HINDU SANGATHAN

Saviour of the dying race.

Authord By
SHRADDHANAND SANYASI

Edited By
Dr. Vivek Arya

First Edition : 1926

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2. HINDU SANGATHAN

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HINDU SANGATHAN 3.

Editor's Preface
Hindu Sangathan or Unity among Hindus. Why do we need
it? After all we are living in the world’s largest democracy and a
secular country that India is. We can get the answer to this question
only if we critically and chronologically examine our history of last
1200 years. The Islamic invasion of our country started in the 8th
century with the conquest of Dewal city of Sindh , now in Pakistan
, by Muhammad bin Qasim . The entire city was plundered , ruined
and the peace loving Hindus were either killed or forcibly converted
to Islam only to be sold later as slaves in the market of West Asia.
Raja Dahir and his family sacrificed their lives to save our religion
and the motherland. The Islamic brutality continued unabated over
the years as Muhammad Ghazni, Gori, Timur etc. kept invading
and torturing us . Hundreds of thousands of Hindus were killed .
An equal number were converted forcibly. The end result was
complete change in demography and ethnicity of this country for
good. Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh were carved out of our
country and became Islamic states. This change came about after
centuries of continued persecution and torture of millions of Hindus
.The rights of majority Hindus were denied initially under Islamic
rule and later by British . The answer to why did the most learned
race on the planet fail to effectively counter this brutality and
surrendered to the Islamic barbarism and fanaticism is not hard to
seek. The answer is absence of ‘ Hindu Sangathan.’ Situation is
not too rosy in the post 1947 India either, as the same malaise we
failed to nip in the bud is resurfacing again and again across the
board. A common Hindu is neither aware of the problem nor of the
remedy. He acts like a pigeon who closes his eyes thinking that
since he cannot see, the cat also cannot see him. What happens
thereafter is a foregone conclusion. What is happening in Kashmir,
4. HINDU SANGATHAN
Kerala, Bengal, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and North-
Eastern States is enough to put Hindus to utter shame. In a Hindu
majority country , when Kashmiri Pundits were killed and driven
out from their own homeland we all failed to stop this. The same
story is being repeated in many districts of Bengal, Assam and
Kerala where the Hindus are forced to abandon their religious rights
only to appease non-Hindus. Needless to say , Hindus are driven
out by non-Hindus where ever the latter outnumbers the former.
This situation grimly dictates the need to have ‘Hindu Sangathan’
as the only lasting remedy. We need to develop the sense of oneness
among Hindus at national level. Only then we will be able to
safeguard our culture, religion and the country.

Swami Shraddhanda , the author of this book , had

explained illustratively the need for Hindu unity way back in 1926.In
the same year, he was killed by a fanatic who hated his pioneer
contribution to Hindu Sangthan and Shuddhi movement. If the
Hindus would have followed his advice at that time there would
have been no partition of India in 1947. Sadly , we failed . Our
ignorance and apathy failed us totally. Coming full circle after lapse
of almost a century we are confronted with the similar problems
once again This time we can not afford to remain complacent. . His
thoughts are more relevant now than before. Now or never ! We
need to wake up, unite ourselves and act proactively or else the
coming generations will never forgive us for our blunders. The biggest
hurdle in the campaign of Hindu ‘Sangathan’ is the caste system
which I consider to be our biggest enemy . Let us take a pledge
now to totally wipe out this evil as the only remedy for our survival.
This should be the core of ‘Hindu Sangathan.’

Swami Shraddhanda Balidan Divas Dr. Vivek Arya

25th, December, 2016 (Editor)
HINDU SANGATHAN 5.

* AUM *

HINDU SANGATHAN
SAVIOUR OF THE DYING RACE,
INTRODUCTION.

The ancestors of the present day Hindus, the ancient

Aryans, who gave their name to our mother land, ( the
ancient Aryavarta ) were a highly civilized and organized
race. An impartial research in ancient Indian history would
prove that when the forbears of the present-day civilized
nations of the world were roaming like wild animals in
Jungles, with no better shelter for their bodies than leaves
of trees, the Aryans possessed a real Civilization which has
not been equalled even uptill now and from which they
themselves began to fall hundreds of centuries back. And
their Civilization was so high, so benevolent and so
widespread that it dominated the whole known world of
those times. There was contentment in the whole Continent
of the Aryavarta and consequently colonizing parties could
be dispatched to the poles, to Persia, to China, to Japan, to
the East Indian Islands, to Ireland and even to the other
hemisphere, where vestiges of ancient Aryan Civilization
have been discovered in the Ram-sita annual celebrations
and in the ancient finds of Indian origin.
In the obscure ancient histories of Persia and other
states of Greek origin we read of certain invasions of India
6. HINDU SANGATHAN
by foriegners but they made no impression on the Indian
population and if any foreigners were left by the invaders
they were absorbed by various Aryan people and became
part and parcel of the Indian nation in after times. Of all the
invaders of the pre-Christian era Alexander the Great of
Macedon alone penetrated up to the banks of Sutlej; he it
was who founded some Indian satrapies for his generals.
But there arose Chandra gupta and other Indian rulers who
wrested back those territories from foriegners and even
married Greek princesses who, with their Greek dependents,
became as good Hindus as those born of Indo-Aryan parents.
Bhagavan Buddha came to reform the people who had fallen
from their ancient pinacle of purity to the unholy practices
of Vammarg and unnameable orgies but his followers
became bigoted sectarians, and thus out of a single
undivided people arose two antagonistic parties.
Buddism dominated the whole of Aryavarta, for
more than two centuries. The pure Dharma preached by
Bhagavan Buddha had degenerated into Atheism and a
peculior ritualism, when Bhagvan Shankar came forword
with his spiritual weapon of vedanta and literally drove
Budhism out of India. It was then that a reaction took place
against the ancient system of national constitutional
soveriegnty and the cult of unmitigated dispotic monarchy
raised its head. The ancient ideal of Aryan social organism,
as laid down in the Vedas, was gradually changed and with it
was changed the ideal of the state.
“During the Aryan period Indian kingdoms were
looked upon as belonging to the people. In alexander’s days
there were even some states where there were no kings and
which were described by Greek writers as republics. States
and even kings were then known by the names of the peoples
HINDU SANGATHAN 7.
and not by the names of kingly families. Gradually during
the Indo-Buddhistic period, owing to the recurrence of
foriegn invasion and foriegn rule, the people were less
consulted in governmental concerns, the kingly power
gradually became absolute and kingship was eventually
looked upon as derived not from the people but from Divine
favour. The mass of the people ceased to care who ruled
them and were infact ready to transfer allegiance to any
king or kingly family which was strong or fortunate enough
to establish his or its power.”*
The divine right of kings had taken firm root in India,
Bhagvan Krishna’s beautiful and inspiring aph-‘orism
namely ‘among men my spirit is the ruler of men’( ujk.kka
ujkf/kie~) —had been misinterpreted and the name of this
land of the Aryas — the Aryavarta— had been changed into
Hindusthan when Harsha ascended the throne of
Sthaneshwar ( Thanesar ) about Jyeshtha of the Vikram era
663 (May 606 A. D.) “We have the authority of Van Bhatt,
(ck.k HkV~V ) the Raj Pandit of Harsha, and Hiuen Tsang, the
celebrated Chinese Budhist pilgrim for holding that Harsha
was a real Chakravarti Maharajah and that till his time
degeneration of Hindus had not advanced much. Harsha
ruled for 41 years and during that period foreign influence
was almost unknown.
Says Hiuen Tsang:—"Among the various clans and
castes of the country the Brahmins are the purest and most
esteemed .......... The Kshatriyas and Brahmans are clean-
handed and unostentatious, pure and simple in their life and
very frugal.........there are four orders of HEREDITARY
caste distinctions.” Instead of the Vedic Varna Vyavastha
_____________________________________________
*( Vaidya’s History of Mediaeval Hindu India. Preface, v. )
8. HINDU SANGATHAN
according to xq.k deZ (merit and action) castes were becoming
hereditary. But there is no mention of hundreds of subcastes
which exist, to disorganize society, at the present moment.
Says Hiuen Tsang-
“The first is that of the Brahmins. They keep their
principles and live continently, strictly observing
ceremonial purity. The second order is that of the
Kshatriyas, the race of kings (jktU;). This order has held
sovereignty for many generations and its aims are
benevolence and mercy. The third order is that of the
Vaishyas or the class of traders, who barter commodities
and pursue gains far and near. The fourth order is that of the
Sudras or agriculturists. These toil at cultivating the soil
and are industrious at sowing and reaping.” Here is a
departure from the Vadic Varna Vyavastha. Agriculturists
were pure Vaishyas and not Sudras. The fourth serving class
was called Sudra during the Vedic period and no fifth Varna
was recognised. Again— "The members of a caste marry
within the caste. Relations by the father’s or mother’s side
do not inter-marry and a WOMAN NEVER CONTRACTS
A SECOND MARRIAGE.”
So widow remarriage was unknown at the time
probably because child marriage was nonexistent. Harsha’s
sister Rajyashri was married to Grahavarma of Kanouj when
he was of full age and Vana the Rajya Pandit of Harsha
married a grown up Brahman Virgin according to Bana.
Rajyasri was married when she was physically fit to be
married and consumation of marriage is spoken of upon
the day of marriage itself. Bana himself married the grown
up sister of Mayura. In this matter also Harsha’s times are
the parting link between ancient and modern India as here
after we shall see that child marriage was gradually
HINDU SANGATHAN 9.
introduced. ( Vaidya 94, 94 )
As regards the caste system it was not yet so rigid
as it became afterwards for we read in Vaidya’s Mediveal
Hindu India volume I:— "Caste was still some what loose
and higher orders were allowed to marry in the lower next
without the lowering of the caste of the progeny. Hiuen
Tsang reports that Harsha’s daughter was married to
Dhruvabhata and that while the former was a Vaishya the
latter was a Kshatriya. So also Bana records that Harsha’s
sister was married to Grahavarma Maukhari of Kanauj and
we shall see that while Harsh’s family name ended in
Vardhana or Bhuti indicating their caste to be Vaishya, the
name of the Maukharis ended in Varman showing that their
caste was Kshatriya .... Anulom marriages took place usually
in castes only one degree apart and rarely though that may
be, they took place in castes two or more grades apart. For
Bana records that he had two Parasava brothers i. e., sons
of a Brahman by a Sudra wife" ( pages 61 and 62 ).
As we have said already, subcastes had not come into
existence. "The Brahmans yet formed one caste without sub-
division throughout India, the modern distinctions had not
yet come into existence. The distinctions now known as
Pancha Dravadas and Panch Gaudas had not arisen, not to
speak of the many still minor subcastes" ( Page 67 )
As regards the Kshatriyas Vaidya writes:—
"As the ten subdivisions of Brahmins into five
Gaudas and five Dravidas had not yet arisen, the Kshatriyas
too had not yet divided themselves into Rajpoots and Khatris
........These Kshatriyas again had not yet been divided into
36 families only, considered to be of pure descent and
restricting marriage to themselves alone. None of the names
even of these 36 families had yet come into existence...........
10. HINDU SANGATHAN
the Kshatriyas of India then formed one undivided caste
without probably any restriction of marriage to particuler
families." ( page 70 )
As regards the Vaishyas, they "generally speaking
had perhaps not preserved the purity of caste as much as
the other two higher castes, and some of them had sunk
into the position of Shudras. But the Vashyas of the days of
Hiuen Tsang, from his discription, were traders and
merchants, bankers and money lenders and these might be
taken to have formed themselves into a restricted group.
The names of modern Vaishya subcastes again had not yet
come into being and Mahesris and Agarwals were then
unknown." ( pages 72 & 73 )
"Lastly we have to speak of Sudras whose occu
pation, according to Hiuen Tsang, was agriculture. In days
preceding the Christion era, agriculture was the occupation
of the Vaishyas, while menial service alone was left to the
Sudra class. The spread of Buddhist sentiment with its
aversion to the taking of life must be held responsible for
this change of occupation............. Besides agriculturists
there were many classes whose profession was labour of
varied kinds and these classes were probably of mixed
origin." ( page 74 )
As regards the existence of the so called 'untou
chables,’ although Vaidya is wrong in assigning their
appearence to the Vedic period, as we shall presently try to
show, yet it appears they were not unknown in the time of
Hiuen Tsang’s visit. He says—"Butchers, fishermen, public
performers ( probably nats, etc, ) executioners and
scavengers have their habitations marked by a distinguishing
sign. They are forced to live outside the city and they sneak
along on the left when going about in the hamlets." To this
HINDU SANGATHAN 11.
Vaidya adds—”These depressed classes were probably
composed of the lowest dregs of the Dravidion races having
filthy habits and living on carrion but in the Punjab and
Rajputana a mixture of the Aryan race even among these
was prominently discovered at the census of 1901 when
anthropometric measurements were taken by Sir H. Risley.
The Chamars and Chuharas of the Punjab are found to be
distinctly Aryan in type and possibly these have been
degraded solely in consequence of their profession in
Buddhistic times before the period of which we are treating,
or, as the Smritis declare, the progeny of PRATILOMA
marriages especially of Brahmin women with Sudra
husbands, though they must have been rare, must have joined
the ranks of the Chandalas and thus infused Aryan blood in
their veins." (page 75)
To sum up—Up to the death of Emperor Harsha
foriegners had not got any permanent foothold on the Indian
soil, foriegn invasions had been frequently beaten back and
if partially succesful for a time were obliged ultimately to
beat retreat, there was no non-Aryan community in residence
and if any non-Aryans came they were absorbed by the Hindu
community, there were only three upper castes i, e.
Brahmans, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas among whom no
subcastes then existed, intermarriages among these principal
castes were of frequent occurrence, among the Sudras there
were probably subcastes, according to the different services
which they rendered and lastly there were the socalled
untouchables or Panchamas who were forced to live outside
the habitations.
Then early marriage was unknown and therefore
enforced widowhood did not apparently tell upon the peace
of the Hindu society. And when any hard case of widowhood
12. HINDU SANGATHAN
accurred, as that of Rajyashri. there was the Buddhist Vihara
ready to give asylum to the disconsolate widow among the
order of nuns. The condition of the Hindu woman of Harsha’s
time was not deplorable like her sister of the present age.
But there was one exception. The monogany of Ramraj was
rather the exception than the rule among Kshatriya princes.
The harems of Hindu kings consisted of a number of wives
and a still larger number of concubines and courtesans, and
widows of kings, conquered and slain in battle, appear to
have been reduced to the condition of servitude. As widow
remarriage was not allowed such woman in the family of
the conqueror, might have also been reduced to the condition
of concubine. It is no wonder that such woman often
preferred death to servitude and immolated themselves at
the funeral pyres of their husbands or burnt themselves,
independently to death.
"With these exceptions the condition of woman
appear to have been generally very good. They were well
treated and well educated. Rajyashri was well versed in
various kalas and shastras and was a learned lady." ( Vaidya
page 96 )
The funeral customs as described by the writers of
the period show that although Brahmans were feasted and
the paraphernalia of royalty were given away to them in alms,
yet all this was done 'not because they would be of use to
his soul in its progress across the river of the dead in the
YAMLOKA,' but because their sight gave impetus to grief.’
(ibid page 98)
Only recently ( during Nomember 1924 ) presiding
at the Sanatan Dharma Conference at Rawalpindi the Veteran
Sanatanist leader Pt. M. M. Malaviya said that food given
to Brahmans at Shraddh does not reach the ancestors but
HINDU SANGATHAN 13.
was given in commemoration of their many virtues.
Such, in brief, was the Social condition of the Hindus
towards the latter half of the seventh century of the Vikram
era when the downfall of the great nation began. And it was
the change in the political mentality and condition of the
people that made it fall an easy pray to the attack of the
foriegner and to change its social customs to the worse, on
account of the servile position to which it had been reduced
by the foriegn conquest.
In the following pages an attempt has been made to
describe the history of the Hindu decline and to trace the
causes which led to its present deplorable downfall. As a
corollary an attempt has been made to show the way to the
nation’s emancipation.

{ Shraddhananda Sanyasi
20th, November, 1924 }
14. HINDU SANGATHAN

THE HINDUS-A DYING RACE

It was in February 1912, while standing in the
spacious hall of the Aryasamaj in Calcutta, that a Bengali
gentleman, dressed in European habits, was introduced as
Colonel U. Mukerji of the I. M. S. to me. His dress at first
prejudiced me against him, but when he spoke to me of the
pamphlet on which he was engaged and worked out
mathematically how within the next 420 years the Indo-
Aryan race would be wiped off the face of the earth unless
steps were taken to save it. I learnt to respect his patriotism
and resolved mentally that I would never be led away by
mere appearence in judging of the worth of a man in future.
Colonel Mukerji read out to me the following
extract from ‘Census of India report’ for 1911, vol I, page
122:—
"In the whole of India the proportion of Hindus to
the total population has fallen in 30 years from 74 to 69
percent, but this is partly due to the inclusion at each
succeeding Census of new areas in which Hindus, if they
are found at all, are a minority." I agreed with Colonel
Mukerji in holding that the addition of new areas was
immaterial when we had to consider the actual decline of
Hindus in number throughout the whole continent of India.
This did Colonel Mukerji workout the problem :—
Taking 5 per cent to be the actual proportion of the
decline of Hindus within thirty years, their present number
of 69 per cent will be swallowed up within 14 X 30=420
years, if no efforts were made to put a stop to the present
decline. I was impressed with the facts placed by Colonel
HINDU SANGATHAN 15.
Mukherji before me and as I was already interested in the
work of reconversion of Hindus from Muhammadanism and
Christianity I. began a special study of the subject. For full
thirteen years after that I remained a mere student of
statistics, but in the beginning of the year 1923 A.D. I threw
myself heart and soul into the movement of protection and
progress of my people and the time has come for me to
give to the thinking portion of my countrymen the result of
my cogitation and experience.
16. HINDU SANGATHAN

