K. B. Hedgewar: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|Leader of the Indian RSS (1889–1940)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2018}}

{{Use Indian English|date=October 2014}}

| office              = Founder & 1st [[List of Sarsanghchalaks of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh|Sarsanghchalak]] of [[Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh]]

| occupation          = physician, political activist

| known_for          = Founder of [[Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh]]

'''Keshav Baliram Hedgewar''' (1 April 1889 – 21 June 1940), also known by his moniker '''Doctorji''', was an Indian physician and  the founding ''[[Sarsanghachalak]]'' (or "Chief"<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://rss.org/Timeline.html|title=Timeline|website=Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh|access-date=22 May 2020}})</ref>) of the [[Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh]] (RSS).<ref name="sumit">{{cite book |last1=Kumar |first1=Sumit |title=Dr. Keshav Baliram Hedgewar |date=2016 |publisher=Prabhat Prakashan |location=Mumbai |isbn=978-9350486900}}</ref> Hedgewar founded the RSS in [[Nagpur]] in 1925, based on the ideology of [[Hindutva]] with the intention of creating a [[Hindu Rashtra]].<ref name="Taneja 2009">{{cite book|last=Taneja|first=S. P.|title=Society and politics in India|publisher=Swastik Publishers & Distributors|location=Delhi, India|year=2009|isbn=978-81-89981-29-7|page=332}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.newsinsight.net/Allinthefamily..aspx#page=page-1 |title=All in the Family |newspaper=News Insight |date=29 August 2012|author=Subramanian, N.V.|access-date=31 August 2012}}</ref>

Hedgewar was born on 1 April 1889 in a [[Telugu people|Telugu]]<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Andersen|first1=Walter|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BDqdDwAAQBAJ|title=Messengers of Hindu Nationalism: How the RSS Reshaped India|last2=Damle|first2=Shridhar D.|date=2019-06-15|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-1-78738-289-3|pages=261|language=en|quote=Dr. Hedgewar, was a trained medical practitioner, and founded the RSS in 1925}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Teltumbde|first=Anand|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HhvHDwAAQBAJ|title=Hindutva and Dalits: Perspectives for Understanding Communal Praxis|date=2020-01-31|publisher=SAGE Publishing India|isbn=978-93-81345-51-1|language=en|quote="Dr Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, a Telugu Brahmin settled in Nagpur."}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Louis|first=Prakash|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=917XAAAAMAAJ|title=The Emerging Hindutva Force: The Ascent of Hindu Nationalism|date=2000|publisher=Indian Social Institute|isbn=978-81-87218-31-9|pages=38|language=en|quote=K.B. Hedgewar was a Telugu Brahmin residing in Nagpur.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Hindu Nationalist Movement and Indian Politics: 1925 to the 1990s : Strategies of Identity-building, Implantation and Mobilisation (with Special Reference to Central India)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uywnx2IHH8cC|author=Christophe Jaffrelot|publisher=C. Hurst & Co. Publishers|year=1996|page=45|isbn = 9781850653011|quote=The organization had been founded and developed by Maharashtrian Brahmins - Hedgewar came from a Telugu Brahmin family long resident in Nagpur and Golwalkar was a Karhada Brahmin – and all the early swayamsevaks were Brahmins.}}</ref> [[Deshastha Brahmin|Deshastha Rigvedi Brahmin]] family in [[Nagpur]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Changing political leadership in an Indian province: the Central Provinces and Berar, 1919-1939|author=David E. U. Baker|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1979|page=104|quote=Though Moonje was closely involved with this organization, its actual founder was his protege and associate, Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, a Deshastha Brahman doctor from Nagpur.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Dr. Hedgewar, the Epoch-maker: A Biography|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sn0eAAAAMAAJ|author=H. V. Seshadri|publisher=Sahitya Sindhu|year=1981|page=2|quote=The place was at one time the abode of scholars and prosperous Brahmin families. The Hedgewar family was one such. They were Deshastha Brahmins of the Shakala branch, belonging to the Ashwalayana Sutra of the Rigveda. Their gotra was Kashyapa, and learning and transmission of the Vedas was their sole preoccupation.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Goodrick-Clarke|first=N.|title=Hitler's Priestess: Savitri Devi, the Hindu-Aryan Myth, and Neo-Nazism.|date=2000|publisher=NYU Press|isbn=0-8147-3110-4|page=58|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m6-5YC-pBk4C&pg=58|access-date=18 October 2015|quote=As early as 1925 Dr. Hedgewar had founded the RSS to foster ''Hindutva'' activism among the Maharashtrian youth. Born into an orthodox Deshastha Brahmin family in Nagpur, Keshavrao Baliram Hedgewar (1889–1940) qualified as a medical doctor but devoted his whole life to the struggle for Indian political freedom.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/culture/books/to-read-the-mind-of-behemoth-rss/cid/1675355|title=To read the mind of behemoth RSS|date=16 November 2018|website=Telegraph India|access-date=15 April 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.firstpost.com/india/how-coastal-karnataka-was-saffronised-part-1-hedgewar-sends-an-emissary-to-mangalore-a-shakha-is-born-the-rss-takes-root-6364981.html|title=How coastal Karnataka was saffronised; part 1: Hedgewar sends emissary to Mangalore, an RSS shakha is born|date=7 April 2019|website=Firstpost|access-date=15 April 2019}}</ref>  His parents were Baliram Pant Hedgewar and Revatibai, a couple of modest means. When Hedgewar was thirteen both of his parents died in the epidemic of plague<ref name="Zavos2000">{{cite book|author=Zavos, John |title=The Emergence of Hindu Nationalism in India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=72jXAAAAMAAJ|year=2000|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-565140-9|page=184}}</ref> of 1902. Hedgewar's uncle ensured that he continued to receive a good education, and [[B. S. Moonje]] became a patron and a father-figure for the young Hedgewar.

