Rumblings in the ‘Hindu Undivided Family’

After the construction of the Ram Mandir, ‘some people’ think they can become leaders of Hindus by raking up similar issues in new places. This is not acceptable… every day a new dispute is being raked up. How can this be allowed? This cannot continue.” This was RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat at an event in Pune on 19 December. The Akhil Bharatiya Sant Samiti, a body of Hindu saints, was not amused and admonished Bhagwat to leave these matters to Hindu seers.

Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati, the shankaracharya of the Jyotirmath peeth in Uttarakhand, chimed in with his own critique, accusing Bhagwat of saying whatever he found politically convenient at the time. Jaipur Dialogues, a digital platform that claims to ‘promote Indic knowledge systems and foster a deeper understanding of Hindu culture and philosophy’ wrote: ‘The RSS chief is not the spokesperson of Hindus and we will reclaim every inch of our land.’

When even the weekly RSS mouthpieces Panchjanya and Organiser lammed into Bhagwat for his comments, it was clear that all was not well in the Sangh Parivar. On 12 October, in his annual Dussehra address, the RSS chief had asked people “not to resort to violence, attack a particular section of society or create fear or disrespect for someone else’s faith, place of worship, holy book or their sages in thought or in words”. At the time, there was no notable reaction in the hydra-headed Sangh Parivar, but it’s different this time.

On the same day that Bhagwat asserted his faith in fraternity and universal brotherhood, the Panchjanya editor Hitesh Shankar snubbed him in no uncertain terms. In a signed editorial, he not only defended the current spree of excavations to ‘discover’ ancient temples but also glorified the practice as an attempt to salvage Hindu pride.

In another meeting a couple of days later, Bhagwat said some people think they can become Hindu leaders by re-igniting ‘mandir–masjid issues’, trying to reap the same political dividend each time. The statement was read as a condemnation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who not only laid the foundation stone of the Ram Janmabhoomi temple and inaugurated it but has also been tom-tomming it as one of his great achievements. Within minutes of Bhagwat’s statement, Hindutva trolls started lampooning him on social media platforms — and they got all the airtime they might have desired on the big TV channels and other mainstream media outlets.

“He seems to have been influenced by some form of appeasement politics,” said Swami Rambhadracharya, the blind saint whose arguments in the Ayodhya title suit reportedly tilted the Supreme Court’s decision in the temple’s favour. “When he wanted power, he went around speaking of temples. Now that he has power, he is advising others not to look for temples.” This was the Jyotirmath shankaracharya quoted above, who also proposed that a list should be prepared of temples destroyed in the past by invaders and archaeological surveys conducted of these structures to “restore Hindu pride.”

At least six petitions have been filed over the past two years in the district courts of Aligarh, Ghaziabad, Varanasi, Mathura and Sambhal demanding excavations to ‘unearth’ temples from under current-day mosques. On 12 December, the Supreme Court ordered a status quo, directing subordinate judiciary to desist from granting permission for any further excavatory orders. This effectively halted excavations in Varanasi’s Gyanvapi mosque, Sambhal’s Shahi Jama Masjid, Budaun’s Shamsi Jama Masjid and Jaunpur’s Atala Masjid.

However, excavations to unearth temples, bawlis (stepwells), shivlings and other Hindu religious structures continue unabated in various parts of Uttar Pradesh, seemingly oblivious — and certainly unrestrained — by the Supreme Court order.

But is this anti-Bhagwat tirade spontaneous or is it orchestrated by Parivar insiders who want Bhagwat out?

Many questions arise. How could the editor of the RSS mouthpiece take on Bhagwat so directly? Has Mohan Bhagwat lost the trust, loyalty and respect of key members of the Sangh? Why would Bhagwat attempt moderation when hardcore Hindutva seems to be delivering rich dividends for the Parivar? Why has the RSS cadre turned against Bhagwat? Can he survive this onslaught? What are his options? Is the BJP behind the anti-Bhagwat campaign? Is pressure mounting on Bhagwat to announce his successor?

There are political observers who think this is all an elaborate charade. The RSS is known to make almost reasonable statements from time to time; its practised ambivalence and doublespeak are legendary, after all.

Others make much of the timing of the statement, pointing out that Modi was recently in Kuwait for the first time, forging ties with an Arab state, and Mohan Bhagwat’s moderate tone somehow fit the diplomatic plot. If that sounds like a stretch, it probably is. Another theory goes that the attack on Bhagwat will in fact unite the radical right — to build pressure on the judiciary in a way that the RSS and the BJP can wink at while keeping their hands relatively clean. We can hardly wait to find out what worse communal nightmare lies in store in the new year.

In blithe contradiction of this fact, a state BJP leader declared: “The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has been following Supreme Court orders to a T. It hasn’t demolished any structure, private or religious, without the court’s permission. But we can’t help it if people start excavating areas near villages or a colony on their own. After all, ours is a democracy and we have to follow the people’s will.”

The saffron brigade has been riding the tiger of Hindutva politics for years. Even moderates in their ranks can’t dismount for fear of being devoured by the tiger. The Sangh Parivar’s far-right has targeted its moderates all along, but this time they are going after their own patriarch, their seniormost leader.

The social media messages of Hindu zealots range from cheeky (‘Mohan Bhagwatji is now having trouble even finding the temple. Hindu Hriday Samrat Yogi Adityanathji is a million times better than him, carrying out excavation campaigns every day from Sambhal to Kashi’) to condemnatory (‘Mohan Bhagwat is not saying anything about the violence that occurred in Sambhal and the continued atrocities against Hindus’).

Mrityunjay Kumar, a self-proclaimed fan of Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, himself as far-right as it gets, wrote: ‘I request all RSS members to ask for [the] resignation of Mohan Bhagwat from his position immediately. This Bhagwat has become another Vajpayee, hence to be vacated [sic] at the earliest.’

The chorus for Bhagwat’s head seems to be getting louder by the day. This is unprecedented. The RSS sarsanghchalak is the most venerated position in the century-old organisation with over 10 million members countrywide. No RSS chief has ever been condemned so viciously and so publicly by constituents of the ‘Hindu Undivided Family’.