Struggle Against the Empire: Other Organisations and Cultural Nationalism

Abstract

Dr B. R. Ambedkar noted that any freedom struggle or political change needs a base of cultural renaissance, reforms—both social and religious. Our retaliation against colonialists began from the very moment they tried to colonise India. Beginning with the Battle of Colachel that took place in 1741, there were uprisings from tribes in North East, Bengal and central India. Kuka Sikhs were the first to promote swadeshi, with the insistence on wearing hand woven clothes. This freedom struggle had many streams—earlier battles all over Bharat, revolutionary actions, organised arm struggle like Azad Hind Fauj (INA) and many streams of political thought that worked under the larger umbrella of the Indian National Congress while some worked independently. We had Home Rule League, Hindu Mahasabha, Swaraj Party and Congress Socialist Party (CSP). It was a long drawn struggle that was built on dharmic renaissance and cultural nationalism sparked by Swami Dayanand Saraswati. After working with revolutionaries and Congress party and studying history, Dr K. B. Hedgewar identified the problem of Bharat as a fractious Hindu society and the collective amnesia inculcated by the British. He decided to create a non-political organisation by first preparing battle-worthy citizens and founded the RSS. Contrary to critics’ claims, RSS too contributed to freedom struggle. Most important was its role on the eve of Independence in protecting Hindu-Sikh brethren from mindless violence and rehabilitating them when the leaders were busy celebrating the country’s independence on 15 August in 1947.