Greetings! I am Dr Nitish Bharadwaj.
I welcome you to 'Kesariya@100', presented by the Zee Group.
'Kesariya.'
This is not just one of the seven colours.
This is the colour of Lord Agni.
This is the colour of purity, glory and sacrifice.
The colour that symbolises sacrifice and meditation.
'Kesariya'.
Struggle, patience, satisfaction
and dedication are signified by 'Kesariya'.
There was a time when 'Kesariya' was crushed on this very land.
It was insulted and fragmented.
The people who protected 'Kesariya'
were walled up alive
or crushed under elephants' legs.
People who spoke about 'Kesariya' with pride
would be punished by having their eyes gouged out.
Times have changed.
The passion and magic of 'Kesariya' are being watched by the world
but this is not a miracle.
There is a relentless penance behind this.
The name of this penance is 'Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh',
that is, RSS.
The Sangh took 'Kesariya' the symbol of the Hindu culture to be its guru.
The Zee Group presents to you this amazing docu-series,
'Kesariya@100'!
"One colour, one union, one mind, one vow."
"One voice, one song, one melody, one mantra."
'Victory to... - Mother India!'
"One colour, one union, one mind, one vow."
"One voice, one song, one melody, one mantra."
"One vision, one ideology, we have just one goal."
"One goal!"
"It's our pride and honour,"
"our country dwells in our very soul."
"Your nation calls, adorn it with your love sincere."
"With faith and courage, in serving our nation, let us persevere."
"Your nation calls, adorn it with your love sincere."
"With faith and courage, in serving our nation, let us persevere."
"Kesariya!"
Many years ago, a fortune-teller was born in France.
Nostradamus!
He is famous across the globe.
It is believed that Nostradamus, a doctor by profession,
had predicted in the 16th Century about the revolution in France,
the rise of Hitler,
and even the 9/11 attacks on America.
100 years ago, a similar personality was born in India.
Dr Keshav Baliram Hedgewar.
A century ago,
not only did he assess India's challenges,
but also started preparations to fight them.
Not only that, Hedgewar was a doctor
who had found a cure for the country's illness,
but what was the cure?
Was 'Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh' or RSS the name of that cure?
'On the afternoon of 22nd April,'
'a heart-wrenching incident took place in Pahalgam, Kashmir.'
'A terrorist attack took place in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir.'
'The terrorists fired at the tourists.'
'Five tourists have been injured in the firing.'
'The area has been cordoned off by the security forces. The search...'
'The terrorists targeted Hindu tourists.'
'Unarmed people were shot,'
'that too, after asking them what their religion was.'
'How many people were there? Did you see them? - In this massacre,'
'some people tried to hide their religious identity'
'in order to save their lives.'
'Four suspects were spotted at Purmandal yesterday.'
'Purmandal is an area that has an ancient Shiva Temple.'
'Thousands of devotees come there.'
'The movement of terrorists there is worrisome.'
'In independent India, her own land,'
'in order to save her life, a Hindu woman'
'will have to remove her 'bindi' and hide her vermillion.'
'A man will have to cut the holy thread on his wrist.'
'Someone will have to recite the 'kalma','
'while someone will have to say 'Allahu Akbar'.'
'Did any of us ever imagine this?'
'Not even in our dreams!'
'He shot him.'
'Here? - He said he was not a Muslim and shot him.'
'He was crying because he failed to save his brother'
'who was shot in front of him.'
'Terrorist attacks have happened earlier, too'
'but something like this happened for the first time.'
'Now, let's turn the wheel of time.'
'Let's go back 100 years.'
'An incident that took place in 1925.'
'In order to save his life,'
a man was running in the lanes of Nagpur's Mohite Wada.'
Catch him! - Help!
Don't let him escape. - Someone, please!
Catch him! - Help!
Oh, God! - Stop!
What happened?
Why are you running?
Two people were following me.
Why?
They... They wanted to kill me.
What happened?
About seven of us were going home and then...
'They are here.'
'No! That's not true. I was just...'
'Hey, stop!'
'Who are you?'
'What are your names? Tell us!'
'Gopal.'
'Gopal?'
'Run! - Run away!'
'They started chasing us and hitting us.'
Someone entered a lane, and someone hid somewhere else.
I was scared and...
I was alone!
Come on. I'll go with you till your house.
Please come. - Thank you.
'After dropping that man off at his house,'
'Dr Hedgewar returned home.'
