Ram Puniyani
During the colonial period as the society started changing, the values of Liberty, Equality, Fraternity and social justice started emerging from the rising classes of Industrialists, Businessmen, workers and educated classes. The previous social rulers: Landlords and Kings’ social dominance started declining. While the emerging group of rising classes threw up organizations like Hindustan Socialist Republican Association, Republican Party of India, Justice party and Indian National Congress among others, the declining sections of Kings and landlords threw up organizations like Muslim League, Hindu Mahasabha and RSS (For Hindu Nation). These latter organizations were rooted in feudal values and opposed the social changes towards equality while remaining aloof from the freedom struggle.
RSS which was formed in 1925 has completed its hundred years on 2nd October 2025. Its politics has been Hindutva and it aims at Hindu Nation. Its pledge, an oath taken by its volunteers, commits them to remain loyal to Hindu nation. It set up shakhas (branches) at a rapid pace, shakha is the basic unit of RSS. In this shakha earlier young boys, and now people of different ages play Indian games like Kaddadi, Kho-Kho etc. They are given ideological training, which is called shakha bauddhik (Intellectual session). This training program is very extensive and runs for varying periods. It is an exclusive male organization, for women there is a subordinate, Rashtra Sevika Samiti, note the absence of the word Swayam (self) here in the name of women’s organization.
In shakha narrations Hindu kings like Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Rana Pratap are glorified while Muslim kings like Aurangzeb, Babar, Tipu Sultan are presented as cruel villains. The seeds for hatred against Muslim are sown here. It has vast spread, 83000 shakhas currently, lakhs of swayamsevaks (volunteer, part time) and hundreds of pracharaks (Propagator, full time and has to remain unmarried) have influenced the social thinking and created intense hate against Muslims, and from last few decades against Christians as well.
Its’ centenary celebrations began with three lecture series delivered by its Sarsanghchalak, Dr. Mohan Bhagwat at Vigyan Bhavan in Delhi (26,27, 28 August 2025). Dr. Bhagwat will be giving lectures in three other metro cities as well. In his three lectures in Delhi at one level he talked about much discussed retirement for Modi and Bhagwat himself. Bhagwat denied such a possibility. As per him BJP is the autonomous organization and takes its own decisions. RSS has no tradition of retirement. He also stated that since population growth is declining; couples should adopt three child-norm, probably to counter the imaginary fear that Muslims will become a majority in the country.
The core part of lectures was to define Hindu so as to incorporate Muslims and Christians in the definition of Hindu. We have witnessed in society the marginalization and ghettoization of Muslims and scattered attacks on Christians. These attacks are rising in numbers during the last few decades. In the new definition religion is not mentioned and everybody living in this land is being called Hindu!…The RSS chief said, “Hindavi, Bhartiya, and Sanatan are synonymous… There is content behind these words, which is not just geographical… Our DNA has been the same for the last 40,000 years.”
Defining Hindu has a long trajectory. While the word Hindu began as a geographical category for all those living on east of Sindhu, gradually all the religious traditions prevailing here like Brahmanism, Nath, Tantra, Siddha and Ajivikas were lumped together as Hindu as religious category. This religious category became stronger during the last two centuries. Ambedkar remarked that in Hinduism Brahmanism is the dominant tradition. Today Hindu is primarily a religious category though it did begin as a geographical one. Brahminical values are the core part of Hinduism being propagated by RSS.
One recalls that Hinduism has many sects constituting it, Savarkar the one to articulate ‘Two Nation theory’ in his book ‘Essentials of Hinduism’ (Hindutva or who is a Hindu), defines Hindu as one who regards this land spread from Indus to sea as Pitrabhumi (Father land) and Punyabhumi (Sacred land).
Later when Murli Manohar Joshi became the President of BJP in 1990 he called all Indians as Hindus, Muslims being Ahmadia Hindus and Christians being Christi Hindus! This was the initial attempt of imposing Hindu identity on these minorities.
Now Bhagwat takes it further to say that Hindavi, Bhartiya and Sanatan are synonyms. They have been used interchangeably. Word Sanatan just means eternal. In Hinduism the holy books, the rituals, the holy books and holy places are all different from those of Muslims and Christians. The Christians and Muslims cannot identify with the religious term Hindu.
To boost his point further Bhagvat classifies Hindus into four categories, to incorporate non-Hindus into the ambit of Hinduism. Says he, “There are four categories of Hindus — those who consider themselves Hindus and take pride in it, those that consider themselves Hindus but do not take pride in it, those who know they are Hindu but do not even mention it, and those who don’t even consider themselves Hindus,” It is a subtle way to impose various identity aspects of Hinduism on non-Hindus. In practice Savarkar’s definition rules the ground reality imposed by the communal forces.
Though RSS ideologues make such claims that Hinduism is tolerant and inclusive, the reality is very different. Bhagwat loftily said “A Hindu is one who believes in following their own path without demeaning others’ beliefs and respects others’ faith without disrespecting them. Those who follow this tradition and culture are Hindus…”
As a matter of fact, this lofty understanding was practiced by Mahatma Gandhi, who was murdered by the person who had his initial training in RSS shakhas, Nathuram Godse. At another level these definitions can apply to many devout followers of different religions as well.
