Keshav Baliram Hedgewar (1 April 1889 – 21 June 1940),
also known as "Doctorji" within his organisation, was the
founding Sarsanghachalak of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak
Sangh (RSS) and a prominent member of the right wing party Hindu
Mahasabha. Hedgewar founded the RSS in Nagpur in 1925, with the
intention of promoting the concept of a united India rooted in Hinduism
ideology.
Early life
Hedgewar was born on Pratipada, Chaitra, Shukla
Paksha, Vikram Samvat 1946 (1 April 1889) in a Marathi Deshastha
Brahmin family in Nagpur. His parents were Baliram Pant Hedgewar and
Revati, a couple of modest means. They were originally from a village called
Kandurti in Andhra Pradesh, and Hedgewar's forefathers had moved to Nagpur
a few generations back. The couple had six children – three daughters and three
sons, Mahadev, Sitaram and the youngest, Keshav. When Keshav was thirteen, both
his parents succumbed to the epidemic of plague. His elder brothers
Mahadev Pant, and Sitaram Pant ensured that he received a good education.
When he was studying in Neel City High School in Nagpur, he
was rusticated for singing "Vande Mataram" in violation of
the circular issued by the then British government. As a result, he had to
pursue his high school studies at the Rashtriya Vidyalaya
in Yavatmal and later in Pune. After matriculating, he was sent
to Kolkata by B. S. Moonje (a member of the Congress who
later became the national President of the Hindu Mahasabha) in 1910 to
pursue his medical studies. After passing the L.M.S. Examination from the
National Medical College in June 1914, he completed a yearlong apprenticeship
and returned to Nagpur in 1915 as a physician.
Formation of RSS
Hedgewar actively participated in Indian National Congress
in the 1920s, but he became disillusioned with their policies and politics. The
outbreak of the Hindu-Muslim riot in 1923 made him ponder over an alternate model
of nation-building in India. He was deeply influenced by the writings
of Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. He
considered that the cultural and religious heritage of Hindus should be the
basis of Indian nationhood.
Hedgewar founded RSS in 1925 on the day of
Vijayadashami with an aim to organise Hindu community for its cultural
and spiritual regeneration and make it a tool in getting the country free from
foreign domination.
Hedgewar insisted on the term
'rashtriya' (national) for his exclusively 'Hindu' organization, for he wanted
to re-assert the identity of Hindu with 'rashtriya'. This can be confirmed by
the 'prarthana'(prayer) sung at the end of every shakha meeting, along with the
slogan of Bharat Mata Ki Jai. Hedgewar created a female wing of the
organization in 1936.
His initial followers included Bhaiyaji
Dani, Babasaheb Apte, Nathuram Godse, Balasaheb Deoras,
and Madhukar Rao Bhagwat, among others. The Sangh was growing in Nagpur
and the surrounding districts. and it soon began to spread to other provinces.
Hedgewar went to a number of places and inspired the youths for taking up the
Sangh work. Gradually all his associates had begun to endearingly call him
'Doctorji.'
Upon his urging, Swayamsevaks went to far-off cities
like Kashi, Lucknow etc., for their further education and
started 'Shakhas' there.
Political activities post formation of RSS
After founding the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in 1925,
Hedgewar started the tradition of keeping the RSS away from the anti-British Indian
Independence movement. The RSS carefully avoided any political activity that
could be construed as being anti-British. The RSS biographer C. P. Bhishikar
states, "After establishing Sangh, Doctor Saheb in his speeches used to
talk only of Hindu organization. Direct comment on Government used to be almost
nil." When the Congress passed the Purna Swaraj resolution in its
Lahore session in December 1929, and called upon all Indians to celebrate 26
January 1930 as Independence Day, Hedgewar issued a circular asking all the RSS
shakhas (branches) to observe the occasion through hoisting and worship of
the Bhagwa Dhwaj (saffron flag), rather than the Tricolor (which was,
by consensus, considered the flag of the Indian national movement at that time).
1930 was the only year when the RSS celebrated 26 January
and it stopped the practice from the next year onwards. However, such
celebration became a standard feature of the freedom movement and often came to
mean violent confrontation with the official police.
C. P. Bhishikar states, "In April 1930,
Mahatma Gandhi gave a call for 'Satyagraha' against the British
Government. Gandhi himself launched the Salt Satyagraha undertaking his Dandi
Yatra. Dr. Hedgewar decided to participate only individually and not let the
RSS join the freedom movement officially. He sent information everywhere that
the Sangh will not participate in the Satyagraha. However those wishing to
participate individually in it were not prohibited".
Hedgewar emphasized that he participated in the Civil
Disobedience movement of 1930 in individual capacity, and not as a RSS member.
His concern was to keep the RSS out of the political arena. According to
Hedgewar’s biography, when Gandhi launched the Salt Satyagraha in 1930, he sent
information everywhere that the RSS will not participate in the Satyagraha.
However those wishing to participate individually in it were not prohibited.
Death and legacy
His health deteriorated in later years of his life. Often he
suffered from chronic back pain. He started delegating his responsibilities
to M. S. Golwalkar, who later succeeded him as Sarsanghachalak
of RSS. In January 1940, he was taken to Rajgir in Bihar
for the hot-spring treatment. He attended the annual Sangh Shiksha Varg in
1940, where he gave his last message to Swayamsevaks, saying: 'I see before my
eyes today a miniature Hindu Rashtra." He died on the morning of 21 June
1940 in Nagpur. His last rites were performed in the locality of Resham Bagh in
Nagpur, which was later developed as Hedgewar Smruti Mandir.
Hedgewar was described as "a great son of Mother
India" by former President of India Pranab Mukherjee during his
visit to Hedgewar's birthplace in Nagpur.
Institutes named after Hedgewar
Shree Keshav Cooperative Credit Society Ltd. Junagadh,
Gujarat.
Dr. Hedgewar Institute Of Medical Sciences & Research
(Dhimsr) Amravati
Dr. Hedgewar Shikshan
Pratishthan Ahmednagar
Dr. K. B. Hedgewar High School Goa
Dr. Hedgewar Aarogya Sansthan, Karkardooma, New Delhi, Delhi
110032
Hedgewar Hospital, Aurangabad.