'He kept tossing and turning all night.'
'I was alone!'
'Those three words were imprinted on Dr Hedgewar's heart and mind.'
'In a country with a population of 330 million,'
'if a youngster feels alone, it's not acceptable to me.'
'I will have to unite our community.'
'Pahalgam, 2025'
'and Nagpur, 1925.'
'There is a gap of 100 years between these incidents'
'but both incidents have so many similarities.'
'In Pahalgam, Hindus had to run to save their lives.'
'The same had happened in Nagpur 100 years ago.'
'The wheel of fate turns.'
'The incident of 1925 took place at Nagpur's Mohite Wada.'
'That is where, 100 years ago,'
'to unite Hindus and to protect Mother India,'
'the 'Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh' was established.'
'In 1925, when the country was busy fighting the British,'
'there was one man'
'who was focused on uniting the Hindus.'
'That was our Hindu Nostradamus,'
'Dr Keshav Baliram Hedgewar.'
In the year 1925,
establishing a Hindu organisation might have seemed senseless
but Dr Hedgewar stuck to his decision.
Today, when the Sangh is completing 100 years,
it has become a major event for the world.
Before 1947,
when many political parties, organisations and their leaders
were fighting the British rule in their own ways,
how did Dr Hedgewar think about a Hindu organisation?
Just like the other freedom fighters of the country,
Dr Hedgewar's struggle also began by fighting the British.
Initially, his fight was focused
on removing the British Union Jack from India.
'There was a time'
'when the Union Jack atop the Red Fort in Delhi'
'mocked Indians.'
'It used to make them furious.'
'Just like in Delhi, there is a fort in Nagpur.'
'Sitabuldi Fort.'
'The Indian Tricolour flies high on that fort today'
'but before India's independence,'
'the Union Jack of the British flew there.'
'A student of Nagpur's Neel City High School,'
'Keshav found the flag to be an eyesore.'
'That is why he devised an ingenious plan.'
'From his teacher, Vaze Guru's house,'
'the Sitabuldi Fort was clearly visible.'
Keshav.
What is happening?
And...
What are you looking at over there?
The Sitabuldi Fort.
The Sitabuldi Fort?
I see that every day.
I want to dig a tunnel from your house to that fort.
A tunnel?
I will take down the British flag atop the Sitabuldi Fort.
What?
Listen, Keshav.
This was not an ordinary matter.
The fury against the British in the mind of a school student
left Vaze Guru astonished.
He convinced Keshav to drop the plan.
Keshav agreed at his teacher's behest...
but his anger towards the British did not abate.
Once, Keshav threw the sweets he got in school
for the 60th anniversary of Queen Victoria's enthronement.
Not only that!
Keshav boycotted an event to celebrate Edward VII's coronation
that was organised in Nagpur.
At that time, Keshav was only 12 years old.
As Keshav grew up, he started speaking against the British openly.
He built contacts with revolutionaries.
'Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak's articles during those days'
'were published in 'Kesari'.'
'Keshav was greatly influenced by Tilak's writings.'
'Is the government out of its mind?'
'His determination to do something for the country grew stronger.'
'During a school inspection,'
'Keshav made the students of Neel City School'
'chant the slogan of 'Vande Mataram'.'
'Vande Mataram (Glory to Mother India)!'
'Vande Mataram!' - 'They were suspended from school.'
'In 1910,'
'Keshav went to study medicine,'
'at National Medical College, Calcutta.'
'He loved the revolutionary atmosphere of this city.'
'At that time, the armed revolutionary organisation,'
'Anushilan Samiti', was fighting the British.'
'Keshav used to collect donations for his fellow revolutionaries'
'from the 'Anushilan Samiti'.'
'He also got associated with the Ramakrishna Mission.'
'In 1913, Bengal faced destruction after Damodar River flooded.'
'Keshav, who was studying medicine, fulfilled his duty.'
'He participated in the relief work of the Ramakrishna Mission.'
'He served the people affected by the floods.'
After this incident, Keshav made up his mind
that if the country faced any natural calamity
or any other problem in future,
he would continue serving society.
Going forward, you will see that his pledge
become the main objective of the 'Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh'.
'After studying medicine for five years in Calcutta,'
'Keshav returned to Nagpur as Dr Hedgewar.'
Look at the irony!
Today, the Congress party curses the 'Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh'
but the founder of the Sangh, Dr Hedgewar,
belonged to the Congress Party at one time.
