Tamil Nadu was created by the British, not Tamilians: Maharashtra Governor Radhakrishnan

Maharashtra Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan on Saturday (March 22, 2025) claimed that ‘extremist forces’ remain active in Tamil Nadu and Punjab, albeit in different ways.

Speaking at the launch of ‘Hedgewar – A Definitive Biography’, a book on Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) founder Dr. Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, authored by British-Indian writer Sachin Nandha, at Raj Bhavan in Mumbai, Mr. Radhakrishnan highlighted concerns about divisive narratives and stressed the importance of national unity.

“In Punjab, it is slightly different, but in Tamil Nadu, there are no weapons — their words act as weapons that could mislead youngsters,” he said. He criticised narratives suggesting that India was created by the British, arguing that India had been functionally and traditionally united long before colonial rule. “They don’t know the history that even Ashoka the Great had conquered up to Tamil Nadu. My arguments are based on the ground reality that India might have been created politically by the British, but functionally and traditionally, we were one much before the colonial rule.”

The Governor reflected on Tamil Nadu’s historical divisions, noting that the region was once split into Chera, Chola, Pandya, and Kongunadu kingdoms. “When Jainism was born, two-thirds of Tamils followed it. Today, only 40,000 Tamil Jains remain — but that is a different story. When Jainism spread, it spread on its own. Buddhism was also widely followed in Tamil Nadu. I tell them that Tamil Nadu was politically created by the British. No Tamilian created a single Tamil Nadu. Historically, Tamil Nadu was divided into Chera, Chola, Pandya, and even Kongunadu — they were separate kingdoms. If we keep dividing it further, it would be like boarding a town bus where you need to show your passport to get on and get off. That is the ground reality.”

He warned that such division could weaken India’s ability to assert itself internationally. “How many divisions can we make? Even in Maharashtra, Vidarbha is different, Konkan is different, and Marathwada is different. If we keep dividing like this, who will have the bargaining power to make demands? It is because we stand united as India that we can assert our interests on the international stage. If we were a small country like many in Europe, we would not have the same bargaining power,” he said.

Mr. Radhakrishnan said that he joined the RSS in 1973 when the late Suryanarayana Rao was the pracharak, and highlighted the influence of the RSS founder Dr. Hedgewar, recalling how he started the organisation with schoolboys. “People questioned whether these small boys could build a Hindu Rashtra, but he never worried. Today, RSS is one of the largest national corps, producing people who live for society and the country,” he said.

He further quoted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, attributing Mr. Modi’s approach to the influence of RSS. “Our Prime Minister says it is because of RSS that he lives for others. That is the greatest thought and enthusiasm Doctorji (Hedgewar) injected in young minds,” he said.

The Governor praised the legacy of Dr. Hedgewar and said, “Doctor ji used to always say, ‘You must be proud of your culture, you must be proud of your motherland.’ There is no question that we love our mother, but when it comes to the motherland, nothing is more important,’” he said.

He said that the book had been released at the right time. “When India is on the rise and flourishing, the legacy of this great man and the early RSS will continue to inspire millions in India towards equality, peace and prosperity.”

The book’s release coincides with the 100th anniversary of the RSS. “Dr.Hedgewar becomes increasingly relevant for modern India as the RSS continues to grow past its 100 year anniversary. To understand modern India, we have to understand Hedgewar’s creation – the RSS. There is no better place to start than to understand the mind of Hedgewar.” says Mr. Nandha, who is also the Director-General of the International Centre for Sustainability.

The book is set against the backdrop of a country grappling with colonial rule, rising communal tensions, and the complexities of modernity, he said. “It offers insight into Hedgewar’s philosophy of cultural nationalism, his challenges with contemporaries like Gandhi, Nehru and Savarkar, and his transformative leadership. It also looks at his struggles in understanding and addressing issues within Hindu society. More than a biography, I approached it as a deep exploration of India’s civilisational ethos, trying to offer a nuanced perspective on the RSS’s origins and its influence on India today,” said Mr. Nandha.

In the book, the author wrote an entire chapter titled ‘The Godfather’ and said that the RSS was an organisation of strength and a law upon itself. “It could get things done, and the more people that joined its shakhas, the more capable it became. Hedgewar had inadvertently become the Godfather,” he writes.

He also stated that the book does not portray the RSS founder as a saint or a villain but as a human being. “It’s a story of evolution, struggle, and ideas. Most importantly, it’s an inspiring tale of how a genuinely worthy idea transitions from the fringes to the centre,” he said.