Hyderabad: All India Majlis-e-ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi on Friday, March 14, claimed that the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS) abused Chhatrapati Sambhaji.
“Savarkar and Golwalkar had abused Sambhaji. Then why does the Prime Minister say that the movie ‘Chhaava’ is good, when he considers Golwalkar as his teacher,” Owaisi further questioned the PM if he agrees with Golwalkar’s views.
The Hyderabad MP went on to say that the RSS is after the graves of the Mughals and the waqf properties. “When I raised the issue, the Opposition said that I was getting emotional. The Waqf Bill has been introduced to snatch mosques, shrines and graveyards,” he added.
The AIMIM supremo stated that the Waqf Amendment Bill 2024 aims to give rights over waqf properties to those who have encroached on it.
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Savarkar and Golwalkar’s thoughts on Sambhaji
In context of the Hyderabad MP’s comment, it is essential to understand what Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and MS Golwalkar said about Chhatrapati Sambhaji.
Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, self-named as ‘Veer’ Savarkar, is the ideological parent of Hindutva and one of the key leaders of the Hindu Mahasabha. His book Six Glorious Epochs of Indian History is one of his most provocative books, in which he criticized several historical personalities, including Chhatrapati Sambhaji.
Savarkar perceived Sambhaji as an unsuitable leader, blaming him for being temperamental, hard-drinking, and unable to rule the Maratha Empire appropriately. Although appreciating his gallantry, he felt that Sambhaji did not have the qualities that would enable the continuation of Maratha rule forged by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar, known as Guruji, was the second Sarsanghchalak (head) of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and a prominent ideologue of the Hindutva movement. His work Bunch of Thoughts is a core text of RSS ideology.
Golwalkar did not comment as directly on Sambhaji as Savarkar did, but in Bunch of Thoughts, he presented Khando Ballal as an inspiring example of loyalty, even after Sambhaji executed Khando Ballal’s father, one of Shivaji’s Ashta Pradhans (council ministers). His portrayal indirectly reflects a critical stance on Sambhaji’s leadership while focusing on the idea of Hindu unity and resilience.
