This greeting to Prime Minister A.B.Vajpayee on his 75th
birthday (December25) and on the eve of the National Council Meeting (December 27-29,
1999) of the BJP at Chennai may have a significance particularly due to the on going
debate within Sangh Parivar on the issue of "Hindutva". The aggressive voice of
the opposition during the winter session of parliament and the stiff stand taken by a
section of delegates against Chennai Declaration during National Council meet are enough
indications that all is not well in the relation between the BJP leadership in the NDA and
the RSS. Recent events indicated below also confirm this suspicion:-
* Lifting the ban in Gujarat on its employees participating in
RSS activities by the BJP government
* Bill on places of worship passed by U.P. state assembly making
prior permission of the government mandatory for construction of the places of worship.
* Statements of the Working President of the V.H.P., Ashok
Singhal (Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu- Jan 7, 2000) like a) the temple of Ayodhya will
be constructed at any cost. Hindu society is under threat from foreign funded
organisations. b) Legislation should be brought in to ban functioning of Madarssas within
10 km radius of border areas, particularly in Rajasthan and Gujarat, and c) the plan of
the VHP to start 2000 institutions in the country, in addition to the existing 2000 to
advocate the concept of Hindutva.
* Statement (Jan5, 2000) of the RSS Chief Prof. Rajendra Singh
that the release of the terrorists in exchange of the passengers has exposed
"cowardice" of the Hindus.
* Statement by K.S.Sudarshan, Joint General Secretary of the RSS
(Jan7, 2000) criticising the government for its "capitulation" before hijackers,
and that the RSS is committed to building the temple at Ayodhya "surmounting"
all obstacles.
* Hard line stand of the RSS leaders on conversion during
"Sankalp Shivir" (Pledging camp) held near Ahmedabad in Gujarat (Jan7-9, 2000)
when H.V.Sheshadri, General Secretary of the RSS lashed out Christian Missionaries
saying-" we are determined to put an end to conversion activities by Christian
Missionaries….. no conversion will be allowed and no effort should be spared to bring
back gullible people who have been parted from their faith. Ayodhya temple is not just a
party issue, but something which concerns the entire Hindu faith."
* Statements of Acharya Giriraj Kishore, Senior Vice-President of
the VHP (Frontline dt. Jan 7, 2000) that " the basic socio-political objective of
Sangh Parivar was to drive home the demographic advantage of a Hindu society in
Hindusthan." and "…..others too could face Kalyan Singh's plight if
they deviate from the path of the Parivar"
Some of the outbursts of the Sangh leaders seem to be in reaction
to the Chennai Declaration of the BJP, which apparently was an attempt to satisfy the
coalition partners. The declaration said " the BJP expresses its confidence that
every BJP worker understands that our governance is the national agenda for good
governance." This 16- page document approved by the National Council, the highest
policy making body of the BJP does not contain a single word of Hindutva, which appears to
be a major deviation from its tradition. Never in the past, the BJP issued any policy
document without highlighting the concept of Hindutva. Though, the party leadership were
content by using two of its jargons namely, integral humanism and cultural nationalism, it
could hardly satisfy the delegates. They in fact compelled the leadership to amend a
sentence in the draft document which said " the BJP has no agenda other than the NDA
agenda".
Two important commitments of the BJP in the document, namely its
full surrender to NDA agenda and plan to review its existing relationship with religious
minorities have posed a big question mark whether the party has diluted its ideology.
Despite the assurance of the BJP leadership that the party has not given up its ideology,
the cadres were not prepared for a "change of mindset in the party" with
"new Mantra of Development." They realise the compulsion of coalition politics
but change in party's policy not befitting its "constant ideals" may not be
acceptable to the patry's idealogues. The document which says, " Although the ideals
are constant, the policies and its interpretation in the light of the changing needs of
new situations and challenges, have to be renewed from time to time"…. do not
seem to be acceptable to the RSS leadership. The hardline statements of the Sangh leaders
in Gujarat conclave including the demand of H.V.Sheshadri asking the centre to adopt the
Gujarat Government pattern and allow its employees to participate in the activities of the
RSS, might be a signal that the parent body was not ready to compromise with the
compulsion of coalition politics beyond a point. Presence of L.K.Advani along with a
couple of his cabinet colleagues as well as Keshubahi Patel, Chief Minister of Gujarat in
RSS uniform during the concluding session of the conclave on Jan9, 2000 might provoke the
opposition parties as well as the coalition partners and cause further embarrassment to
BJP led government at centre.
The realpolitik of Vajpayeeji is ridiculed within Sangh Parivar
as a move towards "Congressisation of the BJP" (RSS organ Organiser dated
January2,2000). The new approach of the BJP towards religious minorities as mentioned in
Chennai Declaration said, " The party shall thoroughly review its existing
relationship with religious minorities consistent with its resolve to strengthen Indian
nationhood. Based on a sincere and principled approach of espousing and redressing their
issues in a just and non-appeasing manner, the BJP shall make intensified efforts to
increase its support base among religious minorities". This confirms the allegation
that the BJP, while relegating "ideological mascot" is now adopting same vote
banks politics through which the Congress manoeuvred to manage power for over forty years.
Will the BJP do away with its doctrine of uniform civil code? Will it now favour
reservation for religious minorities in government job, legislature and educational
institutions? Will it now bury the temple issue forever? Will it be able to fulfill its
ideological dream for reviving the ancient glory of "Hindu Rashtra" by adopting
the economic policy of the Congress and ignoring the "Swadeshi" permanently?
These are the natural questions, the BJP leadership is supposed to answer. The party
supporters are not able to reconcile with the new mindset desired in the party. L.K
Advani cautioned the party men against the danger of getting imprisoned by dogma and
subsequently felt that government decision to free three militants to hijackers would dent
the image of the BJP, which is an indirect indictment of his government in which he is the
Home Minister. This double speak of Advani has created a confusion in the party.
Janakrishna Murthy, Vice President of the BJP when confronted by pressmen (Jan13, 2000)
gave an impression that the party does not endorse this theory of Advani. Negation of
Advani's statement by a senior leader of the party during a press briefing confirms the
speculation in the media that Vajpayee and Advani are not on the same wave-length on
certain issues.
Bhanu Pratap Shukla, a former activist of the RSS and also former
editor of "Panchjanya" its mouthpiece in an article in a Hindi daily has
charged the BJP with throwing its principles and ideology into dustbin. Similarly, Prof.
Balraj Madhok , a known Hindu Nationalist ridiculed Shri Vajpayee as a man of Congress and
Communists (Rashtriya Sahara dated Jan22,1999) . The BJP cadres are now found giving some
credence to the views expressed by former Sangh leaders.
Fiery outburst within Sangh Parivar against the alleged dilution
of Hindutva by the BJP has put the Vajpayee line of governance on test. The country is
anxiously waiting to see as to how he is going to resolve the ideological tussle within
the party.
R.Upadhyay
15.1.2000
(Regional Advisor South Asia Anaysis Group)
