Death and Legacy
Continuous and strenuous spate of activities took a toll on his health. His health went on deteriorating. Often he suffered from chronic back pain. He started delegating his responsibilities to M.S.Golwalkar, who later succeeded him as Sarsanghachalak (Supreme head) of RSS. In January 1940, he was taken to Rajgir in Bihar for the hot-spring treatment.
He attended the annual Sangh shiksha varg in 1940, where he gave his last message to Swayamsevaks, saying: "Today, I am seeing a mini-Bharat before me. Let there be no occasion in the lives of any of you to say that you were once a Sangh Swayamsevak some years ago."
Dr.Hedgewar died on the morning of June 21, 1940 in Nagpur. His last rites were performed in the locality of Resham Bagh in Nagpur.
Dr.Hedgewar instilled a work culture in the RSS, like the devotion to the Bhagva (saffron) flag, priority to ideologies over individuals, communal decision making process, full-time dedicated volunteers, daily Shakha (gathering every day by members of all ages for games and singing nationalistic songs) and doing away with the custom of personality following. His foresight and capability is established by the fact that the RSS is today one of the worlds largest socio-political organisation. Even today, Dr.Hedgewar is a much revered figure in the Hindu nationalist movement of India.
| Preceded by (none) |
Sarsanghchalak of the RSS 1925–1940 |
Succeeded by Madhavrao Sadashivrao Golwalkar |
Read more about this topic: K. B. Hedgewar
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