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St. Ram Swarup of Delhi
by Anwar Shaikh
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Shri Ram Swarup's
letter of 16th December, 1998, which I received on 26th Deceember, 1998, was the
messenger of special delight, yet my eyes swelled with tears! I was aware of the
cause of mirth but why it made me uneasy and mournful, I did not know. I felt
trapped in a psychological mesh.
Since I had written: "The Tale of Two Gujarati
Saints," a treatise on Gandhi's political manipulations and his total lack
of patriotic conduct, which he had displayed in agreeing to the partition of
India, Sri Ram Swarup's letters to me, had gradually become fewer. I did not
know that he was a Gandhian because he usually spoke of "the long battle
that lay ahead, " in which he believed, my writings would play a
significant role. He was a passionate supporter of my dissertation: "Islam,
The Arab National Movement." He admired the thesis of this book so much
that he once wrote to me: "You are the only man who could have done
this."
Some of his life-long close associates became envious
of our friendship, which grew from the discourse of this book. They not only
condemned me but also denigrated the contents of my essay under various
pretences, yet called themselves patriots. Sri Ram Swarup, though he lived on a
pittance, depended for his meagre livelihood on these so- called friends who
exploited his tremendous scholarly and literary skills. A man of lower calibre
would have succumbed to their demands and ignored me altogether for his own
survival, but not Sri Ram Swarup, who was a saint, made of piety, purity and
probity.
Undeterred by these pressures, Saint Swarup, took
exactly the opposite stance: he introduced the book to all and sundry verbally
and through paper reviews. Not many people know that sagacity of Saint Swarup
has sown the seeds of a national crusade, that will eventually lead to a
renaissance, which is really Indian in spirit, sweetness and splendour.
As Sri Ram Swarup's correspondence dwindled in warmth
and size, I often wondered how a man, who was spiritually and intellectually so
close to me, could behave in such a manner on a difference of opinion about
Gandhi. Though he never protested or even alluded to it, I knew it at heart, and
was sure that being a saint, he could not bear a grudge against anyone, and
would swallow his anger with the dignity that behaves a sage of his stature.
This is exactly what happened when his letter arrived on 26th December, 1998,
after several months. The return of a good friend really made me jocund, joyful
and jubilant.
Alas, this mood of happiness did not last very long. I
had a feeling of unease all the time. What was it? A few days afterward, Ibne
Warraq rang from France to tell me that Ram Swarup had died on 26th December.
Despite being a 70 year old man, I could not check the steady flow of tears. One
does not come across many friends in life; especially, friends of saintly
character are rare.
I might have taken this mournful news boldly but for
the fact that Shri Ram Swarup had expressed his desire to see me. In fact, Shri
Brijmohan Thaper, a year earlier, had offered to pay for his flight to London.
When Ram Swarup adopted a casual attitude towards me, I actively thought of
getting him here to spend the summer of 1999 with me. My wife was happy to
welcome him. It would have been a great treat to see him with us and enjoy his
parlance, piety, and prayers.
We did not stand together on all issues. For example he
believed in Caste, possibly as a Gandhian influence. To me, it is the gross
misinterpretation of R.V. X. XG, which has become the Frankenstein of India.
However, his idea of caste was not rigid; he believed that a group of the low-
caste could be elevated to a high caste by the force of Karma.
Ram Swarup was one of the few saints who listen to
reason even when they have their own arguments to the contrary. Urdu was one of
such issues. Once discussing the needs of patriotism, I was able to convince him
for a limited support of this language. To my amazement, when a Hindu scholar
reprinted my anthology: "Soz-o-saz" in Delhi, Saint Swarup did all he
could to disseminate its message.
One of Shri Ram Swarup's virtues was to look for
patriotic people of Indian origin irrespective of their creed. That he was a
great patriot, is vouched for by the fact that he did not judge anyone by his
faith but deeds. It was in 1995 when I first heard from him without any prior
knowledge of his existence. I was pleased to know that someone appreciates my
writings. My reply to him brought me a bundle of his wonderful books. His work,
I realised, was deep-rooted, thought-provoking and illuminating. His book:
"Understanding Islam Through Hadith" is a masterpiece of learning for
a non-Muslim. His approach in tackling the explosive subject-matter of this book
is masterly, to say the least. Shame on the national government of any political
colour that bans such a scholarly and instructive publication.
Though his literary endeavours have been brutalised by
the political manoeuvres of his own country, which he adored, he made a positive
contribution to the down fall of Communistic dictatorial grip on human
liberties. He boldly exposed the imperialistic nature of the Marxist ideology:
his arguments were noted by the Eisenhower Administration of the U.S.A. and some
of them found a place in the Agenda of the Geneva Conference in 1955. Fancy a
saint, having a deep insight into the mysteries of modern economical Great,
though he was, Lady Luck did not feel at ease with him. Neither foreigners
offered him any laurels of recognition nor did his own compatriots honour him.
An Indian press-magnate, who met me in 1998, told me that the government had
thought of making him the "National Professor, but then the idea came to
nothing!
Saint Ram Swarup's dignity was way above these worldly
trinkets. He wielded mastery over many languages including Hindi, Sanskrit and
English, and was well decorated with the knowledge of the Scriptures.
He wanted people of the Indian subcontinent to indulge
in the study of the Vedas, and would go to any length in resolving a Vedic
issue. He often applauded my opinions on the Vedic principles except Caste
System, and actually propagated them. This is something that only a true saint
could do.
Many of my friends who live in Great Britain, when
visiting Delhi, went to pay him their respect. They all admired his holiness
infused with the greatness of intellect, ethical piety and moral splendour. He
was rich in poverty, happy in adversity and fully reconciled with his fate that
tried him with tricks, torture and trivialities. Long may live the memories of
Saint Ram Swarup of Delhi.
He was a saint because he was not guided by verbosity
which inevitably leads to vanity, virulence and villainy. Being veritable,
virtuous and vivacious, he believed in Karma and judged a person by his
character and not the appearance of creed. Here is his last letter to me, which
demonstrates this truth:
23/5, Shakti Nagar (Main Road)
Delhi - 110007
16th December, 1998.
Dear Janab Anwar Shaikh,
An old friend of mine came here from Almora where he
lives in the mountains in the midst of a thick forest. He told me an interesting
story. Some senior scholars of the Aligarh University were there doing their
doctorate on the subject of the new emerging environment on the flora and fauna
of the place. The scholars included one lady who was not afraid of questioning
Islam. She borrowed either Satanic verses or Why I am not a Muslim and read it
with interest. The male scholars also did it but without telling each other.
They wanted to borrow the other book too, but my friend did not have it. When he
told me this story, I gave him your Islam as Arab Nationalism and Soz-o-saz to
pass them on to the research scholars.
Another similar story. An old friend of mine was
recently in Pakistan where he met a Muslim lady who practices law and is very
much your admirer. These cannot just be stray cases; they tell their own story.
I want to repeat what I have been saying that ideas have legs and they reach
unsuspected quarters and in unsuspected ways and become independent of their
authors:
I believe that you have done your work by putting
forward a seed idea. It would now take care of itself. Your work has a
compassionate side though it would not appear so to those who have only an
Outer view of things. Your basic criticism would help
to promote a new thinking among the Muslims. It would be a great gain to all.
Yours sincerely,
Ram Swarup.
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