Gita Press and the Making of Hindu India (24 page)

Leela Chitra Mandir was equally grand in design and intention. Spread over an area of 800 square metres, with ceilings over 6 metres high, the complete Gita is inscribed on its walls along with 700 selected couplets of Kabir, Rahim, Tulsidas, Sundardas, Paltu and Narayan Swami. The pictures, 684 of them, represent varied influences on Indian art. Paintings from the Mughal, Rajput, Kangra, Mewari, Bombay, Bengal and south Indian schools are displayed. Gita Press specially invited artists of these different schools to execute the task. The pictures depicted Krishna Lila, Ramlila and various reincarnations of god and sages.
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In his speech, the president stressed the immortality of Indian culture and the tolerance of sanatan Hindu dharma that was an amalgam of many religions. ‘Whereas other religions differentiate one from another, the Bhagavadgita is an example of integration,’ Prasad said. He asked Gita Press to open its doors to ordinary citizens so that the values of sanatan Hindu dharma could spread further and help transform people’s lives. Prasad said institutions like Gita Press for which ‘I have great regard are engaged in translating the vision of sanatan Hindu dharma into reality and I want them to succeed further’
.
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Chronicle of the Dead
Though it may seem insignificant, one curious way in which
Kalyan
exhibited its catholic nature was by according respect to the dead, howsoever opposed the person might have been to the cause of Hindu nationalism in general and to Gita Press in particular. Following the principle of not talking ill of the dead,
Kalyan
built up an interesting collection of obituaries of a mix of people ranging from Keshav Baliram Hedgewar to King George V, Motilal Nehru, Jawaharlal Nehru, M.S. Golwalkar, Sampurnanand, S. Radhakrishnan, Jugal Kishore Birla, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. The greatest tribute however was paid to Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya as
Kalyan
brought out an extra issue on his death in 1946; no other obituary came close to such an expression of reverence.

Of course, there were some significant delays and deliberate omissions as well. The assassination of Mahatma Gandhi was never mentioned, though much later, in 1948, several articles were carried about the life and teachings of the Mahatma. B.R. Ambedkar, who remained an anathema to Gita Press’s world of sanatan Hindu dharma, was completely ignored after his death.

Gita Press was into its third year when Lala Lajpat Rai succumbed to the injuries received during a lathi charge in Lahore while protesting against the Simon Commission in 1928. Poddar described Lala Lajpat Rai as a martyr to the cause of the nation and expressed the need to emulate his life of dedication and service, and fill the void left by him.
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The Nehrus, Motilal and his son Jawaharlal, were not among the favourites of Gita Press. Jawaharlal especially had kept a safe distance from
Kalyan
and the activities of Gita Press. Motilal too maintained a secular image despite his occasional trysts with religion to satisfy the conservative section within the Congress led by Malaviya. After Motilal’s death in 1931, Poddar wrote appreciatively of how he had taken to religion in the last days of his life by reciting the Gayatri mantra and Rama Naam.
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The Delhi Durbar of 1911 to commemorate the coronation of King George V had made the king a household name in India. His death in 1936 came at a time when
Kalyan
was still finding its feet, and for a journal that counted Hindu nationalism as the sine qua non of the freedom movement, paying tribute to King George V was possibly a calculated act to win the goodwill of the colonial government. Poddar called George V an ideal husband, father, son and friend, and justified the gloom his death had brought to his subjects, family and friends.
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Hindi literary don Premchand was an old friend. A few months before his death in October 1936, Premchand had visited Gita Press and promised to come back and stay in Gorakhpur for two months. Poddar wrote with regret that Premchand had not been able to fulfil his promise, philosophizing that this was how destiny worked.
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RSS founder K.B. Hedgewar died in June 1940 but Gita Press honoured him a decade later. In a short tribute in
Kalyan
’s mammoth
Hindu Sanskriti Ank
of 1950, Shivnath Dubey wrote in gushing terms of how Hedgewar was cut out for bigger things right from childhood. Describing Hedgewar’s daredevilry during his days as a medical student in Calcutta, his founding of the RSS in 1925 and his decision to remain a bachelor, Dubey concluded ‘you will be alive till Hindus exist’, summing up the deep respect Gita Press had for Hedgewar.
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Unlike Gandhi and many of his colleagues in the Congress, Nehru had never patronized Gita Press. His Western education and views, coupled with his left-of-centre policies were antithetical to the Hindu nationalists of the new India. Therefore,
Kalyan
’s glowing tribute to Nehru after his death in 1964 seemed more an act of compulsion—Gita Press was aware of Nehru’s popularity and the moral cost if they omitted to pay tribute to the country’s first prime minister. Poddar’s obituary acknowledged Nehru’s stellar role in working for international peace and solidarity. He said there was enough in Nehru to be followed by people across the ideological spectrum.
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Nehru’s successor Lal Bahadur Shastri and his wife Lalita were personally close to Poddar and Gita Press, and contributors to
Kalyan.
Shastri’s sudden death in Tashkent in 1965, Poddar wrote, had sadly caused his victory procession (after the war with Pakistan) to metamorphose into a funeral procession. Calling Shastri the beacon of world peace, Poddar equated his death, still a matter of great speculation, to martyrdom. He said the Shastris were part of the Gita Press family,
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and that Shastri’s sudden demise was a lesson that, since life is uncertain, people should never give up devotion to God
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Poddar himself died in 1971 and Chimmanlal Gosvami became the editor of
Kalya
n
. Instead of confining Poddar’s memory to one issue of
Kalyan
, the journal remembered its founder editor over several issues, his articles being reprinted even today.

