What is RSS?
BHAGWAT’S SPEECHES AT NEW DELHI CONCLAVE HAVE LED TO A WAVE OF MIXED EMOTIONS ACROSS THE COUNTRY NOW: On Muslims of India THEN: Who are its members? Who is its leader today?
The three-day conclave by one of India’s leading ideological entities, The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (National Volunteer Organisation) that was held from September 17-19 in New Delhi has sent a wave of mixed emotions across the country as the RSS’s chief Mohan Bhagwat espoused values and viewpoints that took a surprisingly different turn from what is an entrenched belief system of the RSS for the nine decades of its existence.
Rooted in an ideology that leans to the extreme right, the RSS has always been unapologetic about its inflexible desire to redefine India’s nationhood, its religious identity and its Constitutional complexion of secularism to suit its idea of what India’s history should be.
Addressing a large audience comprising people from many walks of life, Bhagwat spoke on the many issues the RSS is intricately linked with, with the aim of re-educating people on what the organisation stands for.
In this context, it is worth juxtapositioning some of the opinions expressed by Bhagwat at the event and the overall stance of the RSS that has prevailed down the nine decades of its existence.
Bhagwat’s freshly minted opinions come at a time when the national polls are due in May 2019 and the ruling party, BJP, is under attack for its lacklustre performance on the crucial indicators of national wellness since it assumed power in 2014.
Some of the most divisive issues confronting India today include its communal divide, state of economy, threat to freedom of expression, RSS’s concept of Hindutva (that is entirely divergent from the Constitution-defined role of religion in an individual’s life) and the nexus between RSS and the BJP and its combined agenda for democracy.
Mohan Bhagwat:
“Hindu Rashtra doesn’t mean there’s no place for Muslims. If we don’t accept Muslims, it’s not Hindutva. Hindutva is Indianness and inclusivity.”
“The cultural identity of all Indians is Hindutva and the present inhabitants of the country are descendants of this great culture.”
“We say ours is a Hindu Rashtra. Hindu Rashtra does not mean it has no place for Muslims. The day it is said that Muslims are unwanted here, the concept of Hindutva will cease to exist.
NOW: On the Indian Constitution Bhagwat:
“Constitution is the consensus of the country ... We respect all symbols of freedom, and the Constitution is also one such symbol.”
Bhagwat:
“It’s a crime to take law into one’s own hands.” “We have to reject the doublespeak as there is no talk of violence by cow smugglers.”
THEN: RSS:
One of the leading lights of the RSS, the former RSS chief M.S Gowalkar referred in his book to Muslims, along with Christians and Communists, [as] enemies of the Hindu Rashtra.
According to archival material available online, in RSS’s mouthpiece an editorial dated August 14, 1947 (a day before India declared its independence from British rule) said: “Much of the mental confusion and the present and future troubles can be removed by the ready recognition of the simple fact that in Hindustan only the Hindus form the nation and the national structure must be built on that foundation.”
The RSS has historically viewed the Indian Constitution with deep reservations. According to many reports, the RSS rejected the Constitution when it was formally passed on November, 26, 1949, and referred to the Manusmriti, a canonical ancient Indian legal text. According to the RSS, Manusmriti “had the admiration of the world” and thus should have been adopted as the Constitution of India.
THEN: Bhagwat in 2017:
“The work of cow conservation should be carried out while obeying laws and the Constitution.”
Bhagwat in 2016:
“Cow is our mother and Gau Rakshaks (cow protectors) are good; they work within the constitutional framework.”
NOW: Nexus between RSS and BJP Bhagwat:
“From its inception, the RSS has decided to keep itself away from politics and political competition.”
“It is a myth that Nagpur (RSS headquarters) runs the government. We do not have any impact on government policies.
NOW: The LGBT community Bhagwat:
“One must accept them (homosexuals) so that they are not isolated in the society simply because their or orientation is different from ours. Everyone is a part of this society, times have changed and these issues should not have been blown out of proportion.”
RSS: THEN: Bhagwat in 2016:
“We have faith in swayamsevaks (volunteers) in government. Have patience.
(It is a well-documented and historically established truth that the BJP is regarded as mentee of the RSS and is a conduit for its political agenda.)
THEN: RSS:
“Same-sex relations and same-sex marriages are not natural. This is why we do not support them. The Indian tradition has never approved of these relationships.” Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is a right-wing, Hindu nationalist, volunteer organisation widely regarded as the parent body of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). According to its official website, men and boys can become members by joining the nearest ‘shakha’ (branch). Although RSS claims not to keep membership records, it is estimated to have six million members. Mohan Bhagwat is current chief of RSS.
NOW: On cow vigilantism
Why is it controversial?
The RSS has distinctly divergent views on India’s secularism, its Constitution and the role of the Hindu religion in the country’s polity and sociocultural narrative.
The RSS was banned once during British rule, and then thrice by the post-independence Indian government — first in 1948 when former RSS member Nathuram Godse assassinated Mahatma Gandhi; then during the emergency (1975—77); and for a third time after the demolition of Babri mosque in 1992.
What is behind the three-day conclave in New Delhi?
A. From September 17 -19, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat spoke on Hindutva and the role of RSS in Hindu society, the importance of social harmony, its views on contemporary issues of national importance, increasing intolerance to dissent and the role of women in Indian society.