,Sudarshan ... perceives himself in a more proactive mould. Although insisting that the RSS is merely a "sorting house" of ideas that could be passed on to the Government, Sudarshan likes to play both philosopher and field marshal ... He also seems completely impervious to the possible ramifications of his utterances on a coalition government in which the BJP is a part ... He demanded the scrapping of the Indian Constitution. He followed it up by speaking menacingly of an "epic war" between Hindus and anti-Hindus.

For Sudarshan, politics is a black-and-white game and part of the unending quest for ideological supremacy. The RSS may have been started by Hedgewar in 1925 to "pour some cement into the spine of Hindus" - as a BJP minister described it quaintly - and create a moral leadership for national regeneration. To Sudarshan, however, Hindutva is a holistic approach with definite views on everything from politics to economics ... From being a way of life or, at best, a code of conduct (dharma), Sudarshan wants to turn Hinduism into an ideology - complete with sub-branches of Hindu economics and Hindu science.

For the government, this is a potentially nightmarish development ... Vajpayee doesn't want to be in a situation where the RSS is either setting the agenda or is at loggerheads with the ruling coalition. More than communalism - essentially a problem linked directly to the Babari Masjid conflict - the emerging faultlines are over economic policy.

... There is a belief in BJP circles that Sudarshan has become an unwitting victim of corporate lobbies, draped in swadeshi clothes.

Indeed, one of the main criticisms against Sudarshan is that he is very impressionable ... Compounding this selective understanding is the fact that the new RSS chief keeps himself wonderfully insulated from external influences ..

But if BJP politicians view Sudarshanomics with some disdain, verging on utter contempt, the RSS chief has his quota of admirers. The Swadeshi Jagran Manch and the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), for example, see him as a powerful patron. Unlike Rajju Bhaiyya who was averse to embarrassing the Vajpayee Government, Sudarshan suffers fróm no such inhibitions. Says Mohanrao Bhagwat, a veterinary doctor who has been chosen as the new general secretary: "The Sangh is not concerned with day-to-day politics or electoral politics. At the same time, we cannot be unconcerned when something affects the nation or society, even if it is about politics." Adding. to the twist was the assumption, behind the Pratinidhi Sabha's (General Council) decisions: "This is not a BJP government; the BJP. is merely in the government".

Ominously for the Vajpayee Government, this new sense of detachment could become the justification for a new adventurism ... The newly appointed Joint General Secretary Madandas Devi , .. could emerge as a foil to Sudarshan's rigidity ... Madandas could ... forge a supportive relationship between the RSS and the NDA Government ...

... RSS collegiate's definition of its priorities. Topping the list is not the Vajpayee Government's ideological heresies but shakha work. In the past decade, the RSS has grown exponentially, from 25,000 to 40,000 shakhas ... As RSS chief, Sudarshan's priority is to strengthen the shakhas, if necessary through innovative schemes like inter-shakha cricket tournaments ..

Such an ambitious programme could be better served by having a friendly government in Delhi. The RSS may be unhappy with some policies of the NDA Government but it is unlikely to do anything to actively destabilise it ... "There is no question of confrontation between the Government and the RSS", says BJP General Secretary, Govindacharya, a trusted RSS pracharak. ...

In a sense, the RSS is caught in a peculiar dilemma. The BJP has evolved from being an extension counter of Nagpur to an organisation whose appeal is far greater than the parent body ... After the Chennai Declaration, the BJP, in fact, has taken steps to look for an identity beyond the  RSS, despite the awareness that during elections it is the Sangh network that gives it organisational muscle. As things stand, both need each other, even if the relationship is mutually exploitative.

But if Sudarshan decides that ideology is supreme and Hindutva the millennium theme, he could alter the terms of engagement. That would spell big trouble for the Vajpayee Government. (Source: The India Today, 27 March, 2000)