RSS, power and hidden difficulties

The lifestyle of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief, also known as Sarsanghchalak, is such that he is quite restrained in public interactions. This is the reason his watchers look forward to his annual speech on Vijayadashami or Dussehra. This speech is considered like America’s State of the Union address.

Mohan Madhukar Rao Bhagwat, the current head of the RSS, is different from the heads of the past. He speaks often but weighs heavily. His predecessor, Sarsanghchalak KS Sudarshan, was often a source of delight for headline-seekers. Bhagwat is not like him but still he remains in the center of news. His recent interviews with RSS mouthpieces Panchjanya and Organizer did the same.
He heads the Sangh in an environment that is passing through the most extraordinary environment in its nearly 100 years of history. In the 90 years since its inception till 2014, the RSS has remained on the defensive. It had an adversarial relationship with the ruling dispensation and struggled for wider social acceptance and political relevance. Today the RSS is not just a part of the ruling establishment, it is at its core. Accepted this in the interview of Bhagwat Panchjanya. He said that in the past there had been thorns in his path, intellectual and political disapproval and criticism. Now that atmosphere has changed. After this he listed new challenges and difficulties which we will talk about later.

Sarsanghchalak is right in saying that the political climate has changed dramatically and it has only improved. The RSS is in the most powerful position it has ever seen in its history. With this I will also say that he has never been as weak as he is now. How to resolve this contradiction?

Bhagwat says that in the new changed environment, people from his organization reached important positions in power. Everyone will agree that the country is currently being ruled by the RSS. Narendra Modi is no Atal Bihari Vajpayee trying to distance himself from the parent organization or being defensive about his ideological roots. During Vajpayee’s time, there used to be some hidden and sometimes open tussle between the RSS and him, but this did not happen with Modi. Even if something is shown, it is only praise.
This is the reason why we say that despite being the strongest politically, the RSS is weak in terms of influence. Because the political power is now completely with the Modi government. Even though RSS is his guru in theory, no one even dares to give him advice. Criticism is a distant thing. When the disciple becomes so popular and influential, then the teacher has to stand on the sidelines and appreciate it.
Now RSS cannot grab more headlines. He cannot question the present government, cannot embarrass it. He also has to stay calm on some old divisive ideas or socially backward ideas. Now there is also pressure on him to look good.
The all powerful RSS now has to compromise on issues very close to its ideology. These range from trade to genetically modified seeds, from collective leadership to all-powerful personalities, and from alliances with the West to access to key Islamic countries. Certainly the RSS and its members, especially the leaders, are also benefiting in the meanwhile. This brings us back to the challenges and difficulties mentioned by the Sarsanghchalak in Panchajanya.
The first challenge is the news media. Bhagwat says that now the media has to increase its affiliation with the media and it should do so. It will make us feel good but we should not become obsessed with it or become its captive. Similarly now when we go to the railway station people come to pick us up. This also sounds good but we should not get entangled in this trap. Now our people are in positions of power and sometimes they will say the wrong things and the organization will be blamed. The organization should also take that blame because they have learned from here.
After this some complications arise. The biggest challenge before the RSS is how to play its new role as the foundation of the power system. Because for nine decades he remained in a rebellious role. The limit of formal power is also that it has to keep its voice low on important ideological issues. Or one has to be very careful with his thoughts as Bhagwat did in this interview. It is not as simple as it may seem. If you have built your history, popularity etc. as a consistent rebel over the decades, you have been projecting Hindus as the victims, how do you distance yourself from the idea of ​​the majority being the victims? Where else will you go? This change is easy on social issues but difficult to do in the case of Muslims or Christians. Bhagwat has worked very cleanly regarding the change in social matters. He has changed the perception of RSS on homosexuality and LGBTQ rights. Citing history and tradition, he has said that Hindu culture has never had a problem with them and their criticism has been inspired by western countries. He said that this happened due to the blind imitation of the western outlook by our media and intellectuals.
People of transgender or transsexual community have always been acceptable in Indian society. They have their own deities and temples. On homosexuality, he cited the example of the Mahabharata and pointed out that Jarasandha’s army had two homosexual commanders, Hans and Dimbhaka. He further added that as a trained veterinarian he has observed homosexual tendencies in animals as well.
To say so for a deeply religious and conservative organization is also a sign of progressiveness. You will not hear such talk from Muslim or Christian religious leaders. There it is considered a mental illness that can be cured by better religious training. Similarly, on population growth, he disagrees with what is said about small families. He believes that this work can be done more easily with better education rather than pressure.
As you would expect, the RSS’s skepticism about Muslims remains intact, despite it being in power. He says that the population is not increasing because of the birth rate. Whatever it is, it’s a big problem. However, the major problem is the imbalance of population. He once again cited the examples of Sudan, Pakistan and East Timor and said that these countries broke up because there were too many followers of one religion. Two of these examples were of Muslim and one of Christian religion. Overall population is not the problem but its imbalance is the problem. This imbalance comes for some reason?
He says birth rate is not the problem but conversions and infiltration are. Obviously he is referring to Christians and Muslims. He says that Christians want to convert the world, Muslims consider themselves to be the best but Hindus have not done any such thing. This was followed by a sermon on Muslims which became the focus of primetime debates. Especially because it was linked to the idea that Hindus have been fighting for 1000 years. This was the time when the major invasions of the Muslims started. He says we are strong now and need not worry. But till then we are a Hindu majority country.
Because in their eyes only Hindus believe in liberal, democratic and secular principles. Whether in perpetual rebellion or in power, the RSS has not resolved the dilemma of Muslims yet. Will there be any progress in this direction? For this one will have to wait for the next speech or interview of Sarsanghchalak. B.Stn.
Shekhar Gupta