Mohan Bhagwat’s address dissected the socio-political situation and challenges before the nation, raised Hindu concerns, called for Hindu unity and consolidation, reinforced the Sangh’s ideological vision and set out a roadmap for the coming year. (RSS/X)
History and context are key to deciphering the text and politics of Mohan Bhagwat’s recent Vijayadashami address. In 1925, on Vijayadashami day, K B Hedgewar founded the RSS with five close associates in Nagpur. An ingenious Hedgewar, the first sarsanghchalak (RSS chief), designed annual Vijayadashami celebrations as a well-planned annual public/Hindu outreach event mixed with the Sangh’s training regimen. The grand finale was always the sarsanghchalak’s speech. The address dissected the socio-political situation and challenges before the nation, raised Hindu concerns, called for Hindu unity and consolidation, reinforced the Sangh’s ideological vision and set out a roadmap for the coming year.
In the last 100 years, the event has steadily expanded its outreach and messaging. The event gained national limelight during the years of Deoras, who launched the Sangh onto the national political stage and made possible for the BJS to be a partner in the Janata Party government in 1977. After the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government came to power in New Delhi, the event’s national outreach and importance grew significantly. And after Narendra Modi became prime minister in 2014, Vijayadashami celebrations have become a grand national utsav. This upscaling is significant as the current RSS chief, Mohan Bhagwat, and the organisation’s cadre are perceived to be the real power behind Modi’s political success.
The political context
Bhagwat delivered the annual Vijayadashami speech on the Sangh’s 100-year anniversary last week. Here, it is important to note the changing political context and the challenges before the RSS: The BJP’s shrunk numbers in the current Lok Sabha, Modi’s declining popularity, Congress’s revival, return of caste into political discourse, discontent within the BJP, inflation and unemployment, rising popular protests and youth disillusionment. While the BJP managed to scrape through the recent Haryana elections due to the Sangh’s strategy and quiet groundwork, it lost in Jammu and Kashmir.
Bhagwat, as sarsanghchalak, not only acts as the mentor and conscience keeper of the Modi government but also is a major stakeholder in state power. Hence, dozens of TV channels queued up to telecast his speech live. Bhagwat’s clout was on display under full public glare.
Bhagwat spoke, and spoke well. He touched upon many challenging issues — Ahilya Bai Holkar, Birsa Munda, the Kolkata rape, disturbances in border states, and environmental and cultural pollution. But broadly, his speech revolved around three interconnected themes: Hindu victimhood, the enemies of the Hindu nation and Hindu unity.
Hindu victimhood
He reminded Hindus of Vijayadashami’s symbolic political message — the triumph of good over evil. He argued that Hindus are victims in their nation because they are weak and divided; they should organise, unite and mobilise to become strong to defeat evil forces. This has been a staple in the Sangh’s discourse for a century. For Bhagwat, weakness is a crime. He referred to the attack on Ganesh processions in Maharashtra, but more seriously, he highlighted the atrocities on the Hindu minority in Bangladesh. Bhagwat gave a clarion call to Hindus to unite and cultivate their strength; obliquely, it could also be a directive to the Modi government to protect Hindus.
Enemies of the Hindu nation
Who are these enemies? Bhagwat goes beyond the already existing list of “enemies” of the Hindu nation and identifies new ones and new incarnations of the old. For Bhagwat, global proponents and adherents of a deep state, wokeism and cultural Marxism are the enemies; as are their Indian collaborators; they spread disaffection against Hindu tradition and culture and attempt to destroy the social and political stability of India. Here, Bhagwat shares similar concerns about the global Right, which also finds these forces evil.
Interestingly, Bhagwat warns that these forces are out to capture academia and media. Despite the Sangh Parivar’s growing influence over academia and media in the last decade, Bhagwat feels insecure about its sustainability. Likewise, Bhagwat takes on OTT platforms and pleads for regulation under the pretext of vulgarity. Bhagwat’s invocation of B R Ambedkar’s Grammar of Anarchy is obviously intended to delegitimise alternate “divisive” politics. Hence, every alternative, idea or politics, media or culture, is portrayed as subversion. While glorifying India’s progress in various fields and its emergence as a great power, he argues there is a conspiracy by foreign forces to pull the nation down. This has been a pet excuse of all rulers. Bhagwat has no option but to defend the ruling dispensation. While Bhagwat categorically denies subscribing to conspiracy theories, he very much falls into the trap.
Hindu unity
Bhagwat’s third theme revolves around social harmony. Sangh has been grappling with this for decades but with little success. Bhagwat reiterates this harmony in the context of resurgent caste politics, which threaten the Sangh’s expansion and domination. Modi gave firm assurances to uphold the Constitution to retain Dalit support. Now, Bhagwat celebrates diversity and invokes the sanctity of the Preamble, Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles. Bhagwat knows that mere pledges may not effectively counter Dalit mistrust as the Parivar’s handling of the caste question has been lacking commitment, clarity, consistency. Moreover, the compulsions of opportunistic electoral politics have added more contradictions. Hence, Bhagwat makes a passionate appeal to the Hindu samaj, particularly upper caste Hindus, to come forward and embrace their Dalit brethren, following the Rajput-Valmiki cooperation model.
Bhagwat’s speech was composed, calculated, cultured, balanced, persuasive, and to some extent, statesman-like. He skillfully camouflaged real politics under a cultural cover.
The writer taught political science at Jawaharlal Nehru University
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
First uploaded on: 16-10-2024 at 18:23 IST