THE CAUSES OF DECLINE

IN NUMBER.
The causes of the decline of Hindus in numbers are
manysided, a few of which are enumerated by the census
Director of 1911. He produces a table giving percentage
of Muhammadans in the principal provinces as followes:—
N. W. Frontier province. .. 93p.c.
Baluchistan .. .. 91 ,,
Punjab ... .. .. .. 55 ,,
United Bengal .. .. 53 ,,
Assam .. .. .. 28 ,,
Bombay .. .. .. 20 ,,
U. P. of Agra and Oudh, 14 ,,
Behar and Orissa .. .. 10 ,,
Birar and C. P.* .. .. 4 ,,
Burmah*. . .. .. 3.5 ,,
and then he proceeds :—
"Bengal contributes 24 millions or 36 per cent to
the total number of Muhammadans in India. They are found
chiefly in the Eastern and Northern Districts. In this tract
there was a vigorious and highly successful propaganda in
the days of the Pathan Kings of Bengal. The inhabitants had
never been fully Hinduised, and at the time of the first
Muhamadan invasions most of them probably professed a
debased form of Buddhism. They were spurned by the high
class Hindus as unclean and so listened readily to the
_________________________________________________
* C.P. Central Province was earlier name of Uttar pradesh.
Burmah's is the earlier name of Mynamar.
HINDU SANGATHAN 17.
preachings of the Mullahs who proclaimed that all men are
equal in the sight of Allah, backed as it often was by a varrying
amount of compulsion.
"Another less notable exception is found in Malabar,
where the Mappillas are the descendants of local converts,
the earliest of whom were made by the Arabs who began to
frequent the coast in the 8th century. A certain number of
new converts are still being made."
"It should be added that even in Northern India the
Muhammadan population is by no means wholly of foreign
origin. Of the 12 million followers of Islam in the Punjab,
10 millions showed by the caste entry (such as Rajputs,
Jat, Arain, Gujar, Mochi, Turkhan, and Teli) that they were
originally Hindus. The number who described themselves
as belonging to foreign races such as Pathan, Biloch, Sheikh,
Saiyad and Moghal was less than 2 millions, and some even
of these have very little foreign blood in their veins.” (page
128) Again speaking of the rise in population of the last
decade (i.e.) from 1901 to 1911 A. D., the census director
proceeds in para 172 :—
"The number of Muhammadans has risen during the
decade by 6.7% as compared with only 5% in the case of
Hindus. There is a small but continuous accession of
converts from Hinduism and other religions, but the main
reason for the relatively more rapid growth of the followers
of the Prophet is that they are more prolific. This may
possibly be due to their more nourishing dietery, but the
main reason is that their social customs are more favour
able to a high birth rate them those of The Hindus. They
have fewer marriage restrictions, early marriage is
uncommon and widows remarry more freely.
"The greater reproductive capacity of the
18. HINDU SANGATHAN
Muhammadans is shown by the fact that the proportion of
married females to the total number of females aged 15-
40 exceeds corresponding proportion for Hindus. The
result is that Muhammadans have 37 childrens aged 0—5
to every person aged 15—40 while the Hindus have only
33. Since 1881 the number of Muhammadans in the areas
then enumerated has risen by 26.4 per cent while the
corresponding increase for Hindus is only 15. 1 per cent."
Writing on the comparative increase of the two
communities in Burmah the census report proceeds in para
173:—
"We have seen that in Burmah the Hindu settlers
have a tendency to become absorbed in the Buddhist
population arround them, but this is not so with the
Muhammadans. There are scattered communities of
Muhammadans who have been settled in Burmah for several
generations and still retain their faith unimpaired. When a
Muhammadan marries a Burmese wife he brings up his
children in his own religion. The offsprings of these mixed
marriages are known as Zerbadis.”
I have given this somewhat lengthy extract from the
census of India report for 1911, because that report has
dealt in lengthy detail with all the causes that have led to
change for the worse among the Hindus. I shall now try to
take up one by one the causes of Hindu deterioration and
will examine the remedies which Hindu reformers have
from time to time tried to apply for the amelioration and
revivification of the race. At the end I will give a history of
the “ Hindu Sangathan” movement from its very inception
leading to the organization of the present “ Hindu
Mahasabha" and will deal with the remedies proposed by it
for organizing and strengthening the Hindu body politique.
HINDU SANGATHAN 19.

THE FIRST CAUSE.

CONVERSION TO OTHER
RELIGIOUS FAITHS.
I have already said in introducing the present subject
to my readers that up to the death of Emperor Harsha, which
event occured in the beginning of the eighth century of the
Vikram era, (about middle of the seventh century of the
Christian era), there was no non-Aryan community in
evidence and if any non-Aryans came they were absorbed
by the new Hindu Community, which had arisen over the
ashes of the Buddhistic organization. But after the death of
Harsha foreigners began to join on permanent footing in
India through the enthusiastic proselytising spirit of
Muhammadanism.
In the beginning of the eighth century of Vikram era,
there was a revolution in Sindh. Sindh was ruled by a Shudra
King named Sahsi who died, about 707 Vik. era, without
issue. His kingdom was seized by his Brahmin minister
Chacha who married the widowed queen of his master.
Chacha carried his arms to Iskania, Babia, Multan and Korur
on one side and crossing Mekran on the other conquered
the King of Siwistan. Chacha was a bigotted Hindu and
compelled the Lohana Buddhists to submit. He imposed
degrading social rules upon Lohanas and Jats, because they
claimed to be Kshatriyas. “As Hinduism now gathered
strength, Hindu society began to confirm each caste in the
status which it held by its practices. Both (Lohanas and Jats)
20. HINDU SANGATHAN
appear to have practised widow remarriage which was
repugnant to the orthodox Hindu and the rigid Kshatriyas
who did not practise it and this was a further reason in the
confirmation of Lohanas as Vaishyas and the Jats as Sudras.
These two races have still kept up their martial instinct but
the historian cannot but observe that the gathering of
strength by Hindu Orthodoxy led to the demartializing of
certain races which had an unfavourable influence on the
future course of events." (Vaidya pages 165, 166.)
HINDU SANGATHAN 21.

MUSLIM CONVERSIONS
BY FORCE
As Sindh was an easy target for foreign invasion of
India, several abortive attempts were made by Arab
Musulmans to conquer it. At last, when Iran had been
conquered, the invasion of Sindh was facilitated. A good
pretext also offered itself. The Indus delta was infested by
robbers. They attacked Ceylon Muhammadan pilgrims,
looted their valuable treasures and imprisoned the men and
women pilgrims. Dahar, son of Chacha (the then King of
Sindh), received a remonstrance but disclaimed
responsibility for robbers, heinous crime. On this Hajjaj
ruler of Iran sent his son-in-law, Muhammed Qasim, to fight
with the in fidels of Sindh. Debal was taken by storm. The
result is graphically described by historians on the authority
of Chachanama, the work of an Arab Musulman historian.
All the male population of the town was massacred. The
people stood aghast and prayed for mercy: but Muhammad
Qasim said, he had no order to show mercy. When
Muhammad Quasim came to the temple whose tower had
been thrown down, he found 700 beautiful females under
the protection of Buddha "who were of course, made slaves."
The temple was probably a Buddhist female Vihara. Debal
was mostly Buddhist. The governor was also a Buddhist and
called in the Chachanama Jahin Budha ..... Muhammed
Qasim had already granted pardon to certain persons who
had promised to show the imprisoned Muhammadan male
and female prisoners. These men were spared on bringing
out the prisoners and also a Hindu officer who had charge
22. HINDU SANGATHAN
of them for having treated them kindly during their
confinement. What a great difference between the cruel
treatment of prisoners by Muhammadans and their kind
treatment by Buddhists !!! That officer, however, had to
become Muhammadan....... .
"Such was the terrible beginning of the eventual
conquest of India by the Muhammadans, Debal being its
first victim. The male population was mostly massacred,
the town was completely plundered, many willing and
unwilling people were converted, and beautiful females
were carried away into capturity. .....Neru, the next city, .........
submited without fighting .... The Buddhist governor
tendered his allegiance. He also gave plentiful to the army.
Neru was therefore spared. (But) Muhammed Qasim enter
ed the town and built a mosque in place of a temple and
made arrangements for the government of the place."
(Vaidya pages 171 & 172).
Siwistan was next invaded. Its ruler was Vatsraj, a
cousin of King Dahar. He resolved to fight, but the Buddhist
citizens turned traitors to save their skin and opened the
gates. Vatsraj unable to hold the fort fled with his army.
Muhammad Qasim entered the fort and plundered the town
except the Samani (Buddhist) party.
Then traitors arose like mushrooms of which Moka
Bassaya was the chief. Dahar and his son fought bravely
and performed progidies of valour in the last field of battle
as testified by the Arabs themselves. The contest was
terrible, but, at the end the superior weapons of the Arabs
won. Besides enormous plunders, thousands of females
were made slaves amongst whom was a wife of Dahar and
several daughters of princes and Ranas and a neice of Dahar.
They were sent, of course, to the Khalifa with the exception
HINDU SANGATHAN 23.
of Ladi, Dahars’ wife, whom Muhammed Qasim ransomed
and married. Dahar’s another queen, Bai by name, remained
on Raor with 15,000 warriors, and opposed Qasim. But
finding that she could not escape the clutches of those
chandals and cow eaters she and many other Rajput-women
entered a house, set fire to it and were burnt to death.
"The Indians, no doubt fought among themselves in
former times and, even, sometimes appropriated the
‘women of the conquered princes. But there was no
compulsion in these cases. If they refused to be wives and
concubines of the victors they remained as servants and
were even allowed to go away as Buddhist nuns or other
recluses. And there was no loss of religion or of caste. But
with the Muhammadan conquerers the case was entirely
different. Women were forcibly appropriated by them as
wives or as concubines or as slaves and were also forcibly
converted." Raor was taken and plundered. The fighting
people were massacred and the women enslaved.
Altogether there were, it is said in the Chachanama, "60,000
slaves including many beautiful women of princely familes."
These were, like the plunder, divided between the
government and the soldiers. (Vaidya pages 180 & 181).
"Brahmanabad fell in the usual way. The merchants
and other nonfighting people threw themselves at the mercy
of Muhammed Qasim and opcned the gates. The city was
immediately taken possession of, the merchants were
spared (i.e. not massacred), the warriors were slaughtered
and the city was plundered. Women slaves were captured,
among them two virgin daughters of Dahar who were sent
to the Khalifa with the fifth royal share of plunder.” (Vaidya
page 182.)
"These virgin daughters of Dahar deceived the
24. HINDU SANGATHAN
Khalifa by saying that they had been violated by Qasim,
before they were sent to the Commander of the Faithful.
Qasim was commanded to put himself wherever he might
be, in raw leather immediately and come back to the
Khalifa.” Muhammed Qasim literally obeyed the order and
when his body reached Baghdad sewn in fresh hide, his
corpse was taken out and the virgin daughters of Dahar
considered them selves revenged."
The Muhammadans were firmly established in Sindh
but the tide of Muhammadan conquest, and its consequent
atrocities and forcible conversions, was to stop here for
three hundred years or more.
After this long lull in India, Mahmud ascended the
throne of Ghazni, at the death of his father, in 997 A. D. He
had “heard accounts of the wealth and splendour of the
countries to the east of his frontier, and had made a vow
that, if blessed with tranquility, he would turn his arms
against the idolaters of Hindustan, extirpate idolatry from
that country, and introduce, instead, the worship of the one
true God. In the month of August 1001 A. D., he marched
from Ghazni to Peshawar." (Latif’s Punjab page 80) Jaipal
Raja of Lahore, opposed him but was defeated, 5,000 of
his men being slain and plunders amounting to lakhs being
obtained by the victors.
In his second invasion Mahmood carried away a large
number of slaves with 280 elephants and other booties. This
was in 1004 A. D.
In 1005 Mahmood returned to India and conquered
Multan, obtained promise of 20,000 gold dirhems as annual
tribute and went back to his capital.
In 1006 Mahmud again invaded India for the fourth
time but after chastising Sewakpal, a convert from
HINDU SANGATHAN 25.
Hinduism, who had appostised, and making him a prisoner
for life and obtaining 4 lakhs of dirhems as penalties left
for his Kingdom.
The sixth invasion occured in 1908. A long coali
tion army of the Hindus assembled in the passes of Peshawar
where they were joined by 30,000 Ghakkors a powerful
hill tribe of the Punjab. The Muslim army was at first routed
by the Ghakkars, 5,000 being slain. But they rallied and the
Hindu army was routed and great numbers were slain.
It was then for the first time that Mahmud felt the
passion for propagating Islam in India. He marched against
the sacred town of Nagarkot (present Kangra ) broke the
Hindu idols and levelled their temples with the ground."
In the seventh invasion (A. D. 1013) Mahmud
"plundered Kashmir of all its great wealth, and, having
compelled the inhabitants to embrace the religion of the
Prophet, returned to his capital with rich spoils."
Two years later he invaded India for the 8th time but
returned unsuccessful from his expedition against Kashmir.
In the Spring of 1017 A. D. Mahmud invaded India
for the ninth time. The Rajah of Kanauj sued for peace,
Hardatt submitted. Mahwan was reduced, the Rajah of which
place, after having slain his wife and children, killed himself.
Mahmud “then set out for the rich city of Mathura,
consecrated to Krishna Basudeo and, meeting little
opposition, gave it up to plunder. All the idols were broken,
most of the temple were destroyed, and an enormous amount
of gold and silver was carried away. Mahmud stayed at
Kanauj for 20 days, during which time the city suffered
greatly from fire and pillage." He returned to Ghazni laden
with spoil and encumbred with captures."
During the tenth invation ( in 1021 .A D. ) the city
26. HINDU SANGATHAN
of Lahore was sacked and Mahmud changed its name from
Lahore to Mahmudpur.
The eleventh invasion ( in 1023 ) resulted in the
submission of some more Rajahs. Next year Mahmud came
to India for the twelveth time, pledged to destroy the temple
of Somnath, which was held in great veneration by the
Hindus. In the way Mahmud sacked Ajmere and after
reducing other fortresses, he reached Somnath by rapid
marches. “The fortress of the temple was strongly defended
by the Rajpoots, and for three successive days the assault
of the Mahomedans was repulsed with great loss. Mahmud
at length leaped from his horse, and, prostrating himself on
the ground, implored the help of God. Remounting he
cheered the troops on with such enthusiasm that they
stormed the fortress and laid 5000 of the garrison dead at
their feet.” Those embarked in boats to save themselves
were drowned. Then entering the temple Mahmud struck
off the nose of the idol. "He then ordered two pieces of the
idol to be taken to Ghazani, one to be thrown on the
threshold of the grand mosque and the other at the Court
door of his own palace. Two more pieces were at the same
time to be sent to Mecca and Medina." The image was
broken in pieces and precious stones worth Crores of
rupees taken away with other booty.
The 13th and last invation of Mahmud was directed
in 1027, against the Jat tribes of Indus, who were reduced.
It appears from a perusal of the History of Mahmud
Ghaznavi that his invasions were more with the purpose of
plunder rather than forcible conversions, yet the thousands
of captive males and female taken into slavery were a dead
loss to the Hindu community and a source of future
hinderance to natural increase in numbers.
HINDU SANGATHAN 27.
If we refer to original Muhammadan historians there
is ample material for holding that force played a principal
part in the conversion of Hindus to Islam but leaving these
and their English translators aside I would content myself
by quoting from Dr. P. W. Arnold’s work “The Preaching of
Islam” because he is well known for his partiality to the
Muhammdan faith.
He begins with the assertion that "Among the 66
millions Indian Musalmans there are vast numbers of
converts and descendants of converts, in whose conversion
force played no part and the only influences at work were
the teaching and persuasion of peaceful missionaries” but
after offering an unconvincing apologia for the above
assertain he is forced to admit, though reluctantly, that
among the invaders, though unaccompnied by missionaries
or preachers "To many of them their invasion of India
appeared in the light of a holy war. Such was evidently the
thought in the minds of Mahmud of Ghazni and Timur. The
latter after his capture of Delhi writes, as follows, in his
autobiography:—”I had been at Delhi 15 days, which time I
passed in pleasure and enjoy ment, holding royal courts and
giving great feasts. I then reflected that I had come to
Hindustan to war against infidels, and my enterprise had
been as blessed that wherever I had gone I had been
victorious. I had triumphed over my adversaries, I had put
to death some lacs of infidels and idoletors, and I had stained
my sword with the blood of the enemies of the faith. Now
this crowning victory had been won, and I felt that I ought
not to indulge in ease, but rather to. exert myself in warring
against the infidels of Hindustan.’. ( page 256 )
Again—"It is true that the offer of Islam was
generally made to the unbelieving Hindus before any attack
28. HINDU SANGATHAN
made up-on them. Fear occassionally dictated a timely
acceptance of such offers and led to conversions which, in
the earliest days of the Muhmmadan invasion atleast, were
generally short-lived........ ," (ibid ) Speaking of the campaign
against Hardatt Rai of Bulandshahr, the Secretary of
Mahmud of Ghazna says:— "Atlength Mahmud arrived at
the fort of Bavla ( old name of Bulandsahr) in the country
of Hardat, who was of the Rais that is ‘Kings’ in the Hindu
language. When Hardat heard of this invasion by the
protected warriors of God, who ad vanced like waves of the
sea, with the angels around them on all sides, he became
greatly agitated, his steps trembled, and he feared for his
life, which was forfeited under the law of God. So he
reflected that his safety would best be secured by
conforming to the religion of Islam, since God’s sword was
drawn from the scabbard "and the whip of punishment was
uplifted." He came forth, therefore, with ten thousand men,
who all proclaimed their anxiety for conversion and their
rejection of idols.” ( page 257 ).
If this is not forcible conversion, then it would be
idle to search for forcible conversion in Islam. I would now
give some quotations from Arnold’s book which will tell
their own story.
( 1 ) "The Gkakkars, a barbarous people in the
mountainous districts of the North of the Punjab, who gave
the early invaders much trouble, are said to have been
converted through the influence of Muhammad Ghori at
the end of the 12th century” ( page258)
( 2 ) "According to Ibn-Batutah, the Khillji’s offered
some encouragement to conversion by making it a custom
to have the new convert presented to the Sultan, who clad
him in a robe of honour and gave him a collor and bracelets
HINDU SANGATHAN 29.
of gold, of a value proportionate to his rank Firozshah Tuglaq
says in his autobiography—’ I encouraged my infidel
subjects to embrace the religion of the Prophet and I
proclaimed that every one who repeated the creed and
became a Musahnan should be exempt from the Jaziah or
poll tax. Information of this came to the ears of the people
at large and great numbers of Hindus presented themselves,
and were admitted to the honour of Islam. Thus they came
forword day by day from every quarter, and, adopting the
faith, were exonerated from the Jaziah and were favoured
with presents and honours." ( page 250 ) This mothod of
proselytization is still followed in several principal Mus
lim states in India.
( 3 ) Official pressure is said never to have been
more persistently brought to bear upon the Hindus than in
the reign of Aurangzeb. In the eastern districts of the Punjab,
there are many castes in which the ancestor of the Musalman
branch of the village community is said to have changed his
religion "In order to save the land of the village.” In Gurgaon,
near Delhi, there is a family of Hindu Baniyas who still
bear the title of Shaikh ( which is commonly adopted by
converted Hindus ) because one of the members of the
family, whoso line is now extinct, became a convert in order
to save the family property from confiscation. Many
Rajpoot land-owners, in the Cawnpore district, were
compelled to embrace Islam for the same reason. ( The
Dikhit family of Musalman branch is one example and
another is that of nonmuslim cultivators who changed
religion in the reign of Aurangzeb on account of Muslim
persecution and sometimes to enable them to retain their
rights when unable to pay revenue.) In other cases the
ancestor is said to have been carried as a prisoner or hostage
30. HINDU SANGATHAN
to Delhi and there forcibly circumcised and converted ......
It is established “without doubt” that forced conversions
have been made by Muhammadan rulers, and it seems
probable that Aurangezb’s well-known zeal on behalf of his
faith has caused many families of Northern India to attribute
their change of faith to this, the most easily assignable
cause. Similarly in the Deccan, Aurangzeb shares with Haider
Ali and Tipu Sultan the reputation of having forcibly
converted sundry families and sections of the population
( pages 160 & 161 )
( 4 ) Tipu Sultan proclaimed that if Hindus of South
would not abolish polyandry he would march against them.
This stirred up a revolt in Malabar and Tipu marched with
an army of more than twenty thousand and issued general
orders that “ every being in the district, without distinction,
should be honoured with Islam, that the houses of such as
fled to avoid that honour should be burned, and they should
be traced to their lurking places, and "that all means of truth
and false hood, force or fraud should be employed to effect
their Universal conversion" Thousands of Hindus were
accordinlgly circumcized and made to eat beef ....(page
262).
( 5 ) Until recently there were some strange survivals
of a futile false conversion, notable in certain customs of a
Hindu sect called the Bishnois, the principal tenent of
whose faith is the renunciation of all Hindu dieties except
Vishnu. They used recently to bury their dead, instead of
burning them, to adopt Gulam Muhammed and other
Muhammadan names, and use the Muslim form of
salutation. They explained their adoption of these
Muhammadan customs by saying that having once slain a
Qadi, who had interfered with their rite of widow-burning,
HINDU SANGATHAN 31.
they had compounded the offence by embracing Islam. They
have now, however, renounced these practices in favour of
Hindu customs.” (Pages 262 & 263).
These Bishnois lived in Bijnour and adjoining
districts and were reconverted to their ancient Aryan faith
by Aryan preachers.
( 6 ) Motives of self-interest often played principal
part in the conversion of Hindus to Islam. "Many Rajputs
became converts in this way, and their descendents are to
this day to be found among the landed aristocracy. The most
important perhaps among these is the Musalman branch of
the great Bachgoti clan, the head of which is the premier
Muhammadan noble of Oudh. According to one tradition
their ancestor Tilak chand was taken prisoner by the
Emperor Babar, and to regain his liberty adopted the faith
of Islam ; but another legend places his conver sion in the
reign of Hamayun. This prince having heard of the
marvellous beauty of Tilak Chand's wife had her carried off
while she was at a fair." She was however, released and in
gratitude Tilak Chand and his wife embraced Islam. This
second legend, on the very face of it, appears absurd.
"In the district of Bulandshahar, a large Muslim
family, which is known as the Lalkhani Pathans, still retain
its old Hindu titles and family customs of marriage, while
Hindu branches of the clan still exist side of it. In the
Mirzapur district, the Gaharwar Bajpute, who are now
Muslims, still retain in all domestic matters Hindu laws
and customs and prefix a Hindu honorific little to their
Muhammadan names.” (Page 260).
The above facts are taken from a European writer
who beats even Muslim original historians in his partiality
towards the Muhammadans of India, But if we believe
32. HINDU SANGATHAN
Ferishta, the acknowledged trustworthy historian of
Mnhammadan India, worse things are believed about the
religious bigotry and fanaticism of those Muslim Emperors
who preceded Babar and his Mughal descendants. A few
examples will not be out of place here.
( 7 ) Shams-ud-din Altamash reduced the Hindu fort
of Bhilsa, in 1231, A. D., and destroyed a magnificent
temple dedicated to Mahakali. The images of Vikramaditya
and Mahakali, which adorned the temple, were conveyed to
Delhi and “broken at the door of the” great mosque. (Page
234, translated by John Bright.)
( 8 ) Ghias-ud-deen Balban made it a rule never to
place any Hindu in a situation of trust or power lest the
race should employ its delegated authority to the
destruction of Muhammadans."
There should be no complaint about this because
the British treat the Hindusthanees (Hindus and Mus
lims alike) with like mistrust.
( 9 ) Alauddin Khilji asked his Qazi........"From what
description of Hindus is it lawful to exact obedience and
tribute."
The answer was ... “ It is lawful to exact obedience
and tribute from all infidels and they only can be considered
obedient who pay the poll-tax and tribute without demur
even if it should be obtained by force ; for according to one
law of the Prophet it is written regarding infidels . . . . "Tax
them to the extent they can pay, or utterly destroy them."
The learned of the faith have also enjoined the followers of
Islam "to slay them or convert them to the faith,’ a maximum
conveyed, in the words of the Prophet himself. The Imam
Haneef, however, subsequently considers that the poll-tax
or as. heavy a tribute imposed upon them as they can bear,
HINDU SANGATHAN 33.
may be substituted for death and he has, accordingly,
forbidden that their blood should be “ needlessly” spilt. So
that it is commanded that the Jazyah (poll-tax) and Khiraj
(tribute) should be extracted to the uttermost farthing from
them, in order that the punishment may proximate, as nearly
as possible to death." The King smiled and said. ..you may
perceive that without reading learned books I am in the habit
of putting in practice, of my own accord, that which have
been enjoined by the Prophet."
And history records how this Khilji Empreor
executed the law, laid down by his prophet, to the very
letter—through his bloody general Malik Kafoor.
( 8 ) Attacking Nagarkot Feroz Tughlaq broke the
idols and mixing the fragments with pieces of cows’ flesh,
filled bags with them to be tied around the necks of
Brahmins, who were then paraded through the camp. In this
way they were honoured by the message of Islam.
( 9 ) The reign of Sikander Lodi is famous for many
deeds of cruelty and violence. A Brahmin who maintained “
that the religion of the Muslims and Hindus, if acted on
with sincerity, were equally acceptable to God "was
arraigned before the Sultan who handed him over to Qazi
Peeola and shaykh Badr for opinion who differed about the
Fatwa to be promulgated. Then twelve divines were
assembled who arranged the point with the Brahmin. Failing
to convince, or silence him the learned Muslim divines gave
the Fatwah that unless the infidel renounced his error and
adopted the Muhammadan religion, he ought to suffer death.
The Hindu refusing to apostate was accordingly executed.
In 1504 A.D. Sikandar Lodi, having taken Mundril,
destroyed the Hindu temples and caused mosques to be built
in their stead.
34. HINDU SANGATHAN
In 1506 Sikandar conquered Hanwant-nagar, put to
sword the Raj garrison and destroyed Hindu temples,
building mosques in their stead. In 1507 he remained six
months at Nurwar breaking down Hindu temples and building
mosques. About Sikandar Lodi, Ferishta writes:—" He was
firmly attached to the Muhammadan religion and made a
point of destroying all Hindu temples. In the city of Mathura
he caused Musjids and Bazar to be built opposite the bathing
stairs leading to the river and ordered that no Hindu should
be allowed to bathe there. He forbade barbers to shave the
beards and heads of the inhabitants in order to prevent the
Hindus following their usual practices at such pilgrimages.
Before he ascended the throne, he had once a quarrel with a
holy man who maintained that it was highly improper for a
king to interfere with the religion of his subjects or to
prevent them from bathing at places to which they had been
accustomed to resort for ages. The prince ( Sikandar ) drew
his sword and said "Do you maintain the propriety of Hindu
religion."
I pause here, for a moment, and ask the reader to
realize the immensity of the mischief done to the Hindu
religion by the cruel bigotry of Muslim Emperors in India.
Is it any wonder, then, that lakhs upon lakhs of Hindus were
forced to be honoured by Islam and their descendents
swelled to millions !!
HINDU SANGATHAN 35.

