Home truths from Bhagwat: The ripple effect

What is it in RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat‘s recent statement that is causing so much outrage in the Left and its ecosystem including Owaisi? Over the past few months, Mohan Bhagwat has been issuing more conciliatory statements such as people of all faiths in India sharing the same DNA. At one go, things seemed to have changed in the eyes of the so-called secularists. What prompted this? In a recent interview with RSS outlets ‘Organiser’ and ‘Panchajanya’, Mohan Bhagwat asserted that – “the simple truth is this- Hindustan should remain Hindustan. There is no harm to Muslims living today in Bharat. If they wish to stick to their faith, they can. If they want to return to the faith of their ancestors, they may. It is entirely their choice. There is no such stubbornness among Hindus”. Mohan Bhagwat added, “Islam has nothing to fear from Hindus.” In making this assertion, Bhagwat hit the proverbial nail on its head. He added, “But at the same time, Muslims must abandon their boisterous rhetoric of supremacy.” He remarked that it was important for Muslims to abandon the narrative that they once ruled over this land, and shall, therefore, rule over it again. He urged them to give up this narrative of religious supremacy. Some Congress leaders saw in the RSS chief’s statement, a clear impact of their leader, Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, which in their perception, appeared to rattle the BJP and the RSS. They don’t seem to see the funny side of their statements. The AIMIM supremo and Hyderabad MP, Asaduddin Owaisi questioned Mohan Bhagwat’s right to impose conditions on the citizenship of Muslims. “Who is he (Bhagwat) to permit Muslims?” Owaisi thundered. The CPM leader Brinda Karat declared that the RSS chief’s statement is against the Constitution and likened what Mohan Bhagwat said to the ideas of Golwalkar. Some analysts and political commentators say that Mohan Bhagwat’s statement should be seen in the right context. The RSS chief said that India belongs to everyone and that no one should espouse the idea of religious supremacy. In an ideal situation where there is a wider sense of trust and understanding, this could indeed be the case. But when misgivings and distrust vitiate the political climate, there is ample scope for such statements to be misconstrued. We have an ongoing Yatra which seeks to “unite” a purportedly “divided” nation. The larger question of the raison d’être for this Yatra is never raised by a pliant media. On the contrary, an ecosystem in the media and among intellectuals drumming up support for the Congress, hail it as a revolutionary moment in recent times. Come 2024 and their claims and contentions will be put to test. Coming back to Mohan Bhagwat’s statement, more reactions are likely to be seen soon. Will his thoughts affect voting patterns at all? That is a question for another day. As of now, the hypocrisy of the so-called secularists is on show.