First Quote Added
April 10, 2026
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"Since this man, like all Tanzanians, spoke Swahili, I did not fail to ask the interlocutor about the intricacies of his language. The term "mzungu" is well known not only to me, but to everyone who has visited at least one of the equatorial countries of the African continent. Black children, and sometimes even adults, shout this word on the streets of African settlements, referring to a person of European appearance. The opponent replied that there was nothing offensive in this, and cited a fictitious dialogue as an example: βMom, can I invite my friend to the holiday? β Yes, but who is he? β Mzungu. β Oh, mzungu, let him come.β β βSo be it, β objected in response, β but why sometimes in the villages the children run after me, shouting βthisβ with such an intonation, as if they saw a madman?ββ βAny word can have a negative connotation,β β the man replied."
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.