CHRISTIAN CONVERSIONS
BY FORCE.
The first Christian Missionaries who arrived in India
and began proselytizing work in right earnest were the
Jesuits. It were the Portuguese, among the Europeans, who
first landed in South India under the guidance of Vasco de
Grama, and occupied the whole Malabar Coasts. He met
with some persons of the Christian faith there, but so much
of heathenism was mixed up with their Christianity that the
good Christian ruler of the time was shocked and sent
Fraciscan workers in order that the true faith might be
promulgated among his heathen subjects.
A vivid account of tho Roman Catholic Christian missions
in India is given by a German publicist, Theodor Griesinger
by name, in his well-known work entitled-"The Jesuits; a
complete history." That comprehensive historic book was
translated from German into English by A. J. Smith. M. D.
and was published in 1892 by W. H. Allen and Co. publishers
to the India office London. It is from that book that I shall
give copious extracts.
"The Franciscans proved themselves to be but very
ill adapted for this kind of work and showed that "Conversion
‘ or as it was more correctly expressed ‘ the mission to the
heathen,’ was not their 'forte,' although the Governor and
viceroy ( Alfonso Albnguerque ) placed the bayonets of his
military force entirely at their disposal........ The Indians
continued to be just the same as before, and to worship
their gods according to the fashion of their fathers and
ancestors; and although some few, through military
36. HINDU SANGATHAN
compulsion, nominally became Papists, the great mass of
the worshippers of Bramah (meaning Brahma) and Vishnu
still shewed themselves to be as stiff necked as ever." page
86.
This state of things could not be tolerated for long
and John iii of Portugal, who reigned from 1521 to 1557,
was shocked at it and thought “ that the inhabitants of his
newly-acquired possessions, could not become good
Portuguese subjects until they had prostrated themselves
at the foot of the same cross before which the Portuguese
knelt,” Francis Xavier was the fittest person for this work,
because, in him, that zeal for conversion overcame every
other consideration. He came to India, strengthened with
Papal briefs which gave him the position of the
representative of the Pope of Rome for the whole of India,
with anthority to claim all secular influence of the
Portuguese officials in the Asiatic Colonies; lastly, in a third
writing king John III, himself recommended him most
earnestly to the chiefs, princes and governments from the
cape of Good Hope to the Ganges."
Francis Xavier landed at Goa on the 6th of May 1542
........... and although a royal equipage and princely residence
were placed at his disposal by the governor of the city, his
first care was to take himself at once to the hospital, in
order there to nurse the sick himself, and to get his own
means of support from the public alms. Little or nothing,
however, was in this way done for his proper object "and
therefore, Xavier sought the assistance of the bishop of
that place. But, another difficutly arose." The stupid natives
did not understand one single word of what Xavier chattered
to them, and the Holy Ghost did not render him any
assistance with the gift of tongues., (page 88.)
HINDU SANGATHAN 37.
Then Xavier commenced a study of Hinduism, and
at the same time founded the College of Holy Paul and “by
the aid of the vice-regal troops he pulled down the heathen
temples in the neighbourhood of Goa, and appropriated their
very considerable property for the use and benefit of the
new College." (Page 89).
Next Xavier proceeded in his preaching tour
throughout Malabar. “ He took along with him a bell, armed
with which he ran about the streets ringing it in broad mid-
day, until he succeeded in drawing after him a troop of boys
and others, attracted by curiosity, who greeted him with j
ears and laughter. When he had thus got together a
considerable auditory, placing himself on some large stone,
he forth with began his sermon, which was delivered in the
language of the country interladed with fragments of Latin,
Spanish, Italian and French, to which , he added much
gesticulation with both hands and feet. He then finally
produced a large cross, which he piously kissed, and
required , the crowd to do likewise, presenting each one
who complied with a beautiful rosary, thousands of which
he had brought from Portugal. This, however, was only the
first part of his method. The second was much more
effectual and consisted in pulling down, with the assistance
of the Portuguese troops, which he called into requisition,
the native temples, and breaking in pieces the idols found
therein, not, however, without replacing them by Christian
chapels with the image of the crucified Jesus, and erecting
in the neighbourhood a handsome building constructed of
bamboo canes, for the instruction of the young...........far
from making them acquainted with the principles of
Christianity, he merely contented himself in teaching them
to say the Lord’s prayer, along with the creed, and causing
38. HINDU SANGATHAN
them to understand the same, as also to cross the arms with
humility." (Pages 89 & 90).
These were accepted as converts, but the business
went on too slowly and Xavier sent for more assistants from
his general, the famous founder of Jesuitism—Ignatins
Lyola. More than twenty were sent and Xavier was now able
to carry on the work of conversion in a wholesale manner
and during the next six years, in almost every place where
the Porguese flag waved...........he succeeded in establishing
schools, small and large. The principal seminary however,
was the college in Goa, into which immediately at the arrival
of the assistants from Europe, Xavier at once drove before
him 120 sons of the Hindu gentry, by means of a military
force, in order that they might he brought up in future for
the purpose of converting their fellow countrymen ; and
there could be no question that the power of the Portuguese
bayonets, and still more, the fear engendered by the same,
contributed in no small degree to the great results" (Page
91).
As regards those converted by such devices, "they
could repeat the creed and ...... were taught to have some
sort of understanding of the matter, that they took part in
processions, and could sing some hymns, and join in other
external observances.........."but when the Christian
missionary withdrew from the place, the Brahmins had not
the least difficulty in bringing the people back again to the
religion in which they had been born and bread. This was
now, indeed, an embarrassing dilemma and one of Xavier’s
companions, Anton Criminal, who had gained proselytes at
Comorin, became so furious on that, account against the
Brahmins that he "presented them, with the most inhuman
cruelties. They, however, in their despair, at once appealed
HINDU SANGATHAN 39.
for aid against, this criminal and his handful of soldiers
obtained from the Governor of Goa to a tribe of people
which had not as yet come under subjection to the
Portuguese, the latter being, in fact, in point of numbers, in
a very small minority. A battle there upon ensued, in which
all the Portugees, Criminal himself not excepted, were
massacred. It was at this time that the King of Condi, in
Ceylon, was compelled by force of arms to receive the
Cross, also was "Constrained by order of Xavier to be"
baptized by whose directions also his lieuteuants and
Governors of Provinces who offered any resistance to the
baptismal ceremony were treatened with confiscation of
their property. It was easy in this way to gain over thousands
daily to Christianity.” (Page 91).
"Some time now elapsed before any other
missionary attempted to show himself. The Brahmins,
however, did not by airy means improve their position by
their strenuous resistance, but, on the contrary, made it
worse, for Francis Xavior took occassion on this account
to institute in Goa a religious tribunal, after the pattern of
the Spanish Inquisition, over which he ruled without
opposition, and being aided by the Portuguese arms, he
proceeded, with the most frightful saverity, against all those
who offered any hinderance to the spread of Christianity,
or who also dared to take, the baptised natives back again to
their old idol-worship. In this way, then, innumerable
Brahmins, and more particularly "the richest among them
lost their lives by the executioner’s hands, or, at least, were
expelled from their country in order that their property
might be seized for the benefit of the society As a matter
of course, the effeminate Hindus now pressed forword to
have themselves baptised, ‘rather than make acquaintance
40. HINDU SANGATHAN
with the prisons of the Inquisition, or run the risk of being
roasted alive over a slow fire !. . . ."the consequence was
that Jesuit colleges sprang up in all suitable places, being
enriched by the property of the slaughtered and banished
heretics. And still more numerous were the churches which
were erected, as they no longer hesitated to destroy, with
fire and sword, all the heathen temples which they were
able to get at, and, indeed, it almost seemed as if the Jesuits
had taken for their example the cruel conduct of Charles
the great against the Saxons.*" (page 92)
It is useless to multiply instances of Christian
cruelty. The whole Ecclisiastical history of Christendom
is full of the havoc played by the followers of the Prince of
Peace amongst humanity through Inquisition and the
guillitone.

_________________________________________________
* From 772 A.D.- 804 A.D. in Germany Christians under com-
mand of charles annexed saxons tribe and forcibly converted
them to christianity -Editor.
HINDU SANGATHAN 41.

