Abstract
Gandhi and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) have often been seen or portrayed as dramatically opposed to each other. In common parlance, narratives go to an extent where Gandhi’s assassinator, Nathuram Godse, is said to be inspired by the ideology of RSS. It is in this context that the book sets out its arguments that demystify various concocted propositions. It attempts not only to demonstrate a fair degree of synchronisation in the ideas of RSS and the Mahatma but also exposes the ill-conceived dichotomy between the two. The book is divided into nine chapters besides an Introduction and Conclusion, engaging with various contested themes such as Indian nationalism, critique of Western nationalism, cow protection, religious conversion, and so on.
The first chapter, ‘Gandhi and RSS; The Idea of India’, is about the origin of India where both Gandhi and revered figures of RSS such as V.D Savarkar and M.S. Golwalkar come closer. For Gandhi, India, although being politically and administratively fragmented, was culturally united. The absence of clearly demarcated geopolitical boundary doesn’t mean our cultural and civilisational unity was non-existent. RSS too envisages the origin of India much before the advent of the British rule. Thus, Gandhi appears to be in conformity with RSS on two counts: First, India is an ancient nation and, second, it is a divine nation and not merely a piece of land. Other propositions of RSS such as Hindu culture and Hindu being the soul of the nation do not fit into the Gandhian conceptualisation. However, it is noteworthy that RSS has rarely been fanatic and exclusive in its definition of Hindu culture and nation. This further got diluted with the expansion of this organisation. Interestingly, Gandhi’s evocation of Ram Rajya and his stand on cow protection and religious conversion do not allow him to take a complete departure from the concerns of RSS on these issues.
The second chapter, ‘Reflections on Hinduism’, while admitting the fact in the very beginning that defining Hinduism is a challenging task, finds a great similarity between Gandhi and the RSS on this issue. Both firmly reject the fragile claims of Christian superiority, and demeaning and belittling spiritual and philosophical Hinduism by Christian missionaries was not acceptable to both. In a way, both carry forward the legacy of Vivekananda and Aurobindo Ghosh. Making a distinction between practicing Hinduism and being hostile towards other religions, Gandhi used all Hindu symbols and called for the necessity of Hindu consciousness. Adopting morning prayers, with verses from the Gita and the Ramayana, his convictions in the wisdom of the Upanishads, Gandhi has been unapologetic about Hinduism and its practices. The author, with these two chapters, has attempted to corroborate similar understanding of Gandhi and the RSS that are portrayed as polar opposites.
In the third chapter, ‘Response to religious conversion in India’, the author has brought both the entities on the same page extraordinarily. Searching from the volumes of literature, citing Gandhi from original sources, the author has managed to narrow down Gandhi’s reservation against religious conversion by the Christian missionaries. Calling Christian missionaries as ‘vendors of God’, their social services as ‘bait for conversion’, the author has argued that conversion through manipulation and use of money was unholy for both Gandhi and the RSS. When his own son got converted to Islam, Gandhi had no objection against conversion per se rather the way that is, under the ‘duress of lust for sex and drinking’. RSS has endorsed Gandhian thought on religious conversion that is in tune with the concerns of the Mahatma.
Drawing a parallel between Gandhi and the RSS on the issue of untouchability and caste-based discrimination, the author argues in the fourth chapter that such social evils were not acceptable to both. Invoking the ideas of the third Sarsanghchalak of the RSS, Balasaheb Deora, who deplored social inequalities embedded in Hindu society, the author argues that both the RSS and Gandhi do not look towards the state and government to eradicate these social evils. They rather believe in the Hindu society which is capable of solving this.
The fifth chapter of this book deals with the issue of Hindi as a national language, a cause that got the support of both the RSS and Gandhi. The author very aptly brings in a convincing argument that, despite being founded in Nagpur, in a Marathi-speaking region, RSS has always advocated for Hindi being the national language. The same line of argument also finds place in Gandhian thought, where, based on mass reach and popularity, Hindi should become the national language, as upheld by Gandhi.
Chapter six of this book touches a very burning issue, that is, cow protection, and tries to engage the RSS and Gandhi simultaneously. This is such an issue that has not received adequate scholarly attention, maybe because doing so in contemporary India would be tantamount to joining a block, that is, Left or Right. The author, while maintaining academic integrity, exhumes some of the buried unknown facts that drive RSS close to Gandhi on this issue. While both agree in principle that cow slaughter is not desirable, RSS relied on religious texts, and, for Gandhi, it was the principle of non-violence as the primary reason. The author has also highlighted the point of difference between the Mahatma and the RSS: for the RSS, the slaughter was inhuman for a number of reasons and no compromise was acceptable; however, Gandhi appeared for a balancing act and left the issue of cow slaughter on the goodwill of Muslims.
Swadeshi and critique of Western civilisation in chapters seven and nine have already drawn a lot of academic scholarship, and there is no dearth of literature on these two issues. However, this book, besides taking forward the existing scholarship, attempts to do two additional things: First, it provides an account of divergence between Gandhi and the RSS on how to practice swadeshi; and two, it maps out the current position of the RSS-affiliated Swadeshi Jagaran Manch. RSS, even after the demise of the Mahatma, has maintained the spark of Swadeshi and has not given a second thought to criticise the policies of its own government, even if they go against the principles of Swadeshi.
Chapter eight of this book again deals with a contentious issue that has dominated the political trajectory of this country for a long time. The chapter, ‘Hindu-Muslim Relations and Minority Questions’, shows the difference of opinion between Gandhi and the RSS. Gandhi’s support to undue demands of Muslims, as felt by the RSS-affiliated, was without the premise of reciprocity. Khilafat Movement and undue demands of the Muslim League, and their subsequent acceptance by the Mahatma, drove the RSS away from Gandhi on this matter.
The author deserves credit for introducing the readers to themes that are often ignored or too risky to deal with. While maintaining academic rigour and integrity, the author has unearthed many buried facts from the past that provide a different account of the RSS and Gandhi.
The book, however, falls short at various places also. In chapter four, when the author argues that the RSS is working hard to ameliorate the social position of the downtrodden through multiple programmes, it gives the impression that the author is convinced that the RSS is an organisation that is free from caste-based discrimination. On the contrary, very conveniently, the author has skipped the long-pending question: Why is that almost a minuscule portion from the downtrodden sections find their place in the higher posts of the RSS? A comparison with Gandhi on this issue, while ignoring this question, appears unfair. Apart from dealing with historical anecdotes, less attention has been paid to current situations in the country which are very much connected to the propositions of this book. The author, for the benefit of the readers, could have dedicated a reasonable space for the methodology portion that he has undertaken, at the beginning of the book.
The efforts made by the author on the subject are extremely important and valuable. This will establish a new discourse in the field of academia that has been not given adequate attention to the themes included in this book. Not only for students and researchers but this book would also be immensely helpful to the laymen. Both the author and the publisher deserve credit for bringing out a wonderful publication.