There is a serious crisis between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. The verbal assault unleashed by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, without however taking his name, is symptomatic of that. This underlines the fact that there is serious churn within the Sangh Parivar to figure out if Modi’s continuance is really required for the greater good of Hindutva. Against the basic understanding of the issue that the crisis is personal, for me the crisis is more ideological. It is about the future of the Hindu Samaj, about its perception in India and outside. The RSS is more worried about the fact that if Hindutva is perceived globally in the same way as radical Islam, then the entire project of ‘Hindu unity’ will be in jeopardy. BJP’s excessive use of Islamophobia as an election plank in these elections of 2024 has damaged the cause of Hindutva more than Modi’s personalised style of campaigning. Mohan Bhagwat’s earlier as well as the recent statement that “no one should consider themselves God, as it is the people who make God”, is only an attempt to nudge Modi and his team to either mend their ways or leave the battleground for another general to lead the Hindutva army.
It normally does not happen within the Sangh Parivar that leaders snipe at each other. At a time when the RSS is completing 100 years of its existence, the BJP has categorically told the RSS that it did not need the RSS to win elections or form the government. It has become self-sufficient. J P Nadda’s statement in the middle of the elections was an indication that the low-intensity war had begun between the two. The RSS has also acknowledged that it is ready for the battle. After a three-day meet in Kerala, it admitted for the first time that there were differences within the Hindutva family. Although the RSS spokesperson said that it was a family matter and would be sorted out, I wish it was so simple. Ideological battles are more dangerous than personal feuds.
Bhagwat, a few days after the election results, had shocked the whole world when he said “a swayamsevak is never ahankari” (an RSS volunteer is never arrogant). He also aimed a sermon at Modi, stating that “Opposition is not an enemy”. Bhagwat did not stop at this. He waited for a few days then he said, “Man wants to become superman... then he wants to become an angel... but angels say that God is bigger... So then he tries to become God.” These statements were not made in a vacuum. This was directly linked with Modi calling himself “non-biological” in a TV interview in Varanasi during the elections. Throughout the campaign he had said that he was “chosen by God for bigger things”. Of course Modi also hinted that Bhagwat had made only a general statement and it had nothing to do with Modi. But the truth is that the RSS did not issue even a single clarification.
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In my opinion Mohan Bhagwat is more like Balasaheb Deoras, the third RSS chief. Deoras, unlike Golwalkar, was less spiritual and more political. It was because of his political instinct that RSS took the bold step of agreeing to merge the Bharatiya Jan Sangh, the earlier avatar of the BJP, into the new party called the Janata Party which was formed at the initiative of the legendary freedom fighter Jayaprakash Narayan (JP). It was the time when people’s anger was rising due the mismanagement of economy and dictatorial tendencies of Indira Gandhi. Indira Gandhi had imposed the Emergency and the future of the country looked bleak. The RSS was banned and its leaders including Deoras were jailed. Deoras realised that the crisis was a great opportunity to earn legitimacy in the eyes of the people and win the goodwill of the political class, which it had lost after the assassination of Mahatama Gandhi. Merger with the Janata Party catapulted the RSS into the national mainstream, and Jan Sangh leaders suddenly became top-notch leaders of the country. Atal Bihari Vajpayee was appointed foreign minister and four former Jan Sangh leaders, including Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, Shanta Kumar and Kailash Joshi, became chief ministers in their states as representatives of the Janata Party. This was huge victory for the RSS. But Deoras was careful and despite tremendous pressure, even from JP, neither disbanded the RSS nor agreed to admit non-Hindus in the organisation. Once the purpose was served, to claim and continue with the legacy of the Janata Party, a new party, Bharatiya Janata Party, was created in 1980; the same BJP rules the country today.
For Deoras, merger was a tactical move. But he did not compromise with the ideology that is Hindutva. Similarly, Bhagwat agreed to make Modi the prime ministerial candidate despite knowing fully well how Modi had crushed the RSS and its subsidiary organisations in Gujarat when he was the chief minister. Bhagwat was aware that under Modi, personality cult and individualism would be majorly promoted; collective leadership which is the hallmark of RSS would be thrown into the dustbin — but he also knew that if the BJP under Modi managed to form the government at the centre, then it would be great boost to the cause of Hindutva and the Hindu Unity project would attain new heights. In the last ten years a paradigm shift has taken place and the credit should be given to Bhagwat along with Modi. Bhagwat ensured that Modi did not face any intra-organisational obstacles while running the government. He stood solidly with the government. During this time he also faced the humiliation of being called the weakest RSS chief, who had surrendered the RSS to Modi.
Like a good politician, he waited for the right time and the 2024 elections offered him the opportunity. It was not that Bhagwat was quiet since 2014. He in his own way was giving signals to the BJP and the government. In 2018, he had said, “Hindutva is incomplete without Muslims.” It was an audacious statement to make. After the Supreme Court verdict on Ram Mandir, he said “No victory celebration should be carried out.” When litigation about the Kashi Vishwanath Temple was aggressively pursued in courts, Bhagwat reprimanded Hindutvawadis. He said, “Why should Shivling be discovered in every mosque?” Left liberal friends termed these statements as deception. I disagreed, not because I had turned into an RSS supporter but because I could see a pattern; that Bhagwat was worried and wanted to rein in Hindutvawadis so that they don’t become “uncontrollable” and in the long run damage the Hindu Unity project. The RSS was also worried about the control of the Hindutva movement being passed from moderates to extremists like it happened with Islam. History teaches us that every movement, if not handled properly, is hijacked by extremists and then the movement commits suicide.
Let’s not forget, it is not the political party that gave birth to RSS; it was the other way round. Jan Sangh was created by the RSS. After the assassination of Gandhi when the RSS was banned, nobody came to its rescue. It was this loneliness which gave birth to the Bharatiya Jan Sangh. The RSS never wanted to be the king, it always wanted to control the king. When Golwalkar was asked in 1949 if RSS wanted to capture power, he replied, “We have kept before ourselves the idea of Bhagwan Shri Krishna who held a big empire under his thumb, but refused to become the emperor himself.” Bhagwat repeated the same sentiment after more than 70 years when he said in Ahmedabad, “Politics is not everything. It is not of prime importance; it is not at the centre of the scheme, but it is secondary and complementary.” RSS has always fancied itself in the role of ‘Rajguru’ who can dethrone the king, if he refuses to listen to wise men.
In the last 10 years, even within the Hindutva fold a larger section of swayamsevaks, including many in Modi’s cabinet, have forgotten the hard truth about the RSS ideology — that it is not Modi, the prime minister, but Bhagwat, the RSS chief, who is supreme. Even Modi has to follow the rule of “Ek Chalak Anuvartitva” (follow the leader) blindly. Hedgewar long ago had said, “Nobody should be so arrogant so as to believe that Sangh is run by any special person. Sangh is not the work of one person but of the community.” If Modi thought that he had changed the rule, then, sooner rather than later, he will pay the price and so will all those who blindly follow him. For Modi, to be the prime minister is the priority, for Bhagwat, the Hindu Unity project is the ultimate goal. Modi might live in the present moment, but Bhagwat has to work for the future and for a desired future, some moments can be sacrificed.
The writer is Co-Founder, SatyaHindi.com, and author of Hindu Rashtra. He tweets at @ashutosh83B
