh was the president up to 2009 up until he was assassinated.

Rulda Singh was not only a spokesman for the Rashtrya Sikh Sangat wing of the RSS, but he has also served as Bhartya Janata Party’s (BJP) NRI General Secretary, and key liaison between the RSS and the Akalis and organizations linked to the Sant Samaaj. In secret footage exposed by Panthic.org in January 2006, Rulda Singh acknowledged that he reports to ex-BJP supremo LK Advani, and is more than anxious to bring the Sikh leadership under the wings of the RSS. The 2006 expose of Rulda Singh showed how far the RSS with the support of other agencies had infiltrated Sikh institutions, bodies and organisations with the aim to assimilate the Sikh religion into Hinduism.

RSS

RSS

Since the Akali party in an alliance with the Hindu BJP began to rule Punjab, the RSS activity in Panjab increased. Sangh programs were held in places like Guru Nanak Dev Stadium (Ludhiana) with the presence of Parkash Badal and other Akali/BJP leaders. On November 16, 1997, Badal while introducing the new RSS chief sad, “I can say with confidence that the Sangh, under the leadership of Raju Bhaiya is working towards removing all its shortcomings. Whenever this country has faced either internal or external danger, the Sangh and it’s workers have been on the front lines. Today, I am feeling very lucky to be a part of this gathering.” Raju Bhaiya in his speech that day, in the presence of Badal, declared, “All Hindus are Sikhs and Sikhs Hindus. We are all one. Some grow hair and some don’t. I say that All Hindus are Sikhs and all Sikh are Hindus. Our principles are the same. With the help of unity, we become very powerful! People are right when they say that Hindus have the power to make Hindustan a leader in the world!”

The attempt to subjugate the Sikh identity by the dominant and elite Hindu stream is nothing new. In the earlier part of the nineteenth century, Swami Dayanand Saraswati of Arya Samaj came down heavily against Sikh Gurus, Sikh scriptures and the Punjabi language, in response to which Bhai Kahan Singh wrote the famous book, ‘Hum Hindu Nahin’ (We are not Hindus). The current threat to the Sikh identity assumed serious proportions when the RSS chief, K. Sudarshan, while participating in the Rashtriya Sikh Sangat Convention in Amritsar (April 2000) said that Sikhi is a sect of Hinduism while the Khalsa is a part of mainstream Hinduism which was created to protect Hinduism from Mughal tyranny. From that time on, many Sikh organizations undertook protest marches against Sudarshan and pointed out that Sikhi is a religion in its own right and that they will not tolerate the RSS efforts to undermine their separate Sikh identity.

Since the 1980s, Sikhs have been a thorn in the side of the Hinduvta movement and it is in its best interest to neutralize them in order to accomplish it goal of final assimilation of all Sikhs into the Hindu fold. Given the historical track record of key players and entities of the Hindutva (Hindu nationalist) movement, it is not inconceivable that this same design and ‘final solution’ is being applied to other racial and religious minority communities as well.

A 25-Point of Attack

The RSS has 25 points with which it hopes to attack the Sikh faith and lead to its eventual assimilation. All 25 points are very easily refuted but lack of education and knowledge coupled with the RSS’ organized attack make this a serious danger.

These points are already being incorporated into school text books and taught as real history. This skewed history is already taught in many areas.
1) Sikhs are an inseparable part of Hindu society.
2) If Hinduism is a tree, Sikhi is a fruit on that tree.
3) Gurbani is like the Ganga, it emerges from the Gangotri of the Vedas
4) The Khalsa was crated to protect Hinduism and Hindustan
5) Japji Sahib is a summary of the Gita
6) The Failure of the 1857 War of Independence [in reality an unorganized uprising by Poorbiya soldiers who 8 years earlier helped the British conquer Punjab] was defeated only by the Sikhs
7) Banda Singh Bahadur was really Veer Banda Bairagi
8 ) The Sikh Gurus worshipped the cow
9) Condemning Sikh scholars Bhai Kanh Singh Nabha and Bhai Veer Singh
10) Use examples from Trumpp and other anti-Sikh western scholars
11) The Sikh Gurus used Vedic ceremonies
12) Guru Gobind Singh worshipped the Goddess Durga
13) Guru Sahib was from the family or Ram and his devotee
14) Sikhs are from Lav-Kush
15) Baba Ram Singh was the legitimate Guru of the Sikhs
16) Create posters which challenge Sikh principles but appear to be pro-Sikh
17) Insist on using the Bikrami calendar and share Hindu festivals
18) Call Bhai Hakeekat Singh, Hakeekat Rai and illustrate him as a clean shaven Hindu
19) Claim [with no historical basis] that Guru Gobind Singh sent his army to liberate Ram Janam Bhumi in Ayodhya from the Mughals
20) To create the Khalsa, Guru Gobind Singh seeked blessing from the gods and goddesses and used Hindu mantras. The Kakaars were also blessings from the gods.
21) Equate ek-oan-kaar with “Om”
22) Call Bhai Mati Das “Guru Mati Das Sharma”
23) To do parkash of Sree Guru Granth Sahib in Mandirs and put pictures of Hindu Gods in Sikh Gurdwaras
24) Project Guru Gobind Singh as having taken a different ideology from Guru Nanak and to make him into a Patriotic Hero of India.
25) Make all of Sikh history take a Hindu tint.

Sri Akal Takht Sahib Hukamnama (edict) against the RSS