The speech of Mohan Bhagwat, the Sarsanghchalak of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh, at the recently concluded conclave in the Capital certainly caused a flutter. There was a genuine attempt made to move from the fringe to the mainstream, though one can argue that that process had begun once the BJP came to the power at the Centre.
Bhagwat praised the Congress’ role in the Independence movement but not before mentioning the RSS’ contribution. His most noteworthy remark was terming ‘Hindutva’ as ‘inclusive’, saying there can be no Hindutva without Muslims being a part of it. He even said the RSS was in sync with the Constitution, including its “socialist and secular” character.
Interestingly, Bhagwat distanced the RSS from some of the extreme views of MS Golwalkar, especially towards religious minorities and fascism. He said that the RSS supported reservations in educations and jobs, which has surprised many, given its deep antipathy towards affirmative action in the past.
A new tack?
So do Bhagwat’s remarks signify a change in direction by the RSS? There has been a flurry of analysis in the media about RSS’ turn to the centre. The more charitable commentators have remarked that it was time RSS undertook “course correction” and claimed it was trying to position itself as a traditional conservative party in the Western European sense.
The objective, according to them, was to woo the urban Hindu intelligentsia, which had frowned on its more extreme views of the past. The critics were, however, quick to point out that this was just a gimmick, with next year’s general election in mind. Some of them went so far as to say that the BJP was not so sure of retaining power in the next elections, so the RSS, on its part, was trying to appeal to all sections of society by showcasing its inclusive agenda.
Now the Hindu Right, or the Sangh Parivar, is not a monolithic entity. There are various organisations in this fold which range from the political party, the BJP, to the RSS, the VHP, and the Bajrang Dal. The links between these entities, despite their shared ideology, are often tenuous and fractious.
Though the RSS has always claimed to be an apolitical cultural and social organisation, it is also serves as the ideological ballast to the BJP. It is the RSS that provides manpower to the BJP to fight elections. Many top BJP leaders have been RSS pracharaks , including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former Prime Minister late AB Vajpayee. The RSS also usually appoints a top ranking leader from its fold to liaise with the BJP.
A family with different views
But social scientist Gautam Mehta, who has researched extensively on the RSS, points out that on economic issues there is considerable variation among the various organisations of the Sangh Parivar. He says that the Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), an offshoot of the RSS, is vehemently opposed to foreign investments, especially in the retail sector. This is not surprising, given the support the Hindu Right has received from the trading community in the North over the years. The recent Walmart-Flipkart deal has also come in for virulent criticism from sections of the Hindu Right. Back in the 1990s, the SJM was also at the forefront of the opposition against the now bankrupt Enron power project at Dabhol in Maharashtra.
The Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh, the RSS-affiliated trade union, has also been opposing the government’s proposed labour law reforms, which is set to make hiring and firing easier for employers. In fact, there seems to be an ironic alignment between the BMS and the Left-affiliated unions on this issue, which prompts Mehta to cheekily remark that the RSS’ economic ideology is “communism plus cow”.
Uneasy compromise
Over the years there seems to have been an uneasy compromise between various sections of the Hindu Right on economic issues. Though not many are very enthusiastic with the BJP’s pro-reforms agenda, for now no one from the Sangh Parivar is openly opposing it.
In its bid to expand, Mehta observes, the RSS membership’s social composition is also beginning to change. The more urban-based members may not share the RSS’ old school exclusivist agenda of keeping Muslims and other religious minorities at bay. So Bhagwat’s new “inclusive” pitch may also be a nod to the RSS changing social colour.
There is no denying that the RSS’ core agenda will always remain sectarian in nature. But its tentative steps to occupy the middle ground point towards an interesting future. Was former President Pranab Mukherjee’s speech at Nagpur earlier this year a nudge for the RSS’ “centrist shift”?