‘Hindutva now basic coat of politics’
Former RSS ideologue says even Cong leaders are speaking in favour of temple
Hindutva is now the "basic coat on the canvas of polity" and political parties subscribing to its various shades may be vying for power in future as socialism and secularism are no longer the pivot of politics, former RSS ideologue KN Govindacharya said on Tuesday.
A day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi attends the ground-breaking ceremony for building a Ram temple in Ayodhya, Govindacharya, once a powerful BJP general secretary, underscored its significance, saying this marks the return of national politics to its "roots" of Hindutva which, he added, remained at the margins for decades before going from strength to strength 2010 onwards.
As "special assistant" to the then BJP president LK Advani during 1988-91, Govindacharya is considered a key figure in planning the "Rath Yatra" taken out by Advani in 1990 which had propelled the Ram Janmbhoomi movement and consequently the party to the centrestage of Indian politics.
He noted that Congress leaders like Digvijay Singh and Kamal Nath have now been speaking in favour of the temple's construction, and said this signals that even many opposition leaders understand the issue's ideological and emotional significance to the masses.
To a question, he said, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi has embraced Hindutva, and people in turn have embraced him." The Congress under Sonia and Rahul Gandhi "declined" and became "discredited" by antagonising masses, he claimed, adding that a big part of the credit for the BJP's rise should be given to opposition parties.
The Congress should return to the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi, he said, observing that Indira Gandhi was much "wiser" to Hindutva sentiments after her return to power in 1980 following her party's big defeat in 1977. "Many pro-Hindutva or Hindutva-subscribing political groups may vie in competition for supremacy and a better slice of gains in future. The basic coat on the canvas of polity is Hindutva now," Govindacharya, the BJP general secretary (organisation) between 19912000, said.
He has since cut his ties with active politics.
Asked about criticism that some groups, especially minorities, have about Hindutva, he defended the ideology, saying it is "non-adversarial and comprehensive”.