Centre’s Withdrawal Of Ban On Govt Employees To Join RSS Has Ominous Consequences

Prime Minister Narendra Modi lifting the 44-year-old ban on government employees from joining RSS and allowing them to actively participate in its programmes, might be construed as a tactical move to buy peace with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, but more than that, it is a move to legalise RSS interference in managing and running the state machinery and allow it to have access to the decision making mechanism.

This is the second major move of Modi within a week, after he preferred to mellow down and mend his ways with Bhagwat, to open the iron gate of state administration to the RSS. It is now sure the notification of July 9, 2024 overruling the ban imposed by Indira Gandhi government in 1980, will change the basic character of governance and pose serious threat to decision making process. RSS members will now have a direct say in framing policies and programmes.

The RSS was first banned by India’s first deputy prime minister and home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on February 4, 1948, three days after Nathuram Godse, an RSS member, assassinated Mahatma Gandhi. He believed that the RSS was an “extremist section” of the Hindu Mahasabha and “constituted a clear threat to the existence of the Government and the State…” In September, he also wrote to the RSS chief M.S. Golwalkar that the speeches of RSS workers and leaders are “full of communal poison”, because of which Gandhi was killed. On July 11, 1949, the ban on RSS was lifted after Golwalkar promised to remain loyal to the Constitution and the national flag, and stop its political work to remain only as a social and cultural organisation.

This was not the beginning or end of the ban. Later on, at least on three more occasions RSS was banned. After each ban it promised to behave like a good boy, but every time it shamed its promises. The latest order, allowing RSS to enroll the government employees as its members has wider implication. The state administration which earlier maintained the posture of neutrality would be free to take the calls from the RSS. Earlier the officials were not comfortable with carrying out the orders of the RSS brazenly. But now they will be free to carry out the directives issued from Nagpur, the RSS headquarters.

While Modi’s order will facilitate Hindu employees to become the members of RSS, the Muslims do not enjoy such facility. Though the number of Muslim employees in the government establishment is quite negligible, even then this discrimination will have disastrous implication. The Muslims who were already feeling dejected and humiliated by the devious hatred politics of Modi administration, would be treated like pariah.

Modi government did not allow the Muslim employees to become members of Jammat e Islami or any other religious or cultural organisation. Obviously only the Hindu employee is entitled to have the privilege of becoming members of RSS. This is simply manifestation of the sense of disbelief for Muslims and their cultural or religious organisation. This will certainly not augur well for the government or governance.

RSS claims to be the biggest cultural organisation and aims at turning India into a Hindu Rashtra. Modi’s move should be seen as a step forward for giving a shape to this mission. An administration bereft of secular commitments would serve this cause of RSS. Under its perception government machinery and military are the two major impediments ahead. If somehow it could bring these two under its wing, the task for conversion to Hindu Rashtra would become easier.

Modi’s move is also a means to achieve Hindu nationalism. It has been striving for nationalism (Hindu)’ contrary to the one underlined in our Constitution, Indian nationalism. It is not that before enactment of the notification, the government employees were not associated with the RSS. But they preferred to conceal their Sang identity. Now, the RSS members as government employees will openly work for their programmes, and the non-RSS government employees will feel the heat from RSS ‘s active members. Further, many government employees will be interested to join the RSS s this will get them closer to the BJP ruled state administrations as also at centre.

Over the years, RSS has succeeded to prepare a committed group of government employees which served the interest of the organisation. Earlier a government employee found to promote RSS interest would have to explain his conduct, but with this order in vogue, no one can seek any explanation and the employee will be free to offer all kind of help, even confidential information and documents to the RSS. The employee cannot be held responsible for passing on official information outside.

For long RSS has been trying to penetrate the military services. Indian military is known for its multiculturalism. But in recent times, precisely under the rule of Modi, it has been facing strains. In a 2016 article published in the Centre for Land Warfare Studies journal, a strong case was made for inclusion of Ramayana, Mahabharata and Bhagavad Gita in the officer training curriculum. It was argued “Vedic leadership concepts and principles have relevance in the Indian Military Leadership, wherein the study of Arthashastra and Mahabharata form part of the curriculum in the higher echelon training.”

Following the Kargil War, when pictures of the three service chiefs began to be used in the Bharatiya Janata Party’s election campaign. It was opposed by the then-Army Chief Ved Malik; “The Armed Forces were anguished because they were getting sucked into electoral politics as a result of the blatant effort to politicise the war for immediate electoral benefit. Leave us alone.” Modi during his ten year rule has been politicising the bureaucracy including the armed forces. Modi created the post of chief of defence staff and brought the three sections under one command.

In 2016, the Army sent the first of over 1,000 yoga instructors for training at the Ramdev’s Yoga Centre at the initiative of Modi. In this regard the observation of Bhagwat made in Feb 2018 deserves attention wherein he had said “Army takes months, RSS can prepare a force within 3 days to fight on border. This is our capability. Swayamsewak will be ready to take on the front if the country faces such a situation and Constitution permits to do so”. Bhagwat’s remark is ominous.

Modi’s insistence to keep Agniveer scheme operative is yet another distrustful act. While he says that this would give young and new faces to the military but at the same time, he is not willing to retain these boys for more than 5 years. After forced out of military, only 25 percent of them would be absorbed in paramilitary in states. The rest 75 per cent with military skill would be left to lurch. Obviously Modi and RSS intend to create a social mercenary force. Already one retired Agniveer cadre has been arrested a couple of days back for indulging in criminal activities.

Many of the senior bureaucrats have RSS leanings.. They will become vocal now. The bureaucrats have already fallen in line and have been serving the BJP cause in government. Though for some it was a mechanism to win the trust of their political masters to ensure their upper mobility, gain material benefits. But for some, it is a means to show their loyalty to their ideological mentors. Most bureaucrats tend to support the ruling dispensation, regardless of the political party in power. But in this case, these bureaucrats were ideologically and politically committed to Modi and RSS. The classical example has been Sanjay Mishra controversial ED chief who trampled the government rules and Constitutional provisions to serve the political interest of his master, Narendra Modi.

The subservience of the bureaucrats could be understood from one simple example. Two civil servants had participated at a function organised in Satna by the RSS on June 11 last year. It had triggered a massive row in Madhya Pradesh, with the opposition Congress demanding action against the “errant” officials. A viral photo from the RSS function (‘Samarpan Samaroh’) held in Satna showed district collector Anurag Verma and municipal commissioner Rajesh Shahi holding their hands up to perform the ‘dhwaj pranaam‘ the Hindutva organisation’s customary salute. (IPA Service)