The Sudarshan Chakra

The structure of the RSS is not only monolithic, it generates awe and invisible terror. Patriarchal in its approach and authoritarian in its style, it at once provides psychological security and ideological purpose. It is that security that leads to fierce political loyalty. Those who were drawn to RSS shakhas in their adolescent days, recall that even after they had left the RSS, they found it difficult to question its philosophy or methods. They were trained not to question, because that would be tantamount to challenging the RSS. Once that fear is instilled in hearts and minds, independent thinking is impossible. Psychological paralysis sets in.

One of the RSS’s weapons is organised rumour and calumny-mongering. They have a vast network of karyakartas — some of them in positions of power within the government and the media — who meet in shakhas, shibirs, and sabhas, where information is exchanged and rumours, systematically spread. Technology proved to be a boon. The rumour-based speculative stories, put out by journalists, letter-writers, and the like, could create a lot of confusion and the RSS thrives on confusion. Note the strategy it employed to take control of the Janata Party from within. The plan was to infiltrate the bureaucracy, educational institutions, the police, even the military. The media had already been subverted. When other members of the Janata experiment felt the heat of this ‘subaltern’ campaign, they became uncomfortable. That is when Madhu Limaye, Raj Narain, Fernandes, and others, revolted.

Initially, the RSS was rattled. But it quickly reorganised themselves and stood behind Morarji Desai, as prime minister. But it had underestimated the capacity of the Socialists to create mischief. It is one of the paradoxes of Indian politics that the same gang of socialists led by George Fernandes, ended up as members of the BJP-led NDA! On second thoughts, perhaps, there was nothing strange about it. The NDA had its roots in the JP-blessed Janata Party. The RSS overcame the demoralisation that had set in after the failure of the Janata experiment and the political setback of 1984. But it felt its inner strength when it succeeded in the Ayodhya campaign that led to the Babri demolition. The RSS, having set the BJP on the road to power, was bound to ask for its pound of flesh if and when the party came to power.

The BJP had learnt from the Janata experiment that it must be in a commanding position in any alliance so as not to get isolated within it. Its moment of glory came in ’98, thanks to the bankruptcy of Congress politics. An electorate feed up with the tantrums of the Congress, decided to give BJP a shot at governance at a time when the national mood had shifted from the centrist-secular-liberal to the conservative-Hindu-right. As the BJP and NDA became more stable, many political opportunities presented themselves, even as opportunists, fake liberals and pseudo-secularists rushed to join its ranks. It appeared that the new crowd was going to marginalise the RSS.

Even within the RSS, a transformation was taking place. The younger RSS karyakartas, who used to travel by bus or cycle, found themselves in air-conditioned cars with mobile phones and a lifestyle that went contrary to the principles laid down by the organisation. For the Nagpur patriarchs, this corrupting influence of consumerism was the last straw. The initial salvos against the new culture were fired by the likes of Govindacharya. But they were ignored by BJP leaders and marginalised. The RSS then launched its virulent Hindu campaign through the VHP and Bajrang Dal. The idea was to rein in the Vajpayees and Mahajans of the BJP and bring back the old discipline. But unfortunately, the country had moved ahead. Ordinary people were tired of the rhetoric of Hindutva. Prime Minister Vajpayee, recognising this mood, assumed a more centrist stance.

It was at this juncture that the RSS decided to target the BJP. Last year’s general election saw the BJP removed from power. This was not only because the Sonia Gandhi-led Congress had mounted a concerted attack on the NDA but because hardcore RSS-VHP-Bajrang Dal cadres systematically sabotaged the BJP-led campaign. The RSS did this because it wanted to teach the BJP — which it had brought to power — a lesson by bringing it down.

The battle lines were already drawn and it was inevitable that a conflict would ensue. This is not a cultural or spiritual conflict. It is a political struggle for power. The Hindu fundamentalists, like their counterparts in Pakistan and elsewhere, want to force an issue. The Rubicon has been crossed now. The RSS chief, unlike Lord Krishna, lacks the spiritual power to withdraw the Sudarshan Chakra he has hurled at his own kith and kin.

The writer is editor, ‘Loksatta’