This mass organization of Hindus has grown in the form of a national force for bringing about progress in all walks of the Indian life. Millions of Sangh volunteers can be seen running " Shakhas " for engendering national awareness among Hindus. They are also seen struggling with everyday problems in various fields — social, economic, educational, religious and political. The Indian society's expectations from the Sangh volunteers are increasing day by day. Proportionately, number of people commenting in favor of or against them is also growing. Nevertheless, this is ironic that only few people are conversant with the personality and ideas of 
Dr. Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, the founder of this organization.
 

A Born Patriot
Dr. Keshavrao Hedgewar was a born patriot. At the young age of nine. he threw away the sweets he had received in school in honor of the silver jubilee of Queen Victoria's rule. While the teachers and the students relished the sweets, the child Keshav looked upon them as a representation of slavery. On Edward VII's coronation, a firework show was arranged in Nagpur. Everyone, young and old, went to witness it, but the child Keshav did not go. When asked, he replied, "it is a matter of shame for us to participate in such celebrations for foreign rulers." During those days, reciting 'Vande Matram' was considered a crime. Young persons like Keshavrao, who were proud of their country, decided to defy that order. One day, when a school-inspector went to his class, some students under the leadership of Keshavrao openly defied the administrative order by shouting 'Vande Matram'. Keshavrao was expelled from the school, but this did not allow Keshav to budge from his standpoint. Such was the childhood of the born-patriot Keshavrao.
 

Joined Revolutionary Forces
As he became older, his desire for the national independence also became stronger. Under the pretext of medical education, he arrived in Calcutta to work in revolutionary organizations. There, he worked with a famous revolutionary leader, Pulin Behari Das and his party 'anushilan samiti'. as well as with other revolutionaries like Shyam Sunder Chakravarti and Trailokyanath Chakravarti. As he completed his medical education, the college principal informed him about a highsalaried job offer for him from the government of Burma. But, as Dr. Hedgewar was destined to do something else in life, he politely declined the offer.
 

Awakening of the Masses
Keshavrao became a doctor and arrived in Nagpur. However, he was not thinking of starting his medical practice. He devoted himself to organize courageous young people in a revolutionary party and also started collecting arms and weapons. This organization spread up to Punjab. At that time. after English people had become victorious in the world-war in Europe, their suppression became even more severe in India. Without the support of the general people, however, the revolutionary young people were finding it difficult to confront the suppression. Dr. Hedgewar immediately understood that only courageous and trustworthy revolutionaries were not enough for an armed revolt, hut a national consciousness in the people at large was also required. However. he did not feel disappointed. He started devoting himself to beget this kind of national awakening. With this objective in view, he started a newspaper from Nagpur. To achieve this purpose, he also used public meetings and study groups. In those days, national agitations often ran under the leadership of the Congress. Therefore, he decided to join the party.
 

Awakening of Hindus' Self-Confidence
After being victorious in the World War in Europe, the English divided the Muslim Khalifa's Turkish empire ( khilafat ) into different sections. Indian Muslims were angry at this. Mahatma Gandhi announced his support for Khilafat. He had hoped that this would bring Indian Muslims into the fold of the national agitation. This policy of Mahatma Gandhi worried Lokmanya Tilak and Dr. Hedgewar. Dr. Hedgewar believed that such a policy would only encourage Indian Muslims' extra-national loyalties, which in due course could create problems for the country. The later activities of the Muslims indeed proved their apprehensions to be true. Indian Muslims did not show any improvement in their attitude; rather, their wrath toward the Hindu community was intensified. In the entire country, a phase of Muslim riots became rampant and culminated in the unfortunate division of India. The division was an insult to the whole nation. This is exactly what Dr. Hedgewar had feared.

In those days, it was commonly believed that India could not be freed without the help of Indian Muslims. Such an idea always worried Dr. Hedgewar. As a matter of fact, it hurt him. He was of the opinion that if such a misconception was not done away with before it was too late, the country might land into a precarious situation. He firmly believed that self-confidence in the Hindu society was a national necessity.
 

