Political Leaders

"By the time he came out of Franco's prison, Huddar had relinquished many of his old ideas. He displayed a worldview completely different from that of the RSS, even though he continued to remain deferential to Hedgewar and maintained a personal relationship with him."

"Largely because of the influence of communists in London, 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."

"Young though he was, his radiant energy produced such an impression of absolute reliability that Hedgewar made him the first sarkaryavah, or general secretary, of the RSS."

"I regret I was not there to listen to Balaji Huddar's speech [...] No matter how many times you listen to him, his speeches are so delightful that you feel like listening to them again and again."

"Huddar would have been 101 now had he been alive. But then centenaries are not celebrated only to register how old so and so would have been and when. They are usually celebrated to explore how much poorer our lives are without them. Maharashtrian public life is poorer without him. It is poorer for not having made the effort to recall an extraordinary life."

"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."

"This great anti-Fascist body of men have assured me that they will fight side by side with the Indian peoples."

"One evening, he [Bose] called me to his place in Bombay [...] One Mr. Shah, with whom I was not acquainted, was with him. Netaji asked me if I would be his emissary to Dr. Hedgewar, with whom he would like to have a talk. He asked me to go to Nasik where Dr. Hedgewar was spending the summer with Babasaheb Ghatate [...] Mr. Shah was to accompany me [...] In Nasik, Babasaheb greeted me warmly and enquired about our mission. I told him that we had come to see Doctorsaheb. Mr. Shah waited outside and I was ushered into the room where Doctorsaheb was joking and laughing with some youngsters—all volunteers of the RSS [...] Doctorsaheb protested that he had been in Nasik as he was ill and was suffering from some unknown malady [...] I entreated him not to give up this chace of an interview with a great leader of the Congress and the nationalist force in India, but he would not pay heed to me. He protested all through that he was too ill to have a talk [...] As I left the room, the RSS volunteers entered and laughter broke out again."

"I brought it to his [Hedgewar's] notice that the RSS remained a static organisation and that it did not develop into a dynamic movement, while we know that it was the dynamism of a movement alone that made an organisation powerful—otherwise it degenerated into a samsthan [...] The RSS had to guard against this danger which helped the growth of complacency and self-righteousness. My words fell on deaf ears and all my efforts to woo the Sarsanghchalak came to a naught."

"Then Solomon was told, “Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon and is clinging to the horns of the altar. He says, ‘Let King Solomon swear to me today that he will not put his servant to death with the sword.’”"

"After these events, King Xerxes honored Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, elevating him and giving him a seat of honor higher than that of all the other nobles. All the royal officials at the king’s gate knelt down and paid honor to Haman, for the king had commanded this concerning him. But Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor. [...] When Haman saw that Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor, he was enraged. Yet having learned who Mordecai’s people were, he scorned the idea of killing only Mordecai. Instead Haman looked for a way to destroy all Mordecai’s people, the Jews, throughout the whole kingdom of Xerxes."

"Now Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith, put himself forward and said, “I will be king.” So he got chariots and horses ready, with fifty men to run ahead of him. (His father had never rebuked him by asking, “Why do you behave as you do?” He was also very handsome and was born next after Absalom.)"

"King Solomon answered his mother, “Why do you request Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? You might as well request the kingdom for him—after all, he is my older brother—yes, for him and for Abiathar the priest and Joab son of Zeruiah!”"

"He who utters these words speaks the truth: There’s no turning back from what has been decreed/destined. Nothing squanders the benefits of reason more than desire and stubbornness. Nothing is more futile than advice given to a person who is not prepared to accept and endure it. Nothing brings punishment more swiftly or with worse consequences than oppression and betrayal. Nor is there anything that brings greater shame and disgrace than excessive boasting and pride."

"The Lord has sworn | And will not relent, | “You are a priest forever | According to the order of Melchizedek.”"

"Blessed be Abram of God Most High, / Possessor of heaven and earth; / And blessed be God Most High, / Who has delivered your enemies into your hand."

"Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: “For God has made me forget all my toil and all my father’s house.”"

"Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. [...] And he [Abraham] gave him a tithe of all."

"For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated “king of righteousness,” and then also king of Salem, meaning “king of peace,” without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually. [...] And it is yet far more evident if, in the likeness of Melchizedek, there arises another priest who has come, not according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an endless life. For He testifies: “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek."

"As He also says in another place: / “You are a priest forever /According to the order of Melchizedek”; who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, called by God as High Priest “according to the order of Melchizedek"."

"Eleazar, called Avaran, noted that one of the elephants was adorned with royal armor. Since it was larger than all the other beasts, he thought that the king must be astride it, and he gave his life to save his people and win for himself everlasting renown. He courageously charged toward it through the midst of the phalanx, killing men right and left, so that they fell back on all sides at his approach."

"Then Jonathan said to those with him, “Let us get up now and fight for our lives, for today things have changed considerably from the way they used to be. In front of us the battle awaits; behind us are the waters of the Jordan on one side and marshland and thickets on the other. There is no way out. Cry out to Heaven that you may be saved from our enemies.”"

"Then all the friends of Judas assembled and said to Jonathan, “Since the death of your brother Judas there has been no one like him to lead us against our enemies and Bacchides, as well as against those of our own nation who are hostile to us. Therefore, today we have chosen you to take his place as our ruler and our leader, and to fight our battle.” Thereupon Jonathan accepted the leadership in the place of his brother Judas."

"Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him; and the people feared the presence of the Lord. [...] So the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God, on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month, in the second year of King Darius."

"This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: | ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ | Says the Lord of hosts. | ‘Who are you, O great mountain? | Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! | And he shall bring forth the capstone | With shouts of “Grace, grace to it!"

"In that day,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘I will take you, Zerubbabel My servant, the son of Shealtiel,’ says the Lord, ‘and will make you like a signet ring; for I have chosen you,’ says the Lord of hosts.”"

"King Alexander was informed of all the proposals made by Demetrius to Jonathan, and he was also told of the battles that Jonathan and his brothers had fought, of the heroic deeds that they had accomplished, and of the hardships that they had endured. His response was, “Shall we ever come across another man like him? Let us take steps to make him our friend and ally.” He therefore wrote a letter to him in these words:"

"The hands of Zerubbabel | Have laid the foundation of this temple; | His hands shall also finish it. | Then you will know | That the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you. | For who has despised the day of small things? | For these seven rejoice to see | The plumb line | in the hand of Zerubbabel. | They are the eyes of the Lord, | Which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth."

"Simon was allotted three thousand men for the march on Galilee, while eight thousand men were assigned to Judas for the march on Gilead."

"How can we find suitable words to praise Zerubbabel, | who was like a signet ring on the right hand?"

"He exhorted them in these words: “You yourselves are fully aware of what I and my brothers and the house of my father have done for the laws and the sanctuary. You also know about the battles we have fought and the hardships we have endured. As a result, all of my brothers have perished for the sake of Israel, and I alone am left. Far be it from me, then, to give priority to my own life in any time of oppression, for I am not of any greater worth than my brothers. Rather, I will avenge my nation and the sanctuary and your wives and children, for all the nations have united to destroy us because of their hatred for us.”"

"And he saw that the people were trembling with fear, he went up to Jerusalem. Assembling the people, he exhorted them [...]These words rekindled the spirit of the people and they replied by shouting, “You are our leader in place of Judas and your brother Jonathan. Fight our battles, and we will do whatever you tell us.”"

"Jonathan sent his brother to act as leader of the multitude and to ask the Nabateans, with whom he was friendly, for permission to store with them the great quantity of baggage that they had brought with them. 36 However, the sons of Jambri made a sortie from Medeba, captured John, and carried off the baggage Some time afterward the news was reported to Jonathan and his brother Simon: “The sons of Jambri are celebrating a great wedding, [...] Remembering how their brother John had been slain, they went up and hid themselves under the cover of a mountain. As they kept watch, they observed a tumultuous procession come into sight carrying a great amount of baggage. [...] The Jews sprang on them from their place of ambush and began to slay them. [...] Having thereby gained revenge for the blood of their brother, the Jews returned to the marshes of the Jordan."

