30-07-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Warming up to outlanders the Sangh way
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) might celebrate its overtures to communities and individuals outside its ideological perimeter—the latest being Sarsanghachalak Mohanrao Bhagwat's session with a congregation of Islamic clerics, ostensibly to mitigate Muslim alienation and antipathy to the Sangh fraternity, especially the BJP. But make no mistake. When it comes to inducting and accommodating heavyhitters from outside the saffron clan's circumference, the RSS freezes.
The BJP's spectacular success in electoral politics doubtless forced the Sangh to try and assimilate parivar outsiders who came with a cachet that could enhance the BJP's appeal and possibly its votes, like a celebrity from the cinema world or an individual belonging to a caste outside the BJP's purview. The Sangh's— and, by extension, the BJP's—net to snag trophies is spread across a vast expanse.
However, the welcome carries a quid pro quo—it is not one-sided, marked with a profusion of garlands and warm words. The red lines drawn by the Sangh are firmly etched beneath the ceremonial trappings. A lateral entrant must adhere to the precepts and practices laid down by the family head, and no dodging is brooked. Insubordination, even from a faithful, is never tolerated. Over time, some lateral entrants stayed the course, willingly or unwillingly; but those who ostensibly felt suffocated by the rigours of school-masterly discipline strayed away, quit and at times disappeared into oblivion.
The exit of Jagdeep Dhankhar, who last week resigned as the Vice President and chairman of the Rajya Sabha, is still riddled with unanswered questions, although his resignation letter maintained the departure was prompted by health concerns. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's belated expression of commiseration with Dhankhar revealed how angry the PM was. Dhankhar was ushered into the BJP in 2003 as a prize catch from the opposition (he had served the Congress and the Janata Dal) and a peasant leader from the powerful Jat community.
