A Deeper Look At Knickerwalla 2.0
Which is the story to tell? Is it the external one, listed
out and narrated sequentially, like a
resume?
In that format, the RSS, (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh), is
the umbrella organisation of a clutch of Hindu right-wing nationalist organisations,
including the ruling BJP, with professed universal humanitarian and egalitarian
values.
The RSS, established in 1925, has already thrown up two
prime ministers from within its ranks, and one very significant deputy prime
minister so far.
Today, the RSS counts some 6 million members, through over
51,000 branches or shakhas. It is considered to be the largest NGO in
the world.
The RSS has, over the years, spread its initially
Brahmanical wings out of Nagpur, to embrace Dalits in its fold, including one
to head the organisation for a spell. The RSS did, in fact, earn an early
endorsement for its flat organisation, without any hint of casteism, from none
other than BR Ambedkar, way back in 1939.
More recently, it has also affiliated a number of Muslim shakhas,
so that they can motivate their co-religionists independently, via their
madrassas and community organisations.
For the Republic Day just past, these Muslim RSS shakhas
raised the national flag at a number of madrassas. This outreach, more
willingly received by Shia groups, is a major new initiative, backstopped by
the evidence of fair treatment in Gujarat during the Modi years, and continued
by protégé and successor Anandiben Patel.
However, given the negative propaganda and ridicule the RSS
routinely attracts from the Nehruvian mainstream, in power for most of the time
since independence, it remains at apparent loggerheads with the Congress Party.
The Congress,
paradoxically, tries to portray itself as Hindutva champions from time to time,
probably in an attempt to eat into the RSS political support base.
It is useful to remember here, that it was Rajiv Gandhi as
prime minister, in such a fit of inspiration, who first permitted Hindu worship
at the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, back in the late eighties. He ordered the locks
opened, that had been in place at the masjid, from soon after independence.
LK Advani’s Rath Yatra, the demolition of the mosque, and
the rise of the BJP into national politics came some years later, perhaps as a
direct, if unintended, consequence.
Congress, established in 1885 by an Englishman, has been
closely associated, both with the British Raj and the independence struggle,
led by Mahatma Gandhi. It has traditionally supported minority aspirations,
particularly those of the largest amongst them, in an effort to prevent the
majority Hindus from swamping them.
That the Muslims have provided the Congress with its most
durable vote bank is the singular benefit, particularly after the OBCs and
Dalits melted away to their own outfits led by the Yadav chieftains of Bihar
and UP, and the BSP’s Mayawati.
The RSS has, from inception, been staunchly anti-colonial
and anti-Raj, and refused to cooperate with Mahatma Gandhi’s call for Indians
to volunteer and participate with the
British war effort during WWII.
Nearly two million Indians went to fight for the British,
many to never come back. Their blood and sacrifice however might have been
instrumental in securing independence for India, albeit under American pressure
upon a much diminished Britain.
The RSS stance however has been both misunderstood, and
deliberately misrepresented by the Congress.
The point for the RSS was nationalism, and the effort was to revive the
Hindu spirit and pride in its hoary heritage. Getting mixed up with the
imperial British was not seen to be productive in this endeavour.
So, going the other way for emphasis, the RSS openly
professed admiration for Hitler and the Axis Powers instead. However, so did
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, possibly in an ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’
manner, because neither Bose, nor the RSS,
were ideologically anything but pan-Indian nationalists, without
divisive emphasis on creed and caste, and certainly without elitist or fascist overtones- except
perhaps in terms of its Brahmin leadership in the RSS.
But then, Bose, who wasn’t a Brahmin, and was totally
secular in his embrace, was nevertheless blocked and stymied in the Congress by
none other than a threatened Mahatma Gandhi, from the bania caste himself.
MK Gandhi however, was a confidant of the British, some say
a collaborator. He more or less forced Bose, the two time president of
Congress, to quit and leave.
Gandhi preferred his malleable acolyte Jawaharlal Nehru, even
to fellow Gujarati Vallabhbhai Patel, though Patel’s greater age and state of
health may have had something to do with it.