THE
SPREAD OF ISLAM BY OTHER
MEANS THAN FORCE.
Our chief authority about the proselytising work of
Islam ( Mr. T. W. Arnold ) asserts that “ there are vast
numbers of converts or descendants of converts in whose
conversion force played no part and the only influences at
work were the teaching and persuasion of peaceful
missionaries.” The question is whether the teaching was
open and the persuasion honest or the missionaries of Islam
acted on the principle of end justifying means and took
advantage of the credulous superstition of those among
whom they sojourned in order to undermine their faith in
their ancesteral religion. If the latter means were adopted
the preachers of Islam cannot conscientiously congratulate
themselves as Mr. Arnold would suggest. He says:—
"But though some Muhammadan rulers may have
been more successful in forcing an acceptance of Islam on
certain of their Hindu subjects .... and what ever truth there
may be in the assertion ( by Sir Alfred C. Lyall in his Asiatic
studies, page 236 ) that "it is impossible even to approach
the religious side of the Muhammadan position in India
without surveying first its political aspect," we undoubtedly
find that Islam has gained its greatest and most lasting
missionary triumphs in times and places in which its
political power has been weakest, as in Southern India and
Eastern Bengal." ( page 263 )
42. HINDU SANGATHAN
Let us patiently examine the history of Muslim
preaching and persuasion in Southern India, and the Deccan,
in Sindh, Cutch and Gujrat and then pass on to Bengal with
Mr. Arnold and see whether they stand the test of reason
and justice.
Speaking of the settlement of a band of Muslim,
refugees in the eighth century in South India, and describing
the friendly relations which existed between these refugees
and the tolerant Hindu rulers who placed no obstacles in
the way of proselytisation, the native converts receiving
the same consideration and respect.......even though they
had belonged to the lowest grades of society Arnold gives
an account of the first Muhammadan conversion on the
authority of Zayn-al-Din, a Muslim historian of the 16th
century. A party of pilgrims while on their way to visit the
footprint of Adam in Ceylon touched at Cranganore, to the
Rajah of which place they expounded the tenets of Islam.
On their way back from the pilgrimage the “ Rajah secretly
departed “ with them in a ship bound for the coast of Arabia,
leaving his kingdom in the hands of Viceroys. Here he
remained for some time and was just about to return to his
country, with the intention of erecting mosques there and
spreading the faith of Islam, when he fell sick and died. On
his death bed he solemnly enjoined on his companions not
to abandon’ their proposed journey to Malabar, and to assist
them in their labours he gave them letters of
recommendation to his Viceroys, at the same time bidding
them conceal the fact of his death.” The Muslim historian
then goes on to relate how mosques were built in several
places.
The story is incredible because where was the
necessity of secrecy in the Rajah’s departure when the
HINDU SANGATHAN 43.
administration was openly left in the hands of Viceroys.
The fact appears to be that the Rajah left for a tour
of Arabia, there he died, and the pious Muslim preachers
forged his signature and deceived the Viceroys. Even Arnold
says that there was no evidence of its historicity. So much
for the first efforts at conversion of the Hindus. “ The
Zamorin of Calicut, who was one of the chief patrons of
Arab trade, is said to have encouraged conversion to Ialam,
in order to man the Arab ships on which he depended for
his aggrandisement, and to have ordered that in every family
of fishermen in his dominion one or more of the male
members should be brought up as Muhammadans" These
were called ‘Mappilas'. "At the beginning of the 16th century
the Mappillas were estimated to have formed one-fifth of
the population of Malabar, spoke the same language as the
Hindus, and were only distinguished from them by their
long beards and peculiar headdress."
So, it was the greed and selfishness of the Hindu
ruler of Calicut, coupled with the Hindu superstition of
touch-me-notism, which introduced Muhammadanism in
Southern India and not the preaching and persuasion of
Muslim missionaries. Arnold proceeds :—
"But for the arrival of the Portuguese, the whole of
this coast would have become Muhammadan, because of
the frequent conversions that took place and the powerful
influence exercised by Muslim merchants from other parts
of India, such as Gujrat and the Deccan and from Arabia and
Persia.” But did the providential intervention of the
Portuguese Christians save the Hindu population of Malabar
? It was just the case of “out of the frying pan into the fire"
as the history of Christian missions in South India, will
amply bear witness to.
44. HINDU SANGATHAN
Hearing of the anxiety of the Zamorin ruler of
Calicut to bring up a portion of his fishermen subjects as
Muhammadans, Timurid Shah Rukh Bahadur sent Abdul
Razzaq for pushing on the work of proselytisation there,
but he "appears to have met with a cold reception, and after
remaining there for about six months abandoned his original
purposes" and went back to Khurasan.
Arnold then speaks of Nathur Shah who converted
the Ravuttans of Trichnopoly and of Sayyad Ibrahim Shahid
who was a militant hero, the descendents of whose son still
enjoy the grant of land given to him. Shah Al-Hamid is also
mentioned whose tomb in Nagore is still worshipped, The
Dunde-Kulas were converted by Baba Fakhruddin, whose
tomb exists at Penu Konda to this day. He is said to have
engaged in a contest of miracle with a Hindu priest. Both
were tied in sacks filled with lime and thrown into tanks.
“The Hindu priest never re-appeared but Baba Fakhruddin
asserted the superiority of his faith by being miraculously
transported to a hill outside the town. The Rajah there upon
became a Mussalman, and his example was followed by a
large number of the inhabitants of the neighbourhood and
the temple was turned into a mosque."
The wonder is that such miracles have become
conspicuous by their absence at a time when a single such
miracle might put a stop to all the bloodshed which
disgraces the annals of modern India.
Arnold talks of Tiya untouchables and occasionally
non-Brahmin Nairs and native Christians turning
Muhammadans in Malabar, but at the same time he writes.—
"So numerous have these conversions from Hinduism been
that the tendency of the Muhammadans of the west as well
as East Coast of Southern India has been to reversion to the
HINDU SANGATHAN 45.
Hindu or aboriginal type" and adds—
"In fact the Mappilas on the West Coast are said to
be increasing so considerably through accessions from the
lower class of Hindus, so as to render it possible that in a
few years the whole of the lower races of the west coast
may become Muhammadans." ( Page 269. )
The above was written in 1913 and eight years after
the Mappileas ( i. c. non-muslim lower caste Hindus of
Malabar ), by forcibly circumcising and converting Hindu
men and women to Islam at the point of the sword, showed
how the teachings of the Quran can turn peaceful law-abiding
Hindus into begotted fiends, in no time.*
No one could have conceived at the time, when the
Zamorin of Calicat encouraged the conversion of his
fisherman subjects to Islam, that they would one day try to
exterminate Hinduism from Malabar.
In considering the spread of Islam in South India by
socalled peaceful means the historian has to rest on
doubtful traditions only. But we get reliable accounts, also,
of the conversions of Hindus to Islam from some sources.
Let me coutinue the story as given by Arnold, giving the
names of half a dozen Muhammadan missionaries, who are
said to have worked in South India from the 1304 A. D. to
1568 A. D. He proceeds:—
"Another missionary movement may be said roughly
to centre round the city of Multan. This in the early days of
__________________________________________________
* Author mentions about the Riot of Moplah in 1921. In these
riots Hindus of Malabar faced the wrath of Islamic fanatics.
Hindus were converted, looted & killed in Large number forc-
ibly. Aryasamzj carried a largec scale relief mission and recon-
verted the converted Hindus back to original faith.
-Editor.
46. HINDU SANGATHAN
the Arab Conquest was one of the outposts of Islam. ( 714
) ........... During the three centuries of Arab rule there were
"naturally" many accessions to the faith of the Conquerors.
Several Sindian Princes responded to the invitation of the
Caliph Umar bin Abdul Aziz to embrace Islam. ( One
wonders if ,it was a mere invitation or a command-
compiler), The people of Sawandari are spoken of by Al-
Baladhuri as professing Islam in his time (one century later;
) and the despatches of the conqueror frequently refer to
the conversion of the unbelievers."
( Page 272 )
Of course Arnold calls all these conversions vol
untary, but compulsion does not always consist of open
threat of death.
Here is another example of conversion by persu
asion—"Al-Baladhuri tells the following story of the
conversion of a king of "Usayfan", a country between
Kashmir and Multan and Kabul. The people of this country
worshipped an idol for which they had built a temple. The
son of the king fell sick, and he desired the priests of the
temple to pray to the idol for the recovery of his son. They
retired for a short time, and then returned saying. "We have
prayed and our supplications have been accepted." But no
long time passed before the youth died. Then the king
attacked the temple, attacked and broke in pieces the idol
and slew the priests. He afterwords invited a party of
Muhammadan traders, who made known to him the unity of
God, where upon he believed and became a Muslim.” It does
not transpire what connection the king had with Muslim
traders before he broke the idol and slew the priests.
"A similar missionary influence was doubtlessly
exercised by the numerous communities of Muslim
HINDU SANGATHAN 47.
merchants who carried their religion with them into the
infidel cities of Hindustan" ( Page 273 )
".........Abd-al-Qadir Jilani.......... came to Sind in
1422, and after labouring there for ten years he succeeded
in winning over to Islam 700 families of the Lohana caste,
who followed the example of two of their number, by name
Sundarji and Hansraj. These men had embraced Islam, after
seeing some miracles performed by the saint, and on their
conversion received the names of Adamji and Taj
Muhammad. Under the leadership of the former, these
people migrated to Cutch, where their numbers were
increased by converts from among the Cutch, Lohanas.
"Sind was also the scene of the labours of Pir Sadr-
ul-din, an Ismaili missionary who was head of the Khojah
sect about the year 1430. In accordance with the principles
of accomodation practised by this sect, he took a Hindu
name and made certain concessions to the religious beliefs
of the Hindus whose conversion he sought to achieve, and
introduced among them a book entitled Dasavtar (nlkorkj nlkorkj
nlkorkj)
in which Ali was made out to be the tenth Avatar or
incarnation of Vishnu; this book has been from the
beginning the accepted scripture of the Khojah sect, and it
is always read by the bedside of the dying and periodically
at many festivals; it assumes the nine incarnations of Vishnu
to be true as far as they go but to fall short of the perfect
truth, and supplements this imperfect Vaishnav system by
the cardinal doctrine of the Ismailians, the incarnation and
coming manifestation of Ali. Further, he made out Brahma
to be Muhammad, Vishnu to be Ali and Adam (to be) Siva.
The first of Pir Sadr-al-din’s converts were won in the
villages and towns of Upper Sind .......
"Pir Sadr-ul-din was not, however, the first of the
48. HINDU SANGATHAN
Ismailian missionaries who came into India. He was
preceded by Abdullah, a missionary sent from Yaman about
1067. The second Ismaili missionary, Nur-ul-din, generally
known by the Hindu name he adopted, Nur Satgur, was sent
into India from Alamut, the stronghold of the grandmaster
of the Ismailis, and reached Gujrat in the reign of the Hindu
King Siddharaj. He adopted 4 Hindu names but told the
Muhammadans that his real name was Sayyid-saadat, he is
said to have converted the Kanbis, Kharwas, Koris, low
castes of Gujrat. As Nur Satgur is revered as the first
missionary of the Khojahs, so is Abdullah believed by some
to have been the founder of the sect of Bohrahs, a large and
important community of Shias, mainly of Hindu origin, who
are found in considerable numbers in the chief commercial
centres of the Bombay Presidency. But others ascribe the
honour of being the first Bohrha missionary to Mulla Ali,
of whose proselytising methods the following account is
given by the Shiah historian:—
As the people of Gujrat in those day were infidels
and accepted as their religious leader an old man whose
teaching they blindly followed “ Mullah Ali became his
disciple and after mastering the books of the country,
unfolded his faith to the old man, who became a Musulman.
Some of his Hindu disciples followed his example. Then
the chief minister was secretly converted. This intelligence
was carried to the King who, in order to convince himself
one day, without giving previous notice, went to the
minister’s house and found him bowing his head in prayer
and was with him. The minister recognized the purpose of
the King’s visit and realized that his displeasure had been
excited by suspicions aroused by his prayer, with its bowing
and prostrations; "but the guidance of god and divine grace
HINDU SANGATHAN 49.
befitting the occasion," he said that he was watching a
serpent in the corner of the room. When the King turned
towards the corner of the room, by divine providence he
saw a snake there, and accepted the minister’s excuse and
his mind was cleared of all suspicious. In the end the King
also ‘secretly’ became a Musulman, but for reasons of state
concealed his change of mind " (Pages 274 & 276).
Now, several questions arise on reading this fable.
Why did the divine grace make the minister a liar and a
hypocrite ? Instead of showing to the deluded king a serpent
in the corner, why did not Allah illuminate the king’s mind
with faith in Islam ? What induced the king to ‘secretly
become a Musulman’ after being deceived by his minister?
There appears to be more of the nature of Ismaili
subterfuge* than appears on the surface. But the chief
reason is to be sought in the credulity and blind superstition
of the Hindus of that period. It is needless to multiply
examples of fraud practised by Muhammadan missionaries
for converting Hindus to Muhammadanism during the reign
of the Muslim Emperors and kings. My only purpose, in
giving lengthy extracts from historians who are partial to
the Muslims, was to show that it was more credulity,
superstition and intolerant tyranny of so called higher caste
Hindus, rather than any merit and appreciation of the faith,
which drove millions of low castes into the fold of
Muhammadanism. My point of view is indirectly supported
even by Mr. Arnold, in the following
passage:—
"The work of conversion has indeed been often
very imperfect. Of many, nominally Muslims, it may be said
____________________________________________________
* Trickcry
50. HINDU SANGATHAN
that they are half Hindus, they observe caste rules, they join
in Hindu festivals and practise numerous idolatrous
ceremonies. In certain districts also large numbers of
Muhammadans may be found who know nothing of their
religion but its name; they have no mosques, nor do they
observe the hours of prayer. This is specially the case among
the Muhammadans of the villages or in parts of the country
where they are isolated from the mass of believers" ( Page
286 )
HINDU SANGATHAN 51.

THE

SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY
BY
MEANS OTHER THAN FORCE.
I have already given blood curdling accounts of the
spread of Christianity by force, which, I believe, can well
bear the palm in comparison with the most bigotted
achievements of Khilji, Aurangzeb and Tipu Sultan. I now
propose to show from reliable authorities that in the field
of fraud too, the Jesuit missionary does not fail in
competition with his Muhammadan compere. I shall give
only a few quotations from Theodar Griesinger to emphasize
my point.
"In East India, Xavier had completely paved the way
for (the Christian missionaries), as in all places of any
consequence which had become subject to the Portuguese,
Jesuit establishments—by whatever name they were called,
be it colleges, residences or missions—were founded, and
it only remained to increase their number, as also to enlarge
those already existing. For the son of Loyola it was always
every where an easy matter to succeed in doing so, as, in
the first place, the Portuguese governors, by order of the
King, played into their hands; and, as secondly, they could
get the better of any opposition to their projects very easily
with the assistance of the tribunals of the Inquisition,
established by themselves. To increase, too, the number of
52. HINDU SANGATHAN
missions was by no means difficult, as in every place, where
the Portuguese or other Europeans despoilers had penetrated
the Jesuit missionaries pressed forward, and, by very simple
means, contrived to plant their feet firmly, as well as, to
form Christian Communities.
"In what, then, did these simple means consist ?
"The mode was nothing else than this; these
missionaries attired themselves as Indian priests or
Brahmins, in order that they might pass them selves off as
natives" (page 101).
"One of them, namely, Pater Constantino Beschi,
who had most carefully studied the Hindu language as well
as Sanskrit, imitated the customs and manner no less than
the mode of life of the Brahmins so correctly that the people
of the Deccan, where he for a long time resided,’ actually
began to honour him as a saint—as a saint, however, be it
well understood, in the heathen heaven; and, as he published,
besides popular poems in the native language, he thus be
came celebrated throughout all lands ...... The ruler of
Deccan, in the belief that he was a true Brahmin, raised
him to the first Court official and minister, and Constantino
Beschi did not trouble himself in the least to explain the
mistake. On the contrary, the worthy Pater, henceforth
completely renouncing all Europeans customs and origin,
attired in a fine oriental costume, appeared in public riding
upon a richly —caparisoned ;horse, or carried in a palankeen
by slaves, and always accompanied by a numerous escort
on horseback, who cleared the way for the great man,
proclaiming his going and coming at the same time with a
flourish of trumpets. No one could have supposed that he
was in reality a European, and much less a baptised Christian.
A Jesuit, however, he still remained to the end of his days,
HINDU SANGATHAN 53.
and his companions of the order were not a little proud of
him. A perfectly different character was presented in the
very worthy Pater Barthelimi Acosta, the second example
which I now bring to notice as he did not frequent the
society of the great ones of the land, but rather contented
himself with mixing among the very lowest dregs of the
people ; influenced, of course, by the same aim and object
as that of Contantino Beschi, the prime minister and grand
Vizier. He sought out, namely, the ill-famed dwellings of
the public dancing girls and courtesans and the huts of those
called "Bayaders" being well aware that, always ready, at
any day and hour, to sacrifice to the god of love, they thereby
possessed great influence over the male sex, and he thus
found himself on the most intimate terms with them. He
was in the habit of playing with them, as well as dancing and
drinking with them, by which means he became their dearest
friend and confident. The poor creatures were quite
delighted with him, and desired nothing better than to
become translated into heaven at the hands of him who made
the matter so easy for them. One thing only stood in the
way of their embracing the Christian religion, which was
that they had been told that Christian priests condemned,
as a sinful vice, the trade by which they lived, and
consequently they delayed from hour to hour to receive
the sacremert of baptism. What, then, did the worthy father
do ?
"He taught them that they might become Christians,
and still, without committing sin, might continue to devote
themselves to the God of love, provided they devoted a
portion of their gains to the Christian church and at all
events, did their best endeavour to convert those persons
to whom they were in the habit of yeilding their charms. By
54. HINDU SANGATHAN
these and similar other ways, the Jesuits contrived to
insinuate themselves everywhere throughout the whole
extent of India, and, as long as the dominion of the
Portuguese lasted they made themselves absolute masters
of the soil ; that is to say, they found them selves all alone
at liberty to spoil the whole of the enormous territory,..........
. making proselytes, or founding Colleges and residences,
as they were be loved almost beyond all measure by the
King of Portugal" ( Page 102 & 103 )
In the July number of the “ Theosophist "for 1886,
after giving an abstract of the doings and proselytizing zeal
of the Jesuits in India, the writer sums up the result of their
efforts as follows :—
"At the time of Xavier’s death, in 1552, there were
more than two hundred Jesuits in various missions
established on both coasts of India. Their chief seat was
Goa. Here, in the space of a few years, they erected ten
princely churches on the ruins of Hindu temples, many of
which were razed to the ground ; besides this, they founded
religious schools for the young converts. But they were
bad teachers of the Gospel. "Never was," says Dr. Thomas
M’Crie, "the name of the blessed Jesus more grossly
prostituted than when applied to a society wnich is certainly
the very opposite, in spirit and character, of Him who was ‘
meek and lowly.’ The Jesuits may be said to have invented,
for their own peculier use, an entirely new system of ethos.
In place of the divine law, they prescribe, as the rule of
their conduct, a 'blind obedience' to the will of their
superiors, whom they are bound to recognise as 'standing
in the place of God' and in fulfilling whose orders they are
to have no more will of their own than a 'corpse, or an old
man’s staff' As the instructors of youth, their solicitude has
HINDU SANGATHAN 55.
ever been less to enlarge the sphere of human knowledge
than to keep out what might prove dangerous to clerical
domination ; they have confined their pupils to mere
literary studies, which might amuse without disturbing a
single prejudice of the dark ages. As missionaries, they have
been much more industrious and successful in the manual
labour of baptizing all nations than in teaching them the
Gospel.” They employed all methods to allure the Hindus
and the Musulmans to embrace Christianity, and published
tracts and books in Tamil and other languages. Such was the
state of things when the great Emparor Akbar, desirous of
inquiring into the nature of the Christian faith, invited the
Jesuits to his Court, about the year 1582, and asked them
for the life of Christ. The crafty priests, thinking that the
simple life would not attract and captivate his Oriental
imagination, attempted to palm upon the sovereign a false
life stuffed with fables, such as are found in the
mythological books of the Hindus. But the trick lost the
game ! Akbar detected the fraud and dismissed them from
his Court. Thus they used to conceal from the natives the
essential peculiarities of the Gospal ; they accommodated
its doctrines to the most absurd notions of the populace.
Nor was this all. They brought from Rome heads and skulls
of false saints, and rumours were artfully spread abroad of
prodigies and miracles wrought by these relics ; images
were moved by wires, which they pretended were
miraculously moved by Heaven ; a certain tomb at Meliapur,
on the Coromandel Coast was fraudulently given out for
the sepulchre of St. Thomas, in allusion to an ancient
tradition that the Apostle crossed the Indus and penetrated
into the south as far as the Carnatic, and there, after
preaching the glad tidings, suffered martyrdom. With the
56. HINDU SANGATHAN
bones of such saints they fought ludicrous combats with
the devils, and thus deceived the eyes of illiterate men. A
large volume would be required to contain an enmumeration
of the innumerable frauds which these artful priests
practised to delude the people of India."
HINDU SANGATHAN 57.

SECOND CAUSE.
PERVERSION OF THE ARYAN
SOCIAL POLITY
(o.kZ O;oLFkk)
The Muslim social polity is only 14 centuries old,
being based on the "Quran" and the Hadith (anecdotes of
the life of Muhammad). The Christian Social Polity is a
mixture of reformed Judaism and Paganism and is not older
than 20 centuries. The Jews were still busy with their social
construction under the guidance of Moses, about 35
centuries back, when the Aryan Social system had existed
intact for millions of years and was about to fall from its
high pedestal.
The Aryan social polity was based upon instruc tions
laid down in the Vedas ; and the Divine knowledge of the
Vedas was believed by the Aryans to have existed from the
beginning of the world. Says Sir William Jones, the earliest
Vedic Scholar among the English...... "We cannot refuse to
the Vedas the honour of an antiquity the most distant." In
his original work, the Bible in India, Louis Jacolliot, the
Great French Jurist says :—" In point of authenticity the
Vedas have incontestible precedence out of the most ancient
records. These holy books which, according to the
Brahmins, contain the revealed word of God, were honoured
in India long before Persia, Asia Minor, Egypt and Europe
were colonised or inhabited."
58. HINDU SANGATHAN
Again he goes on :— 'India is the world’s cradle : thence it
is that the common mother in sending forth her children,
even to the utmost west has, in unfading testimony of our
origin bequeathed us the legacy of her language, her laws,
her 'Morale,' her literature and her religion-Traversing
Persia, Arabia, Egypt and even forcing their way to the cold
and cloudy north far from the sunny soil of their birth,
in vain they may forget their point of departure, their skin
may remain brown or become white from contact with
snows of the west, of the civilizations founded by them
splendid kingdoms may fall and leave no trace behind but
some few ruins of sculptured columns, new people may
arise from the ashes of the first; new cities may flourish on
the site of the old but time and ruin united fail to obliterate
the ever legible stamp of origin. The legislator Manu; whose
authenticity is incontestible, dates back more than three
thousand years before Christian era; the Brahmans assign
him a still more ancient epoch. What instruction for us,
and what testimony almost material, in favour of the oriental
chronology, which, less ridiculous than ours (based on
Biblical traditions) adopts, for the formation of this world,
an a speech more in harmony with science. We shall
presently see Egypt, Judea, Greece, Rome, all antiquity, in
fact, copies Brahminical society in its castes, its theories,
its religious opinion, and adopts its Brahmins, its priests,
its levites as they had already adopted the language,
legislation and philosophy of the ancient Vedic Society
whence their ancestors had departed through the world to
dessiminate the grand ideas of primitive revelation."
The primitive revelation of the Vedas could have been
vouchsafed to mankind on the sacred spot which first came
out of water, because after the vegetable Kingdom ‘came
HINDU SANGATHAN 59.
into existence could life become possible on this planet of
ours. The platean of Tibet was the first to come out of water
and therefore the revelation of the Vedas was imparted to
early humanity at that sacred soil. Mankind was then divided
into the good or virtuous and the bad or vicious. The first
were named ‘Aryas’ and the latter ‘Dasyus’ in the Veda itself.
This was the only distinction : no distinction of race could
then exist, because the entire humanity belonged to one
race.
60. HINDU SANGATHAN

THE VEDIC SOCIAL POLITY.

