BJP's Overture to Minorities - A Political Compulsion

The BJP has for more than a decade now articulated  its Hindutva ideology at two levels. It has tried to clothe Hindutva in secular garb by saying that by Hindus it means all the people who live in Hindustan, that Hindutva was an inclusive concept, not excluding the minorities ...

But all long, ... the Hindutva ideology as an instrument in the: hands of the party workers at the lower levels was always used against the minorities.

The slogans, the writings on the wall, the fear generated among the minorities, the riots, they all contributed to Hindutva as a fascist tool to send the message loud and clear to the minorities, especially the Muslims, that in India they would have to live by the rules framed by the majority community, that they must join the "national mainstream". The implication always was that they were not part of the mainstream, that their patriotism was always suspect, that they could be accepted as Indians only if they agreed to give up claim on the Babari Masjid to allow the building of a Ram temple.

The two levels of interpretation of Hindutva have been cleverly used by the BJP time and again. (While) Bangaru Laxman ... emphasis(ed) that the Hindutva ideology was inclusive ...

A little later, the RSS at its Agra convention implied that the minorities were not part of the national mainstream, that they would have to "Indianise". The meaning, perhaps, was that the church-going Christian, or the Muslim who says his namaz several times a day were not to be accepted as Indian until they also learnt to admire Ram and Krishna, the Hindu deities and ... celebrate Diwali and Holi. If in the 1990s the anti-minority stance was emphasized to garner Hindu votes ... attempt is being made to send out the message that the BJP was never anti-minorities.

The reason for the change in emphasis may be that the BJP has realized that as a political party, especially as a party of governance, it cannot afford to completely alienate 15 to 20 per cent of the population ...

... Without them its goal of single-party rule may continue to be elusive. (Source: The Hindu, 12 November, 2000)

 Panchtantra Story Retold RSS as Rishi, BJP as Mouse

An interesting sidelight at the recent Agra camp (of)  the RSS was the telling of the story (about the Rishi and the Mouse) from the Panchatantra by a senior RSS functionary, H.V. Seshadiri. And it was not difficult to read the political message he was conveying.

There was a 'rishi' (sage) who lived in the forest and nearby lived a mouse who played around the dwelling of the 'rishi.' One day the mouse said to the 'rishi' that he often felt afraid for his life as there were fat cats around. Could the 'rishi' help? Certainly, was the response, and using his extraordinary powers he turned the mouse into a cat. The mouse-turned-cat was happy, but not for too long. One day it pleaded with the 'rishi' once again. It was frightened of the jackal which was threatening its life. The kind 'rishi' once again came to its help, instantly turning the mouse-turned-cat into a jackal.

But that was not the end of the story. After a decent interval of time, the mouse-turned-cat-turned-jackal approached his friend once again. How could it be safe in the jungle where the tiger ruled supreme? What could the jackal do when a hungry tiger was on the prowl? The trusting 'rishi' took pity on the creature and changed it once again into a tiger.

The mouse-turned-cat-turned-jackal-turned-tiger took no time at all to try and pounce on its former friend and mentor, the 'rishi.' But, said Mr. Seshadiri, the 'rishi' had the presence of mind to immediately turn the tiger back into a mouse.

... The RSS was sending out the message that when the time comes, and if the tiger does not behave. if it threatens the RSS agenda, it will turn the tiger back into a mouse.

.. More than a month before the RSS camp one senior BJP leader spoke about the growing disenchantment with the Government's policies among those in the BJP who had been brought up on RSS ideology. Speaking on condition of anonymity, he had warned that if this continued, there was a possibility, however remote, of a serious break between the RSS and the BJP.

The debate within the BJP has already begun. One day, the Union Home Minister, Advani ... present at the concluding function ... let it be known that there was no question of the BJP distancing itself from the RSS. Two days later, the BJP president, Bangaru Laxman, stated that the BJP's views on the question of minorities "were significantly different" from those of the RSS, that the RSS had its own agenda, the BJP its own ... The debate in the party is likely to continue. (Source: The Hindu, 22 October, 2000)

 Kalyan Singh's Views

The RSS controls the BJP through remote control. It does not want to give importance to backward castes and Dalits. It does not have even a single backward as Sanghchalak ... It is the RSS which selects candidates for any election, the BJP only puts its seal of approval ... (Source: The Times of India)