Golwalkar’s death in June 1973 was another big jolt to Gita Press. An exhaustive tribute was written by Bhimsen who had been loaned by the RSS to the Gita Press so that he could serve Poddar in Gorakhpur. In fact, Golwalkar and Poddar had run a mutual admiration society. Golwalkar had always said that though many great men spread the message of patriotism, social unity and social service, it was only Poddar who could successfully turn people into believers on such a large scale and make fundamental religious texts so popular. Bhimsen wrote of how happy Golwalkar had been to send him to work for Poddar. He recalled Golwalkar’s early training in spiritualism under Swami Akhandananda, one of the sixteen direct disciples of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, at the Ramakrishna Mission ashram at Sargachhi. It was on Akhandananda’s advice that Golwalkar had maintained a beard and long hair throughout his life.
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Bhimsen particularly appreciated the way Golwalkar had not let politics influence the running of the RSS despite the fact that the swayamsevaks took a keen interest in politics. He recounted an interesting encounter between Golwalkar and Atal Bihari Vajpayee in an RSS camp, also attended by senior RSS/Jana Sangh leader Deendayal Upadhyaya, near Wardha in the 1950s. During the question- answer session, Vajpayee asked Golwalkar, ‘The nature of power is such that the moment it gets centralized it generally turns into brute power; what is the guarantee that your theory of intense power culled from ancient Indian philosophy and religion will not become brutal?’ Golwalkar replied, ‘Any power that is fundamentally spiritual will never become pashvik (brute power). One should worry only about the fundamentals.’

Indira Gandhi had endeared herself to Hindu nationalists at various stages of her prime ministership. Her action in East Pakistan that led to the creation of Bangladesh in 1971 had made her a heroine, with some equating her to goddess Durga, the ultimate personification of shakti (power). Her assassination in 1984 at the hands of her own security personnel,
Kalyan
said, would forever be classified as a black spot in Indian history. The obituary continued in glowing terms: ‘Mrs Gandhi was India’s biggest leader who was working fearlessly to solve the nation’s problems. Her sole aim was the nation’s unity, integrity, peace and progress for which she gave up her life. Though some antisocial elements have eliminated her physical self, her soul will be impossible to kill.’
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Less than seven years later, Rajiv Gandhi, Indira Gandhi’s elder son and former prime minister himself, was assassinated in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu.
Kalyan
editor Radheshyam Khemka equated the killing of the leader to tandava, ‘a dance of world destruction, the dance of the enamoured Shiva’,
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citing it as an example of how violence had taken over society. Equally shocking for the journal was the new instrument of assassination used—a human bomb.
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Economics and Workforce
Sustaining an initiative like Gita Press, not based on profit, was always a challenge—something Poddar foresaw a few days after the first issue of
Kalyan
came out. Writing to Gambhirchand Dujari, Poddar said that until
Kalyan
had 2,000 subscribers, publishing from Bombay would be a loss-making proposition and ‘efforts should be made to increase the subscription base’.
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With some leading Marwari industrialists associated with the publishing house, Gita Press sought to create a new business model that could straddle the worlds of no profit and huge capital input. A solution was found: Gobind Bhawan Karyalaya, the managing trust of Gita Press, would diversify into the highly profitable newsprint business. It was also decided to start small-profit ventures such as making khadi clothes, sacred thread (janeu), soap, glass bangles, shoes (without leather), ghee and ayurvedic medicines. It was expected that the profits from these diversified products would not only subsidize low-price publications but also provide Gita Press with enough liquid cash. Gobind Bhawan also ran an ashram in Churu, Rajasthan to teach Sanskrit and the Vedas to male students.