The Vedas laid down the principle of social organism
on the basis of natural laws. The Social organism was likened
unto the individual organism and the various natural
functions of individual organism were alloted to the four
parts of which society was constituted. The head, the two
arms, the thigh and the two feet were the emblems of the
four varanas (o.kkZ%) into which human society was divided.
Treating Society as one organism, the question is asked as
to the ways in which its organization is to be explained. The
11th verse of the 31st Chapter of the Yajur Veda puts the
question—
;Riq#"ka o`;n/kq% dfr/kk O;dYi;u~A
eq[ka fdeLoklhr fdaokgw fdeq :iknk mP;srsAA
"The question is asked in how many ways they
describe the might and the attributes of this Virata
(Personified humanity). What is the mouth, what are the
arms, what the thighs and what the feet of this Virata ‘
Purusha.’
The answer comes in the 12th verse—
czk„.kks∑L; eq[keklh}kgw jktU; d`r%A
m: rnL; ;}S';% in~H;ka 'kwÊks Hkk;rAA
The gist of the above ‘mantram’ is thus explained by Bishi
Dayananda......
"The Brahmana is said to be produced from the
mouth of the ‘ Purusha’ i.e., from the first and the foremost
qualities, such as knowledge and such acts as truthful speech
HINDU SANGATHAN 61.
and the vocation of teacher and preacher. He made
Kshatriyas and ordained them to possess the qualities of
strength and valour, etc. The qualities of agriculture and trade
and commerce are of the middlemost order. The Vaishya
or trader was produced from those qualities by God’s
command. The Shudra, whose differentiating attribute is the
service of and dependence on others, was produced from
qualities of the lowest order such as dullness of intellect,
etc.
This division of human Society into four component
parts was designated by the compound word o.kZ O;oLFkk
(‘Varna Vyavastha’). ‘Vyavastha’ means arrangement,
organization and ‘ Varna,’ according to Vedic canon of
interpretation, is explained in chapter II, subsection III of
Nirukta as follows :—
"The word o.kZ is derived from the root o` (vri) 'to choose, to
appoint' It therefore means 'one to be chosen,' 'worthy of
choice,' or that to which one is appointed or elected with
due regard to hie xq.k deZ (attributes and works)."
In Bhagavad Gita Bhagvan Krishna says—
tkrqo.kZ e;k l`"Vk xq.k deZ foHkkx'k% :- It is attributes and works,
quality and action, character and conduct which determined
the 'Varna' among the ancient Aryans. Mere birth had no
standing in determining the position a man was to hold in
society. What do the metaphorial verses of the Yajur-Veda
mean by comparing the social organism or body politic to
individual human organism ? The position of a Brahman in
the body politic is that of the head in the human organism.
What does the head stand for in the human organism ? All
the five organs of sense (of seeing, of hearing, of smell, of
taste, of touch) are located in the head, the principal part of
the body. All these organs of sense convey true knowledge
62. HINDU SANGATHAN
through the mind to the intellect which guides the whole
body. There is only one organ of action, namely speech, in
this part of the body. Moreover all food, in order to sustain
the body, passes through mouth and is ground down by teeth
before it becomes fit to be digested. But strange to say the
mouth sends the whole food to be digested for distribution
throughout the body and keeps nothing for itself. Hence,
keeping the metaphor in view, a Brahman may be defined as
one who is engaged, night and day, in the attainment of true
knowledge, imparts the knowledge thus gained, through
speech, to the whole body politic, gives leading ideas to
society without any remuneration; in fact leads the whole
human social organism. A Kshatriya may, likewise, be
defined as one who is engaged in the duty of protecting the
body politic from attacks of external enemies and internal
criminals and in administering the affairs of the state. The
Vaishya may be denned as one who is engaged in developing
the economic condition of society and ministrating to the
physical wants of the body politic. And a Shudra may be
defined as one whose duty it is to serve the other three
'Varnas.'
It is on this natural principle, inculcated by the Vedas,
that Manu (the first Jurist) and Bhagavan Krishna, in Gita,
have laid down the duties of tke four 'Varnas' according to
Guna Karma, qualifications and duties.

Who is a Brahmin ?
"Studying and teaching, performing 'Yagnya' and
assisting others in performing it, laying down rules for and
looking to the welfare of the world, giving alms and
receiving gifts—these six are the duties of Brahmans."
Manu, 1/ 28.
HINDU SANGATHAN 63.
"Serenity, self-restraint, austerity, purity, for
giveness and also uprightness, wisdom, knowledge, belief
in God. These characteristics and accomplishments must
be found in a person before he or she can be called a
Brahman."
—Gita, 18/42.

Who is a Kshatriya ?
"To protect people by the administration of perfect
justice without fear or favour, to spend in furthering the
cause of truth and justice and in advancing knowledge, to
perform Yajnyas, to study Vedas and to shun the allurements
of sexual gratification by perfect control of the senses are
the six fold duties of a Kshatriya."
Manu, 1/89.
"Prowess, splendour, firmness, dexterity, and also
not flying from battle, generosity, the nature of a ruler are
the attributes of a Kshatriya." —Gita, 18/43.

Who is a Vaishya ?
"To keep herds of cattle, breed, improve and multiply
them, to spend money in serving the Brahmans and the
Kshatriyas in the discharge of their several functions and
in maintaining the Shudras, to perform 'Yagnyas', to study
the Vedas and other Shastras, to lend money on interest and
to cultivate land; these are the qualifications and duties of a
Vaishya." —Manu, 1/90.

Who is a Shudra ?
A Shudra may be said to be one who is incapable of
acquiring knowledge, hence. "It behoves a 'Shudra' to earn
64. HINDU SANGATHAN
his living by faithfully serving all these 'Varnas' without
showing any disrespect, jealousy and conceit. This alone is
a 'Shudras' qualification and duty."
—Manu, 1/91.
To recapitulate—Whoever is a teacher of the young,
a preacher of Dharma and a legislator, in fact one who can
lead society aright and leads a life of purity and simplicity
himself, is a Brahman. By entrusting the affairs of the state
[to men who are Kshatriyas by nature, a country never
suffers through misrule or mismanagement. If the Vaishyas
of a state are men of faith and probity the economic
condition of society will never suffer. And then, those who
are devoid of knowledge will faithfully serve the rest of
the three Varnas. As long as this natural division of society
prevailed in Aryavarta, the Aryas colonized the farthest
corners of the world and gave their culture, civilization and
their laws to the whole world. This condition of affairs went
on for millions of years. Five thousand years ago Adharma
took the place of Dharma, the ancient organization of the
Aryas was cut asunder by mutual jealousies and pride of
the Kauravas and the Pandavas. It was prophetic vision to
which Krishna gave utterance when addressing Arjuna, the
great Yogi said :—"Man, musing on the objects of sense,
conceive attachment to these, from attachment arise desire,
from desire anger comes forth, from anger proceed
delusion confused memory, from confused memory
destruction of intellect and from destruction of intellect
he perishes."
As with individuals so with a nation—it is the desire
for gratification of sensual passions which leads to
destruction. In the plains of Kurukshetra the flower of
Indian chivalry was extirpated and Brahmanhood became
HINDU SANGATHAN 65.
uncontrolled and reduced the other Varnas to servility.
Instead of character and conduct determining the ‘Varna’ of
a man, birth began to be considered the only determining
factor. Gradually the rigidity of caste became the order of
the day and learned Brahmans became scarce. The system
of Brahmacharya gradually died away because the Brahmans
had no fear that their children would be degraded to the
Shudra class if they were not properly educated. And when
caste system became rigid no incentive remained for the
lower classes to exert for qualifying themseves for a higher
status. The pure Faith of the Vedas degenerated into blind
faith and superstition, the adoration of the one without a
second, the Father-Mother spirit of the Vedas, was usurped
by a thousand and one fetish worships and the Brahman made
himself the sole repository of spiritual knowledge. In
nothern India, although caste system became rigid and was
based on heredity, still the division of castes into four was
recognized, but in the south, the entity of the Kshatriya and
the Vaislya was blotted out and the whole community was
divided into brahman and non-brahman.
Then sub-castes grew up like mushrooms. Idol
worship and man worship had already given birth to 999
religious sects and as if this was not enough to disorganize
the Hindu Samaj the principal castes were further sub-
divided into 99,999 sub-castes, But disintegration, once
begun downwards, is difficult to step in the way. The
subcastes too became exclusive. Every sect and every
subcase began to look down upon the other, and these who
were politically downtrodden became abomination in the
eyes of the so called higher castes. Thus arose
Untouchability in the North to which unapproachability and
66. HINDU SANGATHAN
unseeability were added in the extreme South of India.

The so called Panchamas.

Although neither the Veda nor the Shastras, up till
the Mahabharat period, recognized a fifth 'Varna' the
Untouchables and the Unapproachables began to be called
Panchamas—Says the Mahabharata—
Le`rk'p o.kkZ pRokjks i'peks ukfHk xE;rsA
Thus was inaugurated as social and economic tyran
ny unparalleled in the history of the world. About one third
of the whole Hindu population is now treated as Panchma
and this number does not include those who are called
Shudras in North India. In South all those who are not
Brahmans are called non-brahman and are not considered
entitled to Hindu religious rites. Even the Maharaja of
Kolhapur,* a lineal descendant of the Great Shivaji, is not
considered entitled to Vedic 'Sanskaras' by the illiterate
Brahman of the present age. Out of a population of 24
crores (In 1921) of Hindus (as I shall show further on) only
1,42,54,991 are Brahmans and of the rest, barring three
crores ( and a half, who might be reckoned among the higher
castes, all are treated by the Brahman as 'Shudras'. And Manu
__________________________________________________
* Maharaja of Kohlapur once acked his purohit because he
denied chanting the Mantras of Vedas before of him. His paid
Brahmin purohit said as Maharaja is not Brahmin by birth
order, he could not recite Vedic mantras. Maharaja disquali-
fied his purohit from services and appointed non-Brahmin
Purohit to recite Vedic Mantras. Maharaja granted scholar-
ship to Dalit Students to become learned scholar. Dr. Ambedkar
was one of recipient of such Scholarship. Maharaja Kohlapur
was very much inspired by the Dalit Reformationd work of
Swami Dayanand and Aryasamaj. -Editor.
HINDU SANGATHAN 67.
says that a country obssessed by a majority of Shudras is
bound to go to perdition.
The socalled Panchamas have now been the prey of
the christian missionary for the last 50 years. It is from
their ranks that recruits have been coming to the christian
fold. Out of 50 lakhs of christians existing in India at the
present moment, almost 47 lakhs have come out of the
Panchama fold.
68. HINDU SANGATHAN

THE NUMBER OF THE

SOCALLED
UNTOUCHABLES.
According to the Census of 1921 A. D., five crores
twenty six lakhs and eighty thousands of untouchables were
enumerated in British India (excluding Burmah) and some
of the principal Indian states (c. e. Baroda, Gwalior, Mysore
and Travancore). The Census of India, Part I. on page 225
and 226 gives an exact idea of the correctness or othervise
of these figures. It says: —"The statement gives, however a
rough estimate of the ‘minimum’ numbers which may be
considered to form the "Depressed classes" of the Hindu
community. The total of these provincical figures adds up
to about 53 millions. This, however, must be taken as a low
and conservative estimate since it does not include (1) the
full strength of the castes and tribes concerned and (2) the
tribal aboriginees more recently absorbed in Hinduism,
many of whom are considered impure. We may confidently
place the number of these depressed classes, all of whom
are considered impure, at some thing between 55 and 60
millions in India proper." To these may be added those hill
and forest tribes which have been enumerated as animists,
in spite of their calling themselves Hindus. As regards their
number the Census report of India says:—"It is not possible
to give accurate number of the tribal aboriginees, but the
total number of those tribes who are still, or who have till
recently, been considered inhabitants of the hills and
jungles, including such tribes as the Gonds, Santals and
HINDU SANGATHAN 69.
Oraons may be roughly put at something over 16 millions
of persons". Taking the mean of declared untouchables as
—~— = 571/2 Vs millions and adding to this number 16
55+60
millions as the approximate number of hill and forest tribes,
2
the number of those who are the suppressed classes amongst
the Hindus comes up to something over 731/2 millions.
Hence they may be taken, roughly, to number seven and a
half crores out of 23 crores 67 lakhs 54 thousands five
hundreds and 84 of Hindus ; which means that almost one
third of the Hindu population is cut off from the main body
on account of the inhuman treatment meted out to them at
the instigation of about 4 millions of the priestly class who
are at the present moment designated as orthodox Brahmans
; I say 40 lakhs out of a crore and 42 lakhs because the rest
of the Brahmans are as keen about the complete removal
of untouchability as any so called heterodox Hindu. I ask—
will fifteen crores of non-brahmans strengthened by the
moral support of about a crore of educated and enlightened
Brahmans allow seven and a half crore of their co-
religionists to be absorbed by beef-eating religious
denominations ?

Untouchability a bar to all round progress.

The curse of untouchability among the Hindus is a
blot upon their reputation and the whole Indian nation is
suffering for their sin. Whenever a plea is put forward by
our political leaders for Swarajya their mouth is shut by
flaunting before them their own sin. Those who enslave and
trample under their feet almost one third of their own kith
and kin, have no right to complain of the tyranny of the
foreigner.
70. HINDU SANGATHAN

WHO ARE THESE UNTOUCHALES ?

The question arises—who are these untouchables ?
Did they enter India from Zululand or were they pushed out
of the burning fire of hell ? —for from heaven they could
not have been dropped, as their condition shows. If a little
patient and unprejudiced enquiry is made every seet of the
untouchables—even Bhangis and Dheds—could be proved
to belong to some Gotra (xks=) adopted by the three so-
called higher castes of the Hindus. It is plain, then, that they
come from the same stock from which sprang the Brahman,
the Kshatriya and the Vaishya. They were socially degraded,
most probably, on account of their moral degradation and
if they reform their living and morality nothing should stand
in the way of their regaining their former position. This is a
plain truth which was ignored for centuries by the Hindu
Community. Mahaprabhu Chaitanya, Kabir, Nanak, Dadu,
Guru Govind and a few others raised their voice against
this sin of the Hindus but all their exhortations fell on deaf
ears. Then came a Bal-brahmachary who with clarion call
roused the Hindus to a sense of their duty and shook the
whole Arya world to its very bones. This reformer was

THE GREAT DAYANAND SARASWATI

who proclaimed the Equality of all mankind and
preached the fourfold distribution of humanity according
to their qualities and actions (xq.k dekZul
q kj o.kZ O;oLFkk) . When
the great Achharya came in the field of action a stream of
Hinduism was flowing towards Christianity. "With a
stentorian spiritual voice he called a halt and the rushing
HINDU SANGATHAN 71.
stream came to a dead stop. He reclaimed the first stray
sheep in the form of Munshi Mahommad Umar of Dehra
Dun and named him Alakhdhari and after that hundereds of
Hindus who had been enticed away from the shelter of the
Catholic Vedic indestructible tree (lkoZtfud oSfnd vK; o`{k)
were brought back to the Aryan-fold.
The conversion of these, miscalled, high-caste
Hindus to the alien religions became a thing of the past and
when the great Rishi Dayanand entered Brahma-Dham the
society of Aryans ( Aryasamaj ) took upon itself the work
of the Acharya. It was then that the Christiah Missionary
thought of

CONVERTING THE UNTOUCHABLES,

the classes suppressed by the bigotry of Hindus, to

the religion of Paul. It was a simple affair. Once Ramcharan
Chamar had his choti ( pksVh ) cut. two cross lines traced
with water on his forehead, began to eat beef, and was named
Peter, Jonathan or Paul, he became entitled to sit on the
same carpet, to draw water from the same well with high
caste Hindus and even to shake hands with Brahmans. The
Chamar, the Dhed, the Dom, the Pasi and a host of others
were baptized in their thousands. It was then that the Arya
Samajists turned their attention to this problem and the Arya
Samaj began to
72. HINDU SANGATHAN

RECLAIM THE STRAYED SHEEP

AND TO
PURIFY THE DEPRESSED CLASSES

who were ready to go out of their religious fold

which, when pure, had given consolation to their souls for
centuries. The uplift of the so-called Untouchables appeared
to be an impossible feat on account of the bitter opposition
of Hindu orthodoxy to the movement. But the Arya Samaj
put its hands to the plough and and the ground was gradually
prepared for sowing the seeds of reform. The first mass
purification began with the

SHUDDHI OF RAHTIAS.

a sect of Sikhism who were not allowed to sit on the

same carpet even by the Khalsas, the religious founder of
whose sect, the great Guru Grovind Singh had himself
baptized them with the Amrit of the Sword. In the middle of
1896 A. D. they applied for their Shuddhi and within the
next few months a thousand and more were taken in the
Arya Samaj as brethren, entitled to full social and religious
rights. At first there were great persecutions in which the
Arya Samajists had to suffer social ostracism even, but by
the end of 1898 A. D. all opposition died out and the Rahtias,
consisting of some thousands, were all absorbed in the
Hindu society.
In 1903 the Arya Samaj at Sialkot (Punjab) took
up the question of the
HINDU SANGATHAN 73.

