Odisha’s recent simultaneous general election results have drawn significant attention, with the Bharatiya Janata Party winning an astounding 20 out of 21 Lok Sabha seats and securing a majority in the state assembly for the first time in history. While many attribute the Biju Janata Dal’s defeat, ending its 24-year rule, to the “Pandian effect,” other analyses point to factors such as anti-incumbency, the declining health of Patnaik, and the “Modi effect”.
However, the deep-entrenched and ever-growing Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) organisation and its profound influence in Odisha’s political landscape have largely gone unnoticed. The recent spurt in academic scholarship has pointed to the multifarious forms and factors contributing to the expansion of Hindutva and its contemporary manifestation (often called neo-Hindutva) in various regions of the country.
The Hindutva ideological project, bolstered by the extensive RSS network in Odisha through the Saraswati Shishu Vidya Mandir (SSVM) school chain and the accompanying infrastructure, has brought about a significant and enduring shift in the state’s politics. It is not a coincidence that the new chief minister, Mohan Charan Majhi, began his career as a teacher in the same school chain and attended an RSS event within days of taking his oath.
ଭାରତୀୟ ସଂସ୍କୃତି ଏବଂ ସମାଜର ମୂଲ୍ୟବୋଧକୁ ବଜାୟ ରଖିବାର ପ୍ରଣ ନେଇଥିବା ଜାତୀୟତାବାଦୀ ସଂଗଠନ ରାଷ୍ଟ୍ରୀୟ ସ୍ୱୟଂ ସେବକ ସଂଘର କଟକ ଗତିରାଉତ ପାଟଣାଠାରେ ଓଡ଼ିଶା ପୂର୍ବର ସଂଘଶିକ୍ଷାବର୍ଗ ସମାରୋପ ଉତ୍ସବରେ ଯୋଗ ଦେଇ ସ୍ଵୟଂ ସେବକ ଭାଇ ମାନଙ୍କ ଶିକ୍ଷଣୀୟ କାର୍ଯ୍ୟ ଦେଖିବାର ସୁଯୋଗ ପାଇଲି । pic.twitter.com/LiIKtZZmm3
— Mohan Charan Majhi (@MohanMOdisha) June 17, 2024
The educational wing of the RSS, known as Vidya Bharati, operates a vast network of schools across India through its state units. Estimates suggest that, as of 2023, there are around 12,754 formal schools within this chain, educating approximately 3,292,896 students. In addition, more than 12,000 informal schools are run under the same structure. These institutions offer education from kindergarten to higher secondary levels, with some even providing undergraduate studies. The medium of instruction varies by state, with some schools following the English-medium CBSE curriculum and the majority using vernacular languages affiliated with state boards.
Also read: New Odisha CM Had Campaigned for Release of Graham Staines’ Killer Dara Singh
Vidya Bharati operates over 1,000 schools in tribal regions of eastern and central India, many of which have residential facilities. Additionally, it runs 211 schools in the 127 border districts of the country and plans to establish more in the “national interest”. The defence ministry has plans to run 100 Sainik schools in partnership with private institutions, and 42 of these have been allocated to Vidya Bharati.
The state unit of Vidya Bharati in Odisha is called Sikshya Vikas Samiti. Its schools operate in affiliation with the Board of Secondary Education, Odisha, the state’s government board, and the medium of instruction is exclusively Odia. These schools follow an independent course structure until Class 8, diverging from the government-prescribed curriculum, and then adhere to the board syllabus for the matriculation examination. The curriculum includes mandatory subjects such as moral studies, Vedic mathematics, and physical exercises up to Class 8. Additionally, Sanskrit and Hindi are taught as compulsory subjects starting from the 3rd standard. The architecture of every school in the chain is uniform, with saffron-coloured walls and identical uniforms for both teachers and students.
An SSVM school in a town with saffron colour and flag (Bhagwa Dhwaj). The subtitle below the name reads ‘a school with Indian culture and traditions.’
