Invitation to parade, permission for memorial… From Nehru-Indira to Rajiv Gandhi, how did even the opponents become convinced of RSS?

The Sangh which Nehru always opposed, the same Nehru gave him the opportunity to participate in the Republic Parade of 1963, the very next year after the China attack of 1962.

On the occasion of its centenary, the voices raised among its opponents regarding the Sangh are very important. Opponents have started advising to learn from him. Obviously they criticize him but indirectly acknowledge his immense power by mentioning his reach in every institution and field. Criticism does not bother the Sangh. He does not feel the need for certificates of appreciation. In reality, despite being continuously targeted by the opponents, the Sangh has continuously expanded its organization by keeping the organization focused on its goals instead of getting involved in defense or counterattack.

On the contrary, the Sangh opposition, which has maintained its agenda for a long time, is being continuously rejected in the elections. Amidst the series of defeats, emerging messages of public advice from such parties to learn from the RSS show that it is not possible to sideline the RSS. That mere opposition to the Sangh is meaningless now. That we can learn from him also. That you should look within yourself also.

Further expansion after every restriction

The opposition of secular forces including Congress to the Sangh is old. Congress has ruled the country for a long time. All three restrictions on the Sangh were imposed during the Congress governments. After the Gandhi assassination, the Sangh came under the attack of Pandit Nehru’s government for the first time. The union was banned. Government and judicial investigations did not find any allegations against the Sangh true. Ban lifted. During the Emergency in 1975, Indira Gandhi imposed a ban on the Sangh. For the third time in 1992, after the demolition of Babri, Narasimha Rao’s government banned the Sangh.

The challenges of the Sangh increased with every restriction. But it not only overcame these challenges but also expanded continuously. In reality the goal of the Sangh is not to acquire power or authority. He wants to make the society powerful. A society that can face its own challenges. He wants a society in which there is harmony along with power. There should be unity in diversity. This unity should be dedicated to making the nation prosperous and powerful and should be filled with nationalist thoughts and values.

Nehru always opposed, yet invited in the parade

After the Gandhi assassination, the country’s first Prime Minister Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru was very aggressive towards the Sangh. In his speeches he attacked the Sangh, calling it communal, fascist and narrow-minded. He used similar language in his letters also. The Sangh was considered a threat to the secular structure of the country. The same thinking of Nehru was continued by the Congress Party and its leaders. Of course, the Sangh always refused to take part in politics, but the Congress or the secular parties contesting elections with the Jan Sangh and then the BJP always targeted the Sangh saying that the Sangh is a political organization and not a cultural one and it has direct control over the Jan Sangh-BJP.

Interestingly, the Sangh which Nehru always opposed, the same Nehru gave him the opportunity to participate in the Republic Parade of 1963, the very next year after the China attack of 1962. It should be acknowledged that despite strong ideological opposition, Pandit Nehru approved the organization and power of the Sangh through this invitation.

Indira’s confrontation, period of repression

After Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri was seen going one step ahead. At the time of the 1965 Pakistan attack, the Sangh proposed to take control of Delhi’s traffic system with a view to giving opportunity to the police force to discharge other responsibilities. Shastri not only accepted this but also invited the then Sarsanghchalak Guru Golwalkar to the all-party meeting to exchange views during this crisis. Indira Gandhi’s reign is remembered for her confrontation with the RSS and its repression.

Before the Emergency, JP’s entire movement received great strength and support from the Sangh. The success of the Sangh was that JP, who had protested and launched a campaign against the Sangh after the Gandhi assassination, had changed his thinking about the Sangh after a gap of almost two and a half decades. The government wreaked havoc on the Sangh during the Emergency. Not only was it banned, but most of its officials and workers were put in jail across the country.

The government’s widespread action against the Sangh was indirectly an acceptance of the power and expansion of the Sangh. Interestingly, on one hand, Indira Gandhi took strict steps against the Sangh, on the other hand, she approved the Sangh Parivar’s plan for Vivekananda Memorial in Kanyakumari despite the opposition of the then Education Minister Humayun Kabir. He also rewarded Eknath Ranade, the leader of this scheme, by appointing him a member of the Indian Council of Cultural Relations. There are some incidents which indicate indirect communication between Indiraji and the Sangh.

