Copyright@shravancharitymission
By Kamlesh Tripathi
In the annals of Indian history compiled by historians who pledged their prolonged allegiance to Congress, RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) was always projected as an untouchable organization along with its off-shoots, one of which was even held responsible for the gruesome murder of Mahatma Gandhi—father of the nation, and together they all are blamed for fuelling communal disharmony in the country. So much so that very recently Congress leader and Rajya Sabha M.P. Ghulam Nabi Azad mindlessly compared RSS with ISIS. But be that as it may, it may not be out of context to say that Indian history was mis-written on several pages by these historians. Reason: Because it was biased towards RSS and not in sync with what was happening in the neighbourhood of new born India. It did not even deal with the regional demography and its effect on India and was devoid of prospective anticipation of how the troublesome neighbourhood of India is likely to be after a bunch of few decades.
In the annals of Indian history compiled by historians who pledged their prolonged allegiance to Congress, RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) was always projected as an untouchable organization along with its off-shoots, one of which was even held responsible for the gruesome murder of Mahatma Gandhi—father of the nation, and together they all are blamed for fuelling communal disharmony in the country. So much so that very recently Congress leader and Rajya Sabha M.P. Ghulam Nabi Azad mindlessly compared RSS with ISIS. But be that as it may, it may not be out of context to say that Indian history was mis-written on several pages by these historians. Reason: Because it was biased towards RSS and not in sync with what was happening in the neighbourhood of new born India. It did not even deal with the regional demography and its effect on India and was devoid of prospective anticipation of how the troublesome neighbourhood of India is likely to be after a bunch of few decades.
I always feel any historical perspective should always be dipped at leisure in the demographic paste of the past and the present and the anticipated gush of future much before it is presented to the world to have an unbiased view. But unfortunately it was not presented in that manner and so RSS remained a villain of all times. RSS, was formed on 27th September 1925 on the day of Vijay-Dashmi, and would be celebrating its centenary in less than a decade and thus has come a long way since then. It was banned during the British Raj and thereafter thrice in the post independence era but more for political reasons. But RSS couldn’t care less as recently it has decided to graduate into trousers replacing those vintage shorts in an attempt to jerk off some of its vintage looks. But will it also change its inveterate mindset is something we need to wait and watch, but I’m sure it’ll surely try and bolster its global image across the world.
For Congress and other left-of-centre pseudo-secular parties; RSS remains that untouchable ball of fire that will only disintegrate the country. But then the moot question is who brought about the painful disintegration of India in 1947? For RSS was just about twenty-two years old then, when Congress was about fifty two and definitely more matured and resourceful. And moreover the typical slippery and conniving mindset that is brewing in India for a long time now is; support the Muslim minority and get the Sikh minority killed in riots and you won’t be called unsecular. This is what Congress did in 1984 Sikh riots. So can one call Congress a secular party?
As of now RSS bashing is vital and important for pseudo-secular parties to survive and trade vote bank politics and will continue to be so as long as they can fool the Muslim minority of the country that RSS is a threat to them, but with continued co-existence of RSS and the Muslims the fear and misunderstanding falsely crafted will only subside as per the law of time.
The mission statement of RSS says it was formed:
‘For the welfare of entire mankind, Bharath must stand before the world as a self-confident, resurgent and mighty nation. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has resolved to fulfil this age-old national mission by forging the present-day scattered Hindu Society into an organized and invincible force both on the plane of Adhyaatma and on the plane of material life. Verily this is the one real practical world mission – if ever there was one.
The mission of reorganizing the Hindu society on the lines of its unique national genius which the Sangh has taken up is not only a great process of true national regeneration of Bharat but also the inevitable precondition to realize the dream of world unity and human welfare. Our one supreme goal is to bring to life the all-round glory and greatness of our Hindu Rashtra.
In order to take our nation to the pinnacle of glory, the first and foremost prerequisite is the invincible organized life of the people without which even the highest national prosperity will crumble to dust in no time.
Expressed in the simplest terms, the ideal of the Sangh is to carry the nation to the pinnacle of glory through organizing the entire society and ensuring the protection of Hindu Dharma.’