A picture of Bharat Mata holding a saffron flag is prominently displayed in nearly all schools, accompanied by the system’s motto written in Odia. The English translation of this motto, available on their website, is:
“To develop a National System of Education which would help building a generation of young men and women that is committed to Hindutva and infused with patriotic fervor; physically, vitally, mentally and spiritually fully developed; capable of successfully facing challenges of life; dedicated to the service of those of our brothers and sisters who dwell in villages, forests, caves and slums; and are deprived and destitute, so that they are liberated from the shackles of social evils and injustice and thus devoted, may contribute to build up a harmonious, prosperous, and culturally rich Nation.”
Mission of Vidya Bharati, RSS’s educational wing.
In Odisha, this school system has successfully attracted children from lower and lower-middle-class families, establishing itself as a hegemonic and normative alternative to government schools. The low fees (approximately Rs 200-300 per month in towns and rural areas) and a dedicated pool of teachers (despite earning less than the minimum wage) with a high student-teacher ratio (18:1 compared to the RTE Act’s prescribed 30:1) have been significant factors in attracting students.
Currently, around 400,000 students are enrolled in these schools across Odisha. The system boasts of consistently securing over 70% of the top hundred positions in the state’s matriculation exams, claiming to be a pioneer in primary education. While a detailed analysis of the curriculum and structure warrants a separate report, it is noteworthy that the schools leave no stone unturned in incorporating Hindutva ideology into their daily operations.
Also read: Decoding BJP’s Odisha Win: ‘Overconfident’ Naveen Patnaik, Modi’s Aggressive Campaigning
Relation between schools and shakhas
The material infrastructure of the school primarily serves as a basecamp for various Sangh Parivar activities in the local region. Often, the teachers, who are dedicated full-time swayamsevaks, use the classrooms as lodging after school hours. Beyond teaching, they conduct shakhas and other organisational activities outside of school hours.
The school infrastructure, typically owned by the school itself with few exceptions, is utilised for different organisational activities. During elections, it accommodates various resources, including for the members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The monthly fees collected from the students are channelled to cover food and travel expenses for the swayamsevaks. During Guru Purnima Utsav, contributions are collected from the public, residents, parents, and students in the name of Bharat Mata and social service, which go into the Sangh Parivar’s funds.
The school’s reputation attracts patronage from the local population, and it often acts as a cadre recruiting agency for the Sangh. Male students are generally encouraged to participate in shakhas regularly, with ‘shakha activities’ promoted as part of the package to convince parents to send their children to the school.
Voting pattern and the establishment of the schools
The setting up of Saraswati schools in Odisha began in 1977, with the first school opening in Unit-III, Bhubaneswar. The following graph illustrates the number of new schools established each year in Odisha. From 1979 to 1993, fewer than 20 schools were established annually. However, from 1997 to 2012, the rate increased significantly, with more than 40 and sometimes even 60 schools being established yearly. This data is available on the SVS website.
A careful analysis of the political history of the BJP, the political front of the Sangh Parivar, provides insight into the trends shown in the graph mentioned earlier. In 1992, the peak of the Hindutva movement occurred nationwide, culminating in the infamous demolition of the Babri Masjid on December 6. Unsurprisingly, no new schools were established in Odisha that year (the first sharp decline in the graph) after a steep increase from 1987 to 1991. This indicates that, in 1992, resources and efforts were diverted towards the communal project, evidenced by the extensive mobilisation of kar sevaks for the Babri Masjid demolition.
The subsequent significant decline occurred in 1995-96, dropping from 27 schools in 1994 to zero in 1996. This period coincided with the Lok Sabha elections, during which the BJP’s vote share in Odisha rose from 9.7% in 1991 to approximately 16% in 1996. Again, the schools’ human resources and ideological focus were redirected to support the BJP’s electoral efforts. Another notable dip happened in 1998, during the Lok Sabha elections, when the BJP, in coalition with the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), won 7 out of 21 seats in the state.
A sharp fall occurred in 2000-01, with the number of schools dropping from 70 per year to just four, coinciding with the elections where the BJP secured 9 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha. After this, the number of schools consistently increased for nearly a decade, with minor declines in 2003 and 2008 (both election years), peaking in 2010. The graph declined again in 2013, the year before the 2014 elections, when the BJP achieved an unprecedented 18.02% vote share. Another notable drop to zero occurred in 2018, a year before the 2019 elections.