UPLIFT OF MEGHS
who were considered to be untouchables. There, too,
opposition was at first very strong, even Muhammadans
joining the Hindus in their work of persecuting the new
Arya Makashayas; but when more than half a lakh had been
raised to an equality with other Aryas the opposition died
its natural death. And then the Odes in the Muzaffarnagar
and Multan districts, the Domnas in the Punjab hilly tracts
and others were purified in their thousands. At present a
great movement for the uplift of the Meghs in the Kashmere
state is working its way in Jammu and other places and more
than 40 thousands have entered the Aryan fold and the rest
are coming round in their thousands. So Punjab has been
leading the way and the late census (of 1921) shows that in
the U. P. of Agra and Oudh the Christian Missionary has
began to complain of the obstacles put in his way by
the Arya Samajists in his work of conversion.
In and around Delhi the Arya Samaj has reconverted
hundreds of so called untouchables who were Christians in
name only, and thousands of Dhanaks, Chamars, Rengars
and even Bhangis have been made safe from the inroads of
Pauline Christianity for the future. The Christian Missionary
had almost given up the work of conversion in despair when
they received help frem a very unexpected quarter.
The Muhammadans had left off being very keen about
mass conversion of Hindus and their work was proceeding
imperceptibly by doles. It appears from Census reports that
since 1911 the number of Muslim Bhangis have decreased
and that of Hindu Bhangis has proportionately increased in
74. HINDU SANGATHAN
the Punjab and some other places. As regards the United
Provinces, in 1911, the Census Superintendent says on page
54— "Conversions to Islam are so infrequent here as to be
negligible.” But during the heydey of the Non-Cooperation
movement, when Mahatma Gandhi laid down that one of
the conditions for obtaining Swarajya was the uplift and
absorption by the Hindus of the so-called Untouchable
class, the Muslim leaders saw their chance and nursed an
idea of converting the Hindu untouchables to Islam.
For me the question of uprooting the curse of
unrehability was the ‘sine qua non’ of Nationality in India.
Speaking on 27th December 1919 at Amritsar as Chairman
of the Reception Committee of the 34th session of the
Indian National Congress, I laid stress on National
education and removal of Untouchability as the two-fold
means of evolving nationality out of chaos. As regards the
latter my address read as follows :—
"The nation lacks one thing. What is that ? General
Booth-Tucker of the Salvation Army stated before the
Reform Scheme Committee that the six and a half crores
of untouchables in India should be given special concessions
because they were the anchorsheets of the British
Government. I would ask you to reflect and find out how
six and a half crores of untouchables could be the
anchorsheets of Government. I would also request you to
take a vow, while you are within this sacred Pandal, to so be
have towards these so-called untouchables that their
children may read in schools and colleges which your
children attend, that they be allowed to mix with your
families as your families do amongst themselves and that
they may be allowed to put their shoulders along with your
own to the wheel of political activity and advancement.
HINDU SANGATHAN 75.
Ladies and Gentlemen ! Do pray with me that this dream of
mine may be realized -"
After the Amritsar session of the Congress was over
I again took charge of my work at the Gurukula, but when a
Special Session of the Congress was called at Calcutta I
joined simply for the reason that I had sent a resolution to
the Reception Committee asking the Great National
Assembly to make the uplift of the so-called untouchables
a plank in the Congress programme. But unfortunately that
resolution was not allowed to be discussed even in the
Subjects Committee.
Before the Nagpur Congress met Mahatma Gandhi
had been to Madras where the depressed classes heckled
him with questions about their position and Mahatmaji was
obliged to make it one of the conditions of obtaining Swaraj
within 12 months that the curse of untouchability be
removed.
It was on the 15th August, 1921 that after placing
the management of the Gurukula in other hands, I reached
Delhi and found that the question of the depressed classes
was becoming acute. I then organised the Dalitoddhar Sabha
at Delhi and wired to Mahatma Gandhi for monetary help
from the Working Committee. But I found later that the
Congress could do nothing and on the 9th September 1921,
I wrote a letter to Mahatmaji in Hindi from which I cull the
following :—
"I wired from Lahore that I would apply for financial
aid through the Provincial Congress Committee but on
reaching Delhi, I found that the uplift of the depressed
classes through the Congress was impossible. The Delhi
and Agra Chamars simply demanded that they be allowed to
draw water from the wells used by both Hindus and
76. HINDU SANGATHAN
Mohemedans and that water be not served to them through
leaves. Even that appears impossibles for the Congress
Committee to accomplish. Not only this but a Mussalman
Congressman whom I asked for assistance replied that even
if Hindus allowed the untouchables to draw water out of
common wells, they (the Mussalmans) would forcibly
exclude them from those wells because the chamars ate
dead carcase (murdar). I know that thousands of these
chamars do not touch wine or meat and those who were
addicted to the eating of murdar are relinquishing the dirty
habit as a result of the Arya Samaj preachings. I have written
this letter to inform you that I cannot apply, now, to the
Working Committee for financial aid. I shall do whatever I
can according to my limited means."
An occasion arrived again when I moved the A.I.C.C.
at Lucknow to take up the question of the removal of
untouchability in right earnest, but nothing came out of it
as the correspondence which I published sometime ago
under the heading of "My parting advice “ would show.*

THIRD CAUSE.
Child Marriage and degradation of Women.
O! All Pervading Brahma! May Spiritualized
Brahmans take birth in our State, may bold champions of
truth and chastizers of enemies of Dharma, Kshatryas, may
milch cows and strong bulls, fleet horses and cultured ladies
___________________________________________________
* Swami Shraddhananda resigned from congress on the ques-
tion of untouchability. Congress was doing mere lip-service
and did not issued monitory and social support for removal of
untouchability For more information read book "Inside the
Congress" -Editor
HINDU SANGATHAN 77.
together with youthful sin-conquering members of State
be born in our midist. May heroes be born in the State of
our soveriegn. May clouds bring forth rain according to
our wants, may medicinal plants bring forth ripe fruits for
food and may our desired wealth be propitious to us and
may we be able to attain it."
The above prayer daily went forth from every hearth
and home, in Aryavarta, before the decline of its culture
began some six thousand years back. This prayer issued from
the heart of every Arya-male and female—to be spoken in
words and to be followed by action.
How can preachers of God’s truth (true Brahmans)
be procreated, how can Kshatriya protectors of society be
furnished with power to crush Adharma (evil), how can
yajnyas performed by leaders of society obtain seasonal
rains so that through the productions of grains, fruits and
vegetables, the people might get proper nourishment?
According to the Divine knowledge (Veda) and the Science
of life there can but be one reply to the above question; and
that reply in the words of our first law giver Manu, is :—
;=uk;ZLrq iwT;Urs jeUrs r= nsork%A
;=SrkLrq u iwT;Urs lokZLr=∑Qyk fÿ;kAA
"Where women are honoured there flourish devatas
(men imbued with truth and righteousness) but where they
are not honoured all action remains useless."
As long as woman had her proper place in society
as Devi and shared every right and duty with her husband,
so long old Aryavarta maintained its position as teacher of
the world. In the whole inhabited world the polity of the
Aryans was followed and this ancient land was rightly called
Aryavarta. In the words of our first law-giver.
78. HINDU SANGATHAN
,rn~ns'k izlwrL; ldk'kkn∑ez tUeukA
Lo;a Lo;a pfj=a f'k{ksju~ i`fFkO;ka loZ ekuok%AA
The inhabitants of the world came here to learn
culture, sitting at the feet of its Brahmans. During that age
none dared to lift lustful eye at Aryan ladies with impunity,
nor could vice go unpunished. But when through pride and
prevalance of licentiousness, demons like Dushasan arose
amongst ourselves and tried to attack the chastity of our
Draupadies, the great Battle (Mahabharat) not only
destroyed all purity and valour but put an end to true
Brahmanhood and the protecting Kshatra Dharma. Then
began the secret orgies of Vam Marg which unsettled
society, petty kings arose in different parts of the land who
fought each other through jealousy and the lust of conquest
and disorganization became the order of the day.
In summing up the conditions prevalent in India
during the reign of Harshavardhana, some 1300 years ago,
I said that “ early marriage was unknown and therefore
enforced widowhood did not apparently tell upon the peace
of the Hindu Society "But when the Muhammadan invaders
with an organization strong in the strength of religious faith
and with a virile manhood came and conquered the
disorganized Hindu hosts, and Hindu young women began
to become a prey to the lust of some of the conquerers the
custom of early marriage and the unnatural purdah were
introduced by the degenerate Hindus of Northern India as
refuge against the inroads of Muslim Ghazis in Hindu
homes. The early marriage of girls was followed by child
marriage and betrothal sometimes began to be contracted
while the parties to future marriage were still in their
mothers’ wombs.
The despotic tyrannical Mohammadan rule is a thing
HINDU SANGATHAN 79.
of the past, conditions for the removal of social evils, which
are eating into the vitals of the Hindu society, have been
favourable for the last 80 years, but custom-ridden Hinduism
is still stagnant and refuses to move, child marriage still
prevails, in the remotest corners of India, among Hindus.
According to the census of 1921, in the state of Mysore,
the following is a comparative table of child marriages
among Sanatanist Hindus, Muslims and Christians.
Married under 5 years of age.
Boys. Girls.
Hindu 75 128
Christian Nil 1
Muhammadan 2 2
Between the age of 5 and 10.
Boys. Girls.
Hindu 424 2851
Christian 1 5
Mohammadan 6 27
Now, out of a total population of about 55 lakhs about
31/2 lakhs are Muhammadans and a lakh are Christians and
other sects. If child marriage had been prevalent among
Muslims and Christians to the same extent as among Hindus
the total number of married boys and girls among them must
have come up to the 11th part of 3478 (which is the total of
Hindu marriages up to 10 years of age) i. e. some what like
316. But the total number of Christian and Muhammadan
boys and girls married up to the age of ten years comes up
to 44 only.
The result throughout India has been appalling, as
shown by the successive census reports. According to the
80. HINDU SANGATHAN
last census (1921 A. P.) the following is the table giving
exact enumeration of child widows among orthodox Hindus,
excluding Arya samajists, Brahmsamajists, Sikhs, Jains and
Buddhists:—
Age. Total No. of widows
0—1 ... 597
1—2 ... 494
2—3 ... 1,257
3—4 ... 2,837
4—5 ... 6,707
5-10 ... 95,037
10-15 ... 2,33,147
15-20 ... 3,96,172
__________________________
Total 7,36,248

It is an appalling figure! Out of these 71/4 lakhs of

child-widows, there are thousands who lead a life of strict
chastity, and it is perhaps due to their Tapsya that the Hindu
society still ekes out its existence. But an overwhelming
majority consists of those who are compelled to leave their
homes on account of the brutal tyranny and lustful attacks
of their female and male relatives, and to seek shelter under
Muhammadan roofs or to add to the numbers of the
daughters of shame. In this way, while reducing the numbers
of Hindus, they add to the numerical strength of
beefeating religious societies.
But this is not the whole evil that is wrought. When
a married female child does not become a widow, she
concieves early and brings forth weak children. And this
has made the Hindus a community of weaklings. This
condition of things is condemned by the Hindu Shastra of
HINDU SANGATHAN 81.
Ayurveda (The Science of life). Says Bhagavan Dhanwantri
in his great work Sushruta, Chapter X, Shlokas 47, 48:—
≈u "kksM'k o"kkZ;ke izkIr% i¥p foa'kfre~A
;|k/kŸks iqeku~ xHkZa dqf{kLFk% lfoi|rsAA
tkrksok u fpj¥thos Tthosºk nqcZysfUÊ;%A
rLeknR;Ur ckyh;ka xHkkZ/kkua u dk;sZrAA
"If a girl under sixteen conceives of a man under
twenty five years she very often miscarries but if she does
not miscarry and the child is born he does not live long, but
if he does live long he is nothing but a weakling; never
should, therefore, a man have sexual intercourse with a girl
of very tender age."
Mahamuni Dhanwantri calls, a girl under 16, of very
tender age. But the Hindu community daily sees girls under
13 or even 12 big with child and its conscience is not
shocked. The result is that while Muhammadans multiply
like any thing, the numbers of the Hindus are dwindling
periodically. Says the Census report of 1911:—
"The number of Muhammadans has risen during the
decade by 6.7 percent, as compared with only 6% in the
case of Hindus. There is a small but continuous accession
of converts from Hinduism and other religions, but the main
reason for the relatively more rapid growth of the followers
of the Prophet is that they are more prolific. This may
possibly be due partly to their more nourishing dietary, but
the main reason is that their social customs are more
favourable to a high birth-rate than those of the Hindus.
They have fewer marriage restrictions, early marriage is
uncommon and widows remarry more freely.
"The greater reproductive capacity of the Muham
madans is shown by the fact that the proportion of married
female to the total number of females aged 15-40 exceeds
82. HINDU SANGATHAN
the corresponding proportion for Hindus. The result is that
Muhammadans have 37 children aged 0-5 to every person
aged 15-40 while the Hindus have only 33. Since 1881 the
number of Muhammadans in the areas then enumerated has
risen by 26.4 per cent while the corresponding increase
for Hindus is only 15.1 per cent."
To sum up—the main reason for comparative
decrease in the number of Hindus is child marriage and
absence of widow remarriage. But more than this, one
reason of Hindu—Mohammadan riots and ill will between
the communities is the problem of the Hindu child widow.
HINDU SANGATHAN 83.

FOURTH CAUSE
The dislocation of
Ashram-dharma.
According to the teachings of the Sanatan Vedic
Dharma the average span of human life was considered to
be a hundred years. This was divided into four equal stages
of 25 years each. This ordinary span of life could be
prolonged to 300 and even up to 4 hundred years by right
living and special sadhans. The ordinary stages consisted
of (1) Brahmacharya or the period of student life. (2)
Grihastha or the life of a householder. (3) Vanaprastha or
the period of aseetic life devoted to the perfection of
character, the study of spiritual science and divine
contemplation. (4) Sanyas or the period of renunciation
devoted to the preaching of Truth and righteousness all over
the world by abandoning all worldly connections.
It will, thus, be seen that the whole fabric of the
Ashram Dharma hinged on one pivot i. e. the Bramacharya.
Until all the functions of the human organism were properly
and rightly trained and a harmonious developement of the
physical body, the organs of action, the organs of sense,
the mind, the intellect, the memory and the ego was
accomplished, the three later stages of human life could
not work in unison with the laws of nature.
There were separate Brahmacharya Ashramas in
ancient India for boys and girls in which full training of
body and mind was given. The remains of Nalanda and
84. HINDU SANGATHAN
Taksha-Shila still bear testimony to the grand work of
training the young which was being done even during the
Buddhistic period, in India. These seminaries were called
Gurukulas because the Achharya was in loco parentis to the
students. Time was when the word Gurukula was not under
stood even by the Hindu adults of the three socalled higher
castes and educated India looked askance at the efforts of
the promoters of the Gurukula system of education. But
that is now a thing of the past. Every Indian and progressive
foriegner knows what Brahmacharya stands for and,
therefore, it is needless to go into further details. Suffice
it to say that with the disappearance of the real essence of
Brahmcharya, the vitality of the Hindu Community vanished
and it became an easy prey to the aggrandisement of every
adventurer in the world.
The original marriageable age was fixed by Bhagavan
Dhanwantri at 25 for boys and 16 for girls. Says the great
Muni :—
i¥foa'ks ruks o"ksZ iqeku~ ukjhrq "kksM'ksA
leRok xrch;kSZ rkS tkuh;kRdq'kyksfHk"kd~AA
The minimum age of marriage is fixed at 25 years
for a male and 16 years for a female. But this is only one
out of the several essentials of Brahmacharya. Remaining
unmarried till a certain age will be useless if the passions
are not kept under control by physical and spiritual
exercises, by control of the senses through right study and
by the practice of plain living and high thinking. For the
accomplishment of this object the system of education now
prevalent requires a complete overhauling, This has, in fact,
begun through stray efforts amongst the Aryasamajists
and some of the orthodox Sanatandharmists and even Jains
have followed suit. But a united herculean effort is required
HINDU SANGATHAN 85.
in order to make the Hindu Community regain its ancient
physical and moral strength.
The Vedas enjoin that the married couple should only
cohabit for bringing forth healthy progeny. During the 25
years of married life they ought to procreate 10 children
only, a period of 2l/2 years being devoted to the nourishment
of each child from the date of conception, during which
period the couple should abstain from sexual intercourse.
But at the present moment the Hindu is also following in
the wake of the modern civilized world and legal prostitution
is undermining the physical and moral health of the nation.
Rishi Dayananda, the founder of the Aryaamaj culls
the following sound advice from Aryan Shastras for the
guidance of teachers and taught:—
"Teachers should instil sound teachings into the
minds of their pupils. . They should take care that they do
not neglect the education of classes other than Brahmans,
viz—Princes and Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and intelligent
Shudras. Because, if Brahmans alone were to acquire
knowledge, there could be no advance in Science, Religion
and Government, nor increase in wealth, for Brahmans,
whose sole duty is to acquire knowledge and dessiminate
it, depend for their living on Kshatriyas etc., to whom they
are law-givers. Brahmans would be relieved of all restraint
and fear of Kshatriyas, who, being uneducated, would be
quite incapable of judging the soundness or unsoundness.
of their teachings, They would thus gradually use their power
for their own selfish ends, drift into hypocrisy and do
whatever they liked ; and their example will be followed by
other classes. But when Kshatriyas and other classes are
also well educated, Brahmans will study still harder to keep
a head of the other classes and walk in the path of
86. HINDU SANGATHAN
righteousness. They could never then impart false teachings
and lead selfish, hypocritical lives. It follows, therefore,
that it is in their own interest, as well as in that of the
community at large, to try their best to teach the Veda and
other true Sciences and Philosophies to the Kshatriyas
etc..........When all the classes are well educated and
cultured, no one can set up any false, frandulent and
irreligious practices-"
Right sound education is impossible without strict
adherence to the laws of Brahmacharya, and true
organization ( Satya sangh) is impossible unless there is
community in aspirations, aims, worship and way of living.
The dissociation of Brahmacharya from the life of the nation
resulted in chaos, caste rigidness and discarding of Sanskrit
Classics and Aryan culture, and unless there is a revival of
the Gurukula system of education and Brahmacharya is
thereby resuscitated, it is credulity, pure and simple, to
believe that the downword race of the Hindu Samaj will be
checked.

Remedies proposed by Hindu reformers.

Kabir and Nanak in the north and the Maharashtra

and other saints in Southern India, from time to time, tried
to stem the tide of desintegration and to reform the
religious and social abuses which had crept in, but their
efforts were after all one-sided and spasmodic. Guru
Govind Singh in the Punjab and Chhatrapati Shivaji in
Maharashtra took up the sword and tried for the political
emancipation of India by freeing tho country from foreign
thraldom. But all the efforts they put forth for liberating
their enslaved country were nipped in the bud by the arrival
HINDU SANGATHAN 87.
of a third power which was embued not only with physical
power but also with wonderful knowledge of diplomacy and
strength of organization and patriotism.
It appeared for a time that the British had stepped
in to save India from chaos and disintegration by the
introduction of law and order, but time proved that pure
philanthropy could not be the trait of a conquering race. It
is needless, as well as impossible in this small brochure, to
go into all the effects of British domination over the social
and political condition of the Hindus. Suffice it to say that
the effects began to be felt by the people at large early in
the twentieth century of the Christian era and efforts at
organizing the Hindus began in 1909 A. D.

Birth and development of the idea of Sangathan.

