First Quote Added
April 10, 2026
Latest Quote Added
"[When the Prophet destroyed the idols of Mecca] there came out from one of these two stones a grey haired black woman who was tearing at her face with her nails, naked, pulling at her hair and crying out in her woe. Asked about that, the Prophet said, ‘This is Nā Ô ila who has abandoned hope that she will ever be worshipped in your land again.’ And it is said that the Devil (Iblı̄s) cried out in woe on three occasions: once when he was cursed [by God] and his form was changed from that of the angels; once when he saw the Prophet standing in prayer in Mecca; and once when the Prophet conquered Mecca and the Devil said to his progeny who had gathered to him, ‘Abandon all hope that the community of Muh ammad will revert to shirk after this day of theirs.’"
"The Messenger after arriving in Mecca, once the populace had settled down, went to the shrine and went round it seven times on his camel, touching the Black Stone with a stick which he had in his hand. This done, he summoned Uthman ibn Talha and took the keys of the Ka'ba from him, and when the door was opened for him, he went in. There he found a dove made of wood. He broke it in his hands and threw it away. . . . [According to another account] the Messenger entered Mecca on the day of the conquest and it contained 360 idols which Iblis (or Satan) had strengthened with lead. The Messenger was standing by them with a stick in his hand saying, “The truth has come and falsehood has passed away.” (Quran 17: 81) Then he pointed at them with his stick and they collapsed on their backs one after another."
"When the Messenger had prayed the noon prayer on the day of the conquest (of Mecca), he ordered that all the idols which were around the Ka'ba should be collected and burned with fire and broken up."
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.
- Gopal Mukund Huddar
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.
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.
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.
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.