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http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31818&articlexml=ET-Polibelly-Hindutva-Church-And-Its-Missionaries-in-07092015004055
ET Polibelly -
Hindutva Church And Its Missionaries in Govt
Rajesh Ramachandran
RSS sees itself as akin to
what the Church of England was to the British Empire or the
Catholic Church was to the Roman Empire. But the problem here is,
there is no place for a Hindutva Church in our Constitution
The three-day RSS-government
meet got over on Friday in Delhi with fulsome endorsement of the
Narendra Modi government by RSS. But the message is more complex than a
mere stamp of approval It can mean that the PM and the Union cabinet
remain subordinate to RSS, but also that Modi's mandate and popularity
within the Sangh cadres leave little room for RSS to manoeuvre. Sure,
the most telling remark from the PM after the meet was that he would
seek “margdarshan“ or guidance from RSS. Then, don't forget the fate of
BJP's margdarshak mandal! The BJP and its predecessor Bharatiya Jan
Sangh are RSS' creations, It is no coincidence that two of BJP's Prime
Minsters are both RSS pracharaks or missionaries. From Vajpayee to Modi,
all BJP leaders of any consequence are RSS missionaries or volunteers.
So, the relationship between RSS and BJP goes beyond an umbilical link
between a mother and a child as explained by BJP leaders defending the
meet. It is an organic, symbiotic relationship between two entities
where one constantly nurtures the other with people and ideas for
leadership and mass mobilization of voters during the polls. Bihar CM Nitish
Kumar had once explained that
while BJP spokesmen talk all the time, RSS works silently to win
elections. This is true of all elections . across the country .
RSS ideologue KN Govindacharya had called moderate Vajpayee a “mukhota“
or a mask for the rest of the organisation. This expression aptly sums
up the BJP-RSS relation ship. BJP is the political mask of RSS, made of
and by RSS to ensure that its Hindutva programme gets implemented within
the established norms of Parliamentary conduct.
This detachment
helps RSS keep its Hindutva core undiluted by compromises of everyday
politics. But it has to examine whether the mask is getting a life of
its own. The three-day “coordination“ meet is one such exercise to test
the mask.
Even during the Vajpayee govern ment, there used to be
similar meet ings between RSS and the government. But then, Vajpayee
towered over his RSS counterparts. He began his political journey with
MS Golwalkar at the helm, closely inter acting with Balasaheb Deoras and
Bhaurao Deoras and probably considered Rajendra Singh as his
contemporary . So, Vajpayee obviously
could not seek “margdarshan“ from someone relatively junior like KS
Sudarshan who was RSS chief during NDA-I.
Those days RSS relied a
lot on
Advani and Joshi to steer the ship into Sangh waters. In fact, RSS
dictated the appointment of Advani as deputy PM, and Vajpayee was forced
to reiterate that he remains a swayamsevak. Still RSS did not approve
of his aides like foster son-in-law Ranjan Bhattacharya, NSA Brajesh
Mishra, foreign minister Jaswant Singh or finance minister Yashwant
Sinha. None of them was from RSS.
Dattopant Thengadi, who
established BMS and Swadeshi Jagran
Manch, called a rally at Ramlila Maidan to attack Vajpayee's economic
policies, terming Yashwant Sinha a “scoundrel“. Thengadi was totally
opposed to NDA 's privatization drive. The Sangh's disenchantment might
have led to the electoral decline of BJP in 2004 and 2009 till it found a
new leader and a new militant idiom.
It is probably this history
of disenchantment with the leaders whom they create that makes the
Sangh keep BJP and the government on a tight leash. A coordination
meeting twice a year with the PM in reverential attendance would send
the right message to all concerned. The ministers would stick to the RSS
line and the cadre would feel reassured.
But is it
Constitutional? The Union cabinet is discussing its policies with
unelected people, officially not part of the ruling party , who have not
taken the oath of secrecy . RSS sees itself as something akin to what
the Church of England was to the British Empire or the Catholic Church
was to the Holy Roman Empire. But the problem here is, there is no place
for a Hindutva Church in our Constitution.
