Congress leader & MLA Priyank Kharge once again spread a half-truth from his X account. Notably, he is the son of Congress’s national president, Mallikarjun Kharge. On 10 November 2025 he posted: “100 years of disrespecting our National Flag. 100 years of betraying the Independence movement. 100 years of opposing the Constitution of India. 100 years of anti-nationalism. Here is a letter dated February 24, 1948, from the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, to the Chief Secretary of Punjab, documenting how the RSS insulted the National Flag. History is full of such instances of the RSS’s brazen betrayal of our country. And no matter how hard the entire BJP ecosystem tries, they will never be able to whitewash the RSS’s history of being anti-Constitution. Time for BJP leaders and Swayamsevaks to know the real RSS history.”
However, this is a clear example of spreading false propaganda against the RSS, while the truth narrates a completely different story. Before moving forward, it is important to mention that the Congress has been one of the worst examples in history when it comes to valuing academic study or presenting facts in their actual form. It has merely become an organisation devoted to spreading lies and distorted propaganda something it does habitually.
Now let’s talk about the truth of what actually happened during the hoisting of the National Flag. To understand it properly, we need to look at the sequence of events step by step. So, it begins with a question asked by Shri S. Nagappa in the Constituent Assembly of India (Legislative) on 19 November 1947. He asked: “May I know whether Government has received any representation from people of the Hyderabad State as regards the dishonouring of the National flag?”
Since Sardar Patel himself was present in the Assembly that day, he responded to the question by saying: “I have already stated, a reference was made to the State concerned and a denial was issued publicly by the Hyderabad Government.” To this, Shri Nagappa reacted and said: “In practice, if a particular State dishonours the National Flag and on enquiry denies the fact, what does the Government propose to do to investigate the matter and ensure that proper honour is given to the flag?” Sardar then replied: “The denial is accepted.”
Since incidents of disrespect towards the National Flag had already been reported earlier at many places, a letter had previously been issued on 21 October 1947, to all Provincial Governments. Its sole purpose was to collect information about such incidents.
This file is available in the National Archives of India (41/2/48-Public, Minister of Home Affairs) and it contains a reference to a letter written in Hindi by Ghorilal Nagarmal to the then Home Minister, Sardar Patel, stating: “२६ जनवरी को लोगों ने स्वतंत्रता दिवस के ऊपर राष्ट्रीय पताका अपनी-अपनी दुकानों पर लगायी थी मगर राष्ट्रीय स्वयंसेवक संघ वालों ने जबरदस्ती तमाम दुकानों से राष्ट्रीय पताकाओं को उतारकर पददलित किया; तथा गंदी नालियों में फेंक दिया.”
Ghorilal Nagarmal neither mentioned anyone’s name nor explained how January 26 could be considered Independence Day at that time – which itself is beyond understanding. However, to gather more details about Nagarwala’s letter, the Ministry of Home Affairs sent a letter to the Chief Secretary of East Punjab on 24 February 1948.
Meanwhile, Chief Secretary of East Punjab, M.R. Sachdev, informed the Assistant Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs on 22 March 1948, stating: “The only districts in which incidents occurred are Gurgaon, Ferozepore, Karnal, and Simla.”
It is noteworthy that none of these incidents had any direct or indirect connection with the RSS. Not only this, there is no mention of the RSS in any government record or document regarding the disrespect of the National Flag. Therefore, the Congress should take full responsibility and accurately present the facts of that period.
However, until then, the Punjab Chief Secretary had not replied to the letter dated 24 February. Hence, the Ministry of Home Affairs sent a reminder on 13 April 1948. Finaly, a reply came from the Chief Secretary of Punjab on 29 April, stating: “I am directed to inform you that the District Magistrate, Amritsar, has reported that one Bhagat Ram, son of Munshi Ram of Gokal Market, Amritsar, was responsible for tearing and dishonouring the National Flag on January 26, 1948. He was subsequently arrested and is still under detention. Five of his companions were also arrested under Section 107/151 and are now standing their trial.”
Notably, in this letter, the Punjab Government did not clarify whether those arrested had any link with the RSS. The name of the RSS was not mentioned anywhere. Therefore, it cannot, in any official capacity, be alleged that the RSS was involved in any act of disrespecting the National Flag.
