'Why does the BJP need to resort to such distortion of the historical record? Most likely because its progenitor, the RSS, took no part in the freedom movement at all. During the thirties and forties, few, if any, RSS workers were seen saluting the national flag. Their allegiances were sectarian rather than national—indeed, they chose to elevate their own bhagwa dhwaj above the tiranga jhanda. Shortly after Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination, there were widespread reports of RSS activists trampling upon the tricolour. This greatly upset the Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. In a speech on the 24th of February 1948, Nehru spoke sorrowfully of how ‘at some places members of the RSS dishonoured the National Flag. They know well that by disgracing the flag they are proving themselves as traitors…’. The Sangh Parivar has now come round to honouring the tricolour, but their actions suggest that they still do not understand what that flag means. Thus the rhetoric used on the present tiranga yatra of the BJP is designed to divide the peoples of India. In this respect, this yatra is an insult to the memory of Mahatma Gandhi and to countless other freedom fighters who fought, under that flag, for national unity and religious harmony. And, it must finally be said, it is also an insult to the memory of Madame Bhikaji Cama—a socialist and secularist who would have been appalled at being forced to keep posthumous company with Uma Bharti and her ilk.' ramachandraguha.in/archives/truths-about-the-tricolour.html Home | Biograph
Posted on: Sat, 10 Aug 2013 06:33:37 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015