The News Minute has been spreading propaganda by publishing former IAS officer Devasahayam’s misleading critique of the NDA government’s decision to lift a 58-year ban on government employees participating in RSS activities. Devasahayam falsely links the RSS to Gandhi’s assassination, distorting historical facts and ignoring the organization’s positive contributions.
The outlet’s uncritical amplification of his baseless claims undermines journalistic integrity and contributes to misinformation.
The Modi-led NDA government at the centre lifted a 58-year ban on government employees participating in activities of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). This move sparked a political controversy. The ban was issued 58 years ago, in 1966, whereby government employees were forbidden from taking part in the activities of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. The ban was imposed because, on 7 November 1966, there was a massive anti-cow-slaughter protest at the Parliament. RSS-Jana Sangh mobilised support in huge numbers and many people died in police firing. On 30 Nov 1966, shaken by the RSS-Jana Sangh clout, Indira Gandhi banned government staff from joining the RSS.
The leftist mouthpiece, The News Minute, came up with a tirade of an article on their portal written by former IAS officer and now a self-styled ‘activist’ and a ‘devout Christian‘ Devasahayam.
Very conveniently, he uses this news to once again peddle the propaganda that RSS killed Mahatma Gandhi. He wrote, “The RSS was initially declared an unlawful organisation in 1948 due to concerns over its activities after a member, Nathuram Godse, assassinated Mahatma Gandhi. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the then Union Home Minister who imposed the ban, wrote to RSS Chief MS Golwalkar on 11 September 1948.
He then quotes the letter Patel wrote to Golwalkar linking it to another leftist rag, The Caravan. He quotes Patel as having written, “Organising Hindus and helping them is one thing but going in for revenge for its sufferings on innocent and helpless men, women and children is quite another thing… All their speeches were full of communal poison. It was not necessary to spread poison in order to enthuse the Hindus organize for their protection… As a final result of the poison, the country had to suffer the sacrifice of the valuable life of Gandhiji. Even an iota of the sympathy of the Government, or of the people, no more remained for the RSS. In fact, opposition grew. Opposition turned more severe, when the RSS men expressed joy and distributed sweets after Gandhiji’s death. Under these conditions, it became inevitable for the Government to take action against the RSS…”
Calling the present government “communal and anti-secular“, he claims they lifted the ban to allow government servants to take part in the activities of the RSS. He also quotes the Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1964, clause 5, to understand what it says about government servants participating in politics. Well, Devasagam has probably wantonly overlooked the fact that RSS is not a political organization but a volunteer organization. He calls the government’s interpretation of the rules “unconstitutional“. He also goes on to claim that, “The truth is that the BJP, which is ruling the country and many states, is the political wing of the RSS.”
Devasahayam then shares a Venn diagram that describes the “Hindutva Family of Hate“. Well, Devasagayam is pouring hate in the form of the article he wrote. He calls the RSS gargantuan in size and that its octopus-like tentacles can be seen from the Venn diagram.
The Venn diagram shows the “Hindutva Family of Hate” to consist of the VHP, ABVP, BJP, and Sewa Bharathi. Interestingly, the ‘devout Christian’ activist alleges that Sewa Bharathi International and the US-based IDR often use humanitarian crises in India to raise funds and then allegedly “divert donations to Hindutva projects like missionary efforts (ghar wapsi)“.
Then he goes on ranting about the history of the Janata Party, how and why the BJP was formed, and claims that the BJP existed because the Janata Party raised the issue of dual membership as it did. He continues claiming that RSS is a political entity that is an integral part of the governance system and that it has been “made to grow colossal and like the carnivorous Madagascar Tree is sucking out and draining all democratic institutions that are fast losing their strength and vibrancy.”
He further goes on to claim that the RSS’s influence was “detrimental to democratic institutions” and could potentially make RSS membership a qualification for government service.
He quotes a report from The Print, which allegedly indicates that an RSS-backed IAS institute, Samkalp Foundation, has been grooming ‘nationalist‘ civil servants since 1986, boasting a high success rate in the UPSC exams, especially “at a time when minority institutes like Jamia and Zakat Foundation are in the middle of a row over the rising number of Muslims cracking the Civil Services Examination”. He also claims that the IAS Academy at Mussoorie also allegedly shows shades of an RSS shakha!