Even as the RSS stayed away from the independence movement
as such, except to try and restore Indian, particularly Hindu, dignity and
pride, it has often worked in a complementary manner to the Congress’
nationalist initiatives, both before, and after independence.
This did not stop various
Congress governments after independence, taking on from the British, who banned
it first, from banning the RSS for three short spells. The first was in 1948,
after the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi by Nathuram Godse, a former RSS man; during
the Emergency in the seventies, when most broad civil liberties were abrogated;
and after the demolition of the Babri Masjid, in 1992.
This may be the snap-shot of the external facts, but should
one actually be focussing on the interiorscape for a better understanding of
the organisation? Is the true character
of the tale to be found therein, the inspirational, motivational, largely
personal, and even secret animus?
That there is an extraordinary patriotism and commitment
felt by the swayamsevaks is undeniable. This makes the RSS a formidable cadre
based organisation, that can be mobilised to great effect, certainly for relief
operations at riot and flood, but also at election time.
The need is now being felt internally, is to broaden its
appeal.
Current president, properly titled a sarsangchalak in
Sankritised RSS language, the anachronistic looking, Gokhale mustachioed Mohan
Bhagwat, has been trying to promote a more scientific spirit of enquiry, going
so far as to say redundant old traditions needed to be thrown over.
The paradox that lies in the centre of this initiative, as any
atheist or agnostic might point out, is that science stops at the border of
faith. And faith is the very basis of any religion, particularly one so mixed
up with philosophy and legend as Hinduism is.
Still, Bhagwat speaks of adopting ‘eternal life values’ from
any culture from anywhere in the world, to stress on the RSS creed of humanism
first.
In the question of the sexes, he skirts the largely fraught
issue of gender equality, by stating that, in Hinduism, there is a concept of
unity and merger of interests between the sexes. Neat, no doubt, but the ardhanari
argument is not very 21st century! Still, much better than what the
Sharia prescribes certainly.
The problem with any and much of this newthink is that the
senior leadership of the RSS comes from a much more orthodox tradition, and
even though Bhagwat is pointing in certain new directions, even his
pronouncements, such as his unfortunate and mistimed comments on reservation
just before the Bihar assembly elections, are not always helpful to the cause
of a liberal makeover.
The RSS is not alone
in this-most of its affiliates and loose cannons in the ruling party, are
expert at embarrassing the Modi government without a by-your-leave; and with
oodles of prejudicial, if righteous, indignation.
It makes the whole caboodle obscurantist in public
perception. The desired scientific spirit of enquiry and broad-mindedness is
going to take discipline and professionalism.
The makeover in substantive terms for the RSS to be taken
seriously in intellectual circles, will therefore have to dig deep and be
extremely brave to break away from many orthodoxies and dogmas. If beef bans
and promotion of Gaumata/Gaumutra etc. are to stay, for example, they
will need much better PR than heretofore.
Because, increasingly, in these days of extensive visual
media, perception is everything, speaking sometimes much louder than deeds and
substance.
And sloppy messaging can be easily twisted and represented
out of context. All it takes is some malicious editing of what comes out of the
horse’s mouth.
It is therefore, not only in how one looks, but also how one
speaks, and the precision and appeal of what one says. Old ideological and
historical positions need to be reworked, based, not on vague good intentions,
but on analysis of public opinion, objectives, current aspirations.
Messaging needs to be rehearsed and precise, and every
attempt must be made for spokespersons to stay firmly on topic. Off-the-cuff
remarks and sound-bytes can never afford to be truly spontaneous.
Before the age of television, there were movies made to push
a line, internationally too, in the days of the Cold War, and of course,
eagerly listened to radio broadcasts.
There were lavish productions of Tolstoy’s War and Peace
from Soviet Russia, and Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake- all to showcase the glories of
the USSR. Later, the other side took them on too, as timeless classics that
belong to the world of grace and class.
In counterpoint,
there were the seemingly endless procession of John Wayne Westerns from
Hollywood, to highlight the popular frontier virtues of a young, resurgent
America. Some are still being remade these days with new and current stars,
again often drawn internationally.
