Opinion Sanghs support to Modi govt was larger theme of Mohan Bhagwats Vijayadashmi address

This year's address will also be remembered for the most significant change in the Sangh's uniform so far, a change that suggests not just some outer but inner churning too.

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Nagpur: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, in new uniform, with other volunteers on the occasion of their foundation day and Vijaya Dashami in Nagpur on Tuesday. PTI Photo (PTI10_11_2016_000100B)

Ashutosh Bhardwaj

October 12, 2016 12:25 PM IST First published on: Oct 12, 2016 at 12:00 AM IST

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RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, in new uniform, with other volunteers on the occasion of their foundation day and Vijaya Dashami in Nagpur on Tuesday. (Source: PTI photo)

This year’s annual Vijayadashmi address of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat is significant for his ratification of the Union government. On the surface, it was about the ‘surgical strikes’ and the pride this government’s firmness has brought to India, but the Sangh’s overall support to the government was the larger and inescapable theme. In fact, when he underlined “the courage our Army has shown under the leadership of the administration,” the implicit message was clear: it’s the “Yashasvi” Narendra Modi government that has made it possible.

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Perhaps the most significant aspect was that he upped the ante on PoK. He reminded the political leaders that Parliament had already passed resolutions on Kashmir being “an integral part of India”, and almost urged them for some decisive steps to ensure that the resolutions are “translated into action”. Of late, the Sangh Parivar has been advocating for the independence of Balochistan, it would be keenly watched how the government responds to Bhagwat’s call on PoK.

Such was his focus on Kashmir that when he mentioned the millennial year of the poet Acharya Abhinavgupta, Bhagwat reminded that he had spread the culture from the “land of Kashmir”. “We hear the word Kashmiriyat. The essence of Kashmir cannot be realised without Abhinavgupta.”

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That said, Bhagwat also made it clear that he would not compromise on the issue of cow that has found the validity from “constitution, science and tradition”. Recently, Modi had termed Gau Rakshaks “anti-socials”, but Bhagwat refused to agree with the prime minister. For the RSS chief, Gau Rakshaks are noble humans, who sometimes launch movements to ensure implementations of the law made for the cow protection.

This year’s address will also be remembered for the most significant change in the Sangh’s uniform so far, a change that suggests not just some outer but inner churning too. The replacement of khaki knickers, which Swayamsevaks had considered a component of their skin, by brown trousers is a change whose ramifications could be gauged only in years to come.