Who Is Bluffing : RSS Or The Govt.?

A most closely guarded secret of the Govt. of India has come to light, surprisingly through a fantastic feat of investigative journalism resorted to by the RSS official mouth piece, Organiser. And the subject matter of this scoop of the decade is the one dearest to the RSS heart, namely the “mass conversion” of Untouchables to Islam in Tamil Nadu which has been hitting headlines in the “national press” for one year now. The Organiser (Jan. 10, 1982) front–paged this sensational story under a banner headline, “Official Document Reveals Saudi Hand in Mass Conversions.” Since the Organiser revelation of a hitherto unpublished secret document of the Govt. of India is of utmost importance to dalits, persecuted minorities & our friends in India and abroad, we thought it necessary to re produce the entire text (see page 6) to help readers draw their own conclusion and act upon it. However, we would like to make it clear that we don’t want to doubt the genuineness of the Organiser report. Until it is contradicted or corrected by the Govt. of India & the Organiser itself made to publish the same, we will have to take it as correct And till the time of writing this the Organiser disclosure of this “secret document” of the Union Home Ministry stands unchallenged. The Organiser writeup says that it is based on a “confidential “report” submitted to the Govt. of India by its special cell on “conversions of Harijans in India”‘. And please note that the entire text is a direct quotation from this “confidential report” which gives the shocking news that the Govt, of India has discovered an international plot to destroy India and the countries involved are the USA, Saudi Arabia and some other Muslim countries. We quote from the “report” : It is an international conspiracy against India. USA has warned Saudi Arabia and other Muslim countries that a strong and united India will be a greater danger to them than Israel. Therefore they should try to disintegrate India and convert the Harijans and other castes of Hindus to Islam to make India a Muslim majority country. Saudi Arabia has been particularly asked to work in this direction **. The Govt. of India report as quoted by the Organiser then names certain international Muslim organisations for having financed the conversions. And three of them (which actually procured funds from foreign agencies are based in India) are described as “Muslim communal parties interested in conversions”. Of these Jamat–e–Islami is described as the “most fanatic” and a very secretive organisation & interested in subversive & communal activities. Indeed grave charges! The confidential report raises several issues, How could such an important classified information leak out only in one journal ? That too the official organ of the RSS ? Why no other daily paper, which has ever so many correspondents specialising in unearthing govt. secrets, have not been able to get this resport ? If they had failed to get this startling scoop, why did they not at least reproduce or quote this report in their columns ? Why there is not even an editorial comment or discussion in any “national” daily on this disclosure of Arabs financing conversions of Untouchables to Islam– a subject on which this very “national press” must have by now printed millions of words ? What action has been taken against Home Ministry officials & the police who were responsible for leaking this report ? Should not the govt, come forward with an explanation ? Why no leader, not even RSS leaders, issued any statement based on the Organiser disclosure, demanding action on the countries and organisations trying to ‘destroy’ India ? Why the Organiser having leaked out the official document did not publish any follow–up story in its subsequent issues demanding action against these forces ? Why there has been a total silence on the part of everybody including the Govt of India & also the RSS on so serious a “plot” discovered to “destroy”” India ? What is this mystery ? If the Govt. of India chooses to keep mum, Organiser at least should have come out with a follow–up story as it has ‘a duty towards its vast readers. After all Organiser is the official organ of a powerful national organisation that commands such great influence. Is it not cowardly, that it is also keeping quiet after disclosing an earth– shaking “plot” ? All these doubts come to us and we seek an honest answer if honesty has any value to us. Many serious issues have been raised and grave allegatiops have made against responsible Muslim organisations. Particularly the Jama– at–e–Islami with which the RSS & its chief Balasaheb Deoras had flirted during the Emergency & later praised it in public while sharing common platform. Which one is true ? What he then spoke or what the Organiser speaks now ? There is yet another but much graver issue : the very credibility of the Govt. of India– if there is anything like that is at stake. Did not the then Union Minister of State for Home Makwana state in Parliament that the “Home Ministry has not made any formal inquiry in the matter. Therefore the question of preparing a report or correcting the news item does not arise”. Having once stated this right on the floor of Parli– ament, that the Govt. had not conducted any investigation into the conversion, how could the Organiser claim now that it has published the report of the investigation in– to the conversions ? Surprisingly the govt. has not so far reacted to the leakage of its report through the Organiser. Silence amounts to consent. Are we then to take that the govt. uttered a lie in Parliament ? And this amounts to a serious breach of Parliamentary privilege. Can the Govt. keep the Parliament in darkness on such an important report about the causes of conversions over which the entire country was made to tremble ? Did not the speakers at the RSS sponsored Virat Hindu Sammelan in Delhi say that the mass conversion to Islam was the second greatest disaster that India faced after the partition ? If that is the significance of the event (“Earthquake at Meenakshi Puram,” as we described it), how could the authorities choose to keep quiet when its causes are now discovered and culprits named ? Surprisingly, the report directly contradicts the statement made by Makwana in Parliament & the speech that he made outside as Minister and the report submitted by the director of SC/STs of the Union Govt. Arumugham, IAS. The Hindu, Indian Express & many other “national dailies” and mass circulated journals like the Sunday, India Today had also conducted their own investigation and found no evidance of foreign money. Many dalit leaders had also visited Meenakshipuram and interviewed the converts who had unanimously said that there was no money but social reasons were the cause of their becoming Muslims, Can we conclude from this that the Govt. of India report alleging Arab money was prepared after Makwana made his statement in Parliament on Dec. 9 ? If such a report had been there even when Makwana made the statement in Parliament, why did he mislead the House? Who is right : whether the Govt of India or the Organiser ? Where does the truth lie ? Who is fooling whom ? The report makes grave charges against the US and Arab countries particularly Saudi Arabia with which India has cordial relationship. But the ambassodors of these countries had already met the Prime Minister & protested when similar allegations were made in a section of the Indian press. The Govt is then reported to have assured the envoys that the allegations were baselesss. Does not the Organiser leakage put the Govt. in a very embarrassing position now ? Apart from involving Muslim countries, the allegations made in the report involves India’s relations with other countries. A govt. report charging the US & Arab countries with alleged attempt to destroy India will not be brushed aside in these countries even if India’s ruling class. chooses to keep quiet. We don’t want to enter into the innumerable allegations made against several responsible Muslim organisations both inside and outside India. If the Organiser report is owned by the Govt ., it will lead to serious repercussions. Therefore, without entering into any controversy, we call upon the Govt. of India to come out with the truth. Dalits and other parsecuted minorities have every right to seek the truth. Can anybody play with the lives of the people and get away with it? Are the dalits the original inhabitants of India & hence its real owners so cheap to be bought by Arab or US money ? The Organiser leakage that Arab funds being responsible for the conversions of Untouchables to Islam has cast a serious aspersion on the dalits & therefore they have every right to Seek the truth. Who is bluffing ? RSS or the Govt. ? And will the dalits allow themselves to be made the pawns ? Should they tolerate this insult ? Have they so self–respect ?