In memory of Shri K. S. Sudarshanji

Sudarshanji’s demise will damage the Holistic Indian Society. K.S. Sudarshan, the great proponent of Hindu rights and self-respect and former Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief, has left the world forever. He took his last breath in Raipur, the capital of Chhattisgarh. He was fifth Sarsanghchalak of RSS.

He was well educated and an engineering graduate, but he dedicated his whole life to RSS after joining Sangh in 1954. He always believed in the service of humanity and he was a deep Hindu devout. He had deep love for his country.

When he assumed the post of Sarsanghchalak in 2000; minorities had a lot of ill-will towards RSS. Communal tension was rampant in the country. K.S. Sudarshan tried very hard to diffuse the atmosphere of mistrust by starting the process of dialogue.

He was known to put forward his words in a straightforward manner. He always opposed the appeasement of minorities. He advocated Indianization of Muslims and Christians. It was his efforts that led to the softening of stands of Muslims towards Sangh. His impact was palpable when many Muslims came to pay homage in Nagpur. He also advocated the Swadeshi Church.

He was of the firm view that Hindu never disrespects any other religion as it is not taught to him. He defined Hinduism through five elements: Respecting other faiths, living and non-living objects are the same, man is part of nature and he is not the owner of nature, respect for women and material pursuit is not the only aim of life. Hinduism is an amalgamation of these five traits.

He was also of the view that Christian missionaries did not have an equal viewpoint and respect for other faiths. If they would disrespect our culture, religion, and God; they should not respect the same from us. In 2000 he started a dialogue with representatives of Protestants and Catholics including Chief Evangelist Dr. Paul Dinakaran and Late D.G.S Dinakaran. He clearly told no Hindu is against the philosophy of Jesus Christ, but they are certainly against conversion.

His thought puts him in the league of Swami Vivekananda, Maharishi Arvind, Swami Abhedanand, and Mahatma Gandhi. These saints realized that what the church does and what Jesus preached-are two distinct things. In the name of freedom of speech, the Church is spreading hatred. That freedom of speech is respectable which is realistic and logical.

However, what church spreads cannot be tolerates as it is pure anarchy. West has been able to run his horse because of the social structure that fundamentally promotes singularity. Other faith people are not in a position to challenge them.

As a Sarsanghchalak he traveled to Thailand, Britain, Holland, Kenya, Singapore, Malaysia, Hongkong, Canada, USA, Trinidad and Tobago, and Guyana to promote humanity. He was totally against imitating of the west as this goes against the fabrics of Indian society. Indian society is more balanced in its approach whereas western society because of its singular character is less balanced in its approach.

(The author is the President of Poor Christian Liberation Movement)