"Yet now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ says the Lord; ‘and be strong, Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; and be strong, all you people of the land,’ says the Lord, ‘and work; for I am with you,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘According to the word that I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt, so My Spirit remains among you; do not fear!’"

"Then Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi: 9 Is it a small thing to you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to Himself, to do the work of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to serve them; and that He has brought you near to Himself, you and all your brethren, the sons of Levi, with you? And are you seeking the priesthood also? Therefore you and all your company are gathered together against the Lord. And what is Aaron that you complain against him?”"

"Now Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men; and they rose up before Moses with some of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, representatives of the congregation, men of renown. They gathered together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “You take too much upon yourselves, for all the congregation is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?”"

"And Korah gathered all the congregation against them at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. Then the glory of the Lord appeared to all the congregation."

"(Moses said) But if the Lord creates a new thing, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the pit, then you will understand that these men have rejected the Lord.”"

"Woe to them! They have followed in the footsteps of Cain; they have abandoned themselves to the error of Balaam for the sake of gain; and they have perished in the rebellion of Korah."

"(To his daughters, whom Moses had defended from the shepherds) So he said to his daughters, “And where is he? Why is it that you have left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread.”"

"And Jethro said, “Blessed be the Lord, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh, and who has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. Now I know that the Lord is greater than all the gods; for in the very thing in which they behaved proudly, He was above them.”"

"And Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel His people—that the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt. [...] Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness, where he was encamped at the mountain of God. [...] And Moses told his father-in-law all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship that had come upon them on the way, and how the Lord had delivered them."

"The assassination of Caldwell is symbolic of the reign of terror that defeated Reconstruction, democracy, Black political participation, as well as human rights in Mississippi and the South in the mid-. Violence was central to the establishment of White domination, not only to seize power for White supremacists but also to instill fear and intimidation in the Black population and their allies. In a state with a Black majority, to secure White supremacy and to maintain Black labor, particularly rural workers, as a servile labor force, it was necessary to institutionalize fear and intimidation. Men like Caldwell represented hope for Black progress and resistance to White domination."

"Medgar showed us that even in the face of adversity, we must continue to fight on. Although he knew he was placing himself in harm's way, he stopped fighting for equality and equity."

"The Negro has been here in America since 1619, a total of 344 years. He is not going anywhere else; this country is his home. . . Let me appeal to the consciences of many silent, responsible citizens of the white community who know that a victory for democracy in Jackson will be a victory for democracy everywhere."

"He believes that new industries that have come to Mississippi should employ him above the laboring category. He wants the public schools and colleges desegregated so that his children can receive the best education that Mississippi has to offer."

"Today, Medgar Evers was buried from the bullet he caught/They lowered him down as a king/But when the shadowy sun sets on the one/That fired the gun/He’ll see by his grave/On the stone that remains/Carved next to his name/His epitaph plain/Only a pawn in their game"

"Tonight the Negro plantation worker in the Delta knows from his radio and television what happened today all over the world. He knows what Black people are doing and he knows what white people are doing. He can see on the 6:00 o’clock news screen the picture of a 3:00 o’clock bite by a police dog. He knows about the new free nations in Africa and knows that a Congo native can be a locomotive engineer, but in Jackson he cannot even drive a garbage truck."

"He sees a city over 150,000, of which 40% is Negro, in which there is not a single Negro policeman or policewoman, school crossing guard, fireman, clerk, stenographer, or supervisor employed in any city department or the Mayor’s office in other than menial capacities . . ."

"As men living in as highly a diversified and complex society as ours, it is our duty and responsibility to our fellow men and our children to tackle the problems that lie ahead with faith and courage. Faith that is spoken of in the Bible, which in paraphrase says “Only possess the faith of a small mustard seed and you will be able to move mountains and then the courage to withstand the greatest onslaught the enemy can muster, and you are bound to succeed.” No, it will not be easy, but neither does one find it altogether easy to be a Christian in this very sin sick world."