Sunday Anchor
November 30, 2014
Updated: November 30, 2014 01:04 IST
The rise of the Saffron brigade
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat
Though the Sangh’s thrust on Swadeshi and frugal ways of living are in sharp contrast with Narendra Modi’s economic policies, it needs the BJP to achieve the bigger goal of expanding its sphere of influence across the country
Meet Rajiv Tuli, 45, helming the expansion plans of the Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in Delhi. His phone rings often in his office
with callers asking him how to join the organisation. An IT engineer
calls to know the status of his online application. Mr. Tuli asks a few
questions to check his background and resolve to work for the Sangh. He
goes on to warn him that RSS volunteers will come knocking at his door
early every morning to join the Shakha, the daily morning meeting
comprising the Sangh rituals of a physical training regimen, prayer and
propagation of the ideas of its founder, Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, and
his successor, M.S. Golwalkar.
Mr. Tuli then guides the caller to the Shakha in the Malviya Nagar area of South Delhi.
Prant Prachar Pramukh of the RSS in Delhi, Mr. Tuli says, “We receive nearly 5,000 applications every month.”
In July 2012, when the Bharatiya Janata Party, the RSS’s political
offshoot, was out of power at the Centre, fewer than 200 people applied
every month. The RSS does not maintain a membership roster, so the
number of Shakhas across the country is the measure of its spread. Since
July 2014, the number of Shakhas has gone up from nearly 39,000 to
beyond 42,000 — a nearly 10 per cent jump.
Enrolment drive
“Within the next five years, irrespective of which party is in power, our challenge is to double our membership,” Mr. Tuli said.
“Within the next five years, irrespective of which party is in power, our challenge is to double our membership,” Mr. Tuli said.
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat set the target of one crore volunteers and one
lakh Shakhas in five years’ time at a three-day youth camp in early
November in Agra. The Sangh has been working hard on getting these
numbers. The rigorous daily Shakha has a weekly avatar — the IT Milan
for IT, management and other professionals in metros. Delhi has 36 IT
Milans, Bangalore more than 100. The Sangh and its affiliates have
significant online presence and even a mobile app for information on
Shakhas and allied activities.
“The ultimate aim is Hindu Rashtra. We are working on the ways to
achieve this goal and to stop appeasement of a select few communities,”
said Virag Pachpore, in charge of the RSS’s minority wing, Muslim
Rastriya Manch (MRM).
RSS in government
Since the Narendra Modi government came to power, the Sangh has launched a multi-pronged approach to propagating its ideas, often with the help of the government. The national broadcaster, Doordarshan, airing the RSS chief’s Vijayadashami speech on October 4 live was one such instance. The Sarsanghchalak’s address is the biggest annual affair in the RSS meant to show the path ahead to swayamsevaks, but this time, with the Doordarshan platform available, Mr. Bhagwat chose to address society at large.
Since the Narendra Modi government came to power, the Sangh has launched a multi-pronged approach to propagating its ideas, often with the help of the government. The national broadcaster, Doordarshan, airing the RSS chief’s Vijayadashami speech on October 4 live was one such instance. The Sarsanghchalak’s address is the biggest annual affair in the RSS meant to show the path ahead to swayamsevaks, but this time, with the Doordarshan platform available, Mr. Bhagwat chose to address society at large.
“Since July 2014, the number of RSS Shakhas across the country
has gone up from 39,000 to beyond 42,000, a nearly 10 per cent jump in
four months”
Weeks later, the government appointed A. Surya Prakash, considered close
to the RSS, as Prasar Bharati Chairman. Earlier, the government had
appointed Y.S. Rao as chief of the Indian Council of Historical
Research, reigniting the debate on the BJP’s attempts to “saffronise”
history.
“Appointments [in the government] are key to increasing the Sangh’s
influence,” said Pradip K. Datta, Head, Political Science Department,
Delhi University. “Placing people who will survive changes of government
and push governance towards the Hindu right is central to the plan.”
The RSS, he said, wants to influence the country’s policies in defence
and education.
Sources in the Vishwa Samvad Kendra said the RSS through the Saraswati
Shishu Mandir proposed changes to the education system handed down by
the British. Batting for the promotion of Sanskrit language teaching in
schools, a former RSS pracharak said, “Sanskrit can connect the whole of
India, so we need to stress on its spread. And the RSS is working with
the government to bring about a change in people’s mindset.”
Saffron roots
The new Defence Minister, Manohar Parikkar, was a sanghchalak in his younger days. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a pracharak deputed to work in the BJP decades ago. Sangh leaders have had several rounds of meetings with Ministers in the Modi government, though BJP leaders have claimed these meetings are an attempt to simply avoid the Sangh and the government speaking in different voices as it happened during the previous NDA regime.
The new Defence Minister, Manohar Parikkar, was a sanghchalak in his younger days. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a pracharak deputed to work in the BJP decades ago. Sangh leaders have had several rounds of meetings with Ministers in the Modi government, though BJP leaders have claimed these meetings are an attempt to simply avoid the Sangh and the government speaking in different voices as it happened during the previous NDA regime.
For its long term goal, the Sangh is even willing to compromise and
overlook the Modi government’s thrust on hardnosed liberalisation. The
Sangh’s thrust on Swadeshi and the frugal ways of living are in sharp
contrast with Mr. Modi’s economic policies. But it has its eyes set on
achieving the bigger goal — a much larger area of influence by 2025 —
when the RSS will complete a century of existence. “The RSS doesn’t need
a government. The ideology [of the RSS] is very important and its
reach, influence and ability to shape the destiny of the country will be
proved adequately [by 2025],” said P. Murlidhar Rao, BJP general
secretary who was sent from the RSS into the party. Recently, a senior
RSS leader confessed privately that the BJP must be allowed [by the RSS]
to do whatever it takes to win elections and form the government in
more States. The Sangh’s list of what it desires is long and deeply
controversial. Legislative tasks such as abrogation of Article 370,
introducing a Uniform Civil Code and repeal of the Sixth Schedule of the
Constitution that grants special privileges and greater autonomy to
tribal areas in the Northeast can only be done on the basis of a brute
majority not just in the Lok Sabha but also the Rajya Sabha and the
State legislatures.
Under Mr. Bhagwat, the RSS lent the might of its cadres to Mr. Modi’s
bid for power at Delhi. Now with the BJP in power at the Centre, visits
from top Sangh leaders to Delhi have increased. The RSS plans to tear
down the old low-rise buildings and construct a 10-storey plush office
at the location. The RSS is adapting to the future, rooted in a
90-year-old foundation.
(With additional reporting by Pavan Dahat)
...and I am Sid Harth
No comments:
Post a Comment