It is arguably the most delicious irony of Naya Bharat that as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) approaches its centenary mark, it finds itself in an inelegant ideological cul-de-sac. After the spectacle of Sambhal and the “discovery” of a Hindu place of worship beneath Ajmer’s most famous dargah, this self-styled guardian of the Hindus and the Hindu Samaj seems trapped in a treacherous bhul-bhulaiya or maze of its own making. It now confronts a question it has studiously avoided for decades: What is to be done with the 140 million Muslims, who practice their own religion and whose places of worship were established centuries ago?
The RSS can take reasonable satisfaction from how far the Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has steered the country toward a “Hindu Raj.” The Babri Masjid in Ayodhya has been demolished, and in its place, a grand Ram temple has been constructed –with the imprimatur of the Supreme Court, exercising its powers under the Constitution of India, a document authored by none other than the great B.R. Ambedkar. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat himself had the gratification of personally participating in the pran pratishtha ceremony earlier this year. A sense of historic entitlement has been reaffirmed.
Furthermore, the RSS, from its top leadership to the last swayamsevak, can take pride in the fact that Article 370 has been rendered unrecognisable by the Modi regime. Kashmir has finally been “integrated” with Bharat Mata, and Hindus are now free to buy land in the Valley. This achievement stands as a fitting tribute to the “martyrdom” of Syama Prasad Mukherjee and as a symbolic slap on the legacy of the secular Jawaharlal Nehru. For the Sangh, this is indeed a moment of rejoicing, at least for all Hindus.
Lastly, the country is inching toward the implementation of a Uniform Civil Code, even though electoral exigencies compel the so-called chanakyas to consider exceptions to its “uniform” application.
Yet, amidst these accomplishments, Nagpur faces a veritable crisis of vision.
Having framed Hindu-Muslim relations in a “zero-sum” narrative, the majoritarian darogas of the RSS now face a daunting question: What is the endgame for the very large Muslim population? How is this fraught equation to be resolved?
What next?
The RSS has cultivated an image of itself as a guardian of the “nation” while perpetuating the fiction that it is merely a cultural organisation, uninvolved in political disputes. It prides itself on a vast cadre of dedicated, honest, austere, simple-living swayamsevaks – each a 24-carat deshbhakt.
Yet, many otherwise intelligent individuals – such as the late President Pranab Mukherjee, eminent scientists and other prominent personalities – have allowed themselves to be taken in by Nagpur’s propaganda. Perhaps they believed that this saffron brotherhood could be defanged. But, as history shows, we often get the “useful idiots” we deserve.
But again, what next? The RSS has skilfully evaded answering this critical question.
The Constitution of India guarantees equal citizenship to all Indians. The country’s 140 million Muslims – diverse and stratified in numerous ways but united by their faith – cannot simply be wished away. Politicians, over the decades, have negotiated terms of coexistence between the majority and minority communities. However, since 2014, these terms have been increasingly skewed to the disadvantage of Muslims.
The Fundamental Rights enshrined in the Constitution cannot be casually undermined without dismantling the entire constitutional framework. The BJP, the RSS’s political front, neither has the mandate nor the numbers to constitutionally relegate Muslims to a second-class, disenfranchised status.
Despite persistent provocations, Muslims in India have largely remained calm, refusing to be drawn into confrontations. They have even curbed their so-called “boisterous” tendencies, in line with Mohan Bhagwat’s directives.
Avoiding a civil war
Given the social coalition sustaining Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s regime, the RSS is cautious about igniting a conflict that could spiral out of control. A prolonged civil war between the majority and minority communities would jeopardise the delicate balance of power held together by the ruling elite’s grand coalition.
Even Bhagwat has felt compelled to restrain the more extreme elements within his fold, admonishing them against searching for a trishul under every mosque. But therein lies the problem.
The RSS has built a vast ecosystem of respectability. This includes eminent personalities – retired Supreme Court judges, generals, bureaucrats, IPS and IFS officers, middle-class professionals, and even housewives and grandmothers – singing the tune of a “Hindu renaissance” scripted in Nagpur.
At the same time, there exists a vast underclass: unemployed and unemployable individuals residing in small towns and urban slums. This underclass has been indoctrinated with a sense of entitlement and power, becoming the foot soldiers of mobs searching for temples under mosques and mazars.
In most BJP-ruled states, a new political economy of coercion and intimidation has emerged. Minorities are being systematically pushed out of local economies, their spaces and their communities – driven to the margins. From the prime minister to the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, BJP leaders stoke this sectarian cauldron with slogans like “batenge to katenge” (‘if we divide, they will kill us’).
As long as this sectarian politics delivers electoral dividends, it is inevitable that sections of the majority will continue to experiment with their own interpretations of pre-emptive violence. A “Sambhal a week” keeps opposition parties like the Congress at bay.
Having forfeited its role as a moral custodian in New India, the RSS is ill-positioned to chart a new national future. Its own cadres have succumbed to the lure of corruption, and its leadership remains silent as the nation’s economy is handed over to a handful of crony tycoons.
A century-old dream has turned sour – on Mohan Bhagwat’s watch. The organisation is now reduced to banalities, such as advocating for Hindus in Bangladesh or urging families to “produce three children.”
Perhaps it is time now for the RSS to rewrite its own playbook of tricks and slogans for the next century. The Uncles in Nagpur must decide whether they want to instigate India, old or new, into a 100-year long simmering civil war. The choice is entirely for Bhagwat to make.
Harish Khare was editor of The Tribune.