While some may find the mission statement to be bearable, some others may find it as incendiary, but that’s up to them. But to me it appears; it delves more in uniting the otherwise fragile Hindus and their ethos hitherto divided so much by caste, class, language and even state. In fact both British Raj and Congress instead of bridging the gap left no stone unturned in widening it. This is what RSS wants to rectify and so it should not be misunderstood as aggression or a lurking danger against any minority community as often projected by pseudo-secular parties and the media. Hindus were never receptive to unite under any single temple or deity like the Muslims do under the name of ‘Allah.’ So in some ways RSS tried to act only as a counter balance in the demographic space of India and I doubt if it will ever go ballistic first, and that too like ISIS.
Political parties can’t be relied upon for protection of a particular religion or faith completely as they first nurture their own selfish needs where their first priority is always their vote bank. Congress today doesn’t know where to look at ever since other pro Muslim parties have spring up and their Muslim vote bank has shrunk (In Lok Sabha only 44 seats) and for the majority they never bothered. Most Muslims and Christians even when they lean on left wing parties still cannot afford to stay away from their mosques and churches that issues diktats about whom to vote which is not the case with Hindu temples. Political parties confine you to geographical boundaries and nations whereas mosques and churches make you global but not temples.
Hindus though intelligent were never a marshal race, rather for over four hundred years they have been gullible and subservient; be it under the rule of the Mughal Sultanate or the British Raj. They were always naive and never united under a religious banner and had big individual egos and therefore were always exploited individually by their opponents. Their temples never united them, and on the contrary their day-to-day living only separated them by caste wars. As compared to Islam and Christianity where churches and mosques were heard and acted upon temples had practically no say in moulding important milestones decisions of Hindus except for milestone rituals. So no temple could have brought Hindus together and that is where RSS came into picture to hold the hands of Hindus and fill the gap, and not to launch an onslaught on any other religion. Earlier Sikhism was formed as a marshal force and religion to protect Hindus from the onslaught of Afghan and Mughal invasions.
If we compare the world demographics and religions across various countries and colonies we will find there are 161 countries where Christianity is in a majority; 49 where Muslims are in a majority; in 7 countries unaffiliated religions rule the roost; 3 countries where Hindus are in a majority; 7 where Buddhists are in a majority; 3 countries where Folk Religion guides the majority and 1 where Jews are in a majority. Whereas Christianity is more predominant in other continents such as Europe, America, Australia, New Zealand just to name a few; Islam and Hinduism on the other hand largely dominate Asia and the Middle East and that to neck-to-neck. As compared to Muslim adherents of 1.12 billion in the region Hindus number around 1.03 billion. I’m placing the vital statistics on the table as that will only expose the tilt of the heft and the crucible required to balance the heft.
66% of the world’s Muslims reside in Asia and the Middle East. They are 27% of the total population of Asia and the Middle East with around 1.12 billion adherents and thus the heart of Muslim civilisation on earth. And it is noticeable they share space with over a billion Hindus in the same region. But there is always a tug-of-war between the two on strength and mettle.
If we further zero in on South Asia which includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka we will find 48 crore Muslims stay in South Asia which is about 28% of the world’s Muslim population and 30% of the population of South Asia and in comparison there are around 102 crore Hindus residing in South Asia which is around 98% of the total Hindu population of the world and around 64% of the total population of South Asia. And with a little over 95% of world’s Hindus living in India alone, a mind game of sorts is always on the prowl, where RSS plays the card of Hindu saviour and where Congress and other pseudo-secular parties are considered minority protectors.
RSS came into wider relevance and recognition ever since terrorism escalated in J&K where Kashmiri Pandits had to flee the valley and the Congress government in the centre did nothing effective about it. It also raised its voice whenever Hindu minorities were crushed in Pakistan, Bangladesh and other countries. Even the illegal entry of Bangladeshis into Assam was overlooked if not encouraged by the Congress government that changed the demographic pattern of Assam. Thus it was also because of the Congress that RSS started gaining traction in India and today the antenna of RSS goes even beyond the borders of India and stands as a peaceful Hindu insignia whether you like it or not.
But times have changed. Besides trousers RSS should also think of broad banding their base and get in their fold the dalits and minorities. And India needs to realise as long as you have vote bank politics organisations like RSS will come up to take the cause of the neglected.
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