As evidenced by the two charts, there has been a consistent increase in the BJP’s vote share in both assembly and parliamentary elections in Odisha. The correlation between the percentage of votes polled for the BJP in Lok Sabha elections and the sharp decline in the number of schools established supports our hypothesis that these schools’ social and material infrastructure played a foundational role in bolstering the BJP during election periods.
Disproportionate penetration of SSVM schools in Odisha:
From the data collected from Vidya Bharati’s website, we have plotted the number of students currently enrolled in these schools per 10,000 population in each state based on the 2011 census. The chart reveals that Odisha ranks third with a ratio of 90.53 students per 10,000 population, trailing only Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh. This high enrollment ratio highlights Vidya Bharati schools’ significant penetration and influence in Odisha, suggesting a strong foothold of the state’s RSS-affiliated educational network. Such a prominent presence likely contributes to shaping the social and political landscape, reinforcing the BJP’s growing influence in the region.
Illustration: Pariplab Chakraborty
The data underscores Odisha’s disproportionate penetration of the RSS network through its school, churning out generations of young minds influenced by its thoughts in the state. Consequently, the steady rise in the BJP’s electoral support over two decades, culminating in recent electoral successes, should be analysed through the lens of this sustained organisational and ideological effort spanning many years.
The RSS’s influence expanded notably during the BJD-BJP alliance government from 2000 to 2008. Despite Naveen Patnaik’s departure from the BJP amidst the Kandhamal riots, saying, “each and every bone of my body is secular”, little was done to curb this growth. Odisha does not have many widely believed ingredients of communal politics. Demographically, Odisha lacks the prominent communal fault lines seen in other states, with Muslims comprising 2.17% and Christians also at 2.17% of the population, according to the 2011 census, within an overwhelmingly Hindu-majority state centred around Jagannath worship.
Pralay Kanungo observed that during its formative years in Odisha, the RSS encountered difficulties in promoting Hindutva ideology due to various internal contradictions. However, over time, it strategically adapted to overcome these challenges. Kanungo also highlighted that a significant faction within the Congress, which had affiliations with the Hindu Mahasabha, indirectly supported the RSS, facilitating its establishment in Odisha. The rapid expansion of Hindutva ideology in the state, according to Kanungo, occurred primarily after communal riots, marking a transformative phase that was previously unprecedented in Odisha’s political landscape.
Also read: Looking Beyond ‘Odia Ashmita’: What Explains BJD’s Loss in Odisha?
Observers have pointed to concerns over Union government agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate and Central Bureau of Investigation as driving forces behind the BJD’s and Naveen Patnaik’s increased alignment with the BJP post-2019. However, we contend that the BJD’s strategy aimed to avoid alienating an increasingly divergent electorate in their voting patterns between state and central elections, thereby simultaneously endorsing Naveen and Modi.
In pursuit of this strategy, the BJD adopted what Pandian has described as a “spiritual politics” approach, embracing a soft Hindutva stance in state politics. Under this approach, the state government spared no effort in engaging in regional temple politics, exemplified by substantial investments such as the renovation of the Jagannath Temple in Puri – costing over Rs 1000 crores – as well as similar initiatives at the Sambalpur Samalei Temple and the Tara Tarini Temple in Ganjam district. Significant financial allocations were also made for the restoration of temples and other religious sites across Odisha in the year preceding the elections.
While some authors argue that a critical missing element in BJD’s politics over the last five years has been the absence of a clear ideology, BJD did struggle to grapple with this increasing Hindutva influence in the state. It is essential to note that strong regional parties have historically dominated Odisha. Thus, any opposition political formation must contend with countering the RSS’s influence in the state, setting the stage for an ideological battleground. The future dynamics will reveal how the BJD, Naveen Patnaik, and a resurgent Congress navigate this complex political terrain post-2024.
Ashirbad Mishra is a student of economics and history. Rajesh Venkatasubramanian is a history teacher.
Read all of The Wire’s reporting on and analysis of the 2024 election results here.