The idea of organizing the Hindus for communal
purposes first arose in the Punjab. The Punjab
Muhammadans, being dissatisfied with Sir Syed Ahmad’s
policy of eschewing all politics, laid the foundation of a
Muslim league in order to organize their correligionists
politically. The Hindus followed suit and the Punjab Hindu
Sabha was the result. For full four years it remained confined
within the four walls of the Punjab, but in its fifth session
held at Ambala on 7th and 8th December 1913, the following
memorable resolution was passed:—
"This Conference is strongly of opinion that in order
to deliberate upon measures for safeguarding the interests
of the Hindu Community throughout India and elsewhere it
is highly desirable that a General Conference of the Hindus
of India be held at Hardwar on the occassion of the Kumbh
in 1915, and it requests the following gentlemen to make
88. HINDU SANGATHAN
necessary arrangements for the purpose." Although 26
Hindu leaders from all parts of the country were nominated
to the Committee and they were given the power to add to
their number, only five gentlemen attended when the first
preliminary meeting was held at Dehradun on 24th
September 1924—and three out of these five belonged to
DehraDoon itself. Office bearers were appointed and a
budget of Rs. 2000/- was passed. But according to the
Secretary’s report—” For one reason or another the
formation of the office and other measures contemplated
in the above proceedings remained in abeyance. In the
meanwhile the resolution of the Ambala Conference was
reaffirmed at the 6th session of the Punjab Hindu
Conference held at Ferozpur, at the close of the year 1914
at which the venerable Rai Saheb Lala Murlidhar .... of
Ambala presided."
It was after this that Lala Sukhbir Singh, who had
been appointed General Secretary of the Contemplated All-
India Hindu Sabha, was approached, who issued a circular
letter to the members of the Committee appointed at Ambala
as well as to several Hindu leaders of public opinion,
exhorting them to send in their suggestions and to attend
the Conference which was to be held during the Kumbh of
Samvat 1972 of the Vikram era. Then meetings were held
at Hardwar on 13th February 1915, at Lucknow on 17th
February and at Delhi on 27th February. At the latter place
the Hindu members of the Imperial Legislative Council were
also interviewed. “It was decided in this meeting that the
head office of the Sabha should be located at Delhi and
draft rules based on the rules of the former All India Hindu
Association be circulated among Hindu leaders who would
be invited to join the Preliminary Conference."
HINDU SANGATHAN 89.
Maharajah Munindra Chandra Nandi of Kasimbazar
was nominated President of the Conference and the
Commissioner of the Meerut Division was invited to bless
the movement. Naturally, the whole proceedings were tinged
and obssessed with official pressure. The President in
concluding his address said—"As Hindus we are loyal to
the King-Emperor and the government by virtue of our
religion and our prayers are rising day and night to the Most
High for the victory of British and of our Allies," and the
Commissioner harping on the same tune said— "I have been
deeply impressed with the loyal enthusiasm showed by the
vast audience assembled whenever any reference had been
made to the person of His Most Gracious Majesty the King-
Emperor or the British Government in the course of the
President’s address."
The show being over the subjects Committee met
from day to day, and passed the rules and defined the objects
of the Sabha. The Association was named “ The Sarvadeshik
(or All India) Hindu Sabha" and the objects were denned as
follows :—
a. To promote greater union and solidarity amongst
all sections of the Hindu Community and to unite
them more closely as parts of one organic whole.
b. To promote education among members of the
Hindu Community.
e. To ameliorate and improve the condition of all
classes of the Hindu community.
d. To protect and promote Hindu interests when
ever and wherever it may be necessary.
e. To promote good feelings between the Hindus
and other Communities in India and to act in a
friendly way with them, and in loyal Co-operattion
90. HINDU SANGATHAN
with the Government.
f. Generally to take steps for promoting religious,
moral, educational, social and political interests of
the community.
Note.—The Sabha shall not side or identify itself
or interfere with or oppose any particular sect or sects of
the Hindu Community.
I was asked to become a member of the Sabha myself
and to induce Mahatma Gandhi (who was then a guest of
the Gurukula with me) also to join them. But a man, who
had thrown up practice as a lawyer 18 years back and who
had been a practical non-co-operater with the educational
system of the British Indian Government for more than 20
years, could not naturally join the movement nor could he
induce others to do so.
The Sarvadeshik Hindu Sabha ushered itself into
existence with a nourish of trumpets. With the Maharajah
of Kasimbazar as President, with 13 Vice Presidents
including three Shankarachayas, with the Hon’ble Lala
Sukhbir Singh as General Secretary assisted by four
Secretaries and 50 Councillors hailing from all Provinces,
the Sarvadeshik Hindu Sabha appeared to be a body which
was expected to transform the Hindu Samaj in no time.
The Sabha went on holding Annual General and
Special Meetings, at internals, for the purpose of passing
resolutions on subjects of general Hindu interests, but as
to ameliorating and improving the condition of all classes
of the Hindu community it did practically nothing.
Deputations were led and memorials presented on behalf
the Sabha to the Lt. Governor, U. P., the Viceroy and the
Secretary of State for India in respect to the free flow of
Ganges water at Hardwar, the protection of cows and the
HINDU SANGATHAN 91.
communal interests of the Hindu Community in the coming
reforms with results incommensurate with the efforts that
were being made.
It appears from the resolutions passed at the 4th
session of the Sabha at Prayag Kumbh Mela that, among
other things, the Sabha was very keen on conciliating their
Muhammadan brethren. Resolution VIII on Hindu-Musiem
relations ran as follows :—” That this Conference being of
opinion that the causes of the riots, which took place
between Hindus and Muslims during the last year at Borne
places in Some, U. P. and Bengal, are chiefly:—
(a) Mutual want of respect for the deepseated and
long-cherished religious sentiments of the sister
communities ;
(b) Want of respect for the agreements made or
rules framed to regulate precessions, etc ;
(c) Insufficiency of precautions taken and arrange
ments made to prevent and control disturbances; it
(1) calls upon the Muslim and the Hindu leaders to impress
upon their respective communities the paramount necessity
of respecting the religious feelings of their neighbours and
of promoting a spirit of fellow-feeling and mutual regard
and to exhort them to respect agreements mutually entered
into, and (2) requests the authorities to work in full co-
operation with the representatives of both the communities
towards the prevention and suppression of all religious
riots.
This Conference further strongly condemns the
action of the rioters of some villages of Shahabad and Gaya
and requests the Government to appoint a mixed
Commission of Hindu and Muslim public leaders to enquire
into the real extent of the riots and to devise means to stop
92. HINDU SANGATHAN
the recurrence of such disturbances, and to restore
harmonious relations between the two communities. This
Conference offers its co-operation with the Government
and the leaders of the Muslim Community for this object.”
The year 1918 opened with a famine of edibles in
the Garhwal hills. In imitation of the Famine Relief Funds
opened by the two sections of the Aryasamaj and the Prayag
Seva Samiti the All India Hindu Sabha also opened a Famine
Fund and sent relief parties to Gangotri and other higher
regions of the Gangetic Valley. The Sabha saved about
Rs.1,000 out of this which became the only nucleus of a
permanent fund. Mr. Montagu and Lord Chelmsford were
thanked for trying to inaugurate reforms in the Indian
Councils, Mr. Patels’ Hindu Inter-caste Marriage Validating
bill was condemned, the Secretary invited opinions as
regards removal of untouchability and the gist of his enquiry
was that public opinion was growing in favor of the removal
of Untouchability in the case of those classes who do not
pursue and have left the scavenging and other dirty
professions and lastly advantage was taken of the Indian
National Congress gathering at Delhi where the fifth
Conference of the Sabha was held on 27th to 29th
December, 1918 under the presidentship of the honourable
Rajah Sir Rampal Singh K.C.I.E. Among other resolutions
one was passed condemning communal representation in
all cases but in case the principle was recognized "the
representation of the Hindus should be fixed in proportion
to their numerical Strength." Another prayed to the
Government for stopping cow-slaughter, a third asked the
Indian National Congress to hold an enquiry into the
Katarpur Bakra-id riots with the help of Hindus and
Musulmans and in others appeals wore made to the
HINDU SANGATHAN 93.
Government for restoration of Sanskirt manuscripts and old
Indian Instruments in German custody to the Hindus in
consideration of their war services and a strong protest
raised against the unsympathetic attitude of the Government
to wards the Ayurvedic system of medicine."
This was the last Annual Meeting of the All-India
Hindu Sabha which was run by those Hindus in whose
estimation every invader who snatched the Government of
a country from its people was God personfied. The beginning
of the year 1919 saw the agitation against the Rowlatt Bills
in consequenoe of which the Indian people were fired at in
Delhi, Lahore and Amritsar etc. and martial law played havoc
in the Punjab. This led to Hindu-Muslim Unity which, while
weakening communal religious feelings among Hindus,
made Muhammadan communal organizations strong by
laying the foundation of the Khilafat Committee. The All-
India Hindu Sabha had to hide its head and the energy thus
saved by the Hindus was spent in helping the Khilafat
movement with men and money. Hence, there were no annual
meetings of the sabha during the years 1919 and 1920.
On the contrary Hakim Ajmal Khan established a
society of Muhammadan divines and named it the; “Jamiat-
e-Ulema-i-Hind.” One of his own protegees was made
president who began to launch Fatevas (bills) against the
British Government at the back and call of his patron.
The non co-operation movement was launched in
August 1920 and by December 1920, at Nagpur, all the
dissenting extremist leaders were captured and, for the nonce,
non-co-operation won the day. It was under these
circumstances that the 6th All India Hindu Conference was
held at Hardwar in April 1921. The first business that the Sabha
took in hand was the amendment of the objects and rules of
94. HINDU SANGATHAN
the Sabha. To the name ot the Sabha the word 'Maha' was added
and the following changes were made :—
[1] Clause [e] was marked as clause [b] and instead
of the sentence "and in loyal co-operation with the
Government" the following words were added—," with a
view to evolve a United and self-governing Indian nation.
[2] To clause [c] the following sentence was added—
" including low castes."
[3] Clause [b] was eliminated, clause [d] was retained
as it stood and clause [b] was made to read as clause [e]
The speeches made by the General Secretary and
others could, very well, have been delivered from the
Congress platform and culminated in the following
resolution, that speaks for itself :—
[a] Resolved that—this Conference expresses its
strong Protest and resentment against the callous disregard
of the deep-seated and most cherished religious sentiments
of the Hindus displayed continuusly by the present
government in the matter of allowing slaughter of cows for
the military and export of beef, cows, and bullocks to other
countries, and is deliberately of opinion that the time has
come when Hindus should realize that the responsibility to
protect their Dharma in this matter lies with them and them
alone and they should be prepared to make all legitimate
and peaceful efforts and udergo all suffering and sacrifices
for the achievement of their objects,
[b] That strong propaganda work should be started at
once to get slaughter of cows in India and their export to
other countries stopped immediately and in case their deep
religious sentiments are not heeded to by the government
by the time, a special conferance of the All India Hindu
Mahasabha should be held on the next Janmashtami on the
HINDU SANGATHAN 95.
sacred day of the birth of Bhagavan Shri Krishna at the holy
place of Brindaban, where the Lord tended the cows, with a
view to decide upon the future line of action in this matter.
[c] That a propaganda committee consisting of the
following gentlemen with power to add to their number be
formed to carry on the above resolutions.
A strong propaganda committee of 29 distinguish
ed Hindus was appointed “ to carry out the above resolution."
They resolved to non-co-operate with the British
bureaucracy till cow slaughter was stopped and left the
settlement of the programme of non-co-operation for a
future extraordinary session which met at Delhi on the 6th
and 7th of November 1921.
In the special session at Delhi it was resolved [1] to
boycott the visit of the Prince of Wales, [2] to boycott
foreign cloth and to popularize the use of Swadeshi cloth
and [3] to appeal to all Hindus to give up the Military, Police,
and Civil services of the British Government.
The 2nd resolution requested the religious leaders,
learned Pandits and Sadhus, among the Hindus, to give a
unanimous religious mandate [ Vyavastha ] calling upon
Hindus to non-co-operate with the British Indian
Government for the protection of Gau-Mata.
The 3rd resolution appointed a sub-committee
consisting of more than 50 well known Hindu leaders which
was authorized to appoint office holders, to add to the
number of members whenever necessary and after taking
charge of the balance of income of the conference to spend
it in making the programme of nonviolent non-co-operation
successful.
In the Delhi session Hakim Ajmal Khan was
Chairman of the Reception Committee and it was he who
96. HINDU SANGATHAN
proposed the establishment of a "Jamiyat-e-Panditan" in
imitation of his "Jamiyat-e-Ulema." But, fortunately, we
failed where he had succeded and thus the Hindus were saved
from the catastrophe of being ruled by bigotted priests with
an iron rod. At last non-co-operation came to an end with
the far-famed Bardoli resolution and the Hindu Maha Sabha
Gorakashani, being an appendex of the Political
Conference, also vanished in consequence.
As long as the Khilafat question remained unsettled
the Hindu-Muslim unity endured, but when the sword of
Mustafa Kamal Pasha settled that intricate dispute, the
Muhammadan spirit of bigotry was reawakened and the
Muslim open Jihad in Malabar, Multan and other places
opened the eyes of the Hindus to their own unenviable
position. Pandit M. M. Malviya held a special Conference
of the Hindu Mahasabha at Gaya, during the congress
session, and laid the foundation of the present Hindu
Sangathan movement.

Final Efforts at Hindu Sangathan.

The first real Conference, consisting of some 1600
delegates from all parts of the country, was held at Benares
in August 1923. Its first important work was to amplify the
note to the objects of the Sabha. The Mahasabha was
pledged to neutrality as regards the different sects of the
Hindu Community. It now proclaimed the same policy of
non-interference with regard to the several political parties
and personal convictions of individuals. A number of
resolutions dealing with different remedies for different
needs of the Hindu community were passed which were
oftarwards amplified in subsequent meetings and Confe
rences. I, now, proceed to deal with those remedies.
HINDU SANGATHAN 97.

Improvements suggested in applied remedies.

