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“Sangathan”, and “Sanskriti” were almost unknown in Sindh. Some at first even<br />
spelt “Sangh” as “Sung”. But by 1942, RSS had spread to every nook and corner<br />
of the province.<br />
Dr. Hedgewar, founder of RSS, had laid down a target of three per cent of adult<br />
male population to be recruited to RSS in the urban centres --- the target for rural<br />
areas being one per cent. And Sindh had the unique distinction of achieving this<br />
target.<br />
Shri Guruji’s annual (1943--1947) visits to Sindh were major events in the public<br />
life of the province. Every time he visited both, Hyderabad and Karachi. He also<br />
visited Sukkur, Shikarpur and Mirpur Khas once each. During these visits he met<br />
leaders in different fields --- including Sadhu Vaswani and Ranganathananda,<br />
religious leaders; Dr. Choithram, Prof. Ghanshyam and Prof. Malkani, Congress<br />
leaders; Lalji Mehrotra, Shivrattan Mohatta, Bhai Pratap, public-spirited<br />
businessmen; Nihchaldas Vazirani, Dr. Hemandas Wadhvani and Mukhi<br />
Gobindram, ministers; and of course leading lawyers and educationists.<br />
During his first visit, when the train was crossing the Indus at Kotri Bridge, Shri<br />
Guruji pointed out to his private secretary, Dr. Aba Thatte, in Marathi: “Aba,<br />
Paha Sindhu”! (Aba, see the Sindhu!) Here were simple words, but they were<br />
suffused with a divine emotion, as for a long-lost mother.<br />
Shri Gurmukh Singh was a Sikh Swayamsevak of Jacobabad. He used to wear a<br />
very big turban. In a question-answer session in Shikarpur, 1945, Gurmukh<br />
Singh said: “Guruji, you are carrying a very heavy burden on your head.” Pat<br />
came Shri Guruji’s happy response: “You are carrying an even heavier burden on<br />
your head.” Gurmukh Singh and all others burst in- to laughter.<br />
Shri Guruji’s last visit to Karachi took place just nine days before Partition, that is<br />
on August 5. In a meeting with leading citizens, Shri K. Punniah, editor, ‘Sind<br />
Observer,’ said: “Where is the harm if we gladly accept Partition? What is the<br />
harm, if a diseased limb is cut off? The man still lives!” Quick came the retort:<br />
“Where is the harm, if the nose is cut off? The man still lives!”<br />
On one occasion when we went to see Shri Guruji off at the Hyderabad railway<br />
station we found a Sindh Muslim minister in the same compartment. The two<br />
were introduced to each other. Said the minister: “Sher, sher ko hi milna chahta<br />
hai” (“The lion likes to keep the company of only lions”). Thereupon Guruji<br />
laughed and said: “I am not a lion!”<br />
RSS overcame all the earlier distinctions between the Amils and the Bhaibunds,<br />
the Hyderabadis and the non-Hyderabadis, the urbanites, the suburbanites and<br />
The Sindh Story; Copyright © www.panhwar.com<br />
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