Controversy after govt pays tribute to MS Golwalkar

OPPN LEADERS CRITICISED THE GOVT’S MOVE TO CELEBRATE THE FORMER RSS CHIEF WHOSE VIEWS ON MUSLIMS WERE CONTROVERSIAL

NEW DELHI: A tribute to Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) idealogue MS Golwalkar on his birth anniversary by the Union ministry of culture led to criticism from opposition leaders and activists, who slammed the move to celebrate a person whose views on Muslims have long been a subject of controversy.

The culture ministry said it does not believe in silencing any ideology. “The ministry of culture represents the aspirations of every section of society and does not believe in silencing any ideologies or voices which are not the part of traditional narrative,” said Nitin Tripathi, media adviser to the ministry.

Another official who asked not to be named said it was not the first time that the government was marking the birth anniversary of the Sangh’s second chief.

“Lest anyone be inclined to take the Ministry of Culture seriously & really believe this gent was a great thinker and scholar, re-posting this extract from #Whyiamahindu that cites some of his views,” Congress’s member of Parliament Shashi Tharoor tweeted, along with a link to an article that referred to Golwalkar’s writings in A Bunch of Thoughts. One of the passages he quoted read: “Hindusthan is the land of the Hindus and is the terra firma for the Hindu nation alone to flourish upon…” Tharoor added in his tweet: “GOI hails a man who disrespected India’s flag&constitution!”

Golwalkar, born on February 19, 1906, took over from the first RSS chief KB Hedgewar in 1939. He went to jail in 1949 as part of the government’s crackdown on the RSS after Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination.

The RSS was not indicted for the killing. Golwalkar’s writings in publications such as the Sangh’s own Organiser, however, have continued to divide opinion about his views.

Alluding again to Golwalkar’s Bunch of Thoughts, activist Kavita Krishnan tweeted, “For Golwalkar, Hindu is equal to national. Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist, Dalit, OBC, feminist, Tamil, Kannada, Manipuri etc is equal to communal, separatist.’’

The Centre ran into controversy last year when it decided to name a second campus for the Kerala-based Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology after Golwalkar.

Rajya Sabha member of Parliament Rakesh Sinha, who is also associated with the Sangh, welcomed the ministry’s initiative to mark Golwalkar’s anniversary. “The ministry of culture has re-initiated an inclusive tradition to remember and to pay homage to all such great people of India who contributed in history, culture, society and the freedom movement,’’ he said, adding that some people were “groomed in Gandhi, Nehru-centric history which we must go beyond.”

Gowalkar, he added, had been misunderstood. “They (critics) not only misquote Golwalkar but also do injustice to his philosophy. He represents an inclusive idea of India and advocated Indianisation of Islam and Christianity which is not the rejection of any religion or culture.’’