In the past six months, various statements from leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) have been both revealing and concerning. During the election campaign, BJP President J.P. Nadda remarked, "In the beginning, we may have been smaller, less capable, and needed the RSS. Today, we have grown stronger and are self-sufficient. The BJP operates independently," suggesting that the party’s structure has solidified. He further noted that the RSS now serves as an 'ideological front'.
After the election, Shri Mohan Bhagwat, the chief of the RSS, openly expressed concerns about the arrogance displayed by leaders of the BJP and the ruling government. To some extent, the Sangh’s reaction can be seen as justified.
The RSS was founded in 1925 by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, a physician and Hindutva activist, in the city of Nagpur. Hedgewar, popularly known as Doctorji, qualified as a medical doctor in Kolkata.
The period following World War I was marked by growing resentment among Indians, fuelled by events such as the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, the oppressive Rowlatt Act, and the British Empire’s treatment of the Turkish Khalifa. These incidents set the stage for a broader mass movement against British rule.
In this context, the Khilafat issue became an opportunity for Mahatma Gandhi to unite Hindus and Muslims in their fight against the vast colonial empire. Beginning in 1919, the Khilafat Movement, led by the Ali brothers, alongside Gandhi's Non-Cooperation Movement, marked a new phase of the Indian national struggle under his leadership.
In 1921, as part of the British colonial government’s efforts to suppress the Moplah rebellion on the Malabar coast, thousands of Hindus were brutally massacred, with many forcibly converted to Islam. Later, in Kolkata, the All-India Muslim League perpetrated a similar atrocity on Hindus, known as the Great Calcutta Killings.
Dr Hedgewar must have been deeply concerned by these events, which likely contributed to the founding of the RSS. Initially established as a socio-cultural organisation, the RSS has, over the past 99 years, grown into one of the most extensively organised groups, both in India and abroad.
After Independence, Syama Prasad Mukherjee led the Hindu Mahasabha to advocate for Hindu concerns. Unfortunately, Syama Mukherjee died under controversial circumstances in Jammu and Kashmir.
The RSS has numerous affiliated organisations, one of which was the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, its political wing. The Jana Sangh played a key role in the Janata Dal government under Morarji Desai in 1977. However, after the dissolution of the Janata Dal alliance, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged in the early 1980s as a fully-fledged political organisation closely aligned with the Sangh.
Let me be very clear, both the Sangh and the BJP have contributed significantly to India’s development and have played an important role in shaping the country’s political, social, and cultural landscape. The RSS has long been a driving force behind social initiatives and nationalist ideologies, while the BJP has successfully led the nation in various capacities, contributing to economic growth, national security, and global standing.
But irresponsible statements, particularly from leaders and representatives, can undermine the progress both organisations have made. They can create unnecessary divisions within society, damage the image of these institutions, and weaken the very cause they stand for. They desperately need to coexist in cooperation.
