11

Nov

RSS Chief’s Big Image-Building Exercise

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A close-up of a person with glasses AI-generated content may be incorrect.Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat’s recent address in Bengaluru, “100 Years of Sangh Journey: New Horizons”, deserves close scrutiny. Ostensibly a lecture on the organisation’s century-long journey, it appeared more like a major image-building and public relations exercise aimed at salvaging the Sangh’s eroding credibility.

For decades, the RSS has projected itself as the moral and cultural compass of the nation. Yet, Bhagwat’s address was marked by half-truths, selective amnesia, and lofty claims that starkly contrast with ground realities. His repeated assertions that “there is no Ahindu in Bharat” and that everyone—Hindus, Muslims, Christians—shares common ancestry and cultural roots, sounded appealing but rang hollow. Such rhetoric, however well-worded, cannot mask the Sangh’s complicity in the divisive politics unleashed by its ideological offspring, the BJP.

Glossing Over Reality

By saying that non-Hindus “probably don’t know or are made to forget” their shared heritage, Bhagwat conveniently shifted the blame to others. He declared that “knowingly or unknowingly, everyone follows Bharateeya culture,” attempting to dilute the Sangh’s anti-Muslim and anti-Christian image built through years of hate propaganda, mob lynching, “love jihad” campaigns, and anti-conversion laws promoted by BJP governments.

His call that “every Hindu must realise he is a Hindu because being Hindu means being responsible for Bharat” sought to conflate Hindu identity with nationalism — a long-standing Sangh strategy. Yet, the dissonance between Bhagwat’s words and the Sangh’s actions remains glaring. The organisation’s daily rhetoric at shakhas continues to demonise minorities and promote majoritarian dominance.

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s Bengaluru address, “100 Years of Sangh Journey: New Horizons,” was less a reflection on the RSS’s legacy and more a public relations exercise aimed at restoring its waning credibility. While Bhagwat spoke of unity, shared ancestry, and cultural harmony, critics argue that his words contradict the Sangh’s divisive record and anti-minority rhetoric. He attempted to link Hindu identity with nationalism and claimed “Hindu Rashtra” aligns with the Constitution, ignoring the RSS’s earlier opposition to it.
Wednesday Wisdom
By Satish Misra
His denial of RSS’s political influence over the BJP appeared hollow, given their evident coordination. Bhagwat’s conditional inclusivity toward non-Hindus and insistence that the RSS “supports policies, not politics” exposed its duplicity. Though he spoke of “unity in diversity,” ground realities tell a different story. Ultimately, the speech reflected an organisation struggling to defend its moral legitimacy amid charges of hypocrisy, communalism, and power politics.

Selective History and Convenient Forgetfulness

Bhagwat’s claim that “the British did not give us nationhood” and that India’s “core culture is Hindu” ignored basic historical facts. The term “Hindu” itself came into use much later, initially by foreign travellers to describe people living east of the Indus. India’s true spiritual essence is Sanatan, not “Hindutva” — a political construct created for exclusion rather than inclusion.

Equally disingenuous was Bhagwat’s assertion that “Hindu Rashtra” aligns with the Constitution and that “Sanatana Dharma is Hindu Rashtra.” He conveniently skipped the RSS’s early opposition to the Constitution and its refusal to hoist the national flag at its offices until the 1970s. Only after the government threatened legal action did the organisation publicly claim loyalty to constitutional values.

Denial of Political Control

Bhagwat insisted that the RSS “supports policies, not politics,” denying its deep political umbilical link with the BJP. Yet, it is an open secret that Sangh functionaries influence government appointments, transfers, and even candidate selection. The RSS’s political hand is visible in every major BJP decision, from cabinet reshuffles to state leadership choices.

Bhagwat further claimed that the Sangh supported the BJP over the Ram Mandir issue “because the party aligned with that policy,” not out of political loyalty. He even went as far as saying that “if Congress had supported it, our swayamsevaks would have voted for it.” Such statements only reinforce the duplicity of an organisation that controls politics from the shadows while publicly pretending to stay above it.

Inclusivity Without Conviction

When asked whether Muslims or Christians could join the RSS, Bhagwat replied that “no one is excluded by caste or creed,” provided they keep their “separateness out.” This conditional inclusivity exposes the Sangh’s core problem — its inability to accept India’s plural identity. Tolerance, in Bhagwat’s lexicon, means conformity to a singular Hindu cultural framework.

His claim that the RSS “does not ask who they are” sounds hollow in the face of the organisation’s relentless campaign against religious minorities. Such posturing cannot erase decades of polarisation and communal violence legitimised in the name of cultural nationalism.

An Organisation Above Scrutiny

Bhagwat also reminded critics that the RSS is not registered as an organisation, arguing it is a “body of individuals” recognised under law. “If we were not there, who did they ban?” he asked, referring to the three occasions when the RSS was outlawed. What he failed to mention is that the lack of registration conveniently shields the organisation from public financial audits. Ironically, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi has described RSS as the “world’s biggest NGO,” Bhagwat maintains it needs no registration — a contradiction that remains unexplained.

Unity Without Diversity

In his Bengaluru address, Bhagwat emphasised that unity must coexist with diversity, claiming, “Our tradition is to create unity without disturbing diversity. Diversity is the decoration of unity.” These are noble words, but they clash with the ground reality of a society increasingly divided by religion, caste, and ideology — much of it fuelled by Sangh’s worldview.

A Tarnished Legacy

Bhagwat’s assertions came amid renewed friction between the RSS and the Congress. Party president Mallikarjun Kharge’s comment that the RSS “should be banned” provoked sharp reactions from Sangh leaders. Bhagwat, however, said that “the RSS grows stronger whenever there is opposition.” That may be true in numerical terms, but moral authority cannot be built on propaganda and contradiction.

Despite all the lofty talk of national service and unity, the RSS today is widely viewed as a power broker rather than a moral force. Its credibility has suffered as the BJP government it nurtured has become synonymous with cronyism, corruption, and coercion. The Sangh, once claiming to represent selfless discipline, now appears trapped in the same web of power and privilege it once decried.

As a senior BJP leader privately quipped, “Kanchan aur Kaya (wealth and women) now rule the RSS-BJP ecosystem.” The question is: does Bhagwat have the courage to deny it—or face an independent press in an open, unscripted media interaction?

(Dr. Satish Misra is a senior journalist and political analyst. He has been a Senior Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation.)

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