Tt is 75 years to the day, (on) the Vijayadashmi of 11925 .... Hedgewar founded the RSS in Nagpur, almost as a secret society to promote Hindu unity and militancy. Despite the ups and down that the RSS has seen including being banned thrice - it has emerged as the major para-political force in Indian politics.

Today, its offspring, the BJP seems firmly ... in power. The media is friendly and reports on its activities avidly and seriously. The Indian State today does not oppose the Hindutva ideology. Indeed, it actively furthers it. Such is. the aura of the RSS today that the Prime Minister of India who went to the US as the representative of the Indian bourgeoisie, returned as a proud RSS- swayamsevak (volunteer). These momentous changes speak volumes for the influence that the RSS enjoys today in Indian society and polity. Yet, the RSS is in turmoil. It is changing .... (forming) an identity crisis ...

The RSS today is faced with three major developments: declining attendance in its shakhas, a growing mismatch between the number of trained swayamsevaks and those joining its front organisations without proper ideological grounding, and its relationship with the BJP.

The daily shakha has played the most important role in the growth of the RSS - for it is here that young minds, boys in the age-group of 12 to 15 years, are indoctrinated with the Hindutva ideology. Although the RSS estimates that it runs about 45,000 shakhas across the country, the fact is that, whether they are held in the morning or in the evening, the attendance at these daily gatherings has been falling over time.

One of the reasons for this is that the younger generation, which the RSS hopes to target, is more confident today ... is not scared of being swamped by. Western culture and mores ... is consumerist to the core ...

... Today's youngsters do not need the psychological. security of an obscurantist cult. Organisations like the RSS, therefore, have an increasingly diminishing appeal ...

There are also attractive alternatives vying for their spare time ... There is the ... cable television in both rural and urban areas ... They are more interested in 'cooler" activities like hanging-out, shopping, listening to music and, most importantly, in career advancement ... While none of them would deny their Indianness, their pre-dominant dream is to earn a living in the US.

Even the relatively older members of the RSS shakhas have to deal with competing demands ... Middle class incomes are going up, they are not in pace with the  availability of modern conveniences or the desire to keep up with the Joneses ... The middle classes psychologically, despite higher incomes, feel that their purchasing power is shrinking.

The pressure to earn more is evident in extended working hours, shops and establishments remaining open longer and the salaried classes being always on the lookout for avenues to augment their income. The prime recruiting ground of the RSS ... is thus contracting.

Simultaneously, some of its front organisations have shown spectacular growth. Among these are Vidya Bharati which runs schools and colleges, Bajrang Dal, VHP,  Hindu Munnani in southern. India, Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh and Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, working in the tribal. areas. This rapid expansion is a source of worry ...because there is now a disproportion between the shakha-trained or the 'trustworthy' membership and those who float' into these front organisations ...

The closer ... interface of the RSS with political processes is also recoiling on it. From being happy with an avirodhi satta - a State that is not opposed to it and leaves it to pursue its Hindutva agenda - the RSS today seeks sahayak satta or an enabling State. A State that would help extend the influence of the Hindutva idcology to all fields of social activity, especially those that mould society intellectually and culturally.

This is precisely where the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance Government has helped most… through appointments to key positions in universities, educational institutions, research funding bodies and cultural organisations; by extending patronage to organisations and individuals in the field of media and cultural production; and equally, by denying or withdrawing State patronage from those opposed to its ideological endeavour and effectively marginalising and de-legitimising them.

However, the acceptance of the BJP as a party that can govern has not been an unmitigated blessing for the RSS. Because it is the RSS which primarily rallies the Hindu vote bank behind the BJP, its functionaries play a determining role in selecting BJP candidates for clections to legislatures ... The intervention of the head of the RSS himself in deciding which BJP minister in the Vajpayee Government should get which portfolio (is) clear ...

Such para-political power may have less effect on somcone like Sudarshan than on RSS functionaries lower down the hierarchy ... The span of the electoral process now encompasses even village panchayats ... The RSS functionaries must select the BJP candidates and ensure their victory and yet keep the faith, as it were, by themselves abjuring political office and its perks.

In such a situation, legislative power rather than the ... hindutva agenda would become more attractive to the RSS workers. As it is, it is the political leadership of the BJP today, which enjoys greater national and international stature than the RSS-leadership. As the balance of power in the RSS-family of organisations shifts in favour of the BJP, the RSS is faced with what might be called the 'BJP-isation' of its cadres. And it is by no means clear that it knows how to tackle this phenomenon.

