The Asian Age
Bhagwat’s pointless shadow-boxing
Feb 16, 2015
Why should the issue of common ancestors be of any significance? Why should all Indians not be regarded to be each other’s equal by virtue of their being Indian citizens?
Fierce controversies have been generated on sensitive matters in recent months by Hindutva-related bodies, including elements in the ruling party, and the communal temperature has been sought to be raised with clear political motives that become all too apparent.
Broadly, these relate to attempts at pulling down Mahatma Gandhi from his unique place in the national psyche, the eulogising of his assassin, “ghar wapsi”, “love jihad”, a succession of attacks on churches, and a general purpose diatribe against people of the Islamic faith.
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat is now taking a seemingly different, and apparently conciliatory, tack. On closer examination, however, the import of his observations in Kanpur on Sunday appear to conform to the standard prescription of his organisation, which is to present India as a homogenised Hindu society.
Mr Bhagwat’s case is that no matter what caste or religion Indians may belong to, they should be deemed to have common “ancestors”, provided these ancestors sacrificed their lives for the country. This is gratuitous. Why should the issue of common ancestors be of any significance at all? Why should all Indians not be regarded to be each other’s equal by virtue of their being Indian citizens?
As for the issue of making sacrifices for the country, the RSS leader is vague and is content to speak in a pointless, emotive, voice. He is also releasing a red herring. He does not clarify if he is referring to any particular period. If, for the sake of discussion, we are to take the protracted struggle against British colonial rule, history suggests that the RSS did not play a role as an organisation. So, what should we make of that? Besides, is the mere fact of being a law-abiding citizen not honourable?
Mr Bhagwat also observed rather defensively it seems that the RSS does not teach people to “fight”, it only teaches people self-defence and ways to protect others. But protect against what or whom? If he means foreign armies or plotters, then we have our well-trained security forces raised through the tax kitty and the national budget. We don’t need the RSS or any other private militia to replace them. Is the RSS chief speaking of protecting against enemies within? In that case too, we have the police system. The RSS aims to make Hindus live without fear, says Mr Bhagwat. Again, who are the Hindus afraid of?
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