Prof Ram Puniyani
AFTER the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) was formed it went on creating many organisations steeped in its ideology of Hindutva or Hindu nationalism, a concept based on Aryan race, Brahminical values and the land from Sindhu to Seas. It has given birth to many organisations, more than 100.
Many other organisations have sprouted which may not be a formal part of Sangh Parivar, as known popularly, but have the same ideology. These include many others like the association of sadhus and sants outside the VHP, the cow vigilantes and those out to initiate violence at the drop of a hat in the name of Hinduism. It seems that by now many such aggressive organisations are indulging in activities which go much beyond the limits RSS wants to put on its followers.
For cow vigilantes Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that murder in the name of cow is not acceptable, and just a few hours later a Muslim man was done to death on the issue. And the phenomenon continues. Just a week back, Prime Minister Monday said that the significance of love, harmony, and brotherhood are central to the teachings of the Lord Christ. He also urged people to strengthen these values; only a couple of days later the vigilante groups and even Bajrang Dal groups attacked a person in Ahmedabad who had dressed as Santa Claus and was distributing gifts. A video is going viral where two men dressed as Santa Claus are being beaten up by hooligans at the Kankaria Carnival in Ahmedabad. This probably is the first year where people dressed as Santa Claus were being hauled up.
Already we have seen that carol singers were beaten up and since the BJP came to power carol singing has been stopped in Rashtrapati Bhavan. Bajrang Dal has also issued warnings to Hindus against attending Christmas parties.
Recently we also saw claims of mosques being built on temples a la Babri Masjid in Ayodhya. Seeing the spate of such made-up claims, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat himself said that one should not keep looking for Shivling under every mosque. It is amazing that the claim is made, and dispute created in Kashi where a fountain-looking structure is claimed to be a Shivling and demand for converting the mosque into a temple boosted. After the Sambhal claims, the violence followed.
Probably shaken by this and the feeling that the Supreme Leader of the supra political outfit felt it would bring loss of face for ‘RSS Combine’ and so he gave a sane-looking call, “The Ram Temple was about faith, and Hindus wanted it built. But raising disputes about new sites out of hate is unacceptable,” he said. “Some people think they can become leaders of Hindus by creating new controversies. How is this allowed?”
And lo and behold most of the fringe organisations of Hindutva politics are coming forward to oppose it. One knows that RSS is a strict disciplinarian organisation, and its members do not violate the commands of its leader. So who are these senas, Dharma Sansads springing up by a dozen and going against the appeal of Bhagwat?
To cap it all, RSS’s unofficial mouthpiece Organiser itself came forward to articulate the fringe elements’ demands and wrote that “Temple restorations are a quest for our identity!” (TOI Dec 27, 2024). It also claims that temple restorations are for our national identity and to seek civilisational justice.
How come the hate is so pervasive that it is crossing the limits set by its own leaders? Is it that the leaders like Prime Minister Modi want the actions leading to hate to continue, as it strengthens their politics? If not then why are the perpetrators of violence enjoying impunity? Why does the whole system from spreaders of hate speech to those responsible for maintaining law and order and even to some extent the judiciary have a soft corner for these criminal elements?
Having enjoyed the impunity in destroying Babri Masjid and lynching in the name of cow/beef or on killings and torture on the charge of ‘love jihad’, now they know they can get away with their illegal acts. They feel that the law may be bent to ensure that they are exonerated.
The phenomenon of the Organiser opposing Bhagwat arouses curiosity. Is there a split within RSS on the issue? Bhagwat is trying to talk about peace and harmony, while the Organiser managers feel that the path of hate and violence should be pursued to its fullest depth.
There is another aspect which needs to be understood. When such a phenomenon is unleashed for political benefits, initially the leaders congratulate themselves for their success in the electoral arena. From top to bottom diverse elements spring up and as Bhagawat said some of them are for higher political position and influence. They are the ones continuing their earlier political roots which were sown by their leaders. One recalls that previous top RSS leader K Sudarshan, who later became the organisation’s chief, was on the stage when Babri Masjid was being demolished. This has been a classic case of crime and no punishment.
All those guilty of the dastardly crime of Babri demolition were finally given a ‘not guilty’ chit, and the judge who did this got a plum post after retirement.
As they say, ‘as you sow, so you reap’, the process of the demolition of Babri Masjid as a whole tells us that it was not just a spreading of fake narratives of temple destruction, and many myths against Muslims. The result is there for us to see, where even the supreme authority of RSS is not being listened to. The anti-Christian campaign is just a continuation of the decades-old propaganda against Christians that they are converting by force, fraud and allurement.A genie can be unleashed from the bottle, but putting it back is a task that is close to impossible.
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Ram Puniyani is an eminent author, activist and former professor at IIT Mumbai. The views expressed here are personal and Clarion India does not necessarily share or subscribe to them.