The RSS is also realising the limits of popular democratic politics in pushing through a sectarian agenda. This problem is accentuated in the era of coalitions. That is why the BJP cannot push (RSS's) unadulterated agenda ... The RSS is often at pains to emphasise that the BJP is not its political wing. The significance of such an assertion lies in the fact that should the RSS find that the BJP is not the most appropriate and effective vehicle for implementing its agenda, it may either ... diversify its support to other parties - supporting one in a particular region and another elsewhere -- or launch another political party. However, all this would depend on whether the RSS leadership decides to embrace and the inclusiveness of democratic politics, or whether it shuns it - becoming more inward looking and more obsessed with unitary control. (Source: The Hindustan Times Oct, 2000)

C.R. Irani on RSS's Call for Indianisation of Islam and Christianity

The RSS, ion the person of (its) head ... K.S. Sudarshan has finally gone over the top ... further than any other sarsanghchalak has gone before and fuelled all the reservations and. suspicions that the organisation has attracted in the past. He calls upon Christians to prove their patriotism and in the same breath complains that over the centuries new churches are formed over ideological disputes ... Why should Protestants and Catholics, Baptists and Mormons worry Sudarshan? There is also another obvious fallacy in his formulation. if Christian denominations say their prayers in Latin, they are foreign and must instantly Indianise ... if they perform their mass and other prayers in Indian languages, they are interfering with tribals and other Hindus and forcing them to convert.

Make up your mind, Sudarshan! Then the man has the gall to advise Christians how exactly they must refashion themselves. Follow the model of the Orthodox Syrian Church and Marthoma Church in Kerala, pontificates the sarsanghchalak. Will you please spot Syria on the map of India, Sudarshan? ..

Sudarshan ... lists some offences like Bible burning in Kerala and Gujarat, intimidating American missionaries in Allahabad, attacks on nuns in Orissa. His answer is complete, breathtaking and wrong - they actually did not take place. Like, according to Swami Vamdev of the VHP, the Babari Masjid was not demolished - it fell down by itself!

The worst is to come ... Sudarshan (is) complete Indianisation of Islam. Muslims should find their Mecca, Medina and t he Dome of the Tock, all within India! Is that what Sudarshan would have? ... Sudarshan is perhaps impelled by a deeply ingrained suspicion of the Indian Muslim community ...

There is another aspect. I have often argued that a civilized and secular society must have a common civil code relating to births, inheritance, marriage, divorce, contracts and so forth. But you cannot do that by force or by coercion and certainly not while you demolish their places of worship, question their patriotism and keep them from moving out of the ghettos ... Why do you want to sow the seeds of suspicion, hatred and violence? Why do you want to destroy the wonderful mosaic that is India?

And finally, if you harbour such feelings towards Muslims why do you fight so hard to keep Kashmiri Muslims in India ?...

It has taken centuries to build the reputation for tolerance and civilized conduct of the Indian nation. Try to recall the glory that was once ours and can be again. (Source: The Statesman, 9 October, 2000)

On RSS Idea of Swadeshi Church - Editorial, Indian Express, 11 Oct., 2000

RSS chief K.S. Sudarshan ... asked Christians to free themselves from the 'clutches' of foreign churches to set up a 'Swadeshi church' ... The central problem of narrow-minded nationalists is that they do not understand the universality of religion and diversity of cultures. While nation states and nationalism are hardly a few centuries old, most religions and cultures pre-date even the last millennia ... If Sudarshan could have seen the logical outcome of his argument he would have realized that it is like a leader of the moral majority (in USA) lecturing to Hindus of Indian (origin): 'free yourself from the clutches of foreign temples by setting up Uncle Sam-style mandir'.

Sounds not only ridiculous, but downright stupid, doesn't it? Sudarshan should have known better before making such an insensitive statement ... Some BJP leaders have gone ahead and defended him ... It is precisely this pro-minority, anti-minority signals emanating from different sections of the Sangh Parivar which make most people doubt the very intensions of its leadership and the very purpose of its various organisations.

While religion and culture, the Sangh Parivar leaders must realise, are in the private domain, politics is in the public domain. And politicians ... have obviously no business interfering in the private domain.

 Prafull Goradia On RSS-BJP Relationship

.. Appreciating the culture of the Sangh Parivar, (is possible only) by understanding the values upon which it flourishes. It is a unique culture. In any case, it should not be measured with the yardstick of the Congress, which, as the grand old party, dominated Indian politics till recently.For that matter, the yardstick of any other political culture would also fail to measure the Sangh Parivar. In fact, the Parivar is not all politics.

