The Vijayadashami festival this time also occasioned celebrations marking the 100th year of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)—that is obviously guiding the destiny of the nation through its loosely linked political outfit, the BJP. A century’s existence for this entity that was formed in 1925 in Nagpur as a service-oriented organisation is by itself proof of its cohesion – supplemented by a sense of high discipline – both of which have helped the outfit grow from strength to strength. This growth was despite the fact that the RSS periodically faced heavy odds, having been banned repeatedly after Independence – in 1948 when its associate assassinated Mahatma Gandhi; then during the Emergency period in the 1970s; and after the Babri Masjid demolition in which its rank and file actively participated.
The RSS’ growth thereafter, mainly since the 1990s when the BJP repeatedly ran governments at the Centre and in several states, is remarkable. Notably, the RSS has from the outset been projecting its ideology as pro-Hindu. An attempt by Sarsangh Chalak Mohan Bhagwat to designate all those born here as Hindus has failed to carry conviction. The Sangh Parivar of which the central edifice is the RSS has outfits like the Visha Hindu Parishad (VHP) that aggressively pursues Hindu communal causes. The RSS on its own projects a more accommodative face, but its intentions are suspect for a vast majority of people – including the minorities and the underlings in the Hindu society who carry the stigma of being “lower or backward castes.”
As the RSS celebrates its centenary, its influence over the central and several state governments run by the BJP is seen in both positive and negative lights. On the positive side, the ministers demonstrate the fabled RSS discipline to substantial extents. On the negative side, the RSS agenda being implemented by these governments is seen to be loaded against the minorities, principally Muslims. There is hardly any representation for Muslims or other minorities in the central government despite their substantial presence. Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself carries with him the Pracharak hangover though he had claimed at the outset in 2014 that he as PM would be guided by the tenets of the Constitution, which he called his “Gita.” The Modi governments’ main claims vis-à-vis its performance in the last 11 years are the abrogation of the special status for Kashmir Valley, the building of a Ram Temple in Ayodhya through facilitation of a compromise between Muslims and Hindus on the Babri Masjid Issue and the offensives against Pakistan – all of which have a Muslim angle behind them. This rhymes well with the Hindutva causes. It’s time the RSS and BJP reassess, reset and widen their agenda, see and treat the entire population as one, and tone down their perceived sectarian styles. There has to be life beyond Ghar Wapsi, a distorted notion of nationalism and the like. India must stand among the comity of nations as a progressive and modern entity.
