The Hindu : Gandhi to blame for Partition, says RSS

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jan 30, 2003

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Gandhi to blame for Partition, says RSS

Amritsar Jan. 29. The RSS today blamed Mahatma Gandhi for the country's division, attacked the media for its ``anti-Hindu'' bias and asserted that all Sikhs were Hindus.

At a function organised here to honour its volunteers who ``saved'' Hindus from Muslims, the RSS chief, K.S. Sudershan, urged Hindus to organise themselves and said the ``unnatural partition'' of the country must end.

``While Gandhi succeeded in creating and leading a people's movement, he committed two mistakes: supporting the `Khilafat' movement and making Jawaharlal Nehru the first Prime Minister. The end result was that two enemies, Pakistan and Bangladesh, were created forever,'' he said. ``Everyone makes mistakes but when a big leader makes a mistake, they lead to serious consequences.''

``While Nehru described Partition as a fantastic nonsense, Gandhi said it would be allowed only over his dead body,'' Sudershan said in his hour-long address. He, however, termed Gandhi's assailant, Nathuram Godse, as a ``farphira'' (insane person).

`Close madrassas'

Mr. Sudershan said his organisation was not opposed to Islam, but Muslims should ``stop preaching hatred towards India'' and close down the `madrassas'.

At the `Shauraya Samriti Samaroh', organised at the Madhav Vidya Niketan school here, he claimed that only communal hatred was being preached in the `madrassas' numbering about 30,000 in the border belts of the country. — PTI, UNI

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