Gita Press and the Making of Hindu India (46 page)

While efforts, mainly through private members’ bills, to bring a Central legislation did not meet with success, the orthodox elements within the Congress always sided with the Hindu nationalists when it came to the cow. When voting took place on Seth Govind Das’s private member’s bill—the Indian Cattle Preservation Bill—in 1955, despite the party whip, two Congress leaders (Purushottam Das Tandon and Thakur Das Bhargava) voted in favour of the bill.
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In proposing the bill Seth Govind Das had not only defied Nehru but was colluding with RSS chief M.S. Golwalkar.

By the mid-1960s the venerable gau mata had been turned into an aggressive rallying point for Hindu nationalists. The death of Lala Hardev Sahay, possibly the most dominant voice in the cow-protection movement, on 30 September 1962, was a turning point.

From 1946 till his death, Sahay had been involved in the establishment of various cow-protection organizations, like the gaurakshini sabha, Bharat Gosevak Samaj, Gau Hatya Nirodh Samiti and Bharat Gau Raksha Sangh.
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The relationship that he had with Jayantibhai Naradlal Mankar of the Bombay Humanitarian League resulted in the birth of the Bharat Gosevak Samaj in 1948. Seth Govind Das of Congress was made its president, while Sahay and Mankar became secretaries of the new body. It was an indication of the ideological fluidity of the times that the head office of the Samaj was at the residence of Seth Govind Das in Delhi.

After Sahay’s death, his friends decided to revive the Bharat Gosevak Samaj since it was the first formal organization he had been associated with. His friends like M.S. Golwalkar of the RSS and Lala Hansraj Gupta, Arya Samajist industrialist who became the RSS sanghchalak of Delhi in 1947, were party to this decision.
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Thakurdas Bhargava, old and ailing, was co-opted in the revival exercise. Bhargava suggested that
Godhan
, a journal edited by Sahay, also be revived. However, Bhargava did not live to see the revival as he died in December 1962.

The meeting to reorganize the Bharat Gosevak Samaj took place on 28 February 1963 at the residence of Hansraj Gupta. The meeting approved the revival plan, Seth Govind Das became the chairperson and selected a ten-member central committee. Hanuman Prasad Poddar was one of the four vice-presidents of the Bharat Gosevak Samaj, and another ten-member executive committee was set up that included his close friend Jaidayal Dalmia.
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In August 1964 the Samaj held a meeting at Vrindavan and ‘demanded that the government should take upon itself the task of banning cow slaughter’
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and ‘pass a legislation to ban cow slaughter completely by Gopashtami (a date falling in October or November) in 1965’
.
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The entire galaxy of Hindu nationalist leaders attended the conference: Golwalkar gave the inaugural speech and Deendayal Upadhyaya addressed the gathering, while Prabhudatt Brahmachari declared that, if the government failed to fulfil its commitment, a nationwide agitation should begin.

By 1966 there was no sign of the government acceding to the demand for a complete ban on cow slaughter. Though contemporary accounts of the cow-protection movement do not refer to any big protest before November 1966, the June issue of
Kalyan
carried an appeal made by Poddar to the government to release around twenty sadhus who had undertaken a fast unto death in a Delhi jail, demanding a complete ban of cow slaughter.
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Poddar accused the government of subverting the principles of democracy. ‘Government succumbs only if violent means are adopted for unfair demands. But if courteous appeal is made no value is attached to it. Undesirable noise reaches government but a demand that is nationalistic, inspired by national interest and in accordance with the Indian culture is being disregarded by the government.’

Poddar further blamed the Central government for dragging its feet on banning cow slaughter, first asking the states to enact laws and then not cooperating in their implementation.

The movement was fast gaining momentum. Though Golwalkar was an active supporter of the cow-protection movement, Poddar formally requested him to join the collective effort: ‘This struggle would get some life only if you actively join it.’
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Poddar also informed Golwalkar that Karpatri Maharaj and Prabhudatt Brahmachari had agreed to work together. RSS support was not limited to Golwalkar, or in providing funds and foot soldiers; its senior functionaries were involved in the day-to-day operations of the movement. Rajendra Singh, ‘Rajju Bhaiya’, who became the head (sarsanghchalak) of the RSS in 1994, was managing the funds of Gorakhsha Maha Abhiyan Samiti, Uttar Pradesh. He reported directly to Poddar who was the president of the state unit apart from being national treasurer of Sarvadaliya Goraksha Maha Abhiyan Samiti.
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On 25 September 1966, various cow-protection groups united to form the Sarvadaliya Goraksha Maha Abhiyan Samiti (SGMS) and mount the most formidable challenge to the Congress government of Indira Gandhi. Barring the left parties and socialists, the new organization represented an ultimate coming together of members of the Congress, Jana Sangh, RSS, Arya Samaj, Hindu Mahasabha, and an assorted group of sadhus and religious leaders of different faiths.

