The detention in Spain by General Franco of Mr. Huddar

Born in 1902, Gopal Huddar also known as John Smith, is a figure who remains shrouded in mystery.  Initially a student leader, Huddar then joined the Hindu nationalist organization Rashtriya Swayam Sewak (RSS) in Nagpur and was even imprisoned from 1931 till 1935 for his role in the Balaghat conspiracy to secure arms and ammunition which he hatched against British colonialism. 

With the financial assistance of friends and philanthropists, Huddar went to London to study journalism after his release from prison. His conviviality with Indian communists there led him to join the International Brigades, one of the six Indians to do so. He embarked for Spain in October 1937 as part of the XVth Abraham Lincoln Brigade’s Shahpurji Saklatvala Battalion, named after a communist of Indian origin who had been elected to the British parliament. Gopal evaded his Indian origins by affixing “Iraqi” to his language abilities, possibly to avoid reprisals by the British government. 

Huddar fought in the battle of Calaceite in March 1938 and was imprisoned in the Francoist labour camp of San Pedro de Cardeña (Burgos) on 3 April 1938. These documents contain a series of questions raised by members of the Legislative Assembly in India about the plight of Indian prisoners who went to fight in Spain and show the British government’s endeavours in this respect.

At the end of 1938, after the decision taken by prime minister Juan Negrín and the International Military Commission set up by the League of Nations to send back all foreign combatants, Huddar was repatriated to England. Back in London, he was honoured at a public meeting by the India Swaraj League, an organisation demanding self-rule for India. After his return to India, Huddar tried to build bridges between his old friends in the RSS and other political figures like Subhas Chandra Bose. Though they never came to fruition, he remained in touch with the RSS founder Hedgewar and also with A. B. Bardhan of the Communist Party of India (CPI). He died in 1981.

Appropriated by both left and right, Huddar has become a historical figure who defies categorisation. Perhaps the honorific title “Volunteers for Freedom” given to the members of the International Brigades is the one that most suits him.

MS/AT