Hedgewar participated in the [[Indian National Congress]] in the 1920s, but he became disillusioned with their policies and politics. He had been an active member of the party's volunteer division - Hindustani Seva Dal, the predecessor of the [[Congress Seva Dal]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://theprint.in/india/rss-founder-hedgewar-was-with-congress-and-other-facts-you-didnt-know/387491/|title=RSS founder Hedgewar was with Congress, and other facts you didn't know|date=25 March 2020}}</ref> He was deeply influenced by the writings of [[Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak]], [[Vinayak Damodar Savarkar]], [[Babarao Savarkar]], Arvind Ghosh and [[B. S. Moonje]]. He also read [[Giuseppe Mazzini|Mazzini]] and other enlightenment philosophers. He considered that the cultural and religious heritage of Hindus should be the basis of Indian nationhood.<ref name="Malik 1994">{{cite book|last=Malik|first=Yogendra|title=Hindu nationalists in India : the rise of the Bharatiya Janata Party|publisher=Westview Press|year=1994|isbn=978-0-8133-8810-6|location=Boulder|page=158}}</ref>

After founding the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in 1925, Hedgewar maintained a healthy distance from [[Indian Independence movement]] as led by Gandhi. Instead he encouraged local Swayamsevaks to participate on their own accord with the struggle.<ref name=":0"/> This lack of enthusiasm in the [[Indian independence movement|Independence Movement]] is heavily criticised by Anti-RSS groups. According to some sources, Hedgewar was actively discouraging RSS cadres to not join the movement which was led by [[Mahatma Gandhi|Gandhi]].<ref name="Undoing India">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tQ5pO46SPk0C|title=Undoing India the RSS Way|last=Islam|first=Shamsul|date=2002|publisher=Media House|isbn=9788174951427}}</ref> The RSS biographer C. P. Bhishikar states, "after establishing Sangh, Doctor Saheb in his speeches used to talk only of Hindu organization". Direct comment on (British) Government used to be almost nil."<ref>{{cite book|last=Bhishikar|first=C. P.|date=1994|title=Sangh Vriksh ke Beej: Dr. Keshav Rao Hedgewar|location=New Delhi|publisher=Suruchi Prakashan}}</ref><ref name="Islam2006">{{cite book|author=Islam, Shamsul |title=Religious Dimensions of Indian Nationalism: A Study of RSS|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iaQjbO8SN48C&pg=PA188|year=2006|publisher=Media House|isbn=978-81-7495-236-3|page=188}}</ref> When the Congress passed the [[Purna Swaraj]] resolution in its Lahore session in December 1929, and called upon all Indians to celebrate 26 January 1930 as Independence Day, Hedgewar issued a circular asking all the RSS shakhas to observe the occasion through hoisting and worship of the [[Bhagwa Dhwaj]] (saffron flag), rather than the Tricolor (which was, by consensus, considered the flag of the Indian national movement at that time).<ref name="Basu1993">{{cite book|author=Tapan Basu|title=Khaki Shorts and Saffron Flags: A Critique of the Hindu Right|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CimVTTVHtwQC&pg=PA21|date= 1993|publisher=Orient Blackswan|isbn=978-0-86311-383-3|pages=21–}}</ref><ref name="Hadiz2006">{{cite book|author=Hadiz, Vedi R. |title=Empire and Neoliberalism in Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dd99AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA252|date=2006|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-16727-2|page=252}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Puniyani, Ram |title=Religion, Power and Violence: Expression of Politics in Contemporary Times|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZdPipb-u21gC&pg=PA141|date=2005|publisher=SAGE Publications|isbn=978-0-7619-3338-0|page=141}}</ref> 1930 was the only year when the RSS celebrated 26 January and it stopped the practice from the next year onwards.