Poddar was part of the supreme council of the SGMS that included Golwalkar, Prabhudatt Brahmachari, Swami Karpatri Maharaj, Jagadguru Shankaracharya of Puri, Jain spiritual leader Muni Sushil Kumar and Swami Guru Charan Das of the Bharat Sadhu Samaj. The executive committee comprised Mahant Digvijaynath (Hindu Mahasabha), Seth Govind Das (Congress), Ramgopal Shalwale (Arya Samaj), Hansraj Gupta (RSS), V.P. Joshi (Delhi RSS and Jana Sangh), Nand Lal Shastri (MP and former member of Ram Rajya Parishad), and Ram Singh (Hindu Mahasabha, Delhi).
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As treasurer of SGMS, Poddar did not confine himself to the movement but used
Kalyan
to carry the propaganda of cow protection far and wide. The role played by Gita Press and Poddar in the cow- protection movement has been largely ignored in serious accounts.

Four months before the November 1966 demonstration outside parliament, Prabhudatt Brahmachari wrote a scathing article in
Kalyan
, calling on Hindus to be prepared to give up their lives to protect the cow.
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Brahmachari claimed that cow protection had been at the centre of the national movement. He cited Motilal Nehru as having said he did not eat beef but could eat the flesh of those who consumed beef. During the non-cooperation movement, Brahmachari said, a patriot was one who wore and spun khadi, propagated Hindi and worshipped cows. Therefore, it had come as a rude shock when the Congress government dragged its feet on banning cow slaughter after Independence.

Brahmachari spelt out various initiatives taken by Golwalkar, Karpatri Maharaj, Sahay and Poddar to put pressure on the government to ban cow slaughter. There is an interesting aside to Nehru’s meeting with the delegation (including Poddar at an earlier date) that called on him with a petition demanding the ban. Nehru is believed to have told the delegation that he would consider the demand and then asked, ‘Why do you people run a campaign that I eat beef?’ The delegation, consisting of the leading lights of the cow-protection movement, denied being behind the canard but told Nehru the best way to silence the critics would be to ban cow slaughter completely.

Though the SGMS was yet to be formally announced, the same July issue of
Kalyan
carried an appeal in its name asking people to undertake fasts and conduct pujas and reading of religious texts to exert moral pressure on the government to impose an early ban on cow slaughter
.
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The decision of Brahmachari and others to undertake a fast unto death from 20 November 1966 was announced. Poddar, on his part, made a personal appeal for people to boycott all those who contributed to the killing of cows. In August,
Kalyan
asked its readers to fight unitedly for a ban on cow slaughter under the aegis of SGMS, and in September, Brahmachari issued another appeal to readers asking them to join the November agitation in large numbers to combat the government’s ‘devil-may-care attitude’.
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Brahmachari also began a campaign from 22 September 1966 to galvanize support for the cow cause, while Poddar wrote an account of the spread of the cow-protection movement among people and organizations of all religions and castes throughout the country.
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Poddar reported that Jamat-e-Imano-Hind, a Lucknow-based Muslim organization, had moved a resolution stating it would be better to give up cow slaughter before government banned it completely. In Banaras, a foreign-educated, high government official who had become a mauni (one who has taken a vow of silence) sadhu was reported to have given up water for seventeen days. In Delhi, a parliamentary cow forum had been set up consisting of Seth Govind Das, Kamal Nayan Bajaj, M.S. Aney, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Hari Vishnu Kamath, Dagabhai Patel and Prakash Veer Shastri. The mandate of the forum was to raise public opinion against cow slaughter. The movement, Poddar claimed, had even spread to Nepal where thousands were willing to give up their lives.
Kalyan
appealed to the general public to not only protest but also not to vote for any candidate who supported the killing of cows.
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It seems that in September 1966, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had a meeting with Acharya Sushil Kumar in which she gave some assurances;
Kalyan
reported that what the PM had told the Acharya sounded ‘reassuring’ and based on that Mauni Baba of Banaras had given up his fast.
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However, Pandit Ramchandra Vir who was on fast in Delhi was arrested and jailed. The journal reiterated that the ban on cow slaughter could not be left to states. ‘If need be the Constitution should be amended. It has already been amended twenty-one times. Our movement should be peaceful but aggressive and nationwide.’

