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April 10, 2026
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"Domitius Afer of Nimes [...] held high offices under Tiberius and Caligula and Nero and had previously practiced in the forum, a better orator than a man, although even the reputation of a good orator abandoned him before his lifetime. (Wilhelm Siegmund Teuffel)"
"This famous man, often praised by Quintilian as the greatest orator he had heard, was born in Nimes, a Roman colony, and having moved to Rome to improve his fortune, was currently walking the path of honors . He had been Praetor a short time before; but as he occupied only a mediocre rank in the City, he sought opportunities to make a name for himself at whatever price he paid. He therefore accused Claudia [Pulcra, great-granddaughter of Augustus] of adultery with Furnius, of spells, and of magical operations directed against the Emperor. (Jean-Baptiste-Louis Crevier)"
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.