K S Sudarshan ji

K S Sudarshan ji(June 6, 2020)

Fifth Sarsanghchalak of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh K S Sudarshan

was was opposed to the exploitation of nature and said that take as

much as is needed from nature, only then this earth will be able to serve

all the living beings.

Shri Sudarshan was born in Raipur (now in Chhattisgarh) in a Sanketi

Brahmin family. He did his Bachelor of Engineering in Telecommunications

(honours) from Jabalpur Engineering College (formerly named as Government

Engineering College), Jabalpur. He was only nine years old when he first

attended an RSS Shakha. He was appointed as a Pracharak in 1954 in Raigarh

district of Madhya Pradesh (Now Chhattisgarh).

In 1964, he was became the prant pracharak of Madhya Bharat at a fairly

young age. This was followed by a stint in the North-East (1977) and then, he

was made RSS Akhil Bharatiya Boudhik Pramukh two years later. In 1990, he

was appointed Sah-sarkaryavah (joint general secretary) of the Sangh. He has

the rare distinction of having held both posts of sharirik (physical exercises)

and bauddhik (intellectual) pramukh (chief) on different occasions.

Shri Sudarshan became Sarsanghachalak of the RSS on 10 March 2000. He

succeeded Prof. Rajendra Singh(Rajju Bhaiyya), who stepped down on health

grounds. In his acceptance speech, Shri Sudarshan recalled how he was hand-

picked to head the Madhya Bharat region. He said though initially he was

hesitant to take up the responsibility, the then RSS Sarsanghachalak

Golwalkar helped him to make up his mind. "I was able to discharge my duties

because people senior to me fully co-operated with me," he said. He stepped

down as Sarsanghachalak on 21 March 2009, due to poor health. He died at

the age of 81 in Raipur on 15 September 2012.

Man of Precision and Prompt Decision

Once in a Shakaha at the RSS office in Raipur, he noticed that one of the

Swayasevaks was reciting “Ekatmata Mantra” (a manta which is chanted in

praise of the unity and integrity of the motherland) and didn’t pronounce a

particular word appropriately. Sudarshan noticed that but he did not interject

and let the swayamsevak to complete the recital of this Mantra. And then he

pointed out to everyone present there that one particular word was not

pronounced properly. While pointing this out, he also explained in detail the

importance of this word and the reason for emphasising on the correct

pronunciation. Then he made everyone present there pronounce this word

correctly for five times.

A large number of people who have worked with him closely revealed that he

was very particular about the facts, figures and the accuracy of all that he

would dwell upon. As a result, he would often end up preparing more than

one draft of his address or speech.

“ Sudarshan ji was very particular about the preparations he would make

before speaking on any subject. Be it a gathering of 50 or 50,000, he would

start preparing for his address a few days before the event or the programme.

“He would always have a written speech with him. To speak without making

any prior preparations was unacceptable to him”- Bhaiya Ji Joshi

Sudarshan Ji in North East

He began his works in North-East as an RSS Pracharak by identifying several

key issues related the region, such as illegal migration from Bangladesh.He

was first among those who studied the problem of North-east emerging from

infiltration by Bangladeshis Muslims and exponential conversion drive by

Christian missionaries.

He perceived the illegal infiltration of Bangladeshi Muslims in India

particularly in Assam as an ‘attack’ from across the border of a new weapon

called ‘Population Jihad’. He travelled extensively to states like Tripura,

Nagaland, and Arunachal Pradesh amongst others to study the issue of illegal

immigration and its impact. He prepared a detailed plan to counter this influx

and resolve the issue. He was a man with vision foreseeing the emerging

issues prior to happening. Later, in 1980s, we all witnessed a historic agitation

across the state of Assam to throw back the illegal migrants from across the

border.

Congress, always stood along with protection of the interests of Bangladeshi

Muslims at the cost of the interests of the state’s legal residents, for ensuring

electoral success.The entire north east particularly Assam heavily paid the

cost of ignoring the Sudarshan’s advice in terms of dramatic change in its

demography with the population of Muslims rising significantly in several

districts primarily due to settlement of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

“As a Pracharak (whole-timer) in the north-east, first he learned Bengali and

Assamese. He could deliver lectures fluently in both these languages. He

studied in-depth the activities of Church and exposed them.... Later, he sent a

number of ‘Pracharaks’ from all over the country to work there in view of

the gravity of the problem.”

- Ashok Singhal, International President of Vishwa Hindu Parishad

During his long stay in north east, he studied the tribes and their culture in in

detail... He suggested ways and means to protect tribes from the influence of

Christian Missionaries. Several schools and hostels for students were set up

by nationalist organisations to do the same. The Bangladeshi Muslims were

migrating illegally to Assam, West Bengal and Bihar in a planned way;

simultaneously, the Hindus from Bangladesh, unable to protect themselves,

were also migrating. At that time, it was Sudarshan ji who told the

countrymen and especially the Assamese people that while the Muslims

coming from Bangladesh were illegal immigrants, the Hindus coming from

there were refugees. So, the latter should be sheltered by the Hindus in the

rest of India. Meanwhile, the illegal Muslim immigrants who have settled in

West Bengal, Bihar and Assam should be deported back to Bangladesh. The six

north-eastern states gradually understood his argument.