As pressure on the government was building up, Shankaracharya Niranjan Dev Tirth of Puri delivered an inciting speech in Meerut. This was reproduced in
Kalyan
: ‘One (Potti) Ramulu could get Andhra state by giving up his life. One Sant Fateh Singh could get Punjab merely by threatening to give up his life. I will see how cow slaughter does not get banned if one gau bhakt agrees to die for the cause. We do not need one lakh youth. Police and army will shoot them and yet the tyrannical Congress government would not budge. In the entire country we need five to six men who are willing to give up their lives to end killing of cows.’
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Niranjan Dev Tirth offered himself as the first Shankaracharya to be willing to lay down his life for the cow cause. The Shankaracharya reminded the crowd of Meerut’s glorious past and how the first spark of the revolt of 1857 was lit there by soldiers who refused to use the cartridges that had been greased with cow and pig fat. He also reminded the government that the assurance of a total ban on cow slaughter had been given by the former prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri before his sudden death in Tashkent.

In the same November issue, Poddar provided an update on the movement.
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He said the movement had reached a decisive phase and there was a need to make it a success. An appeal was issued to everyone to contribute with whatever funds they could. Those who were able were urged to participate in the mammoth rally in Delhi, while others should intensify the struggle in their areas. Poddar thanked the Shankaracharyas, Golwalkar, Muni Sushil Kumar and Prabhudatt Brahmachari for their contributions. He did not specify the work being done by the RSS but called it ‘great’. Similarly, ‘leaders of the Hindu Mahasabha are believed to have put their heart and soul into save-the- cow campaign’
.
Poddar had separately thanked Golwalkar for the support the swayamsevaks were lending to the movement. What emerges is that special training was being given to them to work for cow protection. ‘RSS swayamsevaks are ideal, skilled, dutiful and true people. The training at Shri Brahmachari’s place was really useful. The entire credit goes to the swayamsevaks. They have been preparing for weeks,’ Poddar informed Golwalkar.
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He gave instances of huge public gatherings at Deoria and a few other places for which he gave the swayamsevaks full credit.

As it had done before,
Kalyan
included Muslim endorsement of the movement. An article by one Atiqur Rehman Kidwai, first published in
Gandiv
, a prominent Hindi journal, was extracted in
Kalyan
.
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Kidwai argued that the cow-protection movement of the Hindus was not directed against Muslims, and blamed the government for dithering on the issue. The main purpose, he said, was to merely get the slaughterhouses closed. He appealed to Muslims to appreciate the precarious situation and not do anything to aggravate it.

The months of planning to put up a united face and speak in a single Hindu voice went completely awry on 7 November. Delhi had never witnessed such a surge of people, estimated between 125,000 and 700,000, who had begun congregating days before the event.
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The mega event was to terminate in front of parliament with a galaxy of cow-protection movement leaders, otherwise belonging to ideologically diverse groups, set to address the crowd. Golwalkar, Karpatri Maharaj and Prabhudatt Brahmachari, Congress’s Seth Govind Das, Jana Sangh’s Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Gita Press’s Poddar were on the stage.

For some time, speeches were made as planned, even as inside parliament Swami Rameshwaranand, the Jana Sangh MP from Karnal who had been suspended for ten days in September, was disrupting Lok Sabha proceedings. He was finally suspended for the rest of the session. Outside, protest speeches went on smoothly till the just- suspended Rameshwaranand took the stage and made a provocative appeal to the lakhs of protesters to stop anyone from entering or leaving Parliament House. This was taken as an open call for a physical assault on parliament. Even as Vajpayee and Brahmachari tried to calm the crowd, masses of people surged towards Parliament House, and stone throwing and fighting began, followed by a lathi charge by the police. A few kilometres away, part of the crowd had laid siege to Congress president K. Kamaraj’s residence and injured his staff. At the end of the day, the movement for non-violence against the cow had led to widespread violence in the heart of New Delhi with eight dead and several more injured.