Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji’s mention of RSS and tributes on completion of 100 years has stirred the hornet’s nest of Left secular lobbies and their front, INDI Alliance. The speech was one of the best Independence Day speeches of not just Modi ji but also all the Prime Ministers so far, I dare say. It was rousing, it was aspirational. It addressed the youth, the women, the farmers giving them the big picture of a nation, ready to take the leap in to prosperity and take its rightful place in the comity of nations 2047. Instead of focusing on a stronger vision for a centenary of Independence and preparing meaningful plans for 2047, they are fixated on Modi ji’s reference to RSS.
Truth be told, except for Lal Bahadur Shastri, who initiated the Green Revolution, and Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji, who spearheaded ambitious infrastructure projects and river interlinking, no other PM took a long-term view of Bharat’s place in global history. Indira Gandhi, no doubt, broke Pakistan; but she never worked on removal of poverty beyond slogans and some Communist ideas. Fact is, we never rose above Roti, Kapda aur Makan (Food, clothing and shelter).
Modi : The Game Changer
Modi ji changed this scenario. The careful Bharat that could not think beyond day–to–day worries of providing basic amenities in a Left framework, rose to a New Bharat, that refused to be tied down to compulsions. A common man could not think beyond surviving, getting educated to get a job but had a vision for his children. Our successive governments had no such plans or vision. Modi ji began working on a grand vision that has rapidly unfolded over the past 11 years. Unless the opposition can identify the urge of the common Bharatiya of a prosperous, powerful Bharat, they have no hope.
This vision comes from the ultimate goal of RSS whose swayamsevak invokes this vision daily in his prayers – Param Vaibhavam Netum Etat Swarashtram – take this Rashtra to supreme integral prosperity, not just monetarily. By speaking of 100 years of contribution of RSS, he just acknowledged his roots, and Modi ji is, a swayamsevak. His vision stems from an understanding of our enduring sanskriti, which survived where other civilisations perished under the onslaught of marauding invaders, colonisers and communists.
Why They Are Rattled
The problem lies in our understanding of our nation. Left ecosystem tells us time and again that we never were a nation. It is a gift of benign British who brought the light of civilisation to a backward, poor, orthodox Bharat that had nothing to offer to the world. RSS since its inception, has stressed that our nationhood is defined by our Vedas, Ramayan, Mahabharat and Indus-Saraswati civilisation that carried forward this sense of nationhood.
RSS was called a mythmaker till archaeologists, historians, scientists and economists of Bharat and the world, painstakingly, pieced together the true history of Bharat. Success came to RSS from its immense hard work. Those who long upheld colonial narratives and benefited richly from the Left ecosystem are pained by this turn of events. The Left and Congress are rattled. While RSS respects the diverse representation of a unified sanskriti of Bharat, Left lobbies exploit these diversities to break Bharat. This slow and steady rise of Bharatiya sense of nationhood is unsettling for this ecosystem.
How The Feat Was Achieved
Despite being marginalised and ostracised by the mainstream, how did RSS achieve this feat? RSS changed the narrative of Bharat decisively, from our view of ourselves to how the world looked at us. RSS looked back at history to understand, learn the lessons and take a leap for the future.
Dr Hedgewar realised that the reason of downfall of our nation was due to the ability of the invaders and colonisers to induce us in forgetting our glorious past; and the divisions between Hindu society that led to invasions. Thus, Hindu being the majority and the son of the soil had to be reformed and organised. After decades of hard work, we see a sense of unity in Hindu society forged by RSS. A united, rejuvenated Hindu society is an anathema to vote bank politicians. RSS swayamsevaks were able to raise the national consciousness creating huge organisations like Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (for students), Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram (for tribals), Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (for labour), Vishva Hindu Parishad (for renaissance of Hindu dharma), Saraswati Shishu Mandir and Vidya Bharati (education), Vivekananda Kendra, Ekal Vidyalaya and so on. None of them copied Western models; instead, they cultivated a Bharatiya ethos and identity rooted in Bharatiya soil. Collective organisational efforts could overturn the pernicious Aryan Invasion Theory and its by-product of North-South divide leading to rewriting of Bharatiya history. RSS protégé Deendayal Upadhyaya created a purely Bharatiya economic philosophy of Integral Humanism, and Modi ji took it forward in his eleven years, reaching out to the poorest of the poor, giving them dignity and pride of being part of the society. Ram Mandir movement generated an upsurge that affirmed our cultural unity and sense of nationhood.
We must remember, all this happened without any Government patronage, and despite every possible kind of opposition from Left ecosystem behind the Congress façade. RSS brought in all these changes silently and patiently, and also fought for resurrection of democracy with mass underground agitation. In a way, RSS is the bulwark against the Left offensive as INDI Alliance is out to break Hindu society again to get back its power and reload our people with the yoke of colonial mindset that RSS has worked hard to throw away.
The issue is not Modi or his words; it is the RSS and its ability to shape a national narrative grounded in Hindutva. Modi is a problem, because he is the political face of this philosophy that is inclusive, integral and rooted in Bharat. Unfortunately, opposition has not learnt its lessons and still harps on negatives of the society, instead of the positives. Unless opposition identifies itself with Bharatiya ethos and Hindu aatman of Bharat, it has no hope. Once it understands this, it will not look at RSS as an enemy.
