First Quote Added
April 10, 2026
Latest Quote Added
"In Uganda people used to think that construction, civil engineering and mechanical work were for men. I wanted to break this stereotype that certain jobs are for men and others are for women. I also wanted to show people that women can do the same things that men can do."
"It wasn’t easy because people were telling me I couldn’t do it (pursue a career in engineering) and were suggesting that I should take a different course such as electrical or business. But then, when I came second in the class during practical exams, everyone was very surprised and they couldn’t believe (I could achieve it). I proved them wrong and then things changed. People now look at me as a role model, someone who is different. Many young people are following in my footsteps and many are starting to think that women really can do men’s jobs."
"Men were amazed when they saw us working on site, so I think that’s something really good. At first they thought I was challenging them and didn’t believe (I would succeed), but then they said “good, you’ve done it”."
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.