Politics is only one of its activities. This is one reason why the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) did not participate in politics. Shyama Prasad Mookerjee was reported to have proposed to Guru Golwalkar at 26, Cornwallis Street, Calcutta in 1951 that the RSS should also function like a political party. Guruji s answer was that he would nominate two pracharaks per state to form the initial backbone of a political party. Its formation, however, should be independent of the RSS and its leadership would be the responsibility of Shyama Prasad Mookerjee. The RSS would continue to pursue only the socio-cultural objectives.

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) pursues its own religio-cultural pursuits whereas the Bajrang Dal organises the youth, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad the students whereas the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh the workers, and so on.

The second outstanding characteristic of the Parivar is the sublimation of the ego in the causes that a typical member of the Parivar thinks of the cause first, the specific cause is the supreme consideration of the country. In other words, no cause is espoused unless it is in tandem with national interests

When I say ego I mean also the collective ego of the organisation, which is quite prepared to take a step back if that serves the nation better. For instance, the suspension of the three issue; namely, the temple at Ayodhya, Article 370 of the Indian Constitution and the common civil code during the period of the National Democratic Alliance is an example of a step back by the Sangh Parivar for the sake of the nation. Today, the country needs a stable progressive Government, which is not possible to form without a coalition. The partners in Government have their own agenda, which may or may not include these three issues.

It is also necessary to understand the relationship between the RSS and the BJP. It is that between a parent and a self-reliant adult son. They share a filial affection. They respect each other. They help each other. But that does not mean that they agree on every subject and issue. If they did agree on everything, they would both not be intelligent adults. Their priorities, in the nature of things, are different. The mission of one is socio-cultural whereas the purpose of the other is to contest elections, to win votes and to try form and run governments wherever possible ... (Source: The Pioneer, 17 September, 2000)

Amulya Ganguli On Nazi Inspiration Behind 

Racism remains a potent factor, lying dormant within communities but flaring up at times to spark off a civil war. All countries will have to beware of such eruptions unless they want to meet the fate of Sri Lanka. The essence of such vicious policies directed against a section of the population is summed up by Hitler's comment, "To us state and race are one."

It is a thesis which is shared by all xenophobes. Had Speight been an educated person, he could have buttressed his own case by citing Savarkar's thesis on Indian nationhood. Just as Haider wants Austria to be only for Austrians and Speight wants Fiji only for ethnic Melanesians by reducing all other racial groups to the status of second class citizens, Savarkar's view was that India was the homeland of only Hindus since it was both a punyabhu (holy land) and pitribhu (fatherland) for them. For the Muslims and Christians, it may be a pitribhu but not a punyabhu for their holy places are elsewhere – in Mecca or Rome.

This identification of race with state, as Hitler said, is the driving force behind the Sangh Parivar's Hindu Rashtra. If the Parivar is unable to implement its plans, it is because of the fortunate accident of the Indian independence movement having been led by such uniquely liberal-minded personalities like Gandhi and Nehru. It is because they and their equally broad-minded contemporaries regarded Indian nationhood as the melting pot of various racial, religious and linguistic groups, with the country belonging to all and not only to Hindus, that the Indian Constitution evolved as a document endorsing Indian pluralism.

It is the country's multicultural tradition which is the bulwark against the Sangh Parivar's sectarianism. But it has to be remembered that the latter's recent gains, evident in the BJP moving within a few years from the political periphery to the centre stage, suggest that divisive ideals have the capacity to influence sections of the population,

... It will not do to forget that the subcontinent has experienced two partitions as a result of religious and linguistic sentiments and, therefore, cannot be complacent about campaigns casting aspersions on the patriotism of different groups simply because their religions are different from the one followed by the majority.

The need for caution is all the greater becattse India is the only democracy in the midst of totaliarian countries like .China in the north, Myanmar and Bangladesh in the east and Pakistan in the west. Sri Lanka, the other democracy, is suffering from the consequences of the majoritarian policies of the Sinhalese directed against the Tamils. Pakistan, Bangladesh and other Muslim countries are also totalitarian in the sense that the minorities there are second class citizens ... It is the invidious distinction between citizens on the grounds of race and religion favoured by the xenophobes which undermines a country's democratic system and prepares the ground for civil strife, India's deep democratic roots preclude such a possibility, But one cannot be too careful. (Source: The Hindustan Times, 7 August, 2000)