Liberation of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Goa

Role during the 1962 Sino-Indian War

Participation in land reforms

Liberation of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Goa

Main article: Liberation of Dadra and Nagar Haveli

After the Independence of India, many organizations including the RSS aspired to liberate Dadra and Nagar Haveli from Portuguese occupation. In early 1954, volunteers Raja Wakankar and Nana Kajrekar of the RSS visited the area round about Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman several times to study the topography and also to get acquainted with the local workers who were agitating for the liberation. In April 1954, the RSS formed a coalition with the National Movement Liberation Organization (NMLO), the and Azad Gomantak Dal (AGD) for the liberation of Dadra and Nagar Haveli^[33]. On the night of 21 July, United front of Goans, a group, working independently of the coalition, captured the Portuguese police station at Dadra and declared Dadra as free. Subsequently on 28 July, volunteer teams of the RSS and AGD captured the territories of Naroli and Phiparia and ultimately the capital of Silvassa. The Portuguese forces which escaped and moved towards Nagar Haveli, were assaulted at Khandvel and were forced to retreat till they surrendered to the Indian border police at Udava on 11 August 1954. A native administration was setup with Appasaheb Karmalkar of NMLO as the Administrator of Dadra and Nagar Haveli on 11 August 1954^[34].

The liberation of Dadra and Nagar Haveli gave a boost to the freedom movement against the Portuguese in Goa^[34]. In 1955, RSS leaders demanded the end of Portuguese rule in Goa and its integration into India. When Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehrurefused to obtain it by armed intervention, RSS leader Jagannath Rao Joshi led the satyagraha agitation straight into Goa itself. He was imprisoned with his followers by the Portuguese police. The peaceful protests continued but met with severe repressions. On 15 August 1955, the Portuguese police opened fire on the satyagrahis, killing thirty or so people^[35].

Role during the 1962 Sino-Indian War

The RSS which had been keeping low profile after the lifting of the ban, earned recognition based on its volunteer work during theSino-Indian War in 1962^[36]. RSS was invited by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to take part in the Indian Republic day parade of 1963^[37]. It along with several other civilian organizations took part in the parade^[38]. This event helped the RSS increase its popularity and its patriotic image.^[39][40][41]

A rare photograph taken at the RSS meeting in 1939. By that time RSS had already gained an all India presence^{[citation needed]}

Later in 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pak wars too, the RSS volunteers offered their services to maintain law and order of the country and were apparently the first to donate blood.^[42]

Movement for the restoration of democracy

In 1975, the Indian Government under the Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi, proclaimed emergency rule in India, thereby suspending the fundamental rights and curtailing the rights of the press.^[43] This extreme step was taken after the Supreme Court of India, cancelled her election to the Indian Parliament on charges of malpractices in the election^[43]. The democraticinstitutions were kept under suspended animation and prominent opposition leaders including Gandhian Jayaprakash Narayan, were arrested and thousands of people were detained without any charges being framed against them.^[44] RSS, which was seen close to opposition leaders, and with its large organizational base was seen to have potential of organizing protests against the Government, was also banned.^[45] Police clamped down on the organization and thousands of its workers were imprisoned.^[17]

The RSS defied the ban and thousands participated in Satyagraha (peaceful protests) against the ban and against the curtailment of fundamental rights. Later, when there was no letup, the volunteers of the RSS formed underground movements for the restoration of democracy. Literature that was censored in the media was clandestinely published and distributed on a large scale and funds were collected for the movement. Networks were established between leaders of different political parties in the jail and outside for the coordination of the movement^[46]. 'The Economist', London, described the movement as "the only non-left revolutionary force in the world". It said that the movement was "dominated by tens of thousands of RSS cadres, though more and more young recruits are coming". Talking about its objectives it said "its platform at the moment has only one plank: to bring democracy back to India"^[47]. The Emergency was lifted in 1977 and as a consequence the ban on the RSS too was lifted.

Participation in land reforms

It has been noted that the RSS volunteers participated in the Bhoodan movement organized by Gandhian leader Vinobha Bhave. Vinobha Bhave had met the RSS leader M. S. Golwalkar in Meerut in November 1951. Golwalkar had been inspired by the movement that encouraged land reforms through voluntary means. He pledged the support of the RSS for this movement^[48]. Consequently, many RSS volunteers led by Nanaji Deshmukh participated in the movement.^[4]. But Golwalkar has also been critical of the Bhoodan movement, on other occasions for being reactionary and for working "merely with a view to counteracting Communism". He believed that the movement should inculcate a right and positive faith in the masses that can make them rise above the base appeal of Communism^[49].