Impact of RSS on India’s Socio-Political life
- In History & Culture
- 08:40 PM, Oct 22, 2015
- Ratan Sharda
It has been 90 years since RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh – National Volunteers Corps) was born. For 90 years RSS has been like an elephant in a room of blindfolded people. Each has his/her own interpretation about what RSS is all about and how does it affect India’s national life. English media that has far more influence in elite circles than its circulation and reach would suggest, would have us believe that it is a para-military, fascist organization of militant Hindus out to destroy pluralist nature of India, with nothing positive to talk about. What is the truth on ground? Has its effect been salutary, positive or negative as it grew from a tiny organization of young teenage boys headed by a middle age Doctor – Dr. K B Hedgewar?
We may describe RSS as an organization that wishes to nurture citizens of India into disciplined people with high moral values and dedication to the motherland. It can happen if majority community of this land is united and doesn’t fight on petty issues and is not divided on caste, creed and religious and regional lines. It is not against anybody. It is built on Hindu cultural values that are basically pluralist and respects all thoughts with firm belief that all roads lead to same ultimate Truth and all must be respected. India is a secular country by this very virtue. Indian secularism is not built on western model of separation of religion and state.
What has RSS been able to achieve in its 90 years? In this short note, I can only enumerate major landmark points that have defined India as it is today and survived inspite of sustained hostility of neighbours and left secular extremist ideologies.
RSS was instrumental in saving Jammu & Kashmir when it was attacked in 1947 within months of freedom at a very delicate moment when even a day’s delay would have cut off Kashmir from India and handed over Srinagar to Pakistan. Young boys paid with their lives in helping army regain initiative. RSS put in all its might to save Hindus from pogrom of extremist Muslims during partition and worked for their rehabilitation.
India doesn’t have a concept of reserve army in times of national crises. RSS has worked as second line of defence during every war and internal disturbances. Most virulent critic like Nehru decided to invite RSS to Republic Day parade in 1963 as a mark of recognition of its work. Full time workers (prachaaraks) of RSS went into North East in 1950 when it was realized that Assam (at that time entire North East) would be lost in another 10 years if action was not taken to protect its identity and social fabric.
Religious conversions have been a source of major grief as it not just results in change in religion but also identity and relations with others in society. It is a spiritual violence. RSS has worked hard in this arena by waking up Hindu society to its duty to treat all its members with equality and love, support them so they don’t fall victim to mechanisation of people out to ‘save their souls’. In Khalistan related disturbances in Punjab in 1980s, RSS stood firm that Hindus and Sikhs are one family, brothers and cannot be separated. It paid heavy price for this commitment.
Founding of Vishwa Hindu Parishad was a landmark event in history of Hinduism. In nearly 10000 years of India’s history, all Shankaracharyas, saints and heads of various sects and faiths born out of Vedic thought were brought on single platform with gallant efforts of the second chief of RSS – Shri Guruji. Not only this, they pronounced that all Hindus were born of same Mother India and were brothers, there could be no untouchability. This was in 1964 and movement has gathered steam steadily.
Work of RSS in disaster relief and social service is well known and recognised. Its volunteers are the first one to reach any disaster site and start work without waiting for government or army. It has the largest non-aided educational institutions from where thousands of students pass out every year with best results. It has schools in most remote areas. Its idea of ‘Ekal vidyalay’ – one teacher schools in tribal belts – has picked up and many organizations are doing it. There are over 30000 such schools. Bare foot doctors concept – Aryogya Mitras – has thousands of volunteers from same community offering primary preventive health care and assistance in case of serious problems. Work in rural area will see results in coming years.
From a politics centred on western concepts, RSS has created its own indigenous political theory rooted in traditional Indian thought and rich heritage. With years of hard work, its political associate Bharatiya Janata Party has finally become the second pole of the Indian polity. In fact, the earlier unipolar polity of Congress vs others of mixed political hues has given way to BJP vs others. Such has been the phenomenal growth of cultural nationalism of RSS. Economic thought of ‘Integral Humanism’ has broken new grounds in political economy based on Indian genius.
The way left secular extemists have raised noise level and the way they are trying hard to tell the world is that India is stuck in medieval times with violence all around; tells us that they are realizing that they have no answer to sustained growth of nationalist philosophy and this is their last ditch battle.
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