Rajiv Gandhi opened windows of dialogue

Had the Sangh not remained untouchable for the third generation of the Nehru family? There is a change in the attitude of Congress towards the Sangh during the time of Rajiv Gandhi. There were many such occasions when there were long meetings with Rajiv Gandhi and Bhau Rao Deoras. Of course these were not made public. Some of Rajiv’s friends played a major role in this and both of them met at his places. Why did Rajiv feel the need for this?

The reason for this could also be that after the Shah Bano episode, Congress had realized that its distance from Hindus would be a loss-making deal from the political point of view. This can also be considered as the time of realization, which was teaching that Sangh has great power among the Hindu society and the bitter opposition to the Sangh hurts a large section of Hindus.

The Sangh convinced Rajiv Gandhi through Bhaurao or Rajiv thought it appropriate from political point of view but it is true that HK was requested to telecast Ramayana on Doordarshan. L.Bhagat was not ready. Bhagat feared that its telecast would give strength to Sangh-VHP.

Rajiv ignored the objection. Permission given to telecast Ramayana. Of course, the series of statements against the Sangh continued, but by this time Congress and other opponents of the Sangh had accepted that the power of the Sangh could not be denied. Rajiv opened the windows of communication. Although he did not make it public in view of the long history of opposition to the family and the Congress alliance.

Away from politics, yet at the center of debate

Interestingly, despite not participating in politics, the Sangh has always been at the center of political discussion. His membership became a big issue in the breakup of Janata Party. The process of ideological polarization started from the time of the temple movement. Sangh volunteer Atalji reached the post of Prime Minister for 13 days in 1996 and again between 1998-2004.

With the formation of the BJP government with absolute majority in 2014, the ideological conflict regarding the Sangh became more intense. The opposition of the fourth generation of the Nehru-Gandhi family to the Sangh is much more bitter. Rahul Gandhi presents the RSS as a threat to democracy, the Constitution and an inclusive India. This language goes beyond the traditional criticism of Congress and intensifies ideological polarization. Some political gains are possible from this protest. But the possibility of risk and loss is high.

Union expansion approved amid protests

When Rahul Gandhi describes the Sangh as his main ideological rival and accuses the Sangh of being present everywhere and taking over all the institutions, then amidst criticism he accepts the expansion of the Sangh. The leftists have also started accepting that the Sangh has done the work at the level of civil society, which the left movement could not do. The question of Digvijay Singh’s intentions or his position in Congress is different. But when his staunch opponents of such Sangh, in the pretext of the picture of Advani sitting on the chair and Modi sitting on the ground, advise Rahul Gandhi to learn from the organization of the Sangh, then it is not only interesting but it is a message of the Sangh reaching such a stage in its centenary year journey that the power of the Sangh cannot be ignored.

This is an acceptance of the organizational efficiency of the Sangh amidst ideological disagreement. When your opponents start talking about learning from you, your power has become undeniable.

Introspection in Congress!

There may be few voices within the Congress regarding the Sangh, other than Rahul and his camp. It is possible that they may be publicly silenced in the name of secularism and the long history of anti-unionism, but as there is uneasiness among the cadre about the decline of the party, these voices will be raised again. Possible in more detail. By becoming more powerful.

In fact, this is an indication that introspection is going on within the Congress regarding the question whether mere protest is enough, or is organizational reconstruction necessary to fight? In a democracy, accepting the existence of a rival is not a sign of weakness, but a sign of maturity. As the Sangh completes 100 years, the challenge before the Congress is whether it should only do politics of protest or convert the alternative national vision into an equally organized force. Congress needs power for its salvation. The thinking of the Sangh is different from that. The Sangh is not moving forward with the aim of ruling the society. He wants to make the society so powerful that it can find its own way to solve its problems and move forward.

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