What Devasahayam Did Not Bother To Mention Or Understand About RSS
Devasahayam, in his lengthy tirade, only spewed venom against the RSS for allegedly being a political outfit, for influencing the IAS cadre, for grooming civil servants, etc. He also conveniently peddles the Godse-RSS connection to MK Gandhi’s killing. For the well-read, it is clear how much the RSS was “involved” in the act. Godse had left the RSS and had joined the Hindu Mahasabha, a political entity that was sworn to protect the interest of Hindus amidst the partition of India. He had become disillusioned with the RSS for not being “radical enough”. It was an act of the individual and not of the organization.
If that’s the case, can we blame Congress as a party of mass murderers because its workers targeted innocent Chitpavan Brahmins and Sikhs after Gandhi’s murder and Indira Gandhi’s assassination, respectively?
Devasagayam also failed to read about how ministers in the Nehruvian cabinet turned to the RSS for help during the 1948 violence. A recently discovered letter from 1947 reveals that India’s then-Defence Minister sought help from the RSS to rescue 20,000 women in Lahore amidst the chaos of partition. The letter, written by Defence Minister Sardar Baldev Singh to Home Minister Sardar Patel, highlighted the urgent need for assistance as Hindu and Sikh communities faced widespread violence and abductions. Singh recommended utilizing RSS resources and proposed appointing rescue officers with police and military support to aid in the operations. The letter also suggested using local informants, including those willing to adopt Islam, to gather intelligence.
Nehru, who was typically critical of the RSS, occasionally praised the Sangh Parivar, especially when Pakistan attacked Jammu and Kashmir shortly after independence, and Sangh volunteers went to assist.
While Devasahayam mentioned that Sardar Patel banned the RSS, he never mentions in the article that Patel lifted the ban on the RSS approximately 18 months later.
Babasaheb Dr Ambedkar had an election agent who was an RSS worker – Shri. Dattopant Thengadi. In 1952, Ambedkar’s Scheduled Caste Federation allied with Bharatiya Jansangh for the Madhya Pradesh elections. Ambedkar’s first formal interaction with the RSS was in 1935 at their Maharashtra training camp in Pune, and he visited an RSS shakha in Dapoli. In 1939, he attended another RSS training camp in Pune and met RSS founder Dr K.B. Hedgewar, who was impressed by the lack of caste discrimination among the volunteers.
In September 1949, RSS chief M.S. Golwalkar thanked Ambedkar in Delhi for helping lift the ban on the RSS, which had been imposed after Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination. In June 1953, senior RSS leaders met Ambedkar in Aurangabad, where he requested more information about the RSS’s outreach activities.
The RSS had already been active in aiding those trapped in Pakistan, organizing transport and security for evacuations. The book “Now It Can Be Told” by AN Bali details these efforts. Congress leaders in Punjab also sought RSS help to protect their families. Home Minister Patel later acknowledged the RSS’s crucial role in safeguarding Hindu society during these tumultuous times.
He bundles up other Hindu organizations, such as the VHP, ABVP, and Sewa Bharathi, as part of the Hindutva Hate Family. He calls Sewa Bharathi’s work of ghar wapsi as “missionary” work. So, does he acknowledge that missionary work involves illegal religious conversion?
His allegations that Sewa Bharathi raises money in the name of crises in India are unfounded. It shows how ignorant he is about the organization itself. If raising funds from Hindus abroad is not okay, then NGOs showing poverty porn to their financers inside and outside the country (especially Church-linked missionary organizations) is also illegal? Will Devasahayam concede to this fact?
With the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh on its way to completing 100 glorious years, allegations such as these do hardly any harm to people who know how much the organization has impacted the people at the grassroots level.
The fact that RSS remains the most democratic and rooted organization is evident from how Mohan Bhagwat views the Congress.
While the BJP calls for ‘Congress Mukt Bharat’ (Congress-free India), the Sarsanghchalak said “It is not the language of the RSS. The word ‘mukt’ (free or liberated) is used in politics. We never use the language of excluding anyone.“, despite the continuous tirade and hate spewed by Rahul Gandhi about RSS.
The hate for RSS that stems from people like Devasahayam doesn’t arise from their concern for secularism but because the Sangh fights the menace of religious proselytization tooth and nail.
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