I. The Foundational Myth: RSS and the Invention of a Hindu Rashtra
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) was founded in 1925 by Dr. Keshav
Baliram Hedgewar, not as a spiritual movement but as a socio-political response
to what it perceived as the “weakness” of Hindus in the face of Muslim and
colonial assertiveness. From the outset, its project was not religious
renaissance but cultural consolidation—to forge a monolithic Hindu
identity under the banner of Hindutva, a term coined by Vinayak Damodar
Savarkar.
Savarkar, an atheist by conviction, redefined "Hindu" not in
terms of faith, but in terms of race, land, and culture:
“A Hindu means a person who regards this land of Bharat as his Fatherland (Pitrubhumi)
and as his Holyland (Punyabhumi).” – V.D. Savarkar, Hindutva: Who is
a Hindu? (1923)
This definition excluded Muslims, Christians, Jews, and others whose holy
lands lay outside India, regardless of how long they had lived in the
subcontinent. It was the RSS that took this exclusionary idea and built an
organization dedicated to it—modelled not after any Hindu religious
institution, but more akin to paramilitary groups.
Swami Vivekananda once warned against such
distortion:
“Religion is not in doctrines, in dogmas, nor in intellectual
argumentation. It is being and becoming.”
– Swami Vivekananda
II. RSS vs Hindu Spiritual Traditions: A
Philosophical Betrayal
Traditional Hinduism is deeply pluralistic—accommodating atheism (as in the
Carvaka school), materialism, non-dualism (Advaita), dualism (Dvaita),
and the path of devotion (Bhakti) side by side. Its saints—from Kabir
and Basava to Mirabai and Ramanuja—challenged caste, ritualism, and orthodoxy
in the name of a more humane and just divine order.
By contrast, the RSS’s interpretation of Hinduism is rigid,
caste-endorsing, and obsessed with external markers—language, dress, dietary
habits, and militarism—rather than inner transformation. It has no scriptural
base, nor does it emerge from Vedic or Upanishadic traditions.
“The essence of Hinduism is not cow protection or temple construction. It
is truth, non-violence, and renunciation.”
– Mahatma Gandhi
Gandhi was never accepted by the RSS. In fact, they hated his inclusive
vision and blamed him for being too accommodating to Muslims—a view that
culminated in his assassination by Nathuram Godse, a former RSS worker.
III. Political Exploitation: RSS and the Rise of
BJP
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was formed in 1980 as the political
arm of the RSS after the collapse of the Janata Party. Though the RSS formally
claims to be “cultural,” it exerts vast control over the BJP’s leadership,
electoral strategy, and policy agenda. No BJP Prime Minister—whether Vajpayee
or Modi—has ever openly defied the RSS.
The Ram Janmabhoomi movement of the late 1980s and early 1990s, led
by the VHP and the BJP under the watchful eye of the RSS, was the defining
moment of this transformation. The demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992 was
not a religious act but a carefully orchestrated political campaign that
catapulted the BJP into national relevance.
“The destruction of the Babri Masjid is the biggest blot on Indian
secularism and was no spontaneous act of the mob but a planned conspiracy.”
– Liberhan Commission Report, 2009
This act triggered widespread riots, thousands of deaths, and communal
polarization that has continued to define Indian politics.
IV. The Cult of Majoritarianism: Manufacturing the
“Other”
The RSS-BJP ideology depends on constructing a permanent “other” to rally
Hindu identity. Muslims have been the primary target, framed as invaders,
anti-nationals, or "appeased minorities." Christians have also been
demonized, especially in tribal areas.
The cow becomes more important than human life. Love Jihad replaces
employment as a priority issue. The Tablighi Jamaat becomes a scapegoat during
a pandemic, while lynch mobs become vigilantes in service of gau raksha
(cow protection).
“Hindutva is not Hinduism. Hindutva wants uniformity; Hinduism is plural.
Hindutva wants loyalty to one language, one nation, one leader; Hinduism speaks
hundreds of languages and bows to hundreds of gods.”
– Arundhati Roy
V. Social Hypocrisy: Brahmanism in the Guise of
Hindu Unity
The RSS pays lip service to Dalits, but its ideological core is deeply
Brahmanical. It has opposed inter-caste marriages, never demanded temple entry
for all Hindus, and its leadership has historically come from the upper-caste
male elite.
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution, sharply
criticized the RSS. He did not see it as a force for Hindu unity but as a
reactionary organization seeking to maintain caste hierarchies:
“Hindu society is a myth; the caste is the real social unit.”
– Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Annihilation of Caste
It is no accident that Ambedkar rejected Hinduism and embraced Buddhism.
VI. Conclusion: From Dharma to Dogma
The RSS has not protected Hinduism—it has politicized, militarized,
and distorted it. Hinduism’s spiritual strength lies in its diversity,
its questions, its self-doubt, its non-violence. The RSS’s project replaces
this with certainty, aggression, and cultural supremacy.
In doing so, it has not defended Hindu civilization—it has betrayed its
soul.
Author’s Note:
Siddhartha Shankar Mishra is an
Advocate at the Supreme Court of India and a political commentator. He writes
on issues at the intersection of law, democracy, and cultural identity. He can
be reached at ssmishra33@gmail.com.
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