Has the RSS really evolved?

Bhagwat’s rhetoric must now be internalised by the rank and file

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat’s lecture series in Delhi stemmed from the organisation’s desire to reach out to the capital’s opinion-making elite; allay ‘misconceptions’ that exist about the Sangh worldview and functioning; and present its own vision. The Sangh wields tremendous influence in contemporary India — through both its political affiliate, the Bharatiya Janata Party, as well as other affiliates working with students, teachers, tribals, workers, farmers, the Hindu religious leadership and other groups. Bhagwat’s elaborate policy statements were critical in showing the ways in which the Sangh had evolved.

For one, on the minorities, while the Sangh remains a Hindu organisation, committed to Hindutva and a Hindu rashtra, it has acknowledged that Muslims are as Indian as Hindus. The most important departure in this regard was Bhagwat distancing himself from Guru Golwalkar’s more extreme texts on Muslims — and emphasising that the organisation had evolved since then. Two, the Sangh goal of Hindu unity has often been seen as a code for upper caste domination. But with its unequivocal support for reservations and inter-caste marriages, and acknowledgment that it needed to get more diverse, it has sought to become more inclusive in terms of bringing backward communities, Dalits and tribals into its fold. Three, Bhagwat — by acknowledging the role of other political actors, including the Congress and communists — tried to position the Sangh as being above the partisan fray. And four, while it may be cautious and uncomfortable, there is a degree of social liberalism that seemed to have found its way within the Sangh, for instance its openness to accepting difference in the case of sexual minorities.

What is important now is that this gets internalised on the ground. There has been violence in the name of causes dear to the Sangh, by activists who draw inspiration from the Sangh, and often through affiliates of the Sangh. Distancing itself from it — through sporadic condemnations — is not enough for the RSS. What is needed is a mass campaign by the Sangh to crack down on any such activity. Bhagwat’s outreach was important. The same message of inclusion, non-violence, harmony and brotherhood must now trickle down to the shakhas.