In order to check the further downfall of the Hindu
community and to restore its ancient status in the world
the following remedies have been suggested and approved
by the Hindu Mahasabha.
The first evil, which is also very prominent, has been
the conversion of Hindus to other religions. After centuries
of morbid sleep the Hindus rose to a sense of self
consciousness in this respect, as was well described by me,
in March 1923.
In the last week of 1923 A. D., while the
anniversaries of the Indian National Congress, the Khilafat
and its accessories were being held with great ‘eclat’ in the
presence of thousands at Gaya, the All-India Kshatriya
Mahasabha met quietly at Agra and without any fuss passed
a resolution approving of the taking back of four and a half
lakh of Muslim Rajputs within their brotherhood. It was
not a new resolution. The Malkana Rajputs, in and near the
Agra district, had been keeping intact their faith in Hinusim
for centuries and efforts were being made to absorb them
into their Hindu brotherhood by enlightened Rajputs since
more than a quarter of a century. As early as 1905 A. D., a
few of them had been taken back after the performance of
some kind of 'Prayashchit ' [purification ceremony] and
within the next two years some stray efforts were made
but, without much success. Then, a number of Rajput
enthusiasts gave themselves the shape of the 'Rajput
Shuddhi Sabha' and began regular organised work, the result
being the so-called reconversion of 1132 souls from among
the Malkanas. A report of that Sabha was issued in Hindi at
the end of 1910. After that, it appears, the movement did
98. HINDU SANGATHAN
not prosper on account of the apathy and indifference of
the Hindu Rajputs. Such treatment, which was enough to
try the patience of a 'job' and to shake the faith of the
sturdiest Hindu, was not sufficient to drive the Malkanas
completely into the Muhammadan stronghold, and lakhs of
them resisted all the temptations and allurements put in their
way by the Muhammadan proselytisers as is evidenced by
the reports of the different Muslim Converting Agencies.
The Malkanas continued to press for their reclamation, the
Arya Samajists pleaded with their Hindu Rajput brethern to
remove all obstacles standing in the way but the mild Hindu
heart of the 'Biradaries' remained inexorable. The matter
was again discussed early in 1922, in some of the district
and provincial Conferences culminating in the well-known
modest resolution passed by the Kshatriya Mahasabha in
its sitting of 31st December 1922 under the guidance of
Sir Nahar Singh, K.C.I.E., the Rajadhiraj of Shahpura, in
Mewar.
But all these resolutions had an academic value only.
The Rajadhiraj went back to his capital city, the Rajput
members departed to their several homes after having
discharged their duty to their own satifaction, and the
resolution slept the sleep of the selfsufficient and the
slothful. Early in January 1923 a Hindu weekly gave the
simple news that four and a half lakhs of Muhammadan
Rajputs had applied for reconversion into Hinduism and that
the Mahasabha had granted their application. The Rajputs
had already gone to sleep and the Hindus in general neither
opened their eyes nor gave their ear to the cry of the
distressed Malkanas.
But the muhammadans were roused to action. The
first protest meeting, that I know of, was held in Patti village
HINDU SANGATHAN 99.
of the Lahore District. Deoband Moulvis made fiery speechs
and threatened to dash the Hindu. Muslim unity to pieces if
the Hindus dared to tamper with Malkana Rajputs’ adherence
to Islam. A report of the Patti meeting appeared in the
Muhammadan daily "Vakil" of Amritsar in its issue of 17th
January 1923. By the fourth week of that month some
dozens of Muslim preachers, belonging to different
proselytizing bodies were at work in the different Malkana
villages of Agra, Mathura and Bharatpur. By the beginning
of February more than 50 Maulvis were at work and they
had all organized themselves under a strong body of Ulemas.
It was then and then only that the Hindu community
was shaken to its bones and began to open its sleepy eyes.
Less than half-a dozen Rajput and other volunteers went
round to see the actual state of affairs and a conference of
the representatives of the different Hindu and Rajput sabhas
was called for 13th February 1923. To that Couference I
too was invited. About eighty representatives of all
denominations (Sanatan Dharmis, Aryas, Sikhs, Jains, etc.)
responded to the call ; about fifty or more joined as
members. It then appeard that it was not the Malkana Rajputs
alone, but the Mula Jats and Gujars and the so-called Neo-
Muslim Brahmans, Banyas etc. also who were fit for being
reclaimed.
The question of organization was discussed. It was
plain that the Muhammadans had a very strong organization
which was working with enthusiasm and zeal, and if we at
all cared for the religious safety of our Malkana, Mula and
other brethren, we ought also to organize ourselves. The
name of the new organization was proposed by myself. I
had not had the good fortune of meeting a single Malkana
or Neo-Muslim up to that date and did not know their exact
100. HINDU SANGATHAN
condition. I, therefore, concluded that some sort of
Prayashchit ceremoney would have to be performed. Hence
the name I proposed —i. e. the Bhartiya Hindu Shuddhi Sabha
was argeed to and a Managing Committee was constituted,
of which I was elected the President. It was with great
reluctance that I accepted the honour because my hands
were already full with other responsibilities. I had, however,
to bow to the decision of my brethren and subsequent
confidence of the Hindu community in my humble efforts
bound me so completely to the work that I had to postpone
my activities in other directions for some time to come.
I left Agra for Delhi the same evening with
instructions to draw up an appeal for money and men and
place it for approval before the first meeting of the
Managing Committee. The original idea was to send round
a private appeal and not to take the matter into the Press ;
but I learnt a few days later that the Jamiyat-i-Hidayat-ul
Islam had already appealed publicly for one lakh of rupees
which was endorsed by Maulana Kifayat Ullah, President
of the Jamiyat-Ul-Ulema, in its sitting of 9th February
1923, [vide daily ‘Khilafat’ an organ of the Central Khilafat
Committee issue No. 37 volume I page 4, Columns I and II]
and that hundreds of Maulvis and Muhammadan workers
were flocking to Agra and its sorroundings, and that the idea
was to convert the Malkanas into pucca Musalmans. I drafted
an appeal for men and money and went to Agra to place it
before the Managing Committee in its meeting which was
to take place in the evening of 20th February 1923.
Before the meeting commenced, some four or five
men a were introduced to me who were all dressed like
Hindus and saluted all present, with 'Ram Ram,' made their
Pranam [salutation] to the Sanayasi [ myself and sat down. I
HINDU SANGATHAN 101.
thought they were Hindu Rajputs and began to exhort them
to take their strayed Malkana brethren back into their
brotherhood. They and the other Hindu gentlemen present
appeared astonished and one of one of our Secretaries told
me that I was mistaken and 'that these were the Neo-Muslim
Malkana Rajputs who were to be purified." I was myself
astounded. On asking further they showed me the 'tuft of
hair' (choti) on their head, which was long grown like that
of other Hindus and every thing about their Hindu customs
and religious ceremonies was explained to me, and special
mention was made of their keen interest in protecting cows.
It appeared that these Malkanas, unlike their Hindu
'biradari,' abstained from all kinds of fish, flesh and fowl
and were strict vegetarians. I then exlaimed "It is not these
bretheren, who have maintained their Hindu faith through
fire and sword, who are to be purified, it is their Hindu
brethren who have to undergo purification ceremoney
(prayashchit) for their sin of neglecting their brethren for
centuries."
The newly introduced Malkanas then retired and the
meeting of the Managing Committee commenced, before
which I placed, after making necessary amendments, the
following draft appeal which was unanimously passed and
allowed to be sent the Press.
It ran as follows :—
"The great Aryan Nation is said, at the present
moment, to be a dying race not because its numbers are
dwindling but because it is completely disorganized.
Individually, man to man, second to none on earth in intellect
and physique, possessing a code of morality unapproachable
by any other race of humanity, the Hindu Nation is still
helpness on account of its manifold divisions and
102. HINDU SANGATHAN
selfishness.
"Lakhs upon lakhs of the best in the race had been
forced to profess Islam, and thousands had been enticed
away to Pauline Christianity, but the Hindus did not make
the least effort to stop the outlet or to reclaim their brethren.
A large number of the Neo muslim Brahmans, Vaishyas,
Rajputs, Jats, ect., have, for the past two centuries and more,
been casting yearning glances towards their Hindu brethren
and have kept their Hindu faith and prejudices intact in the
hope of their being taken back some day in the bosom of
their old brotherhoods. A mere chance opened the eyes of
the Hindu community. The Rajput Mahasabha announced
with a nourish of trumpets that four and a half lakh of
Muhammadan Rajputs were ready to became Hindus. After
having made this misleading announcement the Rajput
Mahasabha went to sleep. I call the announcement
misleading because an overwhelming majoritys of the
Malkana Rajputs had never become Musalmans in faith and
practice. Well, the Hindus went to sleep but the
Muhammadans, being a living race, were roused to action
and scores of their preachers are at work for whose
maintenance and propaganda work money is flowing like
water.
"This, after all, roused the Hindu community and
there is now a cry from all sides for absorbing our strayed
brethren in the bosom of the Vedic Church. A new Sabha
has been organized under the name of the “Bhartiya Hindu
Shuddhi Sabha,” with the object of reclaiming those who
are willing to come back to its fold. The Managing
Committee consists of gentlemen taken from all
denominations of Hindus."
The forgoing appeal began to appear in the daily
HINDU SANGATHAN 103.
papers from the 23rd of February and the first batch of
Malkanas reclaimed on the 25th idem belonged to 'Raibha'
a village 13 miles from Agra on the grand trunk road. In that
village I, for the first time, saw their truly Hindu homes and
was struck with the mode of living of these so-called
Muslim Rajputs. This, however, by the way.
The Malkanas were taken back to the Hindu fold by
their Hindu brethren in the presence of a thousand guests
from outside, who all partook of food prepared and
distributed by the new comers. On this occasion I again
emphasized the fact that it were the Hindus themselves who
were undergoing Prayashchit (purification) for keeping
outside their fold such heroic pure Souls for centuries past.
The same evening another village (Kuthali)was reclamined.
Village after village was reclaimed, till by the end of
December 1928, thousands of socalled Neo Muslims had
joined their several Hindu brotherhoods.
The Hindu Mahasabha put its final seal on the rork
of the Bhartiya Hindu Shuddhi Sabha by the following
resolution:—
"The Mahasabha declares it to be perfectly legiti
mate and proper to retake such Malkana Hindus into the
fold of Hinduism as had all along observed Hindu customs
and kept their marriage ties pure, whether they were Rajputs,
Brahmans, Vaisyas, Jats, Gujars or members of any other
castes. It expresses its satisfaction at the reclamation of
Malkanas already taken back into their Biradaries and hopes
that their Biradaries would gladly welcome these back to
their fold."
The work of reclamation was not confined to Agra
and its adjoining districts alone but was pushed on in several
other provinces of India. The nomenclature of those
104. HINDU SANGATHAN
reclaimed in different provinces was different but the
degree of their connection with their Hindu brotherhoods
was the same. Malkanas, Mul's, Mul’e Islams, Adhvaryas,
etc., whatever the designation of the Neo-Muslims their
manners and customs coincided with their Hindu
brotherhood. According to my estimate since the last week
of February 1923, when the first reclamation took place
not less than two lakhs have been taken back and there are
about one crore of Neo-Muslims who still remain outside
the pale of the Hindu Society. Then there are about 40 lakhs
of Neo Christians, nominal rekoned among the flock of
Christ, who are reae Hindus in their manners and religious
rites and are simply awaiting the day when Hindu orthodo
opens its doors wide for them to enter. There are Brahman
Christians in the South who put on the sacred thread, apply
tika on their foreheads, have their Choties as big as any
Iyer and Iyanger and never interdine with flesh-eating
members of the Church of Jesus. The only sign of their
being Christians is that they attend the Roman Catholic
Church service every Sunday. All such are still to be taken
back in their several brotherhoods.
The Hindu Sabha has also resolved that those non-
Hindus who have faith in Hindu & amskars and Hindu
Dharma should be taken within the fold of the Hindu Dharma.
This means that every non-hindu has a right to be absorbed
in Hinduism if he has faith in the Hindu religion and culture,
in short, it means that every Christian, Muhammadan, Jew
etc., can be converted to the Hindu Dharma without any
hinderance according to the dictum of the Hindu
Mahasabha. Thus moral sanction of the Hindu community
as a whole is with the reformers in this respect. But the
task is uphill. Without sufficient funds and enthusiastic
HINDU SANGATHAN 105.
workers the work is languishing. Therefore, the first remedy
is to make the Bhartiya Hindu Shuddhi Sabha a living body,
to collect lakhs of rupees for pushing on work in all
directions and to induce selfless men of pure intents to go
about persuading Hindus to take back to their bosom their
strayed brethren.
The second remedy is to revivify the ancient Ashram
Dharma and to place it on a sound basis. The Hindu Sabha
has laid down the minimum marriageable age at 18 years in
the case of males and of 12 years in the case of girls. This
reform by doles wont do. Let the minimum marriageable
age be fixed at 25 for males and 16 for females and let
Hindu society become strict in the enforcement of this
scientific role. Then no widower of the three higher Varnas
ought to be allowed to marry a virgin. If, after the death of
the first wife, the widower cannot lead a life of
Brahmacharya let him marry a widow. If he is compelled to
succumb to animal passions let him climb down to the
position of a Shudra. Then, polygamy in the North and
polyandry in the South should also be unequivocally
condemned. And in order to protect and educate Hindus
properly seperate Gurukulas for boys and girls ought to be
opened in all parts of the country.
But the Hindu Samaj has already sinned for more
then ten centuries by introducing child marriage for its
cowardly safety. Therefore—
The third remedy lies in allowing all the
unconsummated child widows, who have the desire, to
remarry. It is only Apaddhrama vkiºe- If a Hindu commits
a sin or neglects to act according to a virtuous dictum he
must expiate for it. Proper prayashchit alone can wash away
the fruits of a sin in the case of individuals as well as of
106. HINDU SANGATHAN
nations. The orthodox Hindu professes to believe in the
Vedas, the Smritis as well as the Puranas. The Vedas lay
down the Eternal Dharma which is true for all ages. The
Veda is the original source of Dharma.
osnks∑f[kyks /keZ ewyeAA
But the Smritis, which are not opposed to the
coachings of the Vedas, should also be followed. These
Smritis lay down the rules to be followed in times of
extreme distress or calamity and such rules constitute what
is called. vkiºeZ Apaddharma.
Apart from the Vedas, there is a concensus of
authority, in the Smrities, sanctioning the remarriage of
unconsummated child widows. The Smritis also hold that
if a virgin is forcibly carried away and violated she does
not lose the position of a virgin if she has not willingly
gone through marriage rites with her ravisher. Out of a
hundred or more Smritic texts the following few will suffice
to prove the position I have taken up :—
;k iR;kok ifjR;Drk fo/kok ok LosPN;k]
mRikn;sr iquHkwZR;] likSuoZHko mP;rsA
lkpsn{kr;ksfu_ L;kn~] xr izR;k xrksfi ok]
ikSuHkZosu Hk=kZ lk iqu% laLdkj efgZfrAA
(euq v/;k; 9] 'yksd 175] 176)
If a woman abandoned by her husband or a widow
having accepted another as a husband begets a child, it is
named Punurbhu. If that woman has not been consumated
by the first husband she can be legally married to a second
husband.
dU;Sok {kr ;ksfuokZ ;kf.k x`g.k nwf"krkA
iquHkZ% izFkek izksDrk iqu% laLdkj egZfrAA
(ukjn v- 12 'yksd 46)
A woman whose marriage rites alone are perform
HINDU SANGATHAN 107.
ed —whether she is a virgin or an unconsumated widow—
is called first Punurbhu and is fit to be legally married.
ikf.k xzgs e`rs ckyk dsoya ea= laLd`rkA
lkps n{kr ;ksfu% L;kr iqu% laLdkjegZfrAA
(of'k"V Le`fr v- 17)
If the husband of a married girl dies at the end of the
marriage Sanskar and she is unconsumated, she is entitled
to be married again.
cyk'Ppsr iz‚rk dU;k ea=S;Z fnu laLd`rkA
vU;LeS fof/kon~ns;k] ;Fkk dU;krFkSo lkA
ful`"Vk;ka gqrs okfi ;L;SHkrkZ fHkz;r l%A
lkpsn{kr rksfu% Lokn~xr izR;k xrkerhA
ikSuHkZosu fof/kuk iqu% laLdkj egZfrA
(ckS/kk;u /keZ'kkL=] v-1] 'yksd 15]16)
(i) If a girl has been forcibly carried away and her
marriage has not been lawfully performed she can be
married to another according to law because she is like a
virgin.
(ii) And one whose husband dies after marriage and
she is unconsumated,—even if she has been to her husband’s
home—is fit to be lawfully married a second time.
m}kfgrk p;k dU;k u laizkIrk p eSFkqueA
HkŸkfja iquj H;sfr ;Fkk dU;k rFkSo lkAA
leqn~ /k`R; rqyka dU;k lkps n{kr ;ksfudkA
dqy 'kky ors n|k fnfr 'kkrrkiks∑czohrAA
A girl who has been married but remains
unonconsummated can again be given to a second husband
because she is like a virgin.
That girl, if she is unconsummated, can be given in
marriage to a man of character belonging to a able family—
so says Shathpath.
The fourth remedy lies in the revival of Varna
108. HINDU SANGATHAN
Dharma of the Ancient Aryans. Down with the caste system!
That is the dictum of every true son of Mother India. The
present day unnatural, immovable division into a. hundred
castes and thousands of subcastes must go, if the Hindu
Community is to be rescued from total extinction.
In the first place all distinctions of sub-castes must
cease, and no non-caste sects among Hindus should be
recognized. I realize the difficulty in remodelling the Hindu
Samaj according to the ancient Varnadharma at once. But
there should be no difficulty in all the sub-castes, and even
non-castes consisting of the socalled untouchables, being
absorbed in the four principlal castes. The Brahman caste
must, be self-contained in the sense that no sub-division
into Panchgauras, Panchdravidas, Bhumihars, Tagas etc.
should be recognized. The Kshatriya caste should include
Rajputs, Khatries, jats, Gujars etc. and should be one
recognized society of protectors of the nation. All the
castes and sub-castes engaged in trade and agriculture
should be included in the Vaishya caste. And the rest should
constitute the Shudra caste and serve society. There should
be free marriage relations, to begin with, within the castes
and Anuloma marriages should not be interfered with. Then
gradually Pratilome marriages ought to be introduced. And
lastly ( xq.k deZ ) character and conduct should become the
determining factors in fixing the Varna of a Hindu.
But interdining among all the castes should be
commenced at once—not promiscuous eating out of the
same cup and dish like Muhammadans, but partaking of food
in separate cups and dishes, cooked and served by decent
Shudras. This alone can solve the problem of untouchability
and exclusiveness among the Hindus.
The Hindu Mahasabha has passed a lengthy
HINDU SANGATHAN 109.
resolution purporting to deal with the problem of
untouchability, but it has resulted in confounding confusion
worse. It all depends upon the local Hindus whether the so-
called untouchables are to be allowed to draw water from
common wells which are not prohibited to Muhammadans
and Christians. And then if a devout untouchable goes to
worship the image of his favourite deity in a Hindu temple
the priest has the option of allowing or not allowing him to
approach the place where Muhammadan prostitutes are
asked to dance accompanied by Muhammndan players on
music. As regards allowing admission to the children of
the so-called untouchables in public schools and colleges,
the less said the better. But the , climax is reached when,
after allowing all the above mentioned ambiguous
priveleges, the Hindu Mahasabha lays down the authoritative
dogma that “ initiating the untouchables with sacred thread,
teaching them the Vedas and to interdine with them is against
the Shastras and custom (yksde;kZnk ) according to Sanatan
Dharma."
To get rid of all this rigmarole and to root out the
curse of unseeability, unapproachability, untouchability and
exclusivenes, there is only one soveriegn remedy-and that
is the resuscitation of the Ancient Aryan 'Varnadharma'.

Basis for Hindu Sangathan.

The above fourfold remedies in my humble opinion,

constitute the basis of real Hindu Sangathan : the success
of all the minor resolutions passed by the Hindu Mahasabha
depend upon the right application of these remedies.
It is true that (xksj{kk ) protection of the cow is a
110. HINDU SANGATHAN
powerful factor not only in giving the Hindu community a
common plane for joint action but in contributing to the
physical development and strength of its several members.
But if the drain upon the depressed classes continues and
they go on leaving their ancestral religion on account of
the social tyrany of their co-religionists and the onrush of
Hindu widows towards prostitution and Muhammadaniam,
on account of the brutal treatment of their relations, is not
stopped by allowing them to remarry in their own
community, the number of beef-eaters will increase
andGauraksha will remain only a dream of unpractical
sentimentalists.
And what would the Hindu Raksha Sangham be able
to accomplish against the inroads of Non-Hindu Gundas, if
their own house is not in order? The best way to avoid
conflict with Muhammadans is to take care of your own
women and children.
The introduction of uniform Devanagari script and
Hindi lingua franca throughout is absolutely necessary,
because a common language brings all the individuals
speaking that language nearer one another in thought and
action, but unless caste and sectarian prejudices vanish there
is no likelihood of a common language and literature being
evolved.
The salvation of the community depends upon
common action taken by the Hindu Samaj as a whole, but
individual salvation is the lookout of individuals. Theoretical
Dharma is connected with individual salvation and,
therefore, there is room for theists, pantheists, henotheists
and iven atheists in the broad lap of the organized Hindu
Samaj. But the code of practical Dharma has to do with the
community as a whole and, therefore here the plea of
HINDU SANGATHAN 111.
individual Dharma should not bo allowed to prevail nor
should it hamper the efforts of the organized Hindu Samaj
towards national salvation.

The First Step.

The question naturally arises—What is the first step
to be taken in our advance towards Hindu Sangathan ? In my
tour throughout India I have seen educated Hindus reluctant
to mix with each other. It is only on rare occassions that
they meet to discuss common social problems. The reason
is that they have no common meeting place. Their sectarian
temples have not sufficient space where even a hundred or
two could sit together. In Delhi, besides the Jama and
Fatehpuri mosques which can accomodate big audiences
consisting of 25 to 30 thousands of Muhammadans, there
are several old mosques which can serve as meeting places
for thousands. But for Hindus, the only enclosed meeting
place is Lakshmi Narayana’s Dharmsala which can hardly
accomodate some 8 hundred, with this difference that while
the Muhammadan meeting are free from all noise, the
hubbub of voices from travellers in the Dharamshala hardly
allows the speakers to be distinctly heard.
The first step which I propose is to build one Hindu
Rashtra Mandir at least in every city and important town,
with a compound which could contain an audience of 25
thousands and a hall in which Katha from Bhagavad Gita,
the Upnishads and the great epics of Ramayana and
Mahabharat could be daily recited. The Rashtra Mandir will
be in charge of the local Hindu Sabha which will manage to
have Akharas for wrestling and gatka etc. plays in the same
compound. While the sectarian Hindu temples are
112. HINDU SANGATHAN
dominated by their own individual deities, the Catholic
Hindu Mandir should be devoted to the worship of the three
mother-spirits (ekr`'kfDr) the Gau-mata, the Saraswati-mata
and the Bhumi-mata. Let some living cows be there to
represent plenty, let 'Savitri' (xk;=h eU=e~) be inscribed over
the gate of the hall to remind every Hindu of his duty to
expel all ignorance and let a life-like map of Mother—
Bharat be constructed in a prominent place, giving all its
characterestics in vivid colours so that every child of the
Matri-Bhumi may daily bow before the Mother and renew
his pledge to restore her to the ancient pinnacle of glory
from which she has fallen !*
If a beginning, on lines proposed by me in all
humility and love, is made with faith, I hope that all the
necessary reforms will follow, as night is followed by the
day, and the progeny of the ancient Aryans will once more
step forward to give salvation to humanity.

'kfeR;kse~ !!!

____________________________________________________
* Birla Mandir or Laxmi Narayan Mandir on Mandir Marg in
Delhi is example of such Temple built by Seth Birla on the
advice of Swami Shraddhand. Similar Temples were build in
whole country especially in Hindu religious places by Birlas.