Pioneering Hindu Organisation Outside Bharat: Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh, Kenya

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Hindus have been seafarers since thousands of years and traded with large number of countries thus having a lion's share of world trade. The presence of murtis of Hindu Gods around the world from China and Japan to Iraq to Europe, and of course entire South East Asia. There are thousands of years old Hindu and Buddhist temples in China and Japan. Similarities of customs and rituals among many communities of the Americas and Bharatiya people are amazing, so are the similarities between Sanskrit and various European languages. International Centre for Cultural Studies ICCS) organises International Conference of Elders of Ancient Cultures and Traditions since 2003 every three years. I have attended many of these conferences. Scholars of these traditions share their cultural and religious practices, and their world views in these conferences. It is astounding how close they are to each other. The earliest accounts of the Indian presence on the eastern coast of Africa are found in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, written in the first century AD by an anonymous author. Through this and other writings, it is evident that Indian merchants had been plying their trade through the Indian Ocean since the days of ancient Babylon, and had even established trading posts along the coast of East Africa. Grand Hindu and Boudhha temples in Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Laos tell their own stories. Earliest documented migrations took place during southern Bharat kings' times to South East Asia. Marriages between royals of the southern Bharat and South East Asian kingdoms are recorded in history. Sanjeev Sanyal in his book, The Ocean Of Churn, notes evidence of busy sea routes from south of Bharat to as far as China via erstwhile Kalinga on one side, and from South of Bharat to African continent and Arabian countries like Oman. However, Bharatiyas went into a shell after brutal invasions from North West region of Bharat for nearly 800 years followed by colonisation of nearly two hundred years by the British that weakened and nearly destroyed the spirit of Bharatiyata. So much so, that a dubious command of unknown origin told Hindus not to cross the seas. It showed how the adventurous spirit of Bharatiyas had been snuffed out to somehow survive as a society. Hindu society broke out of this shell when Chhatrapati Shivaji rose and formed his own Navy. The migrations out of Bharat in the current history were forced upon Bharatiyas by the British in 1830s as they needed cheap bonded labour in the farms of colonised countries in the Indian Ocean rim and as far as the Caribbean region. These migrations were not a trickle, but a massive stream when thousands of Bharatiyas were sent to their colonies like Mauritius, Fiji, Trinidad, Guyana etc. It continued till 1917. They were sent out after signing a contract that forced them to surrender all their civil rights. To this, add migrations happening quietly mostly from southern part of Bharat to Malaysia and Indonesia over a longer period, some having become part of the soil since the landing of Chola kings, while some migrated later. The next wave was voluntary migration to many African countries in East Africa with prospects of better salaries in the infrastructure projects in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and also South Africa. Many Bharatiyas went as teachers and clerks in government jobs. These migrations are around 150+ year old. Surprisingly, many Bharatiyas, notably Sikhs, landed up in USA as farmers owning huge tracts of farm lands there. Some reached Canada. The infamous Komatagaru incidence is from that period; such was the urge to move out of wretched conditions in Bharat imposed by the colonialists.

Kenya has been close to my heart for one simple reason, that my paternal uncle, my Chacha ji, Shri Jagdish Chandra Sharda Shastri ji, was instrumental in the first attempt by an RSS swayamsevak to start organizing Hindu society outside Bharat inspired by RSS ideals, He is also the one who took me to RSS shakha as a child in Mumbai. There was no direction or mandate from RSS leadership in Bharat to him or to his other colleague Shri Maneklal Rughani It was, truly, the reflection of revered Dr Keshav Baliram Hedgewar ji's vision that RSS will not do anything except create patriotic individuals with high character, and the swayamsevaks will do whatever is required by the society at a given time. As Shastri ji notes in his memoirs, he had decided to take RSS wherever he went. Thus, the first RSS shakha was organized outside Bharat on the decks of SS Vasna that was sailing from Mumbai to Mombasa. The urge to do something for the Bharatiya society in Kenya as soon as they landed, resulted in the first shakha in Nairobi that was named Bharatiya Swayamsevak Sangh by the swayamsevaks there. As the BSS work expanded and spread over years, it was clear that the next generation of Bharatiyas was not Bharatiya but Kenyan by birth. This led to renaming of BSS as HSS (Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh). The framework of daily shakha was followed by BSS in Kenya just like Bharat. There was no SOP or ready reckoner about how a swayamsevak should work or organise Hindus outside Bharat. They adopted the mechanism of imbibing samskaras that they had learned back in Bharat. But they were clear that they now belonged to Kenya. Bharat was their Punya Bhoomi, but Kenya was their Karma Bhoomi. They participated in Kenyan society as the people who adopted Kenya as their homeland. They supported any social cause that required support and participation. In fact, the great Kenyan leader of the Kenyan freedom struggle Jomo Kenyatta had visited BSS camp way back in 1949 along with his young colleagues. As BSS work evolved and expanded, it spread its wings and espoused different social causes, Seva (social work) and religious events too. Like an organisation of Bharatiyas in Kenya, it helped them assimilate in Kenyan society, despite some very difficult times and political upheavals. A large number of Bharatiyas left due to socio-political violence and threats, but those who stayed back, remained rooted in Kenya. I had the fortune to meet many of the first and second generation swayamsevaks of BSS/HSS. These interactions have led to writing this book, the history of the pioneering Hindu organisation in Kenya, with the help of available literature from there, and interviewing many of the swayamsevaks and sevikas. I hope this document helps Kenyan swayamsevaks imbibe the spirit of their two earlier generations and move ahead with renewed energy. It should also be a good reference book for people who wish to understand the nature of the Hindu organisations out of Bharat and what kind of influence RSS has on them. I pay humble tributes to our immigrant community of Kenya who have struggled hard to reach where they are. It has been a struggle of generation of Bharatiyas that we forget when we look at them as some privileged community.

Dr Ratan Sharda has been awarded PhD for his research on RSS-Understanding RSS through its Resolutions, with Focus on North East, Punjab & Jammu Kashmir. Born in Mumbai in December 1954, he graduated from St. Xavier's College Mumbai and completed his post- graduation from Mumbai University. He also holds a Diploma in Textile Chemistry, and has had varied business experience as an ERP consultant for 34 years. He is a well-known face on Bharat's major TV channels as a political analyst and is a popular podcaster. He has written 11 books in English and Hindi, of which 7 are on RSS, and edited/designed 17 books. He has translated 2 books on second Sarsanghchaalak of RSS, Param Poojaniya Guruji, written by veteran RSS thinker Ranga Hari ji. His trilogy RSS360- Demystifying Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, RSS - Evolution from an Organisation to a Movement & Conflict Resolution - The RSS Way, is considered as the best introduction to RSS. His 'Sangh & Swaraj' is a well-researched concise document about RSS role during freedom struggle. His books have been translated in 7 Bharatiya languages. Ratan Sharda has been an RSS member since his childhood, having worked in the organisation from local to national level. He also worked as an ABVP member during the Emergency of 1975-77 and was jailed as Gen Sec of the College Students' Union. Sharda was a founder secretary of the Vishwa Adhyayan Kendra (Centre for International Studies), Mumbai for eight years. He advises many educational and social service organisations. He has travelled widely in Bharat and in 26 countries overseas. He had a ring side view of HSS as his paternal uncle, JC Sharda Shastri ji was instrumental in starting the first shakha outside Bharat, and Sharda has been involved in many programmes of HSS. He is currently busy writing a series on history of HSS in various countries.