Bengaluru: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has said that it is aligned with only one political party—the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)— because others treat the Sangh as “untouchable” and shut their doors on its swayamsevaks. Let other political parties allow members to be part of the Sangh, Dattatreya Hosabale, the sarkaryavah (general secretary) of the RSS, said in an interview to the Sangh’s Kannada mouthpiece, Vikrama.
“Sangh has never held the stance that it must support only one political party. Swayamsevaks can work in any domain within the social or political system…When all doors are closed, one will enter through the door that remains open, isn’t it? Let other parties allow their members to be part of the Sangh and also function in their party. If a Sangh swayamsevak joins a political party, that party gains a dedicated and honest worker. Won’t it? But if they choose to treat Sangh as untouchable, what can be done?” he said.
The RSS general secretary also said many leaders from the Sangh’s ranks maintain communication with leaders from other political parties on matters related to nation, culture and social service. “The presence of multiple political parties in the country is neither an obstacle nor a division for society. However, in the interest of the nation, the national consciousness should be unified. Differences in policies may come and go.”
“We should not categorise people in one party as patriots and those in another as traitors. Patriotism and nationalism should be the common foundation for all parties,” Hosabale said in the interview.
The RSS maintains that it has no connection with politics and it never asks its swayamsevaks to work for any political party, adding that they support whichever party is working in the national interest.
Most of the top leadership of the BJP, as well as its precursor the Jana Sangh, were groomed by the Sangh. These include Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, among others. RSS volunteers and pracharaks are also sent on deputation to work alongside the BJP organization.
In 2018, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had even praised the Congress saying it gave India “many great personalities” and “played a big role in the freedom movement”.
A section of the Congress whose government had banned the RSS after the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi and even jailed then-RSS chief M.S. Golwalkar was once open to the idea of working closely with the Sangh.
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel had even written to Golwalkar, urging him to merge the Sangh with the Congress to work for the country. But the idea was rejected by both Jawaharlal Nehru and Golwalkar. Nehru’s great-grandson Rahul Gandhi, who is the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, has been a bitter critic of the RSS and its affiliates.
Hosabale, in his interview to Vikrama, also said that no one in the Sangh was asked not to reclaim the ‘three temples’ but questioned if the country should start “digging up 30,000 mosques and reverse history”.
The reference was aimed at Mathura, Kashi Vishwanath and the Ram temple in Ayodhya. “But if we talk about all the other mosques and structures, should we start digging up 30,000 mosques and attempt to reverse history? Would that not create more hostility and resentment in society? Should we move forward as a society or stay stuck in the past?”
He added that the society faces problems like religious conversions, cow slaughter, ‘love jihad’ and if these should be abandoned and focus be turned only to one issue. “Consider the concept of a temple. Is a former temple that has been turned into a mosque still a divine space? Should we focus on finding Hindutva in the remains of a stone structure, or should we awaken the Hindutva within those who have distanced themselves from it?”
“Instead of searching for traces of Hindu heritage in stone buildings, if we revive the Hindu roots within them and their communities, the mosque issue will resolve on its own,” Hosabale said.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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