Justice Thomas needs to read his brother Judges on what they found about the RSS role in communal riots

[Dr. John Dayal]

Open your eyes, your Lordship (retired)JOHN DAYAL

As a Malayalee who was also a judge of the Supreme Court of India,
Justice Kallupurackal Thomas Thomas occupies an enviable place in the
Kerala Christian social pantheon. No one in his right mind will dare
say he is turning senile. Far from it. That man of justice, and of
peace, remains as sharp as when he was on the highest Bench in the
land. It therefore remains a mystery why Justice Thomas, invited often
by right wing forums in his twin identity as jurist and Christian,
always ends up praising the Hindutva lunatic fringe and denouncing the
conversions of new people turning to Christ.

In an address in Kochi on 1 august 2011, Justice Thomas praised the
RSS for its discipline and said the propaganda that the organisation
was anti-minority was "baseless". The Press Trust of India reported
that speaking at a function here, attended by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat,
he also said the ''smear campaign'' against RSS that it was
responsible for the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi must end. “There
is a smear campaign that RSS was responsible for Gandhi’s
assassination just because the assassin was once an RSS worker," he
said, adding that the organisation had been ''completely exonerated''
by the court. This smear campaign must end against RSS," he said.

Gratuitously, Justice Thomas sought to expand his personal views to
make them seem he spoke for the entire Christian community, including
you and me. “I am a Christian. I was born as a Christian and practise
that religion. I am a church going Christian. But I have also learnt
many things about RSS," he said. He said he became an admirer of the
RSS in 1979 when he was posted as district judge of Kozhikode, adding
simple living and high thinking was its hallmark. During the
Emergency, RSS was the only non-political organisation which fought
against it. "We owe very much to RSS for sacrificing many lives for
regaining our fundamental rights ...". "The propaganda that RSS was
anti minority was also baseless," he said, adding he is a great
admirer of the organisation as discipline is given importance.

This writer share some qualifications with the venerable justice. Like
him, “I too am a Christian, a Catholic as a matter of fact. I was born
as Christian and practice that religion. I am a church going
Christian. But I have also leant many things about the RSS.”

One may in fact have learnt many more things about the Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh, for when he was rapidly going the ladder of
jurisprudence, Reporting on the RSS forty years ago, visiting their
shakhas, recording what their leaders said, and documenting their
written statements and literature, one saw the training of youngsters
and college students, and the excesses of fat pot bellied middle
agenda traders in khaki shorts and white shirts, an hour before they
went back to their shops in Chandni chowk and Chawri bazaar, the
wholesale market of old Delhi.

It was perhaps too early in the day,, because one did not see what
crowds in Jhansi saw decades later -- the frightening scene of RSS
cadres practicing with mock and real rifle and double barrelled guns
down the main thoroughfares of town, or of RSS chief ministers
themselves firing military hardware while posing for photographs. But
one did see how RSS cadres were trained in meetings early morning in
public parks as much as in closed door vyayamshalas, their “boudhiki”
intellectual brain washing, and their war games. “Exercises” no less
frightening –elaborate handwork with thick lathis, or staves, the sort
policemen carry at night. One also saw “children’s games” in which
boys formed a string holding hands, and then swopped down on a rival
group, trying to “abduct” or capture persons, presumably women. The
“boudhikis” were given to reading the editorials and main articles in
those poison-pen official mouthpieces of the Sangh, the Organiser in
English, not read at the Shakhas, and the Hindi language Panchjanya,
the mainstay of the morning discourses. They would then discuss what
damage the Muslims had done to India. It would all conclude with
another salute not to India, but to a mythical “Mother India”, more
goddess than a symbol of the land which they shared with practitioners
of all other religions.

And therefore it is quite obvious that Justice Thomas, as is his
right, looked only at the pretty saffron flowers, and forgot to look
at the blood which sullies the earth on which the RSS flag is hoist.

First things first. Let us get the Gandhi murder out of the way, so to
say. And I am indebted to Professor Shamsul Islam, the global
authority of the Sangh Parivar, for once again going me this
documentary evidence. He remains, with Communalism Combat, Anhad,
Sahmat and the All India Christian Council, the national libraries on
this fascist organisation.