The claim that RSS is meant for all Hindus falls flat when we see that it is exclusively male organization. Its major narratives about history are built around ‘Hate against Muslims and Christians’. Most of the RSS ideologues and Savarkar upheld Manu smriti which is highly discriminatory against Women, Dalits and OBCs. Bhagwat is trying to cover this up in his lectures by saying that these holy scriptures were in particular context, while all major ideologies have different tones on this. Exclusion of other religions, low caste and women is the core hallmark of RSS ideology and practice. Muslims are not a part of RSS shakhas.
What one knows about the practice of inclusion from the composition of MPs of BJP, the electoral political progeny, in Lok Sabha. There is not a single elected Muslim or Christian MP from BJP. From the ruling party leaders PM downwards, the hate speech against Muslims abounds with gay abandon. The attempt to disenfranchise Muslims in Assam in the form of NRC-CAA has not yet been totally aborted. SIR in Bihar is yet another attempt at exclusion of poor and marginalized sections of society from the electoral process.
These three lectures in a way clearly outlined RSS’s ongoing agenda of imposing Hindu identity on all Indians. Very cleverly Hindu religious identity is being presented as national identity.
There was an impression that RSS and BJP are at loggerheads, particularly before 2024 General elections. J.P. Nadda had stated that BJP is now capable of managing and winning elections on its own. It no longer requires the help from RSS. There was a silence on this from RSS. BJP suffered a loss of a good number of Lok Sabha seats and its ‘400 par’ (crossing 400) fell to the ground. They compensated it in the state assembly elections particularly of Maharashtra where RSS was present in full force. Even Narendra Modi visited the RSS head office to ensure that he continues to be the PM despite the BJP rule which says that its members will not hold any office and will be part of ‘Margadarshak mandal’ (Advisors Board) after the age of 75 years. Modi successfully circumvented this threat of retirement on his 75th Birthday. He also wrote an article carried by major national newspapers, which eulogized RSS Chief Dr. Mohan Bhagwat.
As such RSS controls BJP by two mechanisms. One, most of the BJP leaders are from the training camps of RSS, some of them are Pracharaks also like our PM Modi himself. And secondly it is RSS pracharaks who are made the organizing secretaries of state BJP units. So, BJP does have some autonomy but primarily it is the RSS which is at the root of BJP politics.
Now BJP, the RSS progeny is facing a serious challenge as its manipulation of EVM and associated mechanisms has come to surface and ‘Vote Chori’ (Theft of votes) campaign is picking up. While RSS has been claiming that it primarily focuses on Character building in its shakhas, the case of Anandu in Kerala has totally exposed its dark belly. How many boys must have suffered in shakhas, can’t be said. The Anandu case may just be a tip of the iceberg!
The Karnataka Government has taken the lead on two counts. One that RSS shakhas can’t be held on the playgrounds of schools supported by the Government. This will curtail the uninhibited spread of the shakhas and the hate propaganda of theirs’. During the Modi regime there was a circular that Government servants can take part in RSS activities, as it is a cultural organization! This culture is a mask for the core political agenda of RSS. Now Karnataka Government has stated that it will not permit Government officials to take part in the activities of RSS.
During the last many decades RSS has encouraged identity related issues to take the primary seat in its programs. It began with the Ram Temple movement which led to demolition of Babri Mosque and consequent violence in different parts of the country. RSS seems to have mastered the technique of spreading Hate against religious minorities. After the temple issue it threw up the issue of Cow beef, which led to lynching of over 100 Muslims and Dalits. At the same time India is emerging as the major exporter of beef in the World. Interestingly most of the companies in this business are owned by Hindus or Jains.
Love jihad is another such move, which has filled the Muslim youth with fear and intimidation. As the case of Hadiya tells us these are generally constructs which lead to tension in the society. Some Yoga centers have come up in Kerala, which try to ‘treat’ the girls in ‘inter-religious’ relationships to return to her parents. The jihad word, whatever be its original meaning, is extended to different aspects of society: land jihad, Naukri Jihad, Corona jihad are some of the examples which have emerged from the Hate creation factory. The result is that Muslims are being relegated to the position of second-class citizenship.
Christians have also not been spared and starting from the brutal murder of Pastor Graham Steward Stains, the Kandhamal violence. Now this anti-Christian violence is being carried on in the sub radar way. The scattered Christian missionaries who conduct prayer meetings in remote places are being attacked and intimidated. While the population of Christians as per 2011 census is 2.30, the propaganda that Christian missionaries are converting has been spreading like rapid fire.
The most Dangerous aspect of RSS politics, which aids the BJP rule is the infiltration of RSS pracharaks in different wings of state, police, bureaucracy, judiciary and other wings of the state apparatus who are endorsing the divisive sectarian politics of RSS.
Indian democratic values and freedoms (Of expression and religion) are going for a free fall and India’s place in various indices, at global level, are constantly falling. The tensions appearing between BJP and RSS are superficial, ‘in-house’ issues. At a deeper level there is a connection at the level of goals.
Last few years have shown that the democratic forces have realized that its Country’s constitution and democratic values are to be saved, all democratic minded forces have to come together and confront the RSS-BJP agenda of Hindu Rashtra and bring the country back to the values which shaped our freedom struggle, the values which are ingrained in our constitution.
[This magazine does not necessarily agree with all the view expressed by the author.]
Photo Courtesy: https://www.newsclick.in/what-nation-celebrated-rss-mourned
