In August 1965, about two and a half months before the start of the Indo-Pak war, when Guru Golwalkar reached Nagpur at the end of his third year Sangh education class after completing his stay, he got a heart-wrenching news that Bhaiyyaji Dani had passed away in the class of Indore. Guru Golwalkar did not let anyone know how personally shocked he was by this news; he conducted his intellectual session normally. Later, in a letter to his guru brother Hanuman Poddar, the founder of Geeta Press, he wrote, “As soon as I heard the news, I felt as if the ground had gone out from under my feet.”
Long stay and such news, Dr. Aabaji Thatte felt after a few days that Guru Golwalkar was looking weak and ill, he told Bala Saheb Deoras and then it was decided that Guru Golwalkar should be sent to an Ayurvedic Ashram in Kerala for recovery. This was the month of July. Golwalkar stayed there for 28 days, he was treated with Ayurvedic methods, there also volunteers from nearby cities kept coming to meet him, then via Chennai he returned back to Nagpur in the first week of August. The same week the India-Pakistan war broke out.
It was 6th September. After lunch, Guru Golwalkar was resting at the house of state Sanghachalak Kakaji Limaye when between 2 and 2.30 pm a message came on the number of his neighbor Bapusaheb Pujari asking Guru Golwalkar to please contact the Prime Minister’s Office as soon as possible. He was also given a number on which to contact. The matter looked serious, Guru Golwalkar Bapu Saheb reached the priest’s house and called on the given number. Talked to Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastriji there. Shastri ji said, “You know that there is a war going on, I want cooperation from all the leaders of the country. I have called the leaders of all the parties for a meeting at 10 am, you also stay.”
‘But I am not the leader of any political party’
Guru Golwalkar’s reply was, “Thank you Shastriji, but I am not the leader of any political party, I am just a worker of an organization.” Then Shastriji remembered, then said, “Look, the country is going through difficult times and I need your help.” Guruji agreed to this. Said, this is acceptable, but how can I reach from such a distance so early in the morning? Shastriji had already arranged everything. He said – You immediately leave for Bombay, arrangements are being made there. I have given instructions. And indeed everything went well, Guru Golwalkar was also present with the Prime Minister in the all party meeting. Shastri gave information about the entire war in this meeting, how we are ready for an agreement with Pakistan in Kutch, but now it has started infiltrating into Kashmir, it wants to cut our connection with Akhnoor. In such a situation, Guru Golwalkar not only appealed to keep the country united in difficult times but also told everyone that there should be no movement during this period, they should convince the people now.
After this meeting of 7 September, Guru Golwalkar’s message in the form of an appeal to the general public was broadcast on 8 September, “I appeal to my countrymen, especially the volunteers of the Sangh, to work together with the Government to solve the problems arising in these troubled times. To serve the displaced, the sick and the injured, to maintain law and order and maintain morale in general, to awaken a sharp national consciousness and to have the will to fight for victory throughout the country.” We have to awaken the country’s population.
When Guru Golwalkar said- Call it ‘our army’ not ‘your army’
What happened in this meeting was told by Guru Golwalkar four years later in March 1970 during a meeting in Nagpur. Which has been compiled by Ranga Hari in his autobiography. Guru Golwalkar also narrated an incident of how a leader was repeatedly telling Shastriji, ‘Your army, your army’. Guru Golwalkar continued to interrupt him until he started saying ‘our army’. He was surprised how could someone say such a thing?
Perhaps for the first time, Guru Golwalkar was sitting together with representatives of so many political parties. That’s why he was surprised to see that people were behaving with each other as if they all came from different countries. Even in times of such crisis, he was not able to show solidarity.
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After this meeting, Guru Golwalkar stayed in Delhi for three or four days and during this time he held a meeting with the Sanghchalak of Delhi, Province Karyavah and other senior volunteers and planned what the Sangh volunteers were to do across the country. After that he left for Gujarat. On September 19, he also addressed from Vadodara center of All India Radio and in this address also he spoke about how India is doing well in the war and what we have to do. He appealed to the countrymen to support the government in such times. Wish for victory, do whatever you can for the country, Gujarat is a border state, from there he went to another border state Punjab.
Gave suggestions to Shastriji as to what should be in the agreement
He addressed the army soldiers in Ambala. Almost all the senior officials had come to listen to his address at that time. On 12 November, he met Prime Minister Shastri again. Defense Minister Yashwant Rao Chavan was also there. After that, on 14 November he addressed a meeting from the grounds of the Red Fort. After that, when the news came that bilateral talks were to be held in Russia where Shastriji was also going, Golwalkar sent him his views in writing that if any agreement is reached during the talks, then what according to him should be there in the agreement. After that Guru Golwalkar went on a tour of Assam. There he got the news that Shastriji had passed away in Tashkent. From Guwahati he left for Delhi the same day and paid tribute to Shastriji. Also met the President on January 13 and also gave him a condolence message on behalf of the Sangh.
What did Advani and Komi Kapoor write about this meeting?
Regarding this meeting of Lal Bahadur Shastri and Guru Golwalkar, Lal Krishna Advani has written in his biography ‘My Country My Life’ that, “Unlike Nehru, Shastri did not harbor any ideological hostility towards the Jana Sangh and the RSS. He used to often invite Shri Guruji [Golwalkar] for consultation on national issues… I had met Shastri as the weekly’s representative several times, each time carrying a positive impression of this remarkably short-statured but large-hearted Prime Minister.” Whereas Komi Kapoor has written in her book ‘The Emergency A Personal History’ that “Shastri broke from Nehru’s playbook by treating the RSS not as an adversary but a resource. In 1965, he personally invited Golwalkar to the all-party war council—a first—and tasked RSS volunteers with relieving Delhi Police for frontline duties. This wasn’t tokenism; Thousands of swayamsevaks delivered supplies to troops, echoing Shastri’s ‘Jai Jawan’ ethos.”
Volunteers gathered from Delhi’s traffic to Kashmir’s airstrips
Komi Kapoor has clearly written that thousands of volunteers got involved in providing supplies to the soldiers fighting the war. This logistics not only contained food packets, but also medicines and other essential items. The Times of India had written in the report at that time that the volunteers immediately took charge of the traffic system of the capital Delhi. Volunteers also organized blood donation camps across the country. There was also a need for blood for the injured soldiers, which was now easily fulfilled. During the war, Sangh volunteers did the work of removing snow from the airstrips of Kashmir. This work was also done by volunteers during the 1947 war. The Sangh also organized national integration and morale-boosting programs, with volunteers keeping public morale high through awareness rallies, branch meetings and community work across the country, as well as appealing for volunteers for the war effort. Just imagine, all these programs were taking place in almost every city and town. Sangh volunteers were working as the second volunteer army. Shastri ji had already seen during the 1962 war how Sangh workers work together on many fronts in times of trouble and the Sangh did not disappoint him.
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