First Quote Added
April 10, 2026
Latest Quote Added
"The extent of jihadi entrenchment in Kerala was demonstrated in 2003 in Marad, a sleepy coastal fishing village, where eight Hindu fishermen were hacked to death by a Muslim mob on the beach. The killers then hid inside the nearby Jumma Masjid, where hundreds of local Muslim women converged to prevent the police from entering to catch the attackers. This became known as the Marad Massacre or Second Moplah Massacre. Justice Thomas P. Joseph’s commission was set up to investigate the massacre, and it came out with shocking details about the robust infrastructure that the jihadis had built in Kerala. The assistant commissioner of police testified before the commission, stating that National Development Front (NDF) had been receiving very large funds from unspecified foreign countries to carry out its terror training. The commission reported that the Crime Branch had failed to inquire into the source of funds for such a large quantity of weapons and well coordinated attacks."
"Another disturbing dimension that the commission brought out was the nexus of politicians, bureaucrats and jihadis. The assistant commissioner was severely criticized for the way he tried to shield one of the prime accused, and for his failure to maintain surveillance on a suspected militant despite intelligence warnings. This police officer tried to remain involved in the massacre area even after he had been transferred in the ‘public interest’. The commission pointed out that his appointment was ‘shrouded in suspicious circumstances’ and that allegations of his links with the terrorists could not be ignored. The commission reported that this official had been appointed without knowledge of the police head and this was done ‘to oblige a Muslim leader’."
"It may be years before the gory scene at Marad fades from the minds of the many families who lived at the beach."
"This arguably is the first case in India where the game of politics was played employing terrorist methods ."
"The Marad massacre of Hindu fishermen by the Moslems has been conveniently ignored by the nation."
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.