<ref name="Basu1993"/> However, such celebration became a standard feature of the freedom movement and often came to mean violent confrontation with the official police.<ref name="Basu1993"/> C. P. Bhishikar states,<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Bb9dAAAAIAAJ|title=Dr. Hedgewar, the epoch-maker: a biography|last=Seshadri|first=H. V.|date=1981|publisher=Sahitya Sindhu}}</ref><blockquote>[In April 1930], [[Mahatma Gandhi]] gave a call for [[Salt Satyagraha|'Satyagraha']] against the British Government. Gandhi himself launched the Salt Satyagraha undertaking his Dandi Yatra. Dr. Hedgewar decided to participate only individually and not let the RSS join the freedom movement officially. He sent information everywhere that the Sangh will not participate in the Satyagraha. However those wishing to participate individually in it were not prohibited.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bhishikar|first=C. P.|date=1994|title=Sangh Vriksh ke Beej: Dr. KeshavRao Hedgewar|publisher=Suruchi Prakashan|page= 20}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Puniyani, Ram |title=Religion, Power and Violence: Expression of Politics in Contemporary Times|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ioyHAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA129|date=6 July 2005|publisher=SAGE Publications|isbn=978-81-321-0206-9|page=129}}</ref></blockquote>

Hedgewar insisted that the RSS must only be involved with "man-making". Hedgewar was critical of Hindu society and its degeneration over the centuries with its out-dated and often backward practices. The RSS, he wrote, must be completely devoted to establishing men of character and worthy of respect the world over.<ref name=":0" />

He attended the annual ''Sangh Shiksha Varg'' (officer training camp) in 1940, where he gave his last message to Swayamsevaks, saying: 'I see before my eyes today a miniature Hindu Rashtra."<ref name="Kanungo2002"/><ref name="Basu1993"/> He died on the morning of 21 June 1940 in Nagpur. His last rites were performed in the locality of Resham Bagh in Nagpur, which was later developed as [[Hedgewar Smruti Mandir]].<ref name="Kanungo2002"/><ref name=timesnownews>{{cite news|title=Nagpur: RSS founder's memorial Smruti Mandir gets tourism status|work=www.timesnownews.com|url=https://www.timesnownews.com/mirror-now/in-focus/article/nagpur-rss-founder-memorial-smruti-mandir-gets-tourism-status/225855|date=8 May 2018}}</ref>

Former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee described Hegdewar as a great patriot, freedom fighter and nationalist during his commemoration on a postal stamp in 1999.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rediff On The NeT: Vajpayee releases stamp on Hedgewar |url=https://www.rediff.com/news/1999/mar/18hedge.htm |access-date=2022-05-11 |website=www.rediff.com}}</ref> Hedgewar was described as "a great son of [[Bharat Mata|Mother India]]" by former [[President of India]] [[Pranab Mukherjee]] during his visit to Hedgewar's birthplace in Nagpur.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/pranab-hails-hedgewar-as-great-son-of-india-118060701079_1.html |title=Pranab hails Hedgewar as 'great son of India' |date=7 June 2018 |work=[[Business Standard]] |access-date=7 June 2018}}</ref>

*Dr. Hedgewar Institute Of Medical Sciences & Research (Dhimsr) Amravati<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hedgewarhospital.org/pages/aboutus.htm|title=Dr.Hedgewar Institute Of Medical Sciences & Research, Amravati|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141105152342/http://hedgewarhospital.org/pages/aboutus.htm|archive-date=5 November 2014}}</ref>

* {{cite book |first=Jean Alonzo |last=Curran |title=Militant Hinduism in Indian Politics: A Study of the R.S.S. |publisher=International Secretariat, Institute of Pacific Relations |year=1951 |url=http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001157509 |access-date=27 October 2014}}