RSS, inside out

The RSS: A View to the Inside
Walter K Andersen and Sridhar D Damle
Penguin
405 pages; Rs 699
 
The Indian political terrain was completely different almost three-and-a-half decades ago. The Congress system of politics held sway, and the 1984 elections, when voters handed out an emphatic mandate, erased prospects of the re-emergence of an opposition conglomerate on the lines of the Janata Party. An anti-Congress outfit eventually crystallised in 1988, partly because of Rajiv Gandhi's errors and mishandling of crucial issues, but the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stayed out of the Janata Dal, as the new outfit was called, instead opting to retain its distinct identity.

 

The BJP’s abstention had substantially to do with the bitter memories of party leaders, who felt targeted in the erstwhile Janata Party due to its association with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). But the BJP leaders’ decision to establish only strategic ties with the Janata Dal and not merge into it was prompted by their great expectation of a dramatic growth in the ranks. The rise of the BJP in the late 1980s from a peripheral political party to a dominant force in a span of two elections in 1989 and 1991 was chiefly due to the consistent advocacy of the Ram temple issue by the BJP and the RSS affiliate, the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP).

 
Although the agitation was launched by the VHP in 1983, it gathered wind only from the mid-1980s. After the locks of the disputed shrine were opened by a magisterial order and thrown open to Hindu devotees, media interest in the VHP and the RSS grew slowly. By the late 1980s, especially when the RSS celebrated the birth centenary of its founder K B Hedgewar, whenever members of the media or academia sought to access researched material on what was still not popularly referred to as the Sangh Parivar, they were faced with an acute paucity of scholarly works. Hagiographies of important leaders were available, but critical insights were lacking.

 
The authors’ first book, The Brotherhood in Saffron: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Hindu Revivalism, was published around that time and provided a beacon of light on an organisation and its political fraternity that was shadowy and operating away from the spotlight. The book remains an important source for all serious writers on Indian right-wing politics and interest grew when it became known three years ago that the odd duo --  Mr Walter K Andersen spent years in India in various capacities, including in the American State Department while Mr Sridhar D Damle spent most of his years in the United States  —  were researching a sequel.

 
On its publication, however, the book under review falls short of expectations primarily because of enormous growth and strategic evolution of the Sangh Parivar and proliferation of new affiliated organisations. Also, the RSS has, in the past two-and-a-half decades or so, reached out to political organisations and individuals not only outside the saffron fold but also those with a history of animosity towards the Sangh, the recent invitation to a former president and the partnership of the Swadeshi Jagran Manch with others campaigning against neo-liberalism being cases in point.
 
The history of the saffron fold in the past three decades has become so voluminous that it is nigh impossible to write a concise book that encapsulates every development that has impacted not just the RSS and the BJP but also the country and its politics. To overcome this handicap, the authors chose to -- sort of -- structure the book in two parts: The first section where the change in the Sangh Parivar since their first book is recounted and analysed. In the second part, the authors take up what they call case studies,  although it can be argued that themes chosen — engagement with Muslims, Jammu & Kashmir, cow vigilantism, the economic conundrum, the Ram temple quandary and even the small rebellion in Goa and so on — do not actually stand out as such and instead provide insights into the direction in which the RSS is now headed and the challenges it faces.

 
The authors are unabashed about disclosing the access to leaders at the top of the saffron hierarchy and this includes both Mohan Bhagwat and Narendra Modi. But this almost unrestricted right of entry comes at a price, and testimony of the authors not burning any bridges was Ram Madhav’s presence as the lead discussant at the book’s launch. Mr Andersen, in fact, met M S Golwalkar and other senior RSS leaders of the 1970s and 1980s but then, the RSS needed someone who could explain their politics and positions to the world outside; this is not the case anymore because its leaders now gloat at the fact that the world comes to them.

 
It would a tad unfair to term the book a sympathetic account. But there is no ambiguity of the authors sticking to an analytical framework, leaving it for readers to form their opinions. Given the way arguments are framed and facts presented, however, readers are clearly led into a critical appreciation of the Sangh Parivar. The authors opt for an explanatory approach and although it would take a more scrutinising reader to use information for critical analysis, the sequel, like the first, remains a mine of information. Especially useful are about 150 pages of appendices, particularly the RSS constitution.

 The reviewer is author of  Narendra Modi : The Man, The Times  (Westland, 2013)