India's Political Atmosphere
In 1920, the annual convention of the Congress party was to be held in Nagpur under the chairmanship of Lokmanya Tilak. Dr. Keshavrao and other leaders who shared each other's vision were working hard to make the convention a success. It seemed, however, that it was not destined to be the way they had hoped. Lokmanya Tilak passed away a few weeks before the convention and it came like a big thunderbolt to the plans of Dr. Hedgewar and his other colleagues, who had always believed in full independence. However, he did not lose heart. Before the convention, he organized a public meeting, which passed two resolutions supporting the idea of full independence and a ban on cowslaughter, These resolutions were sent for the consideration of the topic committee of the convention. One resolution had asked the Congress party to announce that its aim was to free all countries of the world from the exploitation of capitalists nations and establish Democracy in India. This resolution, however, was not approved for presentation in the convention. The political atmosphere and mentality of leadership in the country in those days can easily be judged from this incident.
 

Churning of Ideas
In spite of his difference of opinion with his co-workers in the Congress party. Dr. Hedgewar continued to work there. He did so because he looked upon Congress as a vehicle of public awareness. He participated in the non-cooperation movement of Mahatma Gandhi and was sentenced to a year's imprisonment with manual labor. During this time, he got an excellent opportunity to exchange views on the national situation with other leaders. Having a penetrating mind, he visualized that it was the Hindu society that had brought prosperity to India and it was also the Hindu society whose weakness was now instrumental in India's downfall. He also realized that the Hindu society was not organized to an extent that it could bring about a change in the society and that the national consciousness of the Hindu society was in a dormant state. He also realized that the people, who were looked upon to lead the country in such difficult times, were oblivious to the fact that any seeming diversity in the Hindu society was confined to the surface and that there was one cultural norm that pervaded the whole Hindu mind. 

This single cultural norm is recognized as " Hinduism " in the entire world, and it is because of this norm that the cultural life of India has been flowing uninterruptedly for millennia. Dr. Hedgewar concluded that this was an historical fact and the conviction that " India is a Hindu nation " needed to be disseminated to one and all. This experience would also give rise to a new consciousness, which would produce a sense of unity among all Hindus.

Dr. Hedgewar experienced that Hindus were no less in intelligence, physical capability, material prosperity, or in population. He felt that a Hindu, however, used these capabilities for the benefit of his family alone, and the thought of his country was usually relegated to the background. He explained to his compatriots that it was because of the selfcentered mentality of Hindus that a handful of English people were ruling over India. When he explained such ideas, one could feel the anguish in his mind. He repeatedly emphasized his idea that patriotism was the primary prerequisite to a national awakening.
 

Quiet Determination
He had come to the conclusion that it was of no use to blame English people or any other group of people for India's problems or shortcomings. Such an idea did not effect any improvement in the Hindu community, nor did it give rise to any stabilized unity amongst them, which was vitally necessary for India's glorious future. People, who were leading the nation at that time, agreed with Dr. Hedgewar on these issues, but they were too busy in the political agitations to devote any time to the basic work of organizing the Hindu society. A common man was carrying the conviction that organizing the Hindu society was an impossible task. Dr. Hedgewar was a devoted worker who knew how to translate his ideas into reality. He believed in winning. He was determined to accomplish his goal, which other people had called impossible to achieve. Needless to say that when persons of such resolve and achievement rise to work, the goal itself starts drawing closer to them.
 

Auspicious Beginning of His Life - Mission
On the inspiring day of Vijayadashami in the year 1925, he invited selected youth and some leading personalities of Nagpur to a meeting. There, he set forth that from that day on, the work of awakening the national consciousness in the Hindu society and the work of organizing the Hindu society was going to begin. It was true that there had been similar attempts in the past too, but somehow they did not last very long. Dr. Hedgewar developed a novel and a simple technique of working, which today is known by the name of Shakha ". This way of working proved appropriate for everyone — the poor and the rich, the people living in villages as well as in cities, literates and illiterates, young and old. This "Shakha" way of working has brought this vast organization of Hindus known as " Rashtriya Swaymsevak Sangh " to the forefront. This organization has spread all over the country and has continuously forged its way ahead despite obstacles and attacks from opponents.
 

Continued Struggle For Independence
Dr. Hedgewar regarded independence and national unity as complimentary, like two sides of the same coin. Therefore, even after embarking upon the work for national unity he did not abandon working for independence. In the year 1928, he took part in the Congress convention held in Calcutta. There he discussed about the Sangh mission and about the national situation with Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. Both the leaders exchanged views on the number of subjects concerning the Indian nation and appreciated each other's point of view.

In the year 1930 in its Lahore convention. Congress declared "full freedom" as its objective. Dr. Hedgewar was naturally delighted at this.