First Quote Added
April 10, 2026
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"Fair Kent, ... What countrie hath this isle that may compare with thee?"
"Ye scenes, my melancholy soul that fill! Where Nature’s voice no crowds tumultuous drown, And but through brakes of trees, the lawns that crown, The paths of men are seen; and farther still, Scarce peeps the city-spire o’er many a hill; Your green retreats, lone walks, and shadows brown, While sheep feed round beneath the branches’ frown, Shall calm my mind and holy thoughts instil.— What though with passion oft my trembling frame Each real and each fancied wrong inflame, Wandering alone I here my thoughts reclaim: Resentment sinks, Disgust within me dies; And Charity and meek Forgiveness rise, And melt my soul, and overflow my eyes."
"Vanguard of Liberty, ye Men of Kent, Ye Children of a Soil that doth advance Her haughty brow against the coast of France, Now is the time to prove your hardiment! To France be words of invitation sent! They from their Fields can see the countenance Of your fierce war, may ken the glittering lance And hear you shouting forth your brave intent. Left single, in bold parley, Ye, of yore, Did from the Norman win a gallant wreath; Confirmed the charters that were yours before;— No parleying now! In Britain is one breath; We all are with you now from Shore to Shore:— Ye Men of Kent, 'tis Victory or Death!"
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.