After the murder of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi on January 30, 1948 the
RSS was banned on February 4, 1948. It was banned for anti-national
activities and the government communiqué banning the RSS was self-
explanatory: “In their resolution of February 2, 1948 the Government
of India declared their determination to root out the forces of hate
and violence that are at work in our country and imperil the freedom
of the Nation and darken her fair name. In pursuance of this policy
the Government of India have decided to declare unlawful the
RSS.” [Cited in Justice on Trial, RSS, Bangalore, 1962, p. 64.]

The communiqué went on to disclose that the ban on the RSS was imposed
because,” undesirable and even dangerous activities have been carried
on by members of the Sangh. It has been found that in several parts of
the country individual members of the RSS have indulged in acts of
violence involving arson, robbery, dacoit, and murder and have
collected illicit arms and ammunition. They have been found
circulating leaflets exhorting people to resort to terrorist methods,
to collect firearms, to create disaffection against the government and
suborn the police and the military.” [Ibid, pp. 65-66.]

Prof Islam points out that the then Home Minister, Sardar Patel,
reputedly had a soft-corner for the RSS. Patel continues to be a
favourite with the RSS. However even Sardar Patel found it difficult
to defend the RSS in the aftermath of Gandhiji’s assassination. In a
letter written to the head of the RSS, Golwalkar, dated 11 September
1948, Sardar Patel stated: “Organizing the Hindus and helping them is
one thing but going in for revenge for its sufferings on innocent and
helpless men, women and children is quite another thing…Apart from
this, their opposition to the Congress, that too of such virulence,
disregarding all considerations of personality, decency or decorum,
created a kind of unrest among the people. All their speeches were
full of communal poison. It was not necessary to spread poison in
order to enthuse the Hindus and organize for their protection. As a
final result of the poison, the country had to suffer the sacrifice of
the invaluable life of Gandhiji. Even an iota of the sympathy of the
Government, or of the people, no more remained for the RSS. In fact
opposition grew. Opposition turned more severe, when the RSS men
expressed joy and distributed sweets after Gandhiji’s death. Under
these conditions it became inevitable for the Government to take
action against the RSS…Since then, over six months have elapsed. We
had hoped that after this lapse of time, with full and proper
consideration the RSS persons would come to the right path. But from
the reports that come to me, it is evident that attempts to put fresh
life into their same old activities are afoot.” [Ibid, pp.26-28.]

Hindu Mahasabha and RSS were jointly responsible for the murder of
Father of Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, this fact was further corroborated
by Sardar Patel in a letter to a prominent leader of Hindu Mahasabha,
Shyama Prasad Mookerjee on July 18, 1948. Sardar wrote: "As regards
the RSS and the Hindu Mahasabha, the case relating to Gandhiji’s
murder is sub judice and I should not like to say anything about the
participation of the two organizations, but our reports do confirm
that, as a result of the activities of these two bodies, particularly
the former, an atmosphere was created in the country in which such a
ghastly tragedy became possible. There is no doubt in my mind that the
extreme section of the Hindu Mahasabha was involved in the conspiracy.

The activities of the RSS constituted a clear threat to the existence
of Government and the State. Our reports show that those activities,
despite the ban, have not died down. Indeed, as time has marched on,
the RSS circles are becoming more defiant and are indulging in their
subversive activities in an increasing measure.” [Letter 64 in Sardar
Patel: Select Correspondence19450-1950, Volume 2, Navjiwan Publishing
House, Ahmedabad, 1977, pp. 276-277.]

Congress secretary general Digvijay Singh, who was for ten years chief
minister of Madhya Pradesh, and Union Home ministered P Chidambaram
are supported by historical data when they called a focus on right-
wing terror groups, specially the progeny of the RSS. Chidambaram
recently has favoured a proper research and study of the phenomenon,
asking the security forces to deal with the right-wing terror groups
"sternly and fearlessly". He said that these groups were also
radicalising the youth in the same manner as was done by banned SIMI
or Indian Mujahideen. There was no difference between Indian
Mujahideen and Hindu terror groups and both were enemies of the
country."..so actually, we do not have one enemy within today, we have
two enemies within and hope there will not be a third or a fourth or
fifth," Chidambaram said.

Digvijay Singh has repeatedly said “I do not rule out anything. If
they want evidence about Sangh’s involvement in terror activity, I
have got evidence”.

