The Times of India - August 02, 2004
Editorial
Short-circuited
Eye on Gen-Next, RSS may drop its khaki chaddis
Clothing matters. The RSS brass seems convinced. The Sangh plans to shed its trademark khaki shorts for more trendy outfits. If things move as reports suggest, the knickerwalla may soon attend the shakha in white trousers, or even jeans. The starched white shirt could make way for T-shirts. News is awaited on the black topi and the danda . Also, on the discussion table is permission for senior swayamsevaks to get married. The shorts have a history that dates back to the pre-Independence days when K B Hedgewar set up the Sangh to instil in the 'timid' Hindu society the cohesion and discipline of the 'invaders' who had established their political and cultural hegemony over India. The paramilitary style it adopted parodied the law enforcers of the day — the oversized shorts were borrowed from the colonial police. Now, the chalaks want to check out a new uniform; they suspect that their sartorial backwardness is one of the reasons for Gen-Next's lack of interest in the RSS. Stagnant numbers in shakhas have been ascribed by many, including insiders, to the Sangh's refusal to change with times. RSS bosses in Nagpur now realise that austerity and celibacy have few takers in today's world of designer politics.
But is politics all about clothing? The Sangh seems to have stagnated because few are willing to risk their time and thought for agendas that refuse to recognise the plurality of the Indian experience. RSS politics revolves around the fear of the Other. In the immediate political context of Partition, divisive ideologies found supporters. With the passage of time and the emergence of lumpen Hindutva outfits like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal — which service hate without placing a premium on austerity — the RSS has lost its USP. Dropping its shorts will hardly enable the organisation widen its support base. The RSS's problem is not the chaddi but its chintan . Its political face, the BJP, managed to occupy office only after it agreed to shelve exclusivist agendas. Even Narendra Modi was reminded by the electorate that politics cannot be the prerogative of a communal ideology. The idea of India seeks a politics of pluralism and an ideology of accommodation. The Sangh needs to rethink its relevance and ideology rather than its dress code. Or else, as in the fable, Gen-Next will see through the emperor's new clothes.
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