In a stunning turn of events that could easily be mistaken for a plot twist in a political satire, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) find themselves in the center of a “Constitution Demolition Derby,” a term ingeniously coined by Rahul Gandhi, the Congress chief, to describe their recent actions.
Gandhi’s blistering accusation that the BJP-RSS duo is actively engaged in dismantling the foundational principles of the Constitution—sovereignty, socialism, secularism, and democracy—has sent shockwaves through those who hold these values dear as the essence of modern India. He passionately argues that Justice, Equality, and Liberty, the very pillars of our Constitution, are sacred and any attempt to undermine them is not just an affront to the vision of Babasaheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and other founding fathers were a slap in the face of our democratic ideals.
The topicality of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as a subject of study has become glaringly evident. This is especially notable considering that this is the second volume on the RSS in English to be published in just eight months. The first was an updated version of an earlier work by Walter Anderson and Shridhar Damle, which sought to test a set of propositions by using a case-study approach of the organization and its network of affiliates, emphasizing a homogenizing of society.
Noorani’s latest work goes beyond the superficial layers, delving into the origins of the organization and its progress through critical landmarks in the history of modern India, both pre- and post-Independence. It brings to light the views of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and Jawaharlal Nehru regarding the RSS and its objectives, providing a comprehensive coverage. Particularly enlightening are the appendices and the documents contained therein.
The constitution of the RSS, reproduced in Appendix 2, reveals the organization’s objectives. The preamble explicitly states its goal to “eradicate the fissiparous tendencies arising from the diversities of sect, faith, caste and creed and from the political, economic and provincial differences among Hindus” and “to bring about an all-round regeneration of the Hindu Samaj.” The focus, therefore, is on those who identify as Hindus, constituting 80% of our population. Consequently, every fifth Indian, representing 20% of the population, is seemingly beyond the RSS’s prescribed ideology.
This presents various logical issues.
(a) Are 80% of Indians who identify as Hindu be considered 100% Indian?
(b) Would the 20% of Indians who are not Hindus be integrated into the 80% who are Hindu?
(c) What exactly happens to India’s Constitution, its democratic framework, its equality principle, and its charter of rights, which includes citizens’ rights to profess, practice, and propagate their religion, as well as every citizen’s duty to value and preserve our composite culture’s rich heritage?
The answers to the first two questions are a resounding NO, unless an as-yet undisclosed process of conversion in violation of the constitution is being considered. The answer to the third question is self-evident: the constitution remains the fundamental law of the land, binding on all citizens and taking precedence over all other affiliations.
Over the years, the RSS has developed public policy orientations and influence through its numerous affiliates, promoting Hindutva as a concept of cultural revitalization and political mobilization. This, as described by D.L. Sheth and Ashis Nandy, “seeks to subjugate and homogenize the ethnic pluralities by establishing the hegemony of an imagined cultural mainstream,” often leading to social violence by some of its adherents.
Such principles, portraying Indian nationalism through the lens of the faith of the religious majority, carry serious negative social and political ramifications for sections of the citizenry and are in clear violation of the constitution. They are not only detrimental to India as we know it but also represent a stark denial of everything the freedom struggle stood for. They negate the existential reality of a plural society, camouflage assimilation and homogenization, and serve as a means to erase the richness and diversity of our land, transforming civic nationalism into cultural nationalism and our liberal democracy into an ethnic one.