Just in case Justice Thomas, and his friends such as Karnataka
Minority commission member P N Benjamin, whose organisation BIRD
provides occasional platform for the former judge’s fulminations and
homilies, require judicial evidence, here is a brief summary of
extracts from a series of judicial commissions that have investigated
the role of the RSS in anti-Muslim violence since the Ahmedabad riots
of 1969. That is over forty years of history.

"Here was not only a failure of intelligence and culpable failure to
suppress the outbreak of violence but (also) deliberate attempts to
suppress the truth from the Commission, especially the active
participation in the riots of some RSS and Jana Sangh leaders." —
Report of the Justice Jagmohan Reddy Commission on the Ahmedabad riots
of 1969

“The organisation responsible for bringing communal tension in
Bhiwandi to a pitch is the Rashtriya Utsav Mandal. The majority of the
leaders and workers of the Rashtriya Utsav Mandal belonged to the Jan
Sangh (the predecessor of the BJP) or were pro–Jan Sangh and the rest,
apart from a few exceptions, belonged to the Shiv Sena.” — Report of
the Justice D.P. Madon Commission on the Bhiwandi, Jalgaon and Mahad
of 1970

“In Tellicherry the Hindus and Muslims were living as brothers for
centuries. The ‘Mopla riots’ did not affect the cordial relationship
that existed between the two communities in Tellicherry. It was only
after the RSS and the Jana Sangh set up their units and began
activities in Tellicherry that there came a change in the situation.
Their anti-Muslim propaganda, its reaction on the Muslims who rallied
round their communal organisation, the Muslim League which championed
their cause, and the communal tension that followed prepared the
background for their disturbances....That is what the rioters who
attacked the house of Muhammad asked him to do. “If you want to save
your life you should go round the house three times repeating the
words, ‘Rama, Rama’. Muhammad did that. But you cannot expect the 70
million Muslims of India to do that as a condition for maintaining
communal harmony in the country. This attitude of the of the RSS can
only help to compel the Muslims to take shelter under their own
communal organisation.” — Report of the Justice Joseph Vithyathil
Commission on the Tellicherry riots, 1971

"The RSS adopts a militant and aggressive attitude and sets itself up
as the champion of what it considers to be the rights of Hindus
against minorities. It has taken upon itself to teach the minorities
their place and if they are not willing to learn their place to teach
them a lesson. The RSS methodology for provoking communal violence is:
a) rousing communal feelings in the majority community by the
propaganda that Christians are not loyal citizens of this country; b)
deepening the fear in the majority community by a clever propaganda
that the population of the minorities is increasing and that of the
Hindus is decreasing; c) infiltrating into the administration and
inducing the members of the civil and police services by adopting and
developing communal attitudes; d) training young people of the
majority community in the use of weapons like daggers, swords and
spears; e) spreading rumours to widen the communal cleavage and deepen
communal feelings by giving a communal colour to any trivial
incident."— Report of the Justice Venugopal Commission on the
Kanyakumari riots of 1982 between Hindus and Christians

"The dispute on the route of the procession became sharp and agitated
reactions from a group of persons calling themselves the Sanyukt
Bajrang Bali Akhara Samiti who systematically distributed pamphlets to
heighten communal feelings and had organisational links with the RSS.
A call for the defiance of the authority and the administration when
it refused permission for one of the routes led to a violent mob
protesting and raising anti–Muslim slogans and thereafter an
incendiary leaflet doing the rounds of Jamshedpur that is nothing
short of an attempt to rouse the sentiments of Hindus to a high pitch
and to distort events and show some actions as attacks on Hindus that
appear to be part of a design. A survey had already established that
all policemen, havaldars, home guards etc. were at heart ready to give
support to them (Hindu communalist organisations)." — Report of the
Commission of Inquiry into the Communal Disturbances at Jamshedpur,
April 1979

“Even after it became apparent that the leaders of the Shiv Sena were
active in stoking the fire of the communal riots, the police dragged
their feet on the facile and exaggerated assumption that if such
leaders were arrested the communal situation would further flare up,
or to put it in the words of then Chief Minister, Sudhakarrao Naik,
“Bombay would burn”; not that Bombay did not even burn otherwise.” —
Report of the Justice B.N. Srikrishna Commission on the Mumbai riots
of 1992–1993

Justice Thomas is invited to look up the full reports ,if he wishes
too.

It would help the Church leadership, too, if it were to read those
reports.

[ends