Gopal Mukund Huddar

Early politics

A founding member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Hindutva paramilitary organisation established in 1925, Huddar was one of the 26 individuals involved in choosing its name. He was also actively involved in the activities of the Hindu Mahasabha, a far-right Hindutva political party, and was viewed highly favourably by B. S. Moonje. The protégé of K. B. Hedgewar, the founder and first sarsanghchalak (transl. Supreme Leader) of the RSS, Huddar was appointed by his mentor as the organisation's first sarkaryavah (transl. General Secretary) in 1926 or 1928. Hedgewar originally intended for Huddar to succeed him as the next sarsanghchalak.

According to the scholar Dhirendra K. Jha, Huddar had a "radiant energy" that produced an "impression of absolute reliability", and was known for delivering speeches which "awoke enthusiasm and delight in the listener". His speeches were particularly admired by Hedgewar, who made a point of attending them whenever possible. After missing one such speech in August 1929, Hedgewar wrote to his associates expressing his regret, adding, "No matter how many times you listen to him, his speeches are so delightful that you feel like listening to them again and again."

Dissatisfied with the lack of engagement of the RSS with the Indian independence movement, Huddar decided to pursue clandestine revolutionary activities independent of the organisation. To fund such activities, he conducted an armed robbery in Balaghat, Central Provinces and Berar, in 1931. The act was condemned by Hedgewar; Huddar resigned as sarkaryavah in protest. Huddar was tried and imprisoned for five years, resulting in the loss of his job as a teacher at a girls' school. He was released on 1 November 1935. Following a brief period of unemployment, he began working for Sawadhan (transl. Warning), a journal edited by his friend Ramchandra Balaji Maokar, a local leader of the Hindu Mahasabha. Huddar sought to build a militant anti-imperial mass movement.

Spanish Civil War

In September 1936, encouraged and financially supported by his friends, Huddar travelled to London to study journalism. While in London, he became increasingly influenced by the international solidarity shown towards the Republican cause in the Spanish Civil War and its struggle against the Nationalist forces led by Francisco Franco. He attended rallies and meetings addressed by progressive and communist speakers; the latter were particularly influential for Huddar. As a result, he decided to volunteer to fight against fascism in Spain. By 5 October 1937, he had left London.

Relationship with the RSS

In the period leading up to his departure for the Spanish Civil War, Huddar remained in regular correspondence with Hedgewar. On 1 October 1937, five days before leaving London, Huddar wrote to the new editor of Sawadhan, W. W. Fadnavis, detailing his plan to resume working for the RSS upon his eventual return to India. Alongside this letter, he enclosed a message addressed to RSS members, urging them to extend the organisation's political movement across Asia. According to Jha, "Huddar's conversion into an enthusiastic supporter of the fight against fascism was quick and smooth. The ease with which he crossed from one worldview to another betrays the fact that he had not properly understood the world he had grown in." Jha further states, "Huddar's association with communists in London had influenced him but it had not shaped him yet."

Combat and imprisonment

Huddar arrived in Albacete, Spain, on 17 October 1937, where he enlisted in the International Brigades. To conceal his identity, he adopted the nom de guerre "John Smith", presenting himself as British. He joined the XV International Brigade, commonly referred to as the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, and was assigned to its British contingent, formally named the Saklatvala Battalion in honour of Indian communist Shapurji Saklatvala. To distinguish himself from other soldiers named John Smith, Huddar later adopted the nom de guerre "John Smith Irakian". On 11 February 1938, Huddar went to Tarazona for military training and subsequently served as an infantry instructor. On 3 April 1938, while taking part in the Battle of Gandesa, Huddar, alongside other Brigade members, was captured by Franco's forces and imprisoned in San Pedro de Cardeña, which was used as a concentration camp during the civil war; during his imprisonment, Huddar often engaged in palm reading with his fellow inmates. By late 1938, amid public pressure on the British government to secure the release of British citizens held by Franco's forces, a team was dispatched to arrange a prisoner of war swap, leading to Huddar's release.

Following his release from San Pedro de Cardeña, Huddar had now abandoned many of his earlier views and had come to espouse a worldview entirely different from that of the RSS. Nevertheless, he remained deferential towards Hedgewar.

Return to India

Huddar returned to India on 18 December 1938. Arriving in Bombay (now Mumbai), he addressed a rally organised by several Bombay trade unions and the Bombay Congress Socialist Party, where he spoke:

The honour you have done me is really the honour to the cause of democracy and freedom which Spanish workers and peasants are defending with their lives. [...] The fight for democracy is in India just as it is in Spain. The very same British Imperialism which helps Franco and Mussolini in their attempt to destroy Spain is holding us down. We have to fight against it. We have to build the unity of the workers, peasants and the middle classes just as the Spanish people have done.

Later politics

Estrangement from the RSS

A few days after his return to India, Huddar had a meeting with Hedgewar. By then, Huddar was, as Jha states, "no longer blind to the motivations that fuelled the RSS or naïve about the mechanisms by which it sought to achieve its objectives." However, he remained convinced that he could persuade Hedgewar to align the RSS, an organisation which actively collaborated with the British Raj and played no role in the Indian independence movement, with the anti-colonial cause. Hedgewar, who had become increasingly obedient to the colonial government during Huddar's absence, grew alienated by his suggestions. According to Huddar, "My words fell on deaf ears and all my efforts to woo the Sarsanghchalak came to naught." Following the meeting, the two became increasingly distant. Huddar's shift in perspective led Hedgewar to develop a growing interest in M. S. Golwalkar.

On 7 July 1939, Huddar visited Hedgewar in Deolali as an emissary of Subhas Chandra Bose, who had contacted him in Bombay in an effort to involve the RSS in the anti-colonial movement. Accompanied by Shah, an associate of Bose, Huddar found Hedgewar in high spirits with young RSS members. After they departed, Huddar conveyed Bose's wish to meet him, as Shah waited outside. Hedgewar declined, stating that he was ill with "some unknown malady". Huddar suggested that he inform Shah of his illness, fearing that Bose might suspect sabotage. According to Huddar, Hedgewar then stretched himself out on the bed, remarking, "Balaji, I am really very ill and cannot stand even the strain of a short interview." Huddar later recalled that as he left, the RSS members returned and laughter resumed.

Communist Party of India and spiritualism

Huddar became a member of the Communist Party of India (CPI) in December 1938 or 1940. During his time as a member of the CPI, he developed associations with a young A. B. Bardhan, who would go on to become the general secretary of the party. Huddar regularly conducted lectures on dialectical and historical materialism. He departed from the party in 1952, after which he gradually distanced himself from political activities. According to Bardhan, this retreat was due to his declining health as well as a move towards spiritualism. Nevertheless, Huddar remained sympathetic to communist movements.

According to the scholar Govind Purushottam Deshpande, Huddar critiqued the RSS' understanding of Hinduism; he sought to move it away from a theology-based conception. Huddar's understanding of Hinduism was based on traditions and cultural practices rather than religiosity and dharma.

Death and legacy

Huddar died in 1981. Within his political circle, he was also known as Balaji Huddar; Balaji is another name for Venkateswara, a Hindu deity. He has since been largely forgotten. However, his birth centenary in 2002 saw a small Nagpur-based journal, Marathi Gramsevak, publish a tribute written by Bardhan.