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, with
professed universal humanitarian and egalitarian values, including the ruling
BJP.
It has already thrown up two prime ministers from within its
ranks and one deputy prime minister so far. The RSS was established in 1925.
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 in Central India, to embrace Dalits in its
fold, including one to head the organisation for a spell. They did, in fact,
earn an early endorsement for their flat organisation, without any hint of
casteism, from none other than BR Ambedkar, 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, into the broader RSS fold, thereby
putting paid to the notion that the RSS should be regarded as anti-Muslim. For
the Republic Day just past, these Muslim RSS shakhas raised the national
flag at a number of madrassas.
However, given the negative propaganda and ridicule the RSS
routinely attracts from the Nehruvian mainstream that has been in power for
most of the time since independence, the RSS 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 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
in the late eighties, opening the locks that had been in place at the masjid
from 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.
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.
Going the other way, 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 Indian
nationalists and certainly not fascist. But then, Bose was blocked and stymied in
the Congress by Mahatma Gandhi, who was a confidant of the British and chose to
quit as a consequence.
Though the RSS stayed away from the independence movement as
such, 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 from banning the RSS for three short spells, once 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 to broaden its appeal.
But increasingly, in these days of extensive visual media,
perception is everything, speaking sometimes much louder than deeds and
substance. It is in 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 on analysis of public opinion and current aspirations. Messaging needs to be
rehearsed and precise and every attempt must be made for spokespersons to stay
on topic.
Before television, there were movies made to push a line,
internationally too, in the days of the Cold War. 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. 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.
But, it is generally acknowledged, that the first televised
Nixon-Kennedy debates in the B&W 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 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, and frequent costume changes.
But, the professional inputs that accompanied the natural
gifts of the prime minister cannot be discounted.
Which brings us to the recent reports on RSS attempts to
make itself over, both in terms of how they intend to look, 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, if for no other
reason than to appeal to a wider audience than heretofore.
The RSS people at their shakhas have been the butt of
ridicule for looking like a neighbourhood watch party from the 19th
century, crossed with Dad’s Army, a BBC comedy serial from the seventies,
on veterans playing at Home Guards during 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, that also tend to hark back to the 15th century, in
terms of their views and styling.
The world is taking note however, and RSS president Mohan
Bhagwat has been addressing foreign journalists too, to particularly clarify
the RSS is not anti-Muslim.
Reports in the Wall Street Journal speak of the
revamped website of the RSS and another report 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.
Meanwhile, the RSS has spent Rs. 7 crore of its donation
money, on providing relief to the drought hit. Its work has always stood up for
itself and the test of time, but now that it is addressing perception of its
antiquated image, much greater progress
cannot be ruled out.
For: SirfNews
(1,489 words)
February 1st, 2016
Gautam Mukherjee
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