Sudarshan played a key role in ensuring that the movement started by Asom

Gana Parishad against illegal immigrants from Bangladesh did not turn

against Bengali Hindus. The Muslims in Assam tried to make it an anti- Bengali

agitation but Sudarshan could not only see through this conspiracy, he also

realized the long term adverse impact of an anti-Bengali movement. This

would have affected Hindus severely while skirting the real problem.

Sudarshan ji on need of writing history with national perspective

Sudarshan ji’s name comes at forefront when someone remembers the man

behind initiating the movement to write the history of India from a national

perspective.

“He started discussing this with five-six people which apart from myself

included P. Parmeswaran, K.I. Vasu, Dr. Sujit Dhar, Malkaniji (K.R. Malkani),

Devendra Swaroopji, etc. Later on, he (Sudarshan) got more people on

board such as Dr. Bajrang Lal Gupt. The discussions went on and the final

outcome was a thinking process. It was named ‘Pragya Pravah’. Some

programmes were organised under its banner and gradually regular seminars

started taking place. Similar activities happened on the issues of Swadeshi and

under the banner of Vigyan Bharati. The prominent scientists of the country

were approached and they got associated with these activities. Thus,

Sudarshanji had a multi-dimensional thinking and approach.” -Dr. Murli

Manohar Joshi

Sudarshan ji on agriculture and peasants

Sudarshan ji was always concerned about the Indian agriculture. He always

emphasised that the seeds provided by the multi-national corporations were

genetically modified and use of these seeds for a long duration would have

detrimental effect of the Indian farm sector. This is precisely what we are

witnessing today as farmers are grappling with challenges like poor quality of

soil and low yield with an increase in input costs making farming

unsustainable for a large number of small and marginal farmers.

Sudarshanji had emphasised decades ago that India should go for organic

farming. The economic model propounded by Sudarshan had organic farming

as its central element.

According to Dr. Joshi, “Sudarshanji used to say that preference should be

given not to sustainable development, but to sustainable use because

unlimited use is dangerous.”

Recalling the time he spent with Sudarshan, Dr. Joshi says, “I saw it several

times myself that he would not take full glass of water.” He did not want to get

even a single drop of water wasted. Sudarshan was very keen to find an

alternative which could replace use of petrol and diesel in India. He discussed

this issue with several scientists and ensured that an experiment to make

petrol from plastic waste is carried out successfully. He was a strong advocate

for use of bio-diesel and cultivating plants which could produce it.

He was constantly in touch with a group of scientists and exchanged notes

with them through personal meetings as well as correspondence. He

encouraged them to carry out path-breaking experiments which make the

process of development nature friendly and help the poor and the

marginalised.

“We discussed the issue of research on Saraswati River at ‘Pragya Pravah’

several times and when I became a minister, I contributed in this endeavour.

That was the time when I was accused of saffronisation,” says Dr. Joshi, who

was a Union Minister for Human Resource Development during the BJP-led

National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government from 1998-2003 under the

leadership of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

He had passionately made a small organic garden on the roof in Bhopal where

several vegetables were grown. With a child-like enthusiasm, he used to

discuss organic farming with visitors.

Sudarshan Ji on Swadeshi

Sudarshan was a strong proponent of ‘Swadeshi’. According to his economic

philosophy, the western model of economic development was unsustainable.

He said, “The root cause of poverty and unemployment in India is this specific

Western model of development as it is centralised, high energy-consuming,

urban-centric, capital-intensive, promoting unemployment and destroying

the nature. We need to replace this model with an economy which is

decentralised and based on rural India. It should consume least energy and

it should be less capital- intensive while creating more jobs and conserving

environment. We have neglected rural development. Though, it is heartening

to see that many self-inspired people are carrying out experiments to this

effect on their own. With the help of our cows, not only can we have sufficient

organic manure, but also organic pesticides. Small dams at rivers and water

streams can help to improve the groundwater level and the means for

irrigation can be created in a cost-effective manner. People have proved

that this can be done. Some entrepreneurs have created ox-driven tractors

which are 10 times cheaper than the diesel-driven tractors and most

appropriate for small and marginal farmers. These tractors can be run by the

women also as they don’t have to walk along. The migration of youth from the

rural to the urban areas can be checked by creating agriculture-based

enterprises. But these small enterprises need to be protected from the bigger

enterprises. We have more than 5,000 herbs which can be used in medicines.

If we promote cultivation of these herbs, it would help to improve the

economic situation in tribal areas also. The villages can be provided with

cheaper solar power.”

Most importantly, he emphasised that instead of walking into the trap of

globalisation and foreign debt, it would be better if we promote rural

development with the resources we have at our disposal.

Sudarshan Ji was one the greatest sons of Bharat. He served the nation till his

last breath.

References

Sharma Baldev Bhai(2017) Hamare Sudarshanji, Prabhat Prakashan, New

Delhi

Daani Prabhakar Balwant(2000) Sangh Darshan, , Lokhit Prakashan

Arun Anand (2019) Saffron Surge , Prabhat Prakshan , New Delhi