Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of using the country’s 79th Independence Day address to glorify the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and V.D. Savarkar.
“It’s not acceptable at all as the attempt to project the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and V.D. Savarkar as central figures in India’s independence movement. Choosing Independence Day itself to glorify those who compromised with colonial powers is being seen as an insult to the freedom struggle,” Vijayan wrote on social media.
He went on to point out that the RSS was banned in the aftermath of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination, while Savarkar himself faced trial in the conspiracy linked to Mahatma Gandhi’s murder.
“Associating them with the ‘fatherhood of freedom’ is a denial of history. PM Modi’s Independence Day address, which indirectly valorised the RSS, was a misuse of the solemn occasion. Moreover, the decision of the Union Petroleum Ministry’s Independence Day greeting card placing Savarkar’s image above Gandhi’s is nothing but a part of a larger conspiracy to rewrite history,” added Vijayan.
“India’s independence movement was a collective battle, cutting across caste, creed, language, and religion. In contrast, the RSS distanced itself from the movement and openly opposed its ideological foundations. Instead of inclusive Indian nationalism, it promoted a majoritarian Hindutva vision,” added Vijayan.
Citing history, Vijayan further pointed out that when the Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution on November 26, 1949, the RSS mouthpiece Organizer editorialised that the Manusmriti should have been the guiding text instead of the Constitution.
Similarly, the Hindu Mahasabha under Savarkar had even boycotted the celebrations of August 15, 1947.
“Those who turned their backs on the freedom struggle are now attempting to insert themselves into its history, while sidelining real martyrs, such as those of the Punnapra-Vayalar uprising or the victims of the Wagon Tragedy. Those who call for commemorating Partition horrors on August 14 have little moral standing to lecture the nation on Independence Day,” wrote Vijayan.
Vijayan ends his piece by stating that any attempt to replace the legacy of humanism and unity with sectarian hatred must be resisted collectively.
