The RSS Is No Longer What It Used To Be
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In a latest column on this web site, my pal and senior journalist, Javed Ansari, expressed the hope that the Rashtriya Swayamseva Sangh (RSS), "the ideological fountainhead of the Sangh Group", is "ideally suited" to "rein within the hotheads within the authorities and in addition amongst its ideological fellow vacationers just like the VHP and the Bajrang Dal".
His hope was expressed within the context of the latest conferences of the RSS chief, Mohan Bhagwat, with 5 distinguished members of the Muslim neighborhood. Two days later, Bhagwat went to a mosque in New Delhi to fulfill with the chief of the All-India-Imam Group, Dr Imam Umer Ahmed Ilyasi. He additionally interacted with college students of a madrasa. Ilyasi was sufficiently overwhelmed by this gesture to name Bhagwat the 'Rastra Pita', the daddy of the nation, a label hitherto used just for Mahatma Gandhi.
Mohan Bhagwat visited a mosque and a Madrasa in Delhi.
The RSS defined that these assembly had been a part of the 'samvad' or dialogue that the group has all the time sought to determine between completely different spiritual communities. Civilized samvad has been certainly one of our nice traditions, and we have to revive it. If the RSS feels that a dialogue will assist stem the present systemic demonization and alienation of the minorities, it's a good factor. Such an overture was lengthy overdue, however is it too late, or largely symbolic, and even efficacious, given the modifications which have already been wrought within the final eight years?
It's right here that, whilst I want to imagine within the optimism expressed by Javed Ansari, I've my doubts. The first cause is that the RSS is now not accountable for the acute right-wing forces it has itself empowered in the previous few years.
The RSS, however its misguided assist for the unachievable, impractical and outdated idea of a Hindu Rashtra, needs to be assessed in perspective. Its avowed goal has been of uniting and strengthening the Hindu neighborhood, which, in itself, can't be faulted. It additionally stands for sturdy service within the pursuits of the nation in moments of disaster. Throughout the Partition and thereafter, RSS cadres contributed to the rehabilitation of Hindu refugees, main the long run President of the Republic, Dr Zakir Hussain, to say in 1949: "The allegations in opposition to the RSS of violence and hatred in opposition to Muslims are wholly false. Muslims ought to be taught the lesson of mutual love, cooperation and group from RSS".
In 1962, the RSS contributed actively to the warfare effort in opposition to China. This impressed Prime Minister Nehru, who invited the RSS to area a contingent of Swayamsevak within the 1963 Republic Day Parade in New Delhi. The RSS additionally distinguished itself in aiding Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri throughout the 1965 warfare with Pakistan. Shastri invited the then RSS chief, MS Golwalkar, to an all-party meet. Within the 1971 warfare with Pakistan, RSS volunteers had been the primary to donate blood and assist the military to dig trenches. Area Marshall Carisppa paid a glowing tribute to those efforts: "RSS is my coronary heart's work...The nation is standing in want of your providers."
When Indira Gandhi imposed the Emergency in 1975, RSS cadres performed a major position in clandestinely working for the restoration of democracy. Jayaprakash Narayan, earlier a staunch critic of the RSS, acknowledged, "RSS is a revolutionary group. No different group within the nation comes anyplace close to it. It alone has the capability to remodel society and casteism, and wipe the tears from the eyes of the poor."
However the RSS is now not what it was. It has allowed itself to be taken over by lumpen parts which, by means of their motion and speech, have gotten clones of the identical condemnable Islamic fundamentalism they wish to struggle. These parts have over the previous few years acquired a brash new autonomy, numerical energy, political heft and confidence, and are in no temper to be 'reigned in', as Javed thinks they may very well be.
The Bajrang Dal was fashioned on October 1, 1984, as a militant wing of the Sangh affiliate, the Vishva Hindu Parishad. Right this moment it has reportedly 2500 'akhadas', that are nurseries of fanaticism, liable to senseless violence and scant regard of the rule of legislation. The Dal is among the quickest rising organizations of the Sangh Parivar, with a membership of hundreds of thousands and a presence in nearly each district of India.
Together with associates just like the Shri Ram Sena, it doesn't imagine in dialogue, celebrates the murders of these against it like rationalists Professor MM Kalburgi and Narendra Dabholkar, and journalist Gauri Lankesh, blatantly publicizes movies of the lynching of a Muslim on suspicion of killing cattle, justifies the flogging of the Dalits in Una for skinning a cow, assaults with impunity girls for not conforming to patriarchal notions of 'Hindu values', mindlessly conflates faith with patriotism, celebrates the demolition of the Babri Masjid as 'Shourya Divas', and is animated with a blind hatred for minorities usually and Muslims specifically.
Paul R Brass, the Professor Emeritus of Political Science on the College of Washington, has described the Bajrang Dal because the equal of Nazi Germany's Sturmabteilung, Hitler's para-military wing. Far-sighted BJP leaders had seen this coming. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, as Prime Minister, had stated publicly that the Bajrang Dal solely "embarrassed the BJP", and requested the BJP to "rein them in". Javed Ansari is clinging to the identical hope. However is that this anymore doable?
From the start, the BJP-RSS took a place of strategic ambivalence to the rise of such teams. Such an strategy enabled them to reap short-term political dividends, whereas permitting them to ostensibly distance themselves from outrageously unlawful actions. However in actuality, the social gathering's conspicuous silence or overt encouragement solely served to additional entrench such parts. Below the protecting umbrella of political energy, right now they've acquired a ground-level dominance and change into a legislation unto themselves, able to posing a problem to anybody who dares to rein them in, together with the BJP-RSS management. In reality, an essential chief of the Hindu Yuva Vahini, Yogi Adityanath's personal military, akin to the Bajrang Dal, reportedly stated that "in future, we could not want the BJP."
Once you play with hearth, you can't all the time make certain that you may 'rein in' the conflagration. The genie is out of the bottle, and I am afraid it's not going to be simple to place it again once more, however the intentions of Bhagwat-ji or the optimism of Javed Ansari.
Pavan Okay. Varma is writer, diplomat and former member of parliament (Rajya Sabha).
Disclaimer: These are the non-public opinions of the writer.
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