Opinion Stuck in a time warp,RSS is pulling BJP backwards

For most of today’s generation a discussion on partition is an academic exercise which cannot really arouse strong passions. It is only the RSS and a section of the BJP leadership,stuck in a time warp,which feels the need to keep reverting back to the issue of Jinnah,Nehru,Sardar Patel and partition and apportioning blame.

The RSS as a referee and final arbiter for the BJP is in any case a bad idea. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat showed his hand openly in his recent interview with Arnab Goswami of the Times Now TV channel. Even as he claimed that the BJP was not run by the RSS,Bhagwat was not coy when he said: “We have been asking our swayamsewaks in the party to be reasonably sound and articulate about the ideology ”,suggesting the swayamsewaks in the party should dictate the party line.

Bhagwat wants the BJP to induct more young blood into the BJP and come down heavily on indiscipline and factionalism. Few would dispute with Bhagwat on this but before advising the BJP about the path it should follow,Bhagwat should first set his own organisation in order.

The RSS gives the impression of being frozen in time. It has evolved very little over half a century since it refuses to think in terms of new concepts,discard longstanding prejudices and set new goals. The RSS has not been very successful in attracting new recruits from its traditional catchment areas in north India,where early morning shakhas are a rare sight nowadays. Few sons of old RSS loyalists have been inspired to join,since they find the movement with its baggy old fashioned short pants,lathi wielding exercises,games like kho kho and a dogma prejudiced against the Muslim community unappealing.

Many of the RSS’s new recruits are opportunists who sniff a chance to exert influence on governments in states where the BJP is in power. The sense of idealism,service and spiritualism which the RSS hoped its followers would imbibe is missing. A TV-savvy Hindu evangelist like Swamy Ramdas has been far more successful in connecting with India’s new generation than the RSS. Instead of bending over backwards to placate the RSS,the BJP should think instead of putting its house in order through its own efforts. For a start,a man of L K Advani’s age and stature should show some dignity by gracefully resigning from office and allowing the younger generation to take over the reins of leadership. At this stage in life,Advani needs to play the role of an elder statesman and adviser rather than try to be an active player.

There is a need to bring in a new party president in place of Rajnath Singh,who has pandered to factions of the RSS to further his own ambitions and in the process has encouraged groupism within the party. The Chintan Baithak should particularly focus on discovering just why the BJP is losing its appeal among the urban,middle class voters and youth,which was once its core constituency.

The dramatic decline in the credibility of the BJP since the parliamentary polls prevents the establishment of a healthy,two party political system in the country. The BJP has won elections in the past not on the strength of its saffron agenda–except for a brief period in UP on the Ram Mandir issue–but because it was seen as a middle of the road,responsible alternative to the Congress in a sizable part of the country.

A split in the undivided Hindu joint family,known as the Sangh Parivar,would benefit both parties.

Cutting the umbilical cord with the RSS would allow the BJP to remain relevant in the 21st century. It would be equally advantageous to the RSS which could focus on the work for which it was set up,instead of meddling in power politics.