RSS: Growing religious fanaticism in the name of Constitution

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“The formidable form of growing religious fanaticism in the country has raised its head again in many places. The brutal murders of activists of Hindu organizations in Kerala, Karnataka are an example of this menace. Series of dastardly acts revealing communal hysteria, rallies, demonstrations, violation of social discipline, custom and conventions under the guise of the Constitution and religious freedom, inciting violence by instigating meagre causes, promoting illegal activities, etc. is increasing,” the annual report, which was tabled at an RSS meeting in Ahmedabad, says.

Suggesting it to be a conspiracy with long-term goals, the report says: “There appear to be elaborate plans by a particular community to enter the government machinery. Behind all this, it seems that a deep conspiracy with a long-term goal is working. On the strength of numbers, preparations are being made to adopt any route to get their demands accepted.”

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The RSS report comes at a time when Karnataka continues to see protests by Muslim girl students over their right to wear hijab in schools and colleges. There is a growing concern within the RSS about the increasing influence of the Popular Front of India (PFI) in university campuses.

While the RSS has not actively engaged on the issue and believes the matter should have been handled locally, senior Sangh leaders have flagged the controversy as proof of the PFI’s ambition to spread its wings through assertion of religious identity.

The report was released at the RSS’s Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha(ABPS) baithak being held in Ahmedabad to take stock of the work done by the Sangh in the past one year, chart out the future course of action and discuss issues of national importance facing the nation.

The ABPS is the highest decision-making body of the RSS. On Sunday, the meeting is expected to pass a resolution on what needs to be done to address unemployment.

In the annual report, the Sangh has also raised the issue of religious conversions.

“There is continuous information about the planned conversion of Hindus in different parts of the country like Punjab, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh etc. This challenge has a long history, but, of late, different, newer ways of converting new groups are being adopted. It is true that the social and religious leadership and institutions of Hindu society have woken up to some extent and become active to check this trend. It seems necessary to make joint and coordinated efforts in this direction in a more planned manner,” the report says.

While on one hand Hindu society is “awakening” and “standing up with self-respect”, the Sangh says, there are “inimical forces which do not tolerate this”.

The challenge of “increasing divisive elements” is also alarming, says the report, warning about efforts to weaken society through “various fissiparous tendencies in Hindu society itself”. “As the Census year approaches, there are instances of inciting a group by propagating that ‘they are not Hindus’,” it says, while condemning “conspiracies to make unwarranted allegations against Hindutva” and alleging a “malicious agenda” under “intellectual garb”.

The report goes on to talk about the post-poll violence in West Bengal and the episode during the Punjab elections where Prime Minister Narendra Modi had to abort plans to address a rally after a protest blocked his cavalcade.

“Competition is essential in the political field, but it should be in a healthy spirit, and should be within the purview of democracy; the race should facilitate ideological brainstorming, and strengthen the development of society… The most condemnable incident of stopping the convoy of the Honourable Prime Minister of the country in the name of farmers’ agitation on the main road while he was going for a scheduled program, was certainly a challenge for security; but at the same time, this heinous act has also raised questions about political decorum, the central-state relation, the sentiment towards constitutional posts, etc,” the report says.