Mohan Bhagwat is Master of the Forked Tongue

Mohan Bhagwat, chief of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), used the sacred occasion of Vijayadashami to once again incite ominous feelings of suspicion, hatred and violence against other communities among Hindus by resorting to lies, half-truths and deceit.

The temptation to ignore his speech as empty rhetoric must be resisted as the RSS influences a large population of Hindus like never before. For that section of society, his words have significance. And the truth is that the Vijayadashami speech has a potential to add to the already existing biases and suspicion towards other communities among Hindus. Which in turn, is bound to further intensify existing tension and violence in the social life of India.

The ideology of the Sangh is now the state ideology of India. In a way, the Sangh is ruling a large part of India through its political wing, the Bharatiya Janata Party. Bhagwat’s influence on India's bureaucracy and police has also increased. His speeches are now relayed live by the national broadcaster and other TV channels. The prime minister himself is a swayamsevak first. Atal Bihari Vajpayee had also said this about himself. The influence of the Sangh on the state machinery, even the army, is unmistakable. It is, therefore, necessary to heed and scrutinise Bhagwat’s words.

The RSS chief expressed concern over the growing imbalance of population among communities in India. He did not name any community. But a hint to the wise swayamsevaks of the Sangh is enough. And the Sangh has mastery in the art of using code words to convey its message. Its constituents decode their meaning easily. You wouldn’t find anything in the words which would fall foul of law. Apart from this, due to this coded language, the media and intellectuals also jump into the fray to defend the RSS. Just like the former chief election commissioner, S.Y. Quraishi, has done. But this effort is pathetic because the Sangh know its followers understand its argot.

Also read: Fact-Check: Mohan Bhagwat’s ‘Religion-Based Imbalance’ Theory and India’s Population Growth

When the Sangh says ‘communities’, it means Hindus and Muslims and Christians – not Brahmins, Adivasis or Dalits. Quraishi is saying that Bhagwat did not name any community but the latter did not leave things ambiguous either. When the RSS chief says that the balance of population between communities in India is deteriorating, he means that the proportion of Hindus is decreasing while those of Muslims and Christians is increasing. He also explained how this supposed imbalance was happening. He blamed the imbalance in birth rates and other reasons such as forced conversion, etc. There is, thus, no scope for any confusion. Bhagwat does not need to use words like Hindu and Muslim; his audience understands him well.

This is not the first time that Bhagwat has pointed out the danger of ‘imbalance’ in the population. In the past, he has called upon Hindus to to procreate more if they want avoid being outnumbered by Muslims and Christians.

Bhagwat knows he is lying. The birth rate is declining rapidly in every community. The decline in birth rate in Muslims is similar to what is happening in Hindus – it is now stagnating and the birth rate is becoming almost the same across communities. The idea that Muslims produce more children as part of a conspiracy to outnumber Hindus and capture India is hateful propaganda. Hindutva ideologues have been saying this for almost 100 years. It hasn't happened yet. And by no means is it possible that Muslims can even come close to Hindus in terms of population. All this was explained by Quraishi in his recent meeting with Bhagwat using a mathematical model. It seemed to him that Bhagwat had understood his point. He also presented the RSS chief with a copy of his well-researched book on this topic to dispel this myth. We are told that Bhagwat even laughed generously at this. Did he laugh because he knew there was no need to read the book? After all, Bhagwat knows that he is propagating an untruth. His sole aim is to make Hindus paranoid.

Bhagwat’s demand for a universal population control policy has already been rejected by his own government. It told the Supreme Court last year that that there is no need for any law or policy to regulate births or population as the birth rate is declining across communities and is now getting stable. So, Bhagwat is doing this deliberately. He also told his audience that the imbalance in population could change India’s geographical boundaries. You don’t have to be very imaginative to understand what he is trying to say.

Quraishi found Bhagwat’s speech ‘balanced’ but an influential BJP leader in Uttar Pradesh who has been involved in acts of violence against Muslims heard and understood the Sangh chief’s message. At a public event, Sangeet Som called upon Kshatriyas to take up arms as population of a particular community was increasing. Perhaps his message was also ‘balanced’ as he did not name the community.

There was another deceit in Bhagwat's speech. He has been saying for quite some time that irrespective of their ways of worship, all those living in India are Hindus. But if everyone is Hindu, why should one be concerned about the increase in the number of worshippers of a different kind? After all, it is only the number of 'Hindus' that is increasing.

After this, Bhagwat expressed concern over the violence in society. Before his speech, there were reports of attacks on Muslims by Bajrang Dal activists from Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and other places. The Bajrang Dal is associated with the Sangh. One expected a ‘peace-loving guardian’ like Bhagwat to tell his followers that violence by Hindus is unacceptable. Everyone should be welcome in their religious festivals, and not be refused entry or beaten up. But Bhagwat did not say anything of the sort. It was as if this violence never happened.

Also read: What Mohan Bhagwat’s Visit to a Madrasa Tells Us About the RSS

When Bhagwat made specific references to violence, it was in reference to the murder of Hindus by Muslims in Udaipur and Amravati. He said that it was good that some prominent Muslims have opposed this violence, but this protest should be more widespread. He said that whenever there is violence from the side of Hindus, all Hindus oppose it. What could be a bigger joke than this? His own speech is an example of how the violence by Hindutva goons is not even seen as violence by the Sangh.

Violence by Hindutva goons is increasing in India but the Sangh itself has never condemned it. Those Hindu sounding names who condemn this violence are derided as ‘seculars’. We have seen men accused of violence being garlanded by the leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party and organisations affiliated to the Sangh. The political wing of the Sangh, i.e. the BJP, gives tickets to such people in elections and even makes them ministers.

Mohan Bhagwat also praised his government and said everyone should cooperate with it. He said it is not right to harass the government by asking for jobs and the like. This left some political analysts wre perplexed because just a few days ago, another senior Sangh functionary had expressed concern over rising unemployment and inflation in India. So, which of the two is the RSS’s view? Those who know the Sangh know very well that it speaks with 10 mouths – so that its audience can keep on interpreting these messages depending on what suits them. Meanwhile, the Sangh will continue to do what it is born for. Which is to make Hindus insecure, narrow-minded, suspicious towards others and alienated from humanity.

The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.