hedgewar

Hedgewar was born in a poor family at Nagpur on the auspicious day of Gudipadwa. He had to face tremendous hardships in life due to poverty, including starvation. Right from childhood,he was a precocious student and used to excel in studies and sports. Nagpur was a center of intense political activity being a nationalist strongold. Tilak was the dominant force in Maharashtra at that time. Hedgewar was naturally influenced by Tilak and decided early to dedicate his life to the service of the Motherland. He went to Bengal to pursue his medical studies where he came into contact with Bengali revolutionaries like Aurobindo Ghosh and others. There he learnt the art of making explosives and actively participated in all revolutionary activities.
Disgusted by the appeasement policy of the Congress, he decided to set up the RSS in Nagpur. His objective was cultural,educational,physical and moral regeneration of society on Indian lines. He drew inspiration from Mazzini,the Italian revolutionary, who had started a similar movement in Italy. Hedgewar realized that it was the children and the youth who would be the foundation of new India. He set up the shakhas where cultural and physical education was given to children. He dreamt that he would be able to create a band of dedicated individuals dedicated to the service of the motherland! Hedgewar had a pan-India vision not confined by considerations of caste,language,religion or region. His vision of India was the one given by Bankim in Bande Matram!

Unfortunately after Hedgewar the RSS became a political organisation and deviated from the task of nation building! The leaders of the RSS, who I believe are a responsible lot,should remember that no nation ever achieved greatness by politics!