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April 10, 2026
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"I thought, ‘wait a minute, I deserve the same right to be a part of a group who are honoring their forefathers,'” said Benton."
"Very little is known about black confederate soldiers, so if I can be a starting point in letting the world know the history and making them aware that African-Americans have fought in every war in history, then I’m proud to stand up for my great-grandfather. I’m honored because he helped form the United States of America, he was a part of that movement and not too many people are aware of that. I’m standing here with honor and pride."
"My son tells me I’m a trailblazer, because I was also involved in the community Civil Rights movement in Port Wentworth. So, trailblazing, making a difference, I guess it’s in my blood. It’s just something that you do"
"He was fighting for his land and his people"
"I have every right to membership in the UDC, which along with the Sons of Confederate Veterans, remembers and recognizes the men who fought for and rendered service to the South during the Civil War"
"It's a very involved process," said Piechocinski. "You have to prove that you are a linear descendant of a Confederate, either a soldier, or someone who served in another capacity, such as a cook, laborer or musician."
"Very few African-Americans" can produce that amount of documentation"
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.