But, it is generally acknowledged, that the first televised
Nixon-Kennedy debates in the Black&White TV sixties, was the first
presidential race narrowly won by JFK; largely on the basis of his superior
image and photogeneity.
Rival Richard Nixon’s five o’ clock shadow and the slurs
about him looking like a used-car salesman, versus John Kennedy’s patrician
smile and tanned, relaxed air, was a total study in contrast.
Nixon saw to it that he never neglected his image the next
time around, irrespective of the content of his campaign- with slick custom-made suits in TV suitable colours
and coordinated ties, modulated voice, gestures, body-language, photo
opportunities, and definitely no sweating in public.
There were a series of best-selling books on this very
deliberate political packaging- The
Making Of The President by
journalist Theodore White,( first in 1960,and again in 1964, ’68 and ’72), and
a film by David Wolper on the 1960 campaign, that was released, poignantly,
just before the Kennedy assassination in 1963.
These books, and the power of TV, transformed the subsequent
reporting on US presidential elections into a much more personalised vision of
the proceedings.
Perhaps here in India too, the 2014 general elections, were,
by far, the most presidential and highly televised campaign ever. Narendra
Modi’s presence and oratory, combined
with very attractive and precise messaging, helped him to win a landslide for
the BJP and the NDA.
There was a lot of professional PR and advertising help, in
addition to high-tech data analysis, and traditional election back office teams
supporting his campaign.
The fact that a life-long, old school RSS pracharak/swayamsevak
could transform himself, in stages, into a suave three-term state chief
minister, and then a prime minister cum globe girdling statesman, with the
negative aspects of his back story melting away, is partially based on NaMo’s
own gift for projection.
It also gives him high marks for his considerable appreciation
of the multiplier effect of modern mediums of communication. These include, TV,
radio, social media, including twitter, facebook, youtube, instagram,
holographic campaigning, selfies, etc. Combined with appropriate dressing,
grooming, frequent costume changes, and massive, choreographed, events.
But, the professional inputs that accompanied the natural
gifts of the prime minister at every step, cannot be discounted.
The mentor organisation, the RSS too, is trying to update
itself, both in terms of how they intend to look, what they espouse going
forward ( less Hindutva, more inclusiveness, and modernity), and the manner in
which future messaging will be handled.
It certainly makes sense to catch up to the 21st
century for this formidable organisation, that is nevertheless anachronistic. A
big problem is its facile denial that it is, in fact, a political organisation.
This conceit won’t work, and needs to be
dropped.
The RSS people, with their confused pronouncements and
costumed looks at their shakhas , resemble a neighbourhood watch from
the 19th century, crossed with Dad’s Army, a long gone BBC
comedy serial from the seventies, on veterans playing at Home Guards, during -
what else, WWII.
The deportment, comportment, language skills and messaging
of the RSS has been crude and provincial so far, inviting derision from the urban cognoscenti, and conversely,
unfavourable comparison with con servative and fundamentalist Muslim
organisations. These too tend to hark back to the 15th century, in
terms of their misogyny, rigidity, their kohl-rimmed looks, and Astrakhan styling.
The world is taking note of the new stirrings in the RSS
however, and Mohan Bhagwat has been recently addressing foreign journalists too.
Reports in the Wall Street Journal speak of the revamped website.
Another report elsewhere highlights that the notorious and commodious khaki ‘knickers’ ( shorts),
worn with a belt, and calf-high socks and shoes/sandals, white shirts and
semi-police style caps, will soon be replaced by elegant designer outfits.
Bhagwat, for himself, emphasises the RSS is not anti-Muslim.
Meanwhile, the RSS has spent Rs. 7 crore of its donation
money recently, on providing relief to the drought hit. Truth is, that its work has always stood up
for itself, and the test of time. The RSS has often been admired by other
relief agencies working alongside.
But now that the RSS is beginning to address the big picture,
much greater progress cannot be ruled out.
For: SirfNews
(2,251 words)
February 2nd, 2016
Gautam Mukherjee
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