Savarkar teaches RSS, Hindutva

According to RSS, ATS is scripting Panchatantra stories since it’s unlikely according to the RSS that the alleged culprits of Malegaon blasts are the same people who tried to kill Mohanrao Bhagwat and Indresh Kumar. However the way ‘Abhinav Bharat’ is clinging to Hindutva and RSS is moving towards Hindutva it seems that both, the Abhinav Bharat and RSS hold the same views on the Malegaon blasts. And it means that Abhinav Bharat is unable to differentiate between the Hindutva of Malegaon and Hindutva of RSS.

Before even giving a thought over these circumstances it’s important to understand the pasts of both the organizations. The parent organization of Abhinav Bharat was managed by Savakar. He said, “In this Universe, Hindus should have a separate Nation of their own where they can prosper as a Hindu and as the ancestors of the powerful. Hence we should recognize and consider purity, which not only has a religious but also a political aspect.” Savarkar wanted to purify the Hedgewar community and hence wanted to promote his beliefs of a Hindu Nation.

Savarkar kept Hindu Mahasabha amidst Pune and the Konkanastha Brahmins and challenged the British in 1904 taking with him the Abhinav Bharat forward. After two decades, Hedgewar in order to make desirable conditions for Hindus among Telugu Brahmins, emphasized on chastising the Hindus. This was however against Congress. At that time RSS stood nowhere in front of Savarkar. Similarly, the present day Hindu Mahasabha stands nowhere in front of RSS. Savarkar’s daughter-in-law, Himani Savarkar stood for the Vidhan Sabha elections in 2004 talking about Hindu Mahasabha. At that time not only BJP but also RSS were keen in the issue. Himani used to campaign in an auto and the BJP/RSS supporters may have sarcastically commented, “Take the auto’s charge from us if Himani fails to pay.”

That was the same time when BJP had tensions regarding RSS. Hence when Mohanrao Bhagwat took up the responsibility of RSS, everyone looked upon him as Madhukar Rao Bhagwat. Madhukar Rao Bhagwat was not only Mohanrao Bhagwat’s father but also a supporter of Hedgewar and always stood with him. During that time, Madhukar Rao Bhagwat was Gujarat’s regional promoter of RSS and wanted to discard the political aspect and promote the chastising of society. When Mohanrao Bhagwat took over the headship of RSS, the Ayodhya Temple was made a dream. The issue of Swadeshi bowed in front of FDI.

Raising the issue of cow protection in the age of economic development seemed very ancient. The mention of Section 370 became a word of disgrace for some. RSS was totally enchanted with conversions. The issue of illegal Bangladeshi migration wasn’t paid any heed during the Atal Bihari Bajpai Government. In spite of the murder of four RSS workers in the North-East region, the then Home Minister Mr.L.K.Adavni seemed indifferent; which raised questions in RSS. The division of J&K into three and the proposal of reuniting it were declined by the Bajpai Govt. only. And amidst all this, on the terms of BJP the way Indresh Kumar was trying to bring in the Muslims together in the Sangh; created a tension in the Sangh itself. Clearly they did not only see this as a staunch Hindutva of RSS but also the Marathi community, which did not recognize RSS, was more than angry. From 2002 to 2006, a balance and understanding between Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bhartiya Majdoor Sangh Swadeshi Jagran Manch and Kisan Sangh discontinued. RSS’ Sudarshan started attending Muslim conferences and functions which instigated these tensions.

The works/issues initiated by RSS in the Hinduvadi Movement in Maharashtra clearly denoted the disinterest of people towards RSS. BJP’s defeat in the 2004 elections weakened the Hindutva agenda of RSS; which they wanted to promote under the BJP Govt. The Marathi lobby that was sidelined in this whole process began to stand against the secular thinking of RSS.

During this time the new generation of Savarkar and Godse, who were initially dissatisfied with RSS, agreed to make Savarkar’s Abhinav Bharat active in the contemporary scenario. This wing blamed the RSS for being an ally of Muslims and an anti-Hindu secular. However, it is not that the Abhinav Bharat formed overnight and targeted RSS all of a sudden. When the question of starting Abhinav Bharat rose in 2006; the old issue of discarding RSS’ Hindutva was raised by the politicians, as usual.

In a meeting in Pune, in the presence Himani Savarkar, a question was raised that RSS never openly talks about issues relating to Hindus; says nothing and take the advantage of the situation. The agenda of the meeting was Shivaji and Lokmanya Tilak, linking it to Savarkar’s philosophy and Godse’s theory gave it recognition. In the meeting the followers of Dharma Samrat Swami Karpatri, Mahant Digvijay Nath and Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopananda were present. The ones who followed their ideology believed that there’s no use taking forward Hindutva in the name of RSS.

It’s also being speculated that keeping BJP in front, RSS is trying to hide its weakness. Hence if a new Hindu Nation is to be made then it’ll be important to overthrow RSS. However, it has been closer to Hindu Mahasabha than the Congress. Till 1937, the conventions of BJP and Hindu Mahasabha used to be held on the same venue. In fact Madan Mohan Malviya addressed both the meetings. That’s why RSS always thought differently from the Congress theory. However, Hindu Mahasabha thought that the Sangh has made itself more or less like congress, after having tasted the power through BJP. RSS has totally declined the theory of a Hindu Nation.

Importantly, the traditions of Brahmins have also raised issues. Like Hedgewar, Sudarshan is also a Telugu Brahmin and hence his capability to head RSS has been always questioned. Hence the Marathi lobby of RSS is apparently promoting Savarkar’s ideology. Its effect on RSS and the present political conditions of India were visible in Sudarshan’s behaviour on the 7th November meeting that took place in Jantar Mantar. Amidst the conditions that differentiated Savakar and Sangh there’s a tension inside RSS that may be they were not going on a right path.

The question is not about the conspiracy of Mohan Bhagwat’s or Indresh Kumar’s murder. Standing in the line of Gokhale-Sathe-Peshwa, the konkanastha Brahmins now want to enliven the structure of Indian economy. This is what Dattopant Thengdi said. However he died reiterating this and no one, neither Bajpai nor the head RSS paid heed. It’s clear that after independence if the supporters want the Abhinav Bharat back then it has a counter view attached to it; which is, the social and cultural theory of RSS promoted by BJP standing in the court of justice.