When Sardar Patel Took on the ‘Forces of Hate’ and Banned the RSS
All their speeches were fill of communal poison, he wrote after banning the Sangh in 1948. “As a final result of the poison, the country had to suffer the sacrifice of the invaluable life of Gandhiji.”
This article was first published on October 31, 2018 and is being republished today on the occasion of his birth anniversary, now officially called ‘National Unity Day’
While the Sangh parivar and its associates, including the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), are busy appropriating the legacy of Sardar Patel, the organisation seems to have forgotten that the ‘Iron Man’ was a staunch critic of its politics and had it banned after the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. In fact, Patel, then the home minister of the country, wrote to RSS leaders in 1948 explaining his decision to ban the group.
In a communique issued on February 4, 1948, the Central government said it was banning the RSS “to root out the forces of hate and violence that are at work in our country and imperil the freedom of the Nation and darken her fair name”.
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