rss-chief-s-conciliatory-gestures-deserve-reciprocation

On December 19, while speaking at a function in Pune, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat reaffirmed and reiterated his stand that there should be no more attempts at searching temples under every mosque in India.

 

He said it for the second time within less than six months. His statement was timely since it was made when violence had hit Sambhal leading to five deaths, when some people objected to surveying of the Shahi Jama Masjid (mosque) there, which is claimed to have been constructed over a temple. 

 

The RSS chief has touched a very sensitive and emotive issue. An overwhelming majority of Hindus across the country believes that a number of mosques during the Muslim rule, including that of the Mughals, were built over temples after these were demolished. This has been established historically also in several cases. At the same time, there is a strong resistance from the Muslim community, which believes that their places of worship are being deliberately snatched away from them on the pretext of having been constructed over temples after they were destroyed. 

 

Bhagwat faced a strong backlash from the ultra-right Hindu groups, who are saying that he was not the sole spokesperson of the Hindus and cannot speak for them. The RSS Chief has however not clarified his position on the Gyanvapi Mosque in Kashi, which is also believed to have been built over a temple. The matter is sub-judice and there have been court ordered surveys also conducted there.

 

In both the speeches, where Bhagwat asked for not trying to dig a temple beneath every mosque, he did not spell out anything on the Gyanvapi mosque. 

 

Given his stature, influence and respect Bhagwat enjoys across the country, his statement on such a sensitive issue holds a lot of significance. RSS is not only India’s, but world’s largest voluntary organization (according to a BBC survey). Besides, the BJP derives much of its support and strength from the RSS only. If the BJP is in power at the centre for the third consecutive term, much of the credit goes to the RSS and its untiring and unacknowledged volunteers who work round the clock. It is the RSS that has changed the political narrative in the county and made nationalism as the main focus in the electoral discourse. 

 

For ensuring a strong and powerful India, every section of people will need to have a sense of belonging with the country. Over the last one decade, a narrative of “fear” has been built up, where a section of the minorities is alleged to be living under constant fear. Some rarest of the rare incidents have taken places, where the members of the minority community have been victimized, but these were exceptional instances. The fact is that the minorities are actually safe in India and they should not have any fear. 

 

Like the incident of the beheading of a Hindu tailor in Rajasthan for having supported Nupur Sharma, falsely accused of blasphemy, does not mean that every Hindu in the country is in danger of being beheaded, similarly any isolated incident of violence against any minority community member should not suggest that the entire community is threatened and at the risk of being lynched or beheaded. At the same time, not even an isolated incident of targeting any community should be acceptable. 

 

The Indian society as a whole, which includes the Hindus, the Muslims, the Sikhs, the Christians, the Bhudists, Jains and other communities are living in complete peace and harmony. The political parties, particularly the Congress, more specifically Rahul Gandhi, will do well by not creating a false sense of fear and panic among the minority communities. He may have an axe to grind with the BJP, he will need to choose his issues and words carefully, lest it leads to mistrust among the communities. 

 

With RSS chief having categorically and unambiguously made his position clear vis-à-vis the minorities, there must be an expression and demonstration of reciprocity from the minority community also. The liberal intelligentsia among the majority community has always been demonizing the RSS. It will never acknowledge or reciprocate Bhagwat's stand. In fact, it is this particular section, which has added fuel to the fire and widened the chasm between the communities. 

 

Onus is also on the Muslim community and its leadership. It will need to recalibrate its strategy and narrative. Every time there is an election, there is a unanimous appeal from the community to its people to vote for anyone, but not the BJP. In fact the community leaders make it categorically clear without any subtleties that the community members must ensure the defeat of the BJP no matter who wins. Such narratives only lead to mistrust and bad blood. Voting for anyone is understandable, but voting unanimously “against” a particular party and the one, which is being voted for and supported by an overwhelming majority across the country, is in absolute bad taste. It does not help in building up trust. Rather, it leads to mistrust. 

 

The current situation in the country is something like what it was prior to independence. The way the majority of Muslims treat the BJP as a Hindu communal party today, the same way an overwhelming majority of Muslims, prior to the partition considered Congress to be a “Hindu communal party”. The majority of Muslims opted and voted for the Indian Muslim League and not the Congress, despite the party's secular credentials being above board.

 

The Muslims will need to rework on their approach and strategy. Blindly shutting their doors on the BJP, which is the dominant political mainstream right now, will not do them any good. They have every right and freedom to oppose the BJP. However, the way the opposition is narrated and channelised, smacks more of hostility than political rivalry. There is a difference between a political opponent/rival and an enemy. Right now, the BJP is being treated not as an opponent, but an enemy. And the hostility by implication spills over and it leads to mistrust. 

 

At a time, when the country is claimed as having been communally polarised, which actually it has not been, the sagacious stand of RSS Chief is welcome. His stand needs not only to be appreciated but reciprocated as well.