English

Rameshbhai Mehta, who has been associated with the Sangh since his childhood and who has dedicated his life to the Sangh, has presented its history before us. Rameshbhai strives for the sake of the Sangh and, by means of the Sangh, for the sake of the society, the culture and the progress and welfare of his dharma. He is himself, ‘History – live’, not only of the Rashtriya Sangh but also of many events of consequence in the post-independence era. Born in the pre-independence era in a wealthy family, Rameshbhai was still a child when he first stepped into the ‘Shakha’ of the Sangh. Then on, at every step in life, he was guided by the Sangh, and so it is even today.

From the initial days, several political organisations have opposed the Sangh ideology. The Sangh has also faced a brief ban during the British rule, in 1948, during Emergency days (1975-77) and after the Ayodhya issue (1992). However, the two opposing streams of thought about the Sangh do admittedly end up surprising the common man. Through decades, the Bharatiya common man has been witnessing, on the one hand, a huge multitude associating with the Sangh and on the other, many people who launch vehement attacks and dish out nasty flak against the Sangh’s ideology.

Hence the need to understand the Sangh! It would be advisable to understand the ideology of the Sangh objectively, its contribution right from its inception until today, and, of course, its significance. To accept a certain ideology or to reject it is indeed a matter of individual choice. But, even the wise do not decline the idea of being open to understanding a given concept before opting to accept or even reject it. And what better means to do so than a dialogue? This very dialogue about the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh appeared as an article series in Dainik Pratyaksha – ‘Chalta Bolta Itihaas‘ (History – live’ – in person).

This series of articles in Marathi got further translated into Hindi, English and Gujarati, and published in a book form in all four languages. On 29th April 2017, a ceremony for the same was held where the unveiling of the books happened at the hands of the then Governor of Uttar Pradesh, Hon’ble Shri. Ram Naik, Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways Shri. Nitin Gadkari, Member of Parliament in Rajya Sabha and head of Essel Group, Dr. Subhash Chandra.

In this book, Rameshbhai Mehta has presented the history of India, unknown to the common masses, along with the journey of the Sangh from 1925 to 1996. It covers the events from when Dr. Hegdewar founded the Sangh, the motivation behind it, Dr. Golwalkar Guruji – the second Sarsanghachalak up to Balasaheb Deoras – the third Sarsanghachalak. Besides, the book also contains information about the various organisations founded by the Sangh to bring together multiple elements of the society viz., women, students, tribals, labourers, etc. It is hoped that the book will throw light on various conceptions and misconceptions about the Sangh prevalent in society.