When he was a part of the Congress, Dr Hedgewar went to jail.
He spent a year in prison.
Not only that.
In 1920,
at a Congress session in Nagpur, Dr Hedgewar
fulfilled the duty of the administration head.
Mahatma Gandhi attended this session.
An incident took place during this session
which left Dr Hedgewar upset and hurt.
After losing the First World War,
the British ended the rule of the Caliph in Turkey.
To express their displeasure, the Muslims of India
started the Khilafat Movement.
Mr Gandhi thought that the Hindus
should join hands with the Muslims in this movement
so that they could show their unity.
Many Hindu leaders
were against the idea of joining the Khilafat Movement.
At Nagpur's Congress session, it became a matter of disagreement.
'During this session,'
'the proposal of Non-Cooperation'
'by Barrister Chittaranjan Das was passed.'
'During that time, a Hindu representative present there'
'spoke about protecting the cows.'
'Mr Gandhi believed'
'that if the Congress raised the issue of cow protection,'
'Muslim sentiments would be hurt.'
'Chaos began at the Congress session in some time.'
'Mr Gandhi asked the representative to leave'
'but he ignored Mr Gandhi and stood his ground.'
'Mr Gandhi repeatedly requested him to leave.'
'The representative continued speaking about cow protection.'
'Amidst this chaos, Mr Gandhi adjourned the session.'
'This incident disturbed Dr Hedgewar.'
What I witnessed at the Congress session
has left me astonished and shocked.
Why is Mr Gandhi not in favour of protecting cows?
'Sometimes, I feel'
'Congress thinks it is better for them to appease the minorities.'
When the proposal to protect cows was rejected,
Dr Hedgewar was left disturbed.
While the Congress was trying to unite the Hindus and Muslims,
many incidents took place in the country which were worrisome.
In Delhi, Swami Shraddhanand's murder was a serious matter.
Swami Shraddhanand was killed by a man named Abdul Rashid,
whose posters were put up in many places in Delhi.
In the Nagpur riots, Dr Hedgewar
had seen the scary side of religious hatred.
Riots are on the rise.
Let alone at night, our women
don't step out of the house even during the day.
'In 1923,'
'there were Hindu-Muslims riots in Nagpur.'
'The Hindus were attacked in many areas of Nagpur.'
'Despite being a majority in Nagpur, the Hindus were getting thrashed.'
'They were living in fear.'
'This issue that began in 1923, lasted till 1925.'
'Two attempts were made to deal with this situation.'
'Congress formed a committee'
'comprising Pandit Motilal Nehru, Dr Mahmud, Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad'
'On the other hand, Dr Hedgewar,'
'as per his capacity, started a movement to protect the Hindus.'
'He couldn't forget the incident'
'which had left him disturbed.'
'Let's go. - I am coming.'
'Get her! - Okay.'
'I have caught her. You get her. - Okay. Come on.'
'Hey! - Let's go! Hey!'
Let's go! Come on! - Run!
Run to that side. - Come on.
Don't worry, ma'am.
We are with you.
'At this point, Dr Hedgewar and his aides'
'had started working for the protection of the Hindus.'
During this time, a Nagpur-based newspaper, The Maharashtra,
published a threatening letter.
In this letter, a man named Abdul Kareem
threatened to kill Dr Hedgewar within a year.
These incidents only made Dr Hedgewar's resolve stronger.
He made up his mind to stop the Hindus from being divided.
We are going to establish the Sangh today.
Our goal is to protect our women, cows and Mother India.
What will the name of our organisation be?
Let's think about it.
'On 27th September, 1925,'
'on the occasion of 'Vijayadashami','
'the world's largest voluntary service organisation was born.'
'To decide the name of the organisation,'
'a meeting of 25 people was held'
'at Dr Hedgewar's residence after seven months.'
The name of the new organisation was decided.'
Some people are in favour of naming it the 'Jaripatika Mandal'.
'Bharathodharak Mandal' was suggested. - Okay.
People's favourite is 'Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh'.
Okay, then.
'Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh'
should be the name of our organisation.
This was a historic moment for India.
A small organisation that started with only 25 people
became the world's largest non-governmental organisation
with millions of volunteers.
No other organisation in the world is this large.
A small seed planted that day grew into a huge banyan tree.
In the upcoming episodes,
we will watch the growth of 'Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh'.
Goodbye!