But the alternative business model lacked consideration for the workforce that multiplied as circulation of
Kalyan
increased and other publications were regularly reprinted. Poddar, Goyandka and other promoters were so consumed with their idea of defending and popularizing sanatan Hindu dharma, they assumed that whoever came under the umbrella of Gita Press would make their personal ambitions and family commitments subservient to the larger cause of religion. Gita Press soon realized its mistake. Beginning in 1932, it faced five major strikes by press workers in less than twenty years.

The 1932 strike was initially met with strong disciplinary action by the Gita Press administration but this did not quell it. Poddar was in Ratangarh and had to intervene to stitch up a compromise, but this was short-lived as workers under Gauri Shankar Dwivedi struck work again the next year. This strike was contained again without fully settling the demands of workers. The strike had started after Gobind Bhawan Karyalaya decided to cut staff salaries by Rs 15 per Rs 100. Poddar protested against the decision and defended the workers. He said, unlike other press workers, those of Gita Press had no fixed office hours or holidays. ‘When there is work they are in press from six in the morning to eleven in the night . . . There are workers who are barely able to run their households on Gita Press salaries. I do not know how in such a situation the decision to cut salary can be justified.’
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Poddar said he would take up the matter with Goyandka as well.

The growing discontentment among Gita Press workers was exploited by the emerging ideologies of communism and socialism.
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By the 1920s and ’30s, trade union culture had made its presence felt in Gorakhpur. Local Congress leader Vindhyavasini Prasad Varma was organizing railway workers, protests and demonstrations in the city.
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Another strike took place in 1936, when Poddar was again in Ratangarh. Aware of the change in the political climate and the dominance of Congress in the politics of the United Provinces, Poddar tried to convince Ganga Prasad, senior administrative official of Gita Press, to adopt a lenient approach: ‘This is the time of Congress governments in the provinces. Naturally, workers and peasants are feeling empowered. We also want to see poor and depressed classes live in peace and happiness. We should not be surprised with whatever we are hearing from our employees. Looking at the changes we should know the age of workers and peasants is about to come that would lessen their pain and struggle to some extent. But I think growth acquired through hatred and violence is not going to last.’
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Poddar advised Prasad to talk to the union leaders and provide them with all the facilities possible. He suggested that if need be the opinion of Gandhi and Malaviya should be taken. ‘Our institution should foremost be known as an organization for poor people. I kept quiet and am still not saying anything as I did not see my purpose getting fulfilled . . . There is no need to threaten anyone . . . I do not consider Gauri Shankar Dwivedi a leader of workers. Whatever he is doing is out of hatred. Sampurnanand, Narendra Dev, Rajaram Shastri and Purushottam Das Tandon should also be consulted.’
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But Poddar himself had to come to Gorakhpur and talk to the union leaders before the strike was called off. While most of the workers were reinstated, the Gita Press authorities sacked a few.

One of the major demands in 1937 was the setting up of a provident fund for workers. This demand was finally met in 1939 when the Gita Press Gorakhpur Provident Fund was formed. The notification was issued by the industries department on 3 April 1939 after the board of trustees of Gobind Bhawan